Freedom:
No longer slaves to sin:
1 Therefore
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of
sin and of death.
3 Or
do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have
been baptized into His death?
4 Therefore
we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in
newness of life.
5 For
if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death,
certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing
this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body
of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for
he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now
if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
Many Christians walk under a heavy
burden of condemnation. Some of it comes from other Christians, some of it from
the devil, and some of it from their very own selves. Actually, the devil
doesn’t need to do a whole lot of condemning because of all his little helpers
who are members of the Church. They are quick to point out the faults and
mistakes of others, but even quicker to defend their own words and actions. Just
like a child who grows up hearing nothing but negative comments about himself
or herself, when a Christian (especially a new one) hears nothing but negative
comments, that Christian will grow up believing that he/she deserves the
condemnation. Jesus set us free! That doesn’t mean we can do whatever thing we
want, but that we can receive forgiveness whenever we ask. We don’t have to
walk under a load of guilt.
When we were baptized into Jesus, we
were baptized into His death; thus, we are dead to sin’s domination. Dead
men/women don’t sin. We are to walk in newness of life, not in oldness of death
which we did before accepting Jesus as Savior. We are free from sin. We can
choose daily to walk in the same manner as Jesus walked when He was on the
earth.
If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what
He would say:
"You
are no longer under obligation to live your life according to the ways of the
world. You are no longer under the control of the flesh. The things that used
to rule over you no longer have power over you. You are under the control of My
Spirit, not the things of the world. You will never be condemned by Me. I will
show you when you do wrong, but I will not condemn you. You are free to choose
to serve Me or the things of the world. But you will be much happier if you
choose to follow Me. I will show you the way to walk in true holiness if you
let Me. If you feel condemnation, it does not come from Me. I do not try to
bring you down, but rather up. I want to build you up, not tear you down. I
will always try to bring you into My ways, and to turn your back on the ways of
the world.”
78. How exciting! I do
not have to fear condemnation. I have been set free from the law of sin and
death. I am able to walk in newness of life through Him. One day I will become
the likeness of His resurrection. Since He did all this for me, I will no
longer be a slave to sin. I choose to walk in righteousness just like He did.
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