Independent?

Ask somebody with an addiction whether they believe -- truly believe -- they are free. I've heard a lot of people who have said they have no interest in Christ because they want to live their own lives... but it sort of begs the question, doesn't it? There's an assumption that a relationship with Christ is some sort of shackle, but that, without religion in your life, you're "free" to do what you want. But is it true? Ask somebody addicted to alcohol, or gambling, or pornography, or nicotine... ask that person whether they are truly "free."

Bob Dylan famously sang "You Gotta Serve Somebody," noting that, no matter who you are, you live a life serving somebody. From ambassadors to gamblers to rock stars, "well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody."

Scripture says, whether we know it or not, we're already slaves. And I think when we're really honest with ourselves -- in those dark moments of self-doubt and hidden guilt -- we get it.

¹⁶ Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
 ...
²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!  (Romans 6)

But Jesus declares (Luke 4:18) He has come to "proclaim freedom for the prisoners!" He makes us independent from the heavy burden of sin by yoking us to Himself instead. And unlike the weight and consequence of a life of sin, He says, "my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:30)."

Certainly, Paul declares, in Romans 6, that when we are in Christ, we are slaves, instead, to Righteousness (vs 18).  But, as it turns out, you gotta serve somebody. The wages of sin is Death. And, let's face it, the consequences in life aren't always all they're cracked up to be either. But in Christ is freedom from the burden, guilt, and shame of sin. In Christ is life. 

When we depend on Christ, we can become independent of our sinful natures. For those critics who say we're just trading one master for another, here's the difference: in sin, we are shackled. In Christ, we are yoked together, working as one, with the One who created us, loves us, and leads us to Life. 

Free Indeed!

Today is Freedom Day, commemorating the date in 1865 when Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment, ending slavery in the United States.

History tells us a slave is somebody who labors without pay. A person who, for all practical purposes, has no will but that of his master. Slavery, as it was in the early days of this country -- indeed as it is practiced in various forms around the world even today -- is a horrifying symptom of human nature.

And yet, humanity is itself enslaved to the very nature that makes slavery possible.

Jesus tells us, in John 8:34, "everyone who sins is a slave to sin."

We have surrendered our autonomy -- our wills -- to our sinful human natures. We don't have the choice to be sinless. We, in our humanity will sin, because we must. We are enslaved to our desires. Otherwise "good men" will throw away their families to indulge lust. Good children will behave selfishly. A person with a fish on his car will tell a little white lie to get out of a speeding ticket.

As Paul said in Romans 7:15, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."

We simply can't get away from sin, because it owns us. 

Except that, it doesn't have to. When Christ died on the cross, and arose three days later, it wasn't a publicity stunt; He had a purpose. That purpose was to accept the payment for our sinful natures, to purchase all of us, the human slaves of iniquity, and to emancipate us. He bought us out of our chains and set us free. 

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:15-18) 

Because Jesus paid the price for us, we have the ability to shrug off the chains of slavery and to take up His yoke, which is no burden at all (Matthew 11:30) Christ's burden is freedom. True freedom from both sin itself and from the wage of sin, which is death. And all we have to do is recognize that we are slaves, and accept the release from our bondage. 

Remember: "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed! (John 8:36)"