Jesus Is
LORD!

"Changing Blanchard
one Life at a time."

CHRISTIAN LIBERTY

LIBERTY DEFINED: The power or scope to act as one pleases.

FREE DEFINED: Not under the control or in the power of another; able to act or be done as one wishes.

FREE WILL DEFINED: The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one’s own discretion.

      The common thread that connects these three definitions together is self. Liberty, freedom, and free will revolve around self-gratification, or what gives me pleasure. We live in a nation built on the rights of individuals to pursue their desires, as long as they do not infringe on the freedom or rights of others. The boundaries, which determine our freedoms, are established by civil government. These boundaries are called laws, and we are free to obey or disobey as we choose. Although we may agree to obey some or all of the laws, it does not mean that we are doing what pleases us.

      In John 8:36 Jesus said,” If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Understanding true freedom is realizing the nature of man. Just as a dog is enslaved by his nature or natural instincts to act as a dog. Likewise, man is enslaved by his natural instincts to sin. The Bible teaches that human nature is held in captivity by a desire to sin. Disobedience and rebellion are the basic tendencies of man. Isaiah 53:6 illustrates this as sin which Christ was to carry to the cross for us; “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” We do what we want to do and what we want to do is by nature sin.

      But some will say that all men do some good, man is not all bad, is he? This is the greatest deception of all. Most people, even in Christianity, think mankind simply needs shown what is right. Basically we need to be educated or taught what is good. If we see what is good and pleasing to God we will choose to do it. But in Isaiah 64: 6 God says,“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” and in Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one.” Our best is depraved filthy dirty waste. Sin is what pleases us and what we long for. Even though we perform kind deeds for others, it is for our own glory and good that we do such acts. In Ephesians 2:1, 5 Paul speaks of man’s condition as being “ dead in trespasses and sin.” Because of this spiritual condition man is unable to choose good and righteousness .

      I Corinthians 2: 14 says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Humanity is actually in bondage to a depraved heart, which can only act according to its nature. It is only as God, by the Holy Spirit and through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, creates a new heart. Jeremiah 24: 7 “And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be there God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” This act of God on the heart of anyone makes possible true freedom: freedom to choose and desire the righteous things of God

      Do you wish to be free? Only Jesus can give you a choice. He came to provide freedom: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10: 13 Saved from bondage to sin and eternal punishment. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him,(Jesus) that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth, we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Romans 6: 6-7 The power to want to do good and freely choose to do it, comes only from the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

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