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Real
Freedom
What
does it really mean to be free? There
is a common misconception concerning the nature of
freedom...
The
Perception
- Freedom, as
many would define it is: "The ability to live
as we WANT
to live,
FREE from ALL restraints."
Imagine
a -SOCIETY-
that operated under this definition of freedom…
What would
our world be like if everyone were truly free simply
to do as he or she wanted to do, without any
limitation, without regard for anyone else?
This would not be freedom;
it would be ANARCHY!
Such a society would be a lawless one and would
soon self-destruct!
Now
imagine an -INDIVIDUAL-
who lives by this philosophy of living free
from ALL restraints. This is NOT freedom; this
is SELFISHNESS! And selfishness is the root of
SIN (James 1:13-14). “Whoever commits sin is a SLAVE
of sin” (John 8:34), and sin is a cruel
taskmaster! No, real freedom is NOT being able
to do what we WANT, free from all restraints.
The
Reality
-
REAL Freedom is: "The ability to live as we
OUGHT to
live."
INDIVIDUALLY according to the RIGHT standard of
God’s Word and COLLECTIVELY as One Nation UNDER GOD!
ALL else is simply rebellion!
The
East Indian poet and Nobel Prize winner, Rabindranath
Tagore, put it this way:
“Lying
on my table is a violin string.
It is free.
I pull one end of it and it responds.
It is free. But
it is not free to do what a violin string is supposed
to do: to produce music.
So I take it, fix it in my violin, and tighten
it until it is taut.
Only then is it
free to be a violin string.
Only then can it sing.”
REAL
freedom is when
we become what we were created to be: children
of God – free to do NOT as we please,
but to do what pleases our Heavenly
Father.
It is ONLY in Christ that we can have this
liberty and only then will we understand the
true meaning of life and real freedom.
The
GOOD NEWS is that REAL
freedom can be found in Christ! Through His
sacrificial death on the cross, JESUS paid the ransom
price to free us from the power of SELF
and SIN. He died to set us free, but NOT
free to have our OWN way or to indulge our selfish
desires. That would lead us right back into bondage!
He died for
us so that we can be FREE to become children of God!
By
the grace and mercy of God, we are saved and delivered
from the bondage of sin and selfishness when we:
submit our lives to the Heavenly Father through faith
(Acts 16:30-31), repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confessing
Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized
(immersed) in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of
our sins (Acts 2:38).
Then, we are FREE to become what God intended:
His children, living for His purposes.
"Therefore
if the Son makes you FREE, you shall be FREE
INDEED" John 8:36)!
Will
YOU accept God’s gift
of FREEDOM on HIS terms?
David
A. Sargent, Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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