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Free to Go
There
is an old story that Abraham Lincoln went down to the
slave block and saw a girl being auctioned off to the
highest bidder.
Lincoln
joined in the bidding.
As the slave girl looked at this man bidding on
her, she figured he was just another white man, going
to buy her and then abuse her.
Lincoln
won the bid and as he was walking away with his newly
purchased property, he said, "Young lady....
you are FREE!"
She
said, "What does that mean?"
"It means you are FREE."
"Does
that mean," she asked, "that I can say
whatever I want to say?"
Lincoln
said, "Yes, my dear, you can say whatever you
want to say."
"Does
that mean," she asked, "that I can be
whatever I want to be?"
Lincoln
said, "Yes, you can be whatever you want to
be."
"Does
that mean I can go wherever I want to go?"
He said, "Yes, you can go wherever you want to
go."
Then
the girl, with tears streaming down her face, said, "Then
I will go with YOU."
Jesus
said, "Most assuredly, I say to
you, whoever commits SIN is a
SLAVE of SIN" (John 8:34).
“ALL have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God” (Romans 3:23), therefore all
are slaves of sin, under its bondage.
But when sin
put us on Satan's auction block, Jesus paid the price
for our redemption (literally, “bought us
back”) with His own blood. "Therefore,
IF the
Son makes you free,
you shall be FREE
INDEED!"
(John 8:36)
Jesus
redeems those who accept His offer through: faith
(Acts 16:31), repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confession
of Jesus (Romans 10:9-10), and baptism
(immersion) into Christ for
the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16).
Jesus will CONTINUE to redeem those who will
CONTINUE to follow Him (1 John 1:7).
"IN
HIM we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His
grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
"And He DIED for ALL, that those
who live should live no longer for themselves, but for
Him who died for them and rose again”
(2 Corinthians 5:15).
When
we comprehend the riches of His grace extended to us,
we, too, will say,
"Then I will go with you."
How
can WE not follow a Savior like that?
God
bless you!
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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