When Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan’s temptation and  disobeyed God’s clear directive to not eat of the ” tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:16,17), they were really declaring their “independence” from God. From that time on all who were born inherited that rebellious, sinful nature from Adam (Ro. 5:12).  David acknowledged, “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psa. 51:5).  It is not that the acts of giving birth or conceiving are sinful, but that from the moment of conception, a person possesses a sinful nature, one that seeks to be independent from God or any authority.  

     That bent is displayed early on as children refuse our help, saying “I can do it” (when they really aren’t capable).  Teenagers long for the day when they can be out on their own, free from the rules and regulations of their home.  As adults, the old nature continues to rebel against rules and authority, as reflected by the statement in the book of Judges: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25).  I’m reminded also, of the song, “I Did It My Way,” made famous by Frank Sinatra.  The verse in Judges and the lyrics of Sinatra’s song really express the rebellious nature of mankind and the resulting desire to be free from restraint.  

     In reality, what we really need freedom from is that old sinful nature to which we, from the time of conception, are in bondage.  Well, Praise God, He made it possible. God, in the person of Jesus Christ, became man, not only to pay the penalty for our sin, but also to enable us–through His resurrected life living in us as believers–to be free from sin’s power, no longer under its bondage.  The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans that when we trust Christ for eternal life, we are united with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection “that we should no longer be slaves to sin…For sin shall not be the master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace” (Ro. 6:5,6). 

     So, does that mean we are finally free to do whatever we please?  If God’s grace is greater than all our sin, “are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?” (Ro. 6:1). And Paul’s answer is “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (v. 2).  Now that we have been set free from bondage to the old, sinful nature, we are to “walk in newness of life” (Ro. 6:4).  “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (II Cor. 5:14,15). 

     We are free–free from the Law, from sin and self and Satan; free from condemnation–but free to do what we ought to do, not what we want to do!  Liberty is not license. True freedom is not found by doing it “my way,” but by yielding to God’s way–in submission (bondage) to Christ. Peter wrote: “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God” (I Pet. 2:16). Paul wrote, “For you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).   God doesn’t save us by grace that we might live in disgrace! “After all He’s done for me, how can I do less than give Him my best and live for Him completely?” 

     You will notice Paul begins most of his letters with: “I Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus” (Ro. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:1; Philemon 1:1).   Even though Christ died to set us free from sin, and self and Satan, God has not yet eliminated sin or our old sinful self, or Satan, so He put guidelines in place within which we have freedom to be all God wants us to be–provided we allow Him to be Lord and the Holy Spirit to be in control. That may sound paradoxical, but that is how God works. So, whether it has to do with marriage, or sanctity of life, or any other feature of our society, only within the confines of God’s parameters can we experience His blessing in our life and sense our freedom in Christ. When we start ignoring or trying to tear down those fences, we lose the freedom He offers, because we are right back in bondage to sin, self and Satan. We experience chaos and frustration and anger–all the while thinking we are free. Does that sound like our society or what?

     So, to really experience our spiritual freedom in Christ, we need to “declare our dependence upon Him,” as Paul did in II Cor. 3:5: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.” Each morning before I get out of bed, I pray: “God help be to be sorry for sin today, sensitive to the needs of others and dependent upon you.”  It’s my daily “Declaration of Dependence.”  I highly recommend it!

Forever His, 

Pastor Dave