September 17, 2017 ENSLAVED OR FREE ?
Romans 6:22 “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”
It’s a paradox-we are free, and yet we are enslaved! Our freedom is that we have been freed from bondage to sin and bondage to living according to our old self-who we use to be before being made new. In the past we were bound to harmful thought patterns, harmful and wrong actions, wrong responses, wrong motives, wrong priorities, focused on self, and etc. As we come to understand or true identity in Christ, we discover the freedom that only He can give. We were not set free to do whatever pleases us or gratifies our flesh, but we were set free to be who God intended us to be. As we grow in the faith and as we realize that we get the most satisfaction when we do the things that please Him, we find that the desire to please our self wanes, or becomes less and less appealing. The major issue in all of life is that of whether we are enslaved to self (sin) or enslaved to God. The shocking truth is that we can be involved in bible study, can pray daily, can be involved in church, or may even be in ‘full time’ ministry, and yet be living according to self, or the flesh. Human nature is to focus on self-to do the things that please us. Dying to self may be the last thing we want to do, but the heart of the issue is that God desires that we die to our self and be alive unto Him. God has no desire to make us miserable or rob us of enjoyment, but He knows that only when we die to self, can we experience life as He intended and life to the fullest. We must recognize the lie that tells us that we have to make ourselves happy-or fulfilled. Dying to self seems like such a major issue and something difficult to do, and we may find ourselves struggling daily with trying to die to self. However, dying to self is not difficult once we taste the life that comes from knowing God and knowing who we are in Him, and once we know our inheritance that we have in Him. Dying to self becomes a no-brainer-it’s like deciding whether we had rather have an old worn out bicycle as a means of transportation, or a brand new automobile-- but, if we know nothing about automobiles, we will find the bicycle as our mode of transportation! Even as believers, we must understand that our salvation is more than a ticket to heaven-our salvation is about being transformed from the inside out where we discover that our life is in Him and from Him. In Him, the old things die and all things become new. Becoming enslaved to God brings about the most satisfying life possible. Through the Holy Spirit, we have the power to die to our old self and the power to live as unto the Lord. It sounds rather simple, but because we are in Christ, as believers, we have the choice of dying to ourselves. Let us reject the lie that says that by satisfying self, we will be fulfilled. Instead, let us learn of Him, let us discover who we are in Him and who He is in us-when we do, we will find that being enslaved to Him is the greatest thing ever.
Matthew 16:25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Romans 8:13 “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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