FINDING FREEDOM

Regardless of how long you’ve been a Christian or what great things you’ve done, the struggle against sin never stops. Although we have been delivered from sin’s power, we are only being delivered from its power. The best Christians are under constant threat and they sometimes fail. None of us are perfect. Those who have never received Christ as their Savior have never been free–they are living in bondage and will until they find the freedom that only Christ provides.

I love this story told by Dr. Jack Graham, because it helps us understand how we can prevail:

I heard about an old prospector who came out of the gold mines one day and there were some young cowboys who thought they’d have a little fun with him.

So they said, “Old man, have you ever danced?”

He said, “No, I don’t believe I have.”

So they pulled out their six-shooters and filled the ground with bullets and watched the old man dance a jig. But they didn’t notice that the old man had turned around to his mule and pulled out a double barrel shotgun.

So the prospector turned around and put it right in the nose of the lead cowboy and he said, “Young man, you ever kissed a mule?”

That young cowboy said, “Nope, but I’ve always wanted to!”

Now, that cowboy was free to do what he wanted, but he was under the control of the one who had the power, the man with the gun. And there are a lot of people today who are just like that cowboy with the devil wielding his control over them. They’re dominated and controlled by the world system and the god of this age. In fact, Jesus said that anyone who sins—that is, someone who is apart from him—is a slave of sin.

But Christ came and he set us free from sin. In Christ, you are no longer a sinner;  you are a saint who sometimes sins. So rest assured that Jesus has set you free from sin so you can live fully for him!