Truly Free

I was born into slavery and I will be a slave until I die.

 

John 8:31-36  Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, "You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings.  32  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

33  "But we are descendants of Abraham," they said. "We have never been slaves to anyone. What do You mean, 'You will be set free'?"   

34  Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.  35  A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.  36  So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free."

---

It is amazing that there have been so many efforts to end slavery around the world and yet there has not been any progress made in ending slavery. Some anti-slavery websites indicate that it isn't legal anywhere but it is going on everywhere.

We all want to be free. Nobody wants to be a slave and nobody wants to be forced to do things that they cannot refuse to do and yet so many get trapped into a hopeless situation where they have no control.

The crowd at the temple was very confused, their opposition to Jesus got in the way of common sense, they had the nerve to say that they had never been a slave to anyone. The Romans had taken control of their country and placed ridiculous demands on them, before that the Babylonians and the Persians and the Egyptians all had a turn at making the Jews their slaves.

Psalms 51:5  For I was born a sinner--yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

Even if they had never been slaves to anyone physically, Jesus is talking about their spiritual condition, there is a bondage that is far worse. Jesus makes it clear that we are all slaves to sin and as a slave we cannot change our condition, death is the only way out, we will never be free until the day we die. Everybody knows that you cannot make a dead slave do any more work for you.

The Slave Set Free
Romans 6:6-7  We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

The truth has set me free, Jesus offers us an opportunity to have a close intimate relationship with him as his child, a dearly beloved member of his family! In Romans chapter seven the apostle Paul asks "Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?" and then he tells us about our hope "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord."

1 Peter 2:24  He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.

When I received Jesus I became a dead man to this world, I am no longer a slave to sin, my old life dies and the obligation of being a slave dies as well. I didn't have any rights as a slave and now Jesus has made me a family member and an heir.

Thank you Lord for releasing me from the bondage of sin!