Freedom In Christ
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 I believe, one of the greatest tragedies that occurs each and every day, is the “forfeited freedom” of born-again Christians. When a person has come to a place in their life that they are hearing God’s call of repentance ( John 6:44 )…and by faith, they finally surrender / give up, their lives to Christ ( Ephesians 2:8-9 )…confessing Jesus as Lord ( Romans 10:9 ), that person is literally “freed” from the penalty of past, present and future sins ( 1 Peter 3:18 ), because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Yes, we’re freed ! ( John 8:36 ) Yes, we’re sanctified and made righteous ! ( 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 5:21 ) Yes, we’re given the Holy Spirit and given gift(s) to use for His glory ! ( Ezekiel 36:27; 1 Corinthians 12 ) So why would a person willingly go back to being chained up and thrown back in a dungeon of darkness ?!? Sin will always be around…but that doesn’t mean we have to choose it over freedom ! Jesus proved that ! ( Hebrews 4:15 ) When we choose to sin, rather than be obedient unto the one that offers us freedom, we’re in a sense tellin God, “ I’m OK. I appreciate it, but I’ve got more confidence in myself than I do your Son.” Walking all over the “blood of Christ” and refusing God’s grace is akin to spiritual suicide ! (Hebrews 10:29 ) Didn’t Jesus tell us,” Unless you repent, you, too will perish.” ? ( Luke 13:3-5 ) The Spirit says,” They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen.” ( Romans 1:25 ) Do we really think God overlooks or forgets and forgives such behavior ?!? Let’s hear Him loud and clear : “ Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless and ruthless. Although they know ( better )…that God’s righteous decree states that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, they also approve of others who practice them.” ( Romans 1:28-32 ) Forfeiting freedom … it just doesn’t make sense ! Hold fast to your confession ( Hebrews 10:23 ). Don’t let Satan convince you that sin is “ok” with God. That’s how he introduced it in the first place ( Genesis 3 ).