July 3, 2022
Jesus answered them,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” John 8:34
“I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. “Psalm 119:45
Many of us have lived long enough to know that Freedom is not cheap. There are those who have lost their lives so we could experience living in a free country! We who enjoy a measure of freedom tend to ignore its fragility and often take it for granted. Freedom has not only been costly for individuals but is costly for nations!
Even in the Word of God Our Freedom From Sin Cost Jesus His
life. God sent His only begotten Son Jesus who gave His life on the cross for our sins. Praise God! Yet, today too many are enslaved by sin! Too many are enslaved to the anxieties of life, ungodly passions, addictions, greed, lying, self-doubt, manipulation, fear of others, fear of the unknown, and many others. However, the capacity to sin, and even the temptation to sin, are not really the issue in the Christian life. This issue is the choices we make. While we can feel the old passions rousing, we also have a new appreciation for godliness, living a life that pleases God. Living a life representing God well as His children.
As Believers in Christ, We Desire To Be Like Jesus! Now two sets of desires are at war within us, and we have been given the freedom to choose. God is a Gentleman! We can walk in the light and live in the radiance shed by the Living Word, or we can turn our backs and chase off into the darkness after the deceptive pleasures of sin. The choices we make, not the temptations we experience, are what move us into darkness or into the light.
The Apostle Paul said it best in Romans chapter seven, verses 21-24! “I have discovered this principle of life, that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind, I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
How Do You Know You Are Free? Today, I know that I am free because I have repented of my sins and accepted Jesus Christ as my Personal Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9-10 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”(NLT) True freedom that Christ our Savior provides for us requires a total surrender to His will and to His way! We must walk the path He walked and become willing servants.
We Are FREE Because His Word Says We Are FREE! We can’t free ourselves; it takes a sovereign act of God. When we discover the truth, and that truth is found in the Person of Jesus Christ, we are free. As Believers in Christ, we can be thankful that the Father has drawn us to Himself through Christ and noted in John 6:44, “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.” (NLT). It is then that we can know the truth that John 8:32 tell us, And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NLT2)
Our life In Christ Shows Us Clearly The Way To Eternal Life With God. He frees us from the consequences of sin, from self-deception, and from deception by Satan. Our freedom does not give us the right to do what we want, but the freedom to follow God. Mistakes are foreseeable in life. We must regret our mistakes, learn from them, and use them as stepping-stones to carry them forward into our future.” As we seek to serve God, Jesus’ perfect truth frees us to be all that God meant us to be.
RX: A SURRENDERED ♥️ HEART Galatians 5:1 “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. (NLT) We have been freed from sin and the penalty of sin; however, we can’t use this freedom in Christ to continue to live in sin. Galatians 5:13 reminds us that we are called to freedom, and not to use our freedom as an opportunity to surrender to our fleshly desires. Our freedom was purchased by the blood of the Lamb of God, so how can we trample on that grace by still living in sin? The fact is, we cannot ~ and should not.
FATHER GOD: Thank You for Your Word that assures us of our freedom in You! Thank you for sending Jesus to die setting us free from the bondage of sin and from a long list of laws and regulations, in the Precious, Powerful and Preeminent Name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, Amen.
