Living in Freedom

February 17, 2012
Romans 6:1-14

When Eve accepted Satan's offer of greater independence from God, do you think she experienced more freedom? The answer is obvious. She, Adam, and the entire human race became enslaved to sin from that point onward. What looked like a great deal in the garden ended in deadly bondage.

Although Christ has set believers free from slavery to sin, we, like Eve, oftentimes long for the "freedom" to do what we want. But whenever we give in to sinful desires, we're behaving like slaves instead of living as free children of God. He's given us His Holy Spirit, who empowers us to say no to sin, if we'll just yield to His leadership.

The consequences of reverting to our old ways are devastating. We'll sink deeper into bondage to sin, lose the peace and joy of fellowship with Christ, grieve the Holy Spirit, and find ourselves under the disciplining hand of the Father. In fact, we can actually become a hindrance to God's kingdom work. Whenever we fall into the hypocrisy of living like the world, we ruin our testimony.

Your unsaved friends, relatives, and co-workers are watching you. If they see no difference between you and themselves, why would they want your Savior? They can't see any benefit to having a relationship with Him.

If Satan whispers in your ear that God's limitations are depriving you of something good, remember what happened to Eve. Liberty to do whatever we want is slavery to self and sin. Only when we live within the Father's protective boundaries can we experience the freedom Christ purchased for us.

God bless you!!

Amen!!