Jesus’ next words show the power of the Gospel: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). When we are justified not by our works but by faith in Christ, we are freed from the bondage of the will to sin. This means we are free, finally, to do what is right. We do what is right not because we have to—not as a way to earn salvation—but because we want to. We do good works for our neighbor not simply because we are supposed to and not to use the neighbor as a prop for our self-righteous display of our virtue; rather, we have been freed from seeking to earn God’s love so that
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