“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1
NIV
This weekend we will celebrate the 4th of July, Independence Day. This is the day that, as Americans, we celebrate our freedom as a nation. However, not every person in American became free in 1776. The last slaves in America were not freed until two years after the end of the civil war! While slavery became illegal at that time, there are so many people who are trafficked into different kinds of slavery in the U.S. every year. The fight for physical freedom has never truly ended. Spiritually, however, the fight for freedom has already been won.
Have you ever felt caged in? Stuck? Enslaved? Bound to poverty, sickness, debt, an abusive loved one, depression, anxiety, corruption, stereotypes, racism, a bad neighborhood, drugs, alcohol, or just your own selfishness? The Bible tells us that, without Jesus, we are enslaved. We are slaves to our sin. We have no ability, on our own, to find freedom. However, the good news is, that Jesus came to set us free! In Galatians 5:1 it says,
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Christ has set us free! But doesn’t this verse sound redundant? Of course Christ set us free so that we could have freedom. Isn’t that what being set free means? Why would we ever put ourselves back into slavery? In this passage Paul is talking to a group of people who are trying to enslave themselves to something else. Not sin, but to religious legalism. They were trying to put themselves under a law that they had been set free from! Freedom did not make sense to them. Sometimes, when we have been bound to something for too long, freedom is scary. We don’t know how to be free. In this verse, Paul is encouraging us to stand firm in our freedom, and to not let ourselves be burdened by slavery ever again! But this can be hard. We need a constant reminder. When Jesus died on the cross, he purchased that freedom for every single person on this earth. But just like the slaves in Texas didn’t know that their freedom had been won until two years after the civil war, there are many in this world who are still enslaved to their sin, unaware that they are free! It is our job to go out and proclaim to people that they are free! And in doing this, we ourselves are constantly reminded of our own freedom. So go, be free, and proclaim freedom to those still captive!
My Prayer For You
Jesus I thank you for our freedom from sin and from religious legalism! I ask that you would help us to live as those who have been set free. Help us to constantly remember our freedom and have the boldness to proclaim that freedom to those who are still enslaved.
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Our staff would love to pray for you. Please go to www.fhlcarlsbad.org/request-prayer to submit your prayer request or schedule a time for one of our staff members to pray with you!