1. “Fall under the judgment of God”; “Has been condemned already”; “The wrath of God abides upon him” (Rom. 3:19; John 3:18, 36).
Everyone is a sinner before God; they are waiting for death under God’s judgment, condemnation, and wrath. God’s righteous wrath is waiting to burst forth like thunder because of man’s sins before Him. His wrath will eventually explode upon the world. Anyone who has not repented, believed in the Lord, and been forgiven will be unable to escape this wrath.
2. “It is reserved for men to die once, and after this comes judgment”; “Who because of the fear of death through all their life were held in slavery” (Heb. 9:27; 2:15).
Everyone is sinful, so everyone will die. After death comes judgment; this is the fate that sinners cannot escape. People may be able to escape from other things, but no one can escape from death. Who does not wish to escape from death? But who can? Death is a fate over which no one has a choice, and this fate makes everyone fearful. Anyone who thinks of death or faces death feels that death is terrible. Who is truly not afraid to die? Man’s entire life is under the shadow of death, in the fear of it, and under its control. Man is a slave under its power without any freedom. Because of man’s fear of death, he often voluntarily gives up his freedom, doing many things that bring him into bondage. Death really is a power and a bondage.
1. “All who toil and are burdened” (Matt. 11:28).
Every worldly person toils and is burdened; no one has a heart that is completely at rest and comfortable. Moreover, most toil and burdens are impossible to escape or avoid.
2. “The anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches” (Matt. 13:22).
The anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches are worries and bondages from which it is difficult to be released. Many are plagued with anxieties and cannot rise above them; many others are deceived by riches and cannot overcome them. The anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches have ensnared countless people, trapping them in hardships and causing them to lose their freedom and self-determination.
The believers have been saved by the Lord and released by Him from all kinds of bondage to obtain freedom. Obtaining freedom is related to two time periods—one is in the present, and one is in the future. In the present, believers obtain and enjoy freedom. In the future, the believers also will obtain and enjoy freedom.
1. “Who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood” (Rev. 1:5; see also Titus 2:14).
The Lord shed His blood to redeem us from our sins, cleansing us and releasing us from our sins so that we no longer have the problem of sins. All the troubles that come to us from our sins were resolved by the Lord’s blood, which has released us from them. Since the Lord’s blood has released us from our sins, it also has released us from judgment, condemnation, wrath, and death which are related to sins.
2. “He who believes into Him is not condemned”; “Has passed out of death into life” (John 3:18; 5:24).
In the past, we were condemned before God because of our sins. Now we are released from our sins by faith, and we are no longer condemned. In the past we fell into death because of sin, and we were dying—even dead—people. Since our sins have been forgiven, we have passed out of death into life. We have been released from the threat of condemnation and the power of death.
3. “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf” (Gal. 3:13).
Our sins brought us under the curse of God’s righteous law, making us those who should perish and die. However, according to God’s righteousness, the Lord was cursed by the law in our place. He redeemed us out of the curse of the law, which we could not get out of by ourselves. This releases us and gives us freedom.
4. “Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath which is coming” (1 Thes. 1:10).
In the past God’s righteous wrath was waiting to explode upon us because of our sins. Since the Lord Jesus suffered the punishment of God’s wrath in our place, according to God’s righteousness, He thoroughly redeemed us from our sins and released us from God’s coming wrath. Believers will not have to face the wrath that unbelievers will be unable to escape.
5. “Destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil, and might release those who because of the fear of death through all their life were held in slavery” (Heb. 2:14-15).
Through His death on the cross, the Lord destroyed him who has the might of death, that is, the devil, and released us, who were being held in slavery because of the fear of death. This released us from the control of death and gave us freedom.