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July 23, 2024
- By Ed Powell
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"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32
Many Christians today are living in spiritual bondage, thinking that in doing many good things they are spiritual. Even more tragic, many are substituting their good works for salvation by grace through Jesus Christ. Still others, through much effort, are thinking they must add to the completeness of the salvation God has provided by grace through Jesus Christ. All of these things leave a person in spiritual bondage.
You might say, "Tell me, what is spiritual bondage?" Here are but a few examples: Spiritual bondage is the state of separation from God because of our sin. It is living under the control of Satan, the "'god of this world." It is yielding to and living in the lustful desires of our fallen nature. It is being guilty of and harboring within us rebellion, bitterness, anger, hate, wrath, selfishness, an unforgiving spirit, lust, deceit, self-righteousness, stubbornness, and countless other sins that defile, defeat, and blind us to the truth that sets us free.
Do you realize that you have chosen to be in this state of spiritual bondage? We yield ourselves either to the Holy Spirit to work in and through us, or we yield to our carnal selfish nature which is influenced always by Satan. That's why Paul emphasizes again and again, that we need to mortify (put to death) our carnal nature and "bring ourselves into subjection to the Holy Spirit"...so we can be delivered from our "old nature" that ever wars against us to discourage, defeat, and destroy us.
So often, our lives are characterized by a continual striving to make things happen. We are bound by things, trying to find peace that escapes us at every turn. We seek to find rest from the frustration that grips us. We look for stability, security, and hope in the enticements of this world. Finally, we are awakened to the truth, that what our soul craves can be found only in Jesus Christ. When we commit our heart to God in confession and repentance, we look back and say, "Why was I so blind to the truth of God's Word?" We experience freedom, liberty, peace, and a glorious release when we recognize these cords of bondage, and surrender to His forgiving grace. If we had done this long ago, how much anxiety, pain, and suffering we could have avoided!
It is your living faith in the adequacy of Christ, who is in you, that releases you from the binding cords of "self-inflicted bondage." God is limited only by your unwillingness to surrender to Him, to all He wants to do for you. You say, "How can I be released from this spiritual bondage and find that glorious freedom in Him?" It is when you allow the Holy Spirit to occupy the whole of your personality and life with the adequacy of Christ. Our difficulties and circumstances may not change, but when we are under His lordship, we begin to see that His power cannot fail, His love cannot change, His wisdom cannot err, His mercy is everlasting, His grace is sufficient for our every need, and His truth will make us free! Jesus said, "I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." God's Word says, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." How glorious to find the complement of all your need...in the life only Christ can give you. DARE TO BELIEVE!
© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.
This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2024-07-23&print=1
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