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Tuesday, June 19, 2007

The true source of freedom

In 1990 I visited Auschwitz. Above the entryway to the concentration camp during World War II were the words, Arbeit macht frei. The same thing stood above the camp at Dachau.

It means, "work makes free"—work will liberate you and give you freedom.

It was a lie—a false hope.

The Nazis made the people believe hard work would equal liberation, but the promised "liberation" was horrifying suffering and even death.

Arbeit macht frei.

In spiritual terms it is a lie as well. It is a satanic lie. It's a religious lie. It is a false hope—an impossible dream for many people in the world. They believe their good works will be great enough to outweigh their bad works, allowing them to stand before God in eternity and say, "You owe me the right to enter into your heaven."

It is the hope of every false religion—arbeit macht frei.

I can't earn my way into heaven. It's only through a relationship with Christ.

It's only the love of God that liberates. It's only the blood of Jesus Christ that liberates. He died in my place, and I am free.

Free to love God. Free to draw closer to Him.

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