LEARNING DAILY

 

John 8:36, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”  Jesus

 

July 4^th, Independence Day and we celebrate the passing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress in 1776. Over the years it has been remembered with holiday festivities such as parades, family gatherings and fireworks. Declaring our independence from England meant that our forefathers would be able to establish a government based on the will of the people; they would have the freedom to make choices they felt best regarding their leaders and how they would be governed.

 

That freedom has certainly changed in meaning over the years. Freedom does not mean a person can do anything that person wants to do. Yes, a person can choose to do many things with their life, but that freedom stops when it comes to taking away the freedom from someone else. What is mine is not yours unless I say it is. I don’t like to wear a seatbelt, but I do because I have been told it could save my life if an accident occurs. I chose to do different kinds of work because I could. I chose to move to San Antonio; I was not forced to do so. I chose not to do some of the things I was told to do because it was against my biblical conviction.

 

Jesus talked about being set free. When a person accepts Him as their Savior, He sets them free. What does He set them free from? Think back to your life before Jesus. You lived as a slave to sin, self-centeredness, and Satan; you lived according to the desires of the flesh and sinful nature. Let’s be clear at this point about something. In those days before Christ became your Savior sin got what sin wanted. You did not have to be living a wild and crazy lifestyle. It means that the sin nature was in control or was the authority in your life. Read Romans 6 for Paul’s description about sin being in control or the master of people’s lives.

 

But when Jesus came into your life, He set you free from the power of immorality and sin. The freedom He gave was the power to act according to the will of God when we face temptation. In other words, you got a new master who gives you power through the Holy Spirit to live the new life of the person you have become. That’s the Good News. But there is more good news. You have power to resist the temptation, the desires the world offers, and the attempts of Satan to bring you back under his control. The life that Jesus gives is freedom from the bondage of sin; you and I are now able to live in His joy, His love, His peace.

 

This is not to say there will be no spiritual warfare in our lives. We must continue to live with constant pressures of the world and the pull of sin. “Full freedom” comes at death or at the return of Jesus for His faithful followers. For now, we rest in the power of His life, follow the purifying (sanctification) power of His life, knowing that we have been set free to live holy and blameless lives before Him.

 

Enjoy the freedom you have been given today!