Saturday, May 3, 2014

Freedom

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         What does freedom mean to you?  By definition, it means 'the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint' or 'the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.'  Freedom can mean living in a democracy like America, the feeling of driving alone for the first time, moving into your first apartment, or many other things of feeling unrestricted.
         The closest I've ever felt to being free is when I used to swim.  The weightless feeling in the water let me escape my physical restrictions.  I felt stronger in the water than what true reality was.  Freedom in the water was like being in a different body for a short time.
         As Christians, we have freedom from sin by following Jesus Christ.  Galatians 5;1 ''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 3;22  ''But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.''  Galatians 5;13-14  ''You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
        Until God gives us immortality, we are all still in a battle with sin in our flesh. ''The Christian, unlike the average non-Christian, is not indifferent to the weight of sin. He is actually hypersensitive to it. Having come to Jesus Christ, his senses are awakened to the reality of sin. His sensitivity to sin intensifies as he matures spiritually.''  
        Romans 7; 21-25  ''So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!''  We can all relate to Paul's struggle here in these verses and it should remind us that we are set free by grace alone and not by our own doing.  Only through our belief in Jesus as our Savior is the bridge to freedom from sin obtained.