Freedom from your Chains

Freedom is the concept that many in the Western world take for granted. Indeed our "freedom" is flaunted and boasted of from high places, and vaunted by all, from the highest political power to the citizenry.

But can we who have never truly been enslaved understand freedom?

Well first of all, we are all slaves... Yes, that's right, we are all slaves to someone.

"Who?" You may ask indignantly. Who would dare take our vaunted freedom? Is it not an unalienable right? Well my friend, you cannot be indignant when you yourself have given up your own freedom...

You, and I, all of humanity from the beginning (After Genesis 3 of course) have been enslaved to ourselves, our own hearts, our own desires, our own sinful bent of will that is all we know because of our initial rebellion in the Garden of Eden.

So from henceforth we have been under a cruel and deadly yoke of slavery. But the deadliest part, the part that will damn* our souls, is that we are willing slaves.

We want to be enslaved to our desires, it feels good, for a time to be seemingly free to go after whatever we want with little to no direct consequences in this dark world that has begun to call good evil and evil good.(Isaiah 5:20)

So here we are, in chains, in slavery. We do not understand our plight, for again, it feels good to do whatever we want, as long as we stay within certain bounds there is little to no consequence for our self-indulgence, or so it would seem...

Every lust of our flesh, every dark desire of our hearts, even the seemingly innocent pull us ever closer to hellish fire. And yet we still continue, alright with our enslavement, though it kills us more daily, and damns our souls to the eternal and perfectly Righteous wrath of the Most High God. (Romans 1:18-etc...)

So we stand in horrible deathly slavery, and loving every minute of it. There we would have remained, were it not for Divine intervention. For we loved our sin far more than God, indeed we were haters, enemies of God. We wanted only what we saw with our eyes, but the physical can never satisfy the heart that was created to be satisfied by the eternal.

And you may say: "But dear friend, I have never been enslaved to anything!" If you have uttered this thought, or something similar either in word of mouth or intention of the heart, I call you a grave and damned* liar! For "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)

If you are brave enough to continue to test the Word of God, just insert the word "MY" where the "The" is at the beginning of the verse. Still feeling confident?

How about this one: James 4:1-2; 4 "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain so you fight an quarrel... You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

Let me ask this: Was there ever that one thing you just could not resist? It could be anything, down to eating a piece of candy whenever the urge took you. Do you ever have that nagging feeling whenever you go without something? Maybe it is something extreme like sex or pornography, or maybe something smaller like attention from people or food. The result is the same...

Anything that nags at your heart and eats at your soul when you go without it is a lust, and a lust can be a good desire gone wrong, like the perversion of the natural, God-given desire for sex inside marriage leading to horrible, perverted, sinful, disgusting things. (50 Shades anyone?)

And anything that you are willing to sin to get, (sin against God's law and natural order, not the world's twisted one, or your own twisted, fabrication) is also a lust.

So can you still say that you have never been enslaved? Is there that one thing you always walk towards when the urge takes you? Big or small it all leads to the same thing: Enslavement to sin means a close walk with Death. That's right, the Old Reaper himself, for:

"The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23)

So here we stand, chained hand in hand with Death and Sin. Constantly the slave and servant of our own devious and deviant hearts, enslaved to our own desires which lead us each day closer to the hellish Pit.

These burning chains cannot be removed by human hands, oh no, they must be removed by someone who is free, who has never been enslaved. Can anyone on this earth boast of that? Can anyone say "I have never been enslaved to anything"?

If you raised your hand, you are closer to Hell than the lot of us, for you have deceived your already wicked heart and debased mind. But I tell you now, even for you... God has made a way.

Allow me to finish that verse from earlier: Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Hear that word? Free, the "gift" is free, not only of charge against you, but the "Gift" who is the person of Jesus Christ, is free as well, perfectly free, never enslaved to anything, no passion of the flesh, no shameful bent of mind. Nothing, completely innocent and free from all sin.

So then, let me share more from the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Roman church: Romans 6:16-22 "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life." 

A long passage, but one we must keep close! Hear me Christian, if you are in Christ then you are set free from the chains and bonds of sin! No more forced to obey its passions and naggings of your heart. Instead now you are meant to serve a new master, the Lord Jesus, who died for you, who gave up his freedom to ensure your forever!

Do not forget this! For many it seems, will. Galatians 5:1 has this warning from the Apostle Paul: "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." And again in verse 13 of the same chapter: "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh."

Paul again warns wayward believers from taking advantage of their freedom: Romans 6:1-2 "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who have died to sin still live in it?"

Let the Word of God bear witness! We are now slaves to righteousness and to God, not to death and sin. But now the dire warnings have been delivered... So those of you who wish truly to leave sin behind and be free from your chains, listen to the glorious grace of your Savior, and take refuge in His love!

I give you two things from the mouth of Jesus Christ Himself. Our Savior said these things to encourage our hearts when we feel the weight of the chains, for we are still sinful, even now, and our Enemy the devil is always trying to pull us back into slavery. I give you these things from Scripture to encourage you.

First: Recall that under the slavery of sin all you had to look forward to was damnation* and death, but here is what Jesus tells you, that your soul may be comforted:

Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

Second, and I beg you to remember this one Christian, for it will be life in this world of death:

John 8:31-36 "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' They answered Him, 'We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.  How is it that you say 'you will become free?'' Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'"

Free indeed! Not just free, "free indeed"! Do you realize this Christian? Your Savior said those words to YOU, He wanted you to know that HE saved YOU from slavery so that YOU could become HIS forever!   

You can never be snatched out of His hands! You are free forever from slavery to sin! Don't ever go back to your chains when the freedom Christ offers you is ever before your face, seek His face, and rest in the freedom He has bought for you.  You are free indeed!

No more in chains!

--The Scribe.