Walking in Freedom

If you have read all or even parts of the Old Testament you have seen how the Isrealites cycled between freedom, manifested in a true worship of God, and bondage which revealed itself in idol worship. For hundreds of years God's chosen people swung from freedom to bondage and back again. Whether is was spiritual bondage or physical bondage, it seems God's chosen people couldn't hold on to the freedom God sought to give them time and again. What caused them to stumble back into slavery when God had set them free? Why couldn't they maintain their freedom and consequent loyalty to God? I believe that as we study the cycles of our Old Testament friends, God will reveal to us exactly what keeps us from experiencing true freedom and how we can walk in a way that daily places our feet on the path to true spiritual freedom.

Let's begin by setting the stage of our study. As we read Exodus 2:23-25, we see that the Isrealites are in the land of Egypt living under the heavy hand of oppression and slavery. Deuteronomy describes their plight, "But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us." (Deuteronomy 26:6 NKJ) Our Isrealite brothers were in terrible slavery in the land of Egypt. They were forced to work under unbearable conditions, enduring hard labor, severe treatment, and personal abuse.

We can parallel the life conditions of the Isrealites in Egypt to our spiritual condition before salvation. Much like the children of Abraham we lived under the cruel rule of an evil king (Satan). We were pushed around by our sinful desires, and we feared death. Our very existence was a struggle for survival spiritually. We were held captive in the prison of condemnation unable to free ourselves from the bondage of sin. According to Romans 5:12, death and sin reigned in our lives before we come to know Christ personally.

Sadly, many people are totally oblivious to the bondage they are in. They pride themselves on their status or accomplishments. When told they are captives of sin and death, they reply as the Jews did when Jesus tried to warn them of their spiritual captivity, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free?'" (John 8:33 NKJ) Let's not deceive ourselves. The truth is there. We have been held captive and are often still held captive to sin. The Pharisaic attitude is to deny this truth and thus continue to live in bondage because our pride refuses to humble itself before the Word of God. Freedom can never be attained if we insist on believing lies about our captivity.

Truth be told, we all will be slaves to one thing or another. We will be held captive by one power or the other. "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?" (Romans 6:16 NKJ) We can be captives to sin, slaves of our sinful nature and desires. Or we can submit ourselves to God and become His slave. In doing so, we put ourselves in a position not only to be captives of our God, but to be captivating to our Savior!

So the question burns, "Who are you a slave to? Are you still a slave to sin and death because you have not received the free gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ? Or are you held captive by the love of the King? If you are the former, I invite you to walk through the steps of knowing Christ personally with me. If you are the latter, revisit your commitment to Christ by remembering (maybe even writing down) your salvation experience. Perhaps today you might want to make a renewed commitment to the Lord as well.

Steps to knowing Christ: It's as easy as A-B-C!
Salvation is imperative for freedom to be possible. It is Christ who purchased our freedom through His death. He broke the chains of sin and death. Without Him those chains remain. We do not have the power to loose them. God's purpose in having Christ die in our place was to pay for our sin. We can't. We don't have the goodness or righteousness to do so. God so eagerly wants to receive us as His children that He was willing to do whatever it took to put us into a position that we could have a relationship with Him. But, we have to act on this. Our first response should be to admit that we are sinful. Even the smallest sin deserves great eternal punishment. In admitting our sinful state we are saying, "I'm sorry. I know my behavior has offended you, God." It's humbling ourselves before Him and agreeing that He alone is perfect.

The second thing we do is believe that it is through Christ, God's only Son, that we can be forgiven of all our sins (great and small). He is the only sacrifice good enough to completely wipe our slates clean before God. Without His blood, our sin remains. Romans 3:23-25a says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation (payment) by His blood."

Finally, salvation is solidified as we confess Christ as Lord. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9 NKJ) If you are prepared to admit your sin, believe that it is only through Christ Jesus the Son of God that you can be made right before Him, and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, express it in a prayer from your heart. Here is a sample prayer. Please make it your own.

Lord, I know that I am a sinner and that my sin has been against You and You alone. I believe that it is only through the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ, that I am forgiven and put into a right relationship with You. I confess you as my Lord and willingly choose to make You my God and my Savior. Thank You. Amen.

Sisters, freedom is yours. As a believer you have been set free from the bondage of sin and death. However, as we will learn by studying the Old Testament Jews, we have a responsibility to walk in that freedom and not relinquish it to any other person or idol. As you will see, the enemy will seek to put us back into bondage by convincing us that other things are more important than believing and following God. Now, friend, we've got to learn to stand fast. Stick with me. I believe this series is going to strengthen us both as we learn to walk in freedom!