The United
States of America was born out of the right for self-determination and with
that right is the reminder that freedom is never free…it is bought with a
price. There are similarities in being an American and in being a Christian.
Christians are born again through Jesus Christ and Paul reminds us, “You were
bought at a price…” (1 Cor 7:23a NIV). Happy Independence Day!
2 comments:
Steve Corey
7:15 AM (3 hours ago)
to me
Steve Corey has left a new comment on your post "Freedom in Christ":
Gail;
-----Of course, if we were bought with a price we were not very free. Indeed, seeing the price given for us, the life of God’s only Son, we were pretty pricey. Once purchased, we are set free. I suppose somehow that could equate to our freedom having been purchased if we parse terms and align their pieces right.
-----Being set free is another anomaly. If I am freed in Christ, then why can’t I do anything I want to do? Why should I have to watch for the rights of others? I’m freed to do what I desire! This is akin to even the demons believing who Christ is. Coming to the Lord because we want eternal life is no guarantee that God will accept us into His eternal Kingdom. Even the grizzly bear will run to preserve his life, yet otherwise he is no sweetheart.
-----“Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.“ (Ps 37:4) This is a key concept for coming to Him without being the one saying, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” (Matt 7:22a) It is mot the grizzly man running to save his life who is bought with a price. It is the humble man who gets life, “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; He adorns the humble with victory.” (Ps 149:4) Humility doesn’t seek itself or anything else for its own purposes. Humility seeks truth and reality searching for what is right. Humility finds God’s purposes and desires what is right. And that’s why He gives us the desires of our hearts.
-----Living in this admixture of sin and righteousness, we are not free to do whatever we want to do and have eternal life and relationship with God. God is the grantor of the heart’s desires. To anyone desiring his own way, God will grant that trap for eternity. God will grant His ways for all eternity to anyone desiring His righteousness. There, in that eternal life, we will have complete and total freedom. We will be able to do anything we so desire to do because even the possibility of doing wrong will no longer exist because we desired perfection and God granted what we desired. That’s when we will have been set completely free from sin. Today we are completely freed only from its eternal-death effect, and rather freed from its psychological and other effects.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Oops Steve, I accidentally deleted your comment from the blo,g so I had do do a cut and paste of you comment from my account.
Gail
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