If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36
What is true freedom? Some will say that it's the ability to do as they please without fear of repercussions. Some will say that it's the opportunity to engage in commercial activity to make money, or the chance to strive for fame.
While those things may seem like good things to strive for, I'd argue that many who have capitalized on those opportunities who were still in complete bondage. On the other side of the coin, many who have never had those chances have known the feeling of true freedom.
This is a thought that has been on my mind since last night. A young man at my church sang the song in the video above, and began that train of thought. When he wrote this song, Ronnie Hinson posed a very interesting premise: a man is in prison and has been deprived of his liberty, his necessities, his sight, and his movement, yet, he still considers himself to be a free man. That seems like a very strange thing to say, but with a look at scripture and eternity, it is proven true.
Excluding Adam, Eve, and Jesus Christ, every person in human history has come into the world as a slave -- a slave to sin. Sin has no problem allowing its victims to feel free. It has no problem aloting them a measure of enjoyment. As long as those it has a hold on don't realize that it has that hold, they won't try to seek freedom.
However, the rude awakening for those enslaved by sin is that the pleasure is only for a season. The freedom is a mirage, and those who go through life without ever being freed from the bondage have nothing to look forward to but an eternity in a lake of fire.
What sin does not want its captives to know is that there is freedom available to one and all. Jesus Christ, the "man on the cross" did indeed put us in His will. He paid the price of our liberation from sin through his sacrificial death.
Now, I know what some will say to that: serving God takes a lot of the fun out of life. God wouldn't let me do some of the things I enjoy. If that's your reaction, let me ask you a question. Would you prefer to hold on to temporal pleasures and lose your soul? The Bible makes it clear that even if you could gain the whole world, it's not worth it if you lose your soul. Honestly, that's something that any rational person can clearly see. But even if you look at things from the perspective of this life only, I'd still be forced to disagree with you. Take it from someone who has served the Lord for years. There is a peace that can be found nowhere else. There is a fulfillment that can be found nowhere else. Besides that, when the Holy Spirit moves in, He'll change your "want to."
Now, let me give you the things that top it all off. Sin has no love for you. Jesus has proven His when He took your place. Sin offers death. Jesus offers eternal life. Would you prefer to spend eternity in the lake of fire with Satan, his demons, Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin, and so many others of their ilk that I could never list, or in Heaven with the One who loved you enough to take the just punishment for your sin? I won't even bother to list anyone else in Heaven, because the fade so much in the light of His glory.
Friend, you can be free no matter what life throws your way. Accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour today, and learn of an unmatched freedom. If you're not sure how to do so and would like more help, please contact me.
Lock me up in a prison and throw away the key, and I could still go free.
What is true freedom? Some will say that it's the ability to do as they please without fear of repercussions. Some will say that it's the opportunity to engage in commercial activity to make money, or the chance to strive for fame.
While those things may seem like good things to strive for, I'd argue that many who have capitalized on those opportunities who were still in complete bondage. On the other side of the coin, many who have never had those chances have known the feeling of true freedom.
This is a thought that has been on my mind since last night. A young man at my church sang the song in the video above, and began that train of thought. When he wrote this song, Ronnie Hinson posed a very interesting premise: a man is in prison and has been deprived of his liberty, his necessities, his sight, and his movement, yet, he still considers himself to be a free man. That seems like a very strange thing to say, but with a look at scripture and eternity, it is proven true.
Excluding Adam, Eve, and Jesus Christ, every person in human history has come into the world as a slave -- a slave to sin. Sin has no problem allowing its victims to feel free. It has no problem aloting them a measure of enjoyment. As long as those it has a hold on don't realize that it has that hold, they won't try to seek freedom.
However, the rude awakening for those enslaved by sin is that the pleasure is only for a season. The freedom is a mirage, and those who go through life without ever being freed from the bondage have nothing to look forward to but an eternity in a lake of fire.
What sin does not want its captives to know is that there is freedom available to one and all. Jesus Christ, the "man on the cross" did indeed put us in His will. He paid the price of our liberation from sin through his sacrificial death.
Now, I know what some will say to that: serving God takes a lot of the fun out of life. God wouldn't let me do some of the things I enjoy. If that's your reaction, let me ask you a question. Would you prefer to hold on to temporal pleasures and lose your soul? The Bible makes it clear that even if you could gain the whole world, it's not worth it if you lose your soul. Honestly, that's something that any rational person can clearly see. But even if you look at things from the perspective of this life only, I'd still be forced to disagree with you. Take it from someone who has served the Lord for years. There is a peace that can be found nowhere else. There is a fulfillment that can be found nowhere else. Besides that, when the Holy Spirit moves in, He'll change your "want to."
Now, let me give you the things that top it all off. Sin has no love for you. Jesus has proven His when He took your place. Sin offers death. Jesus offers eternal life. Would you prefer to spend eternity in the lake of fire with Satan, his demons, Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin, and so many others of their ilk that I could never list, or in Heaven with the One who loved you enough to take the just punishment for your sin? I won't even bother to list anyone else in Heaven, because the fade so much in the light of His glory.
Friend, you can be free no matter what life throws your way. Accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour today, and learn of an unmatched freedom. If you're not sure how to do so and would like more help, please contact me.
Lock me up in a prison and throw away the key, and I could still go free.
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