Friday, July 21, 2017, 5:13 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “He Reached Down.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read varied scriptures (in the ESV) on the subject of
slavery to sin.
Practicing Sin
(Jn. 8:34; Ro. 1:28-32; Gal. 5:19-21)
“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you,
everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.’”
“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,
God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were
filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers,
haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to
parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's
righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not
only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual
immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife,
jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness,
orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
When Jesus Christ, the Son of
God (and God), died on the cross for our sins, he who knew no sin became sin
for us that we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus died, in fact, that
we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He was put to death on a cross so
that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up
for us. And, He gave his life up for us in order that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk (in lifestyle;
in practice) not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [See: 2
Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Pet. 2:24; Ro. 8:1-4.]
So, if we practice (continue
in) sin, i.e. if sinning against God is part of our normal course of life as a
matter of habit, routine, or the way we live, then we are not free, but we are
still enslaved (in bondage) to sin. And, we don’t have the promise of eternal
life with God. For, God’s grace to us is not carte blanche (free rein) to
continue in willful sin against God without guilt. God’s grace, which brings
salvation, instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and
to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we await Christ’s
return. So, don’t be led astray! We should not even be entertained by the sins
of others, for we are thus approving of others’ sins.
Slaves to What?
(Ro. 6:6-7; Ro. 6:16-23)
“We know that our old self was crucified with him in
order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no
longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.”
“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. For the wages
of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”
When we truly believe in
Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives with God-given faith, and not
with mere intellectual assent or acknowledgment, we are crucified with Christ
in death to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ in newness of life, created
to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. The old nature is put to
death that we might no longer be slaves to sin, but that we might live new
lives in Christ Jesus to his righteousness.
This is not to say,
nonetheless, that we will never sin (See: 1 Jn. 2:1-2), but that sin should not
be our practice (lifestyle). Daily, by the Spirit of God, we should be putting
the deeds of our flesh to death, and daily we should be taking up our cross and
following (obeying) our Lord Jesus (Lu. 9:23-25; Ro. 8:1-14). For, this is the
reason for which Jesus was crucified on a cross. For, if we are still making
sin the practice of our lives, we are enslaved to sin, and that leads to
spiritual death, not life in the Spirit. But, if we walk in obedience to Christ
and to his Word, that leads to righteousness, which then leads to
sanctification (being made holy), and its end is eternal life with God.
Freedom to Captives (Lu. 4:18-19)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he
has anointed me
to proclaim
good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and
recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at
liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
So, if we want to share the
gospel of our salvation with others so that they can come to know Christ, too,
then we need to tell them the truth. So many preachers and teachers of the Word
today are proclaiming a half-truth gospel, which is a lie, and which deceives naïve
minds into believing that they can “believe” in Jesus, but that they don’t have
to repent of (turn from) sin, and that they don’t have to obey Christ, and that
God is pleased with them no matter what they do. Yet, scripture clearly teaches
that if we proclaim we have fellowship with God, but we walk (in lifestyle) in
darkness (sin, wickedness), we are liars who don’t live by the truth (1 Jn.
1:6).
Freedom from sin is not
merely forgiveness of sins or deliverance from hell. True liberty is freedom
from slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin. Freedom from sin is deliverance from
the power and control Satan had over our lives so that we can now walk in
freedom from sin addiction and its hold on our lives. No born again Christian
should be addicted to (controlled by) any sin. Jesus set us free! We just have
to live like we believe that, and all in his power and strength and working of
his grace within us. This is the GOOD NEWS! It is not good news if we are still
bound in our sins, and especially if we have been given a false hope of eternal
life with God based on a lie.
When we are still in bondage
to sin, we are free from the control of righteousness so that we cannot please
God with our lives. We are blinded to the things of God and of his
righteousness until he opens our eyes to the truth and he awakens our minds and
hearts to see our sinful condition and our need of him as Savior (deliverer
from sin) of our lives. So, know that there are many liars and deceivers out
there who are disguising themselves as servants of righteousness and as
ministers of the gospel, but whose messages are lies cleverly disguised as
truth in order to deceive naïve minds. They are messengers of Satan sent to
turn people away from the truth so that they will not be saved, while still
promising them the hope of heaven when they die. So, know the truth, and the
truth will set you free!
He Reached Down
/ An Original Work / February 3, 2014
Based off Psalm 18
How I love You, Lord, my Rock
and my strength.
My God is my fortress; I hide
in Him.
He is my shield and the horn
of
My salvation, whom I praise.
I have found my refuge in
Him.
He reached down from heaven and
rescued me;
Drew me out of waters so
deep, I’d sink.
He delivered me from Satan
And my slavery to sin;
Gave me hope of heaven with
Him.
My God turned my darkness into
His light;
Opened up my blinded eyes; gave
me sight.
As for God, his way is
perfect.
He gives strength to stand
secure.
I have found my vict’ry in
Him.
My Lord lives! Praise be to
my Savior God,
Jesus Christ, who died on a
cruel cross.
He is my Rock and the source
Of my salvation, whom I
trust.
I will give praise always to
Him.
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