Thursday, October 23, 2014

~ "Gone from bondage..."

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."  (Gal 5:1)

Christ died to set us free from sin and from a long list of laws.  We are not free to do what we want simply because that would lead us right back into the sin created by our selfish desires.  We are, because of Christ's sacrifice, able to live unselfishly.  This freedom is not permission to have our own way (through sin).

There are so many areas that we must be cautious in: sexual immorality, lust, hostility, jealousy, anger, conceit, envy, murder, idolatry, drunkenness, cheating, adultery, greed stealing, lying, and the list goes on.  We'd be better off to focus on the virtues as opposed to the vices: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Although we are no longer bound under the law, we are bound by faith.  Faith in what was done for us, faith in what will be given to us and faith in what our Savior taught us through his example.  His parables hold so much knowledge and serve as a mean to teach, causing us to think "outside the box".  We are no longer confined by strict laws, yet we are still bound by them.  We are given the freedom to choose the way we worship, the time we worship and extend of our worship.  We are even free to not worship, although that's probably not in anyone's best interest.  The bottom line is we have a choice.

Choosing to go through life doing what we desire, telling all those who will listen that on our death bed we can accept Jesus fully, is not a wise choice.  I know far too many people who live their lives with that goal in mind.  Live your life as Christ instructed us to live it.  Don't wait for the last minute to get your affairs in order.  Live your whole life as that son or daughter of the King - live it with honor, live it with meaning and set an example that exemplifies Christ!