We, as believers, have the privilege of celebrating the Resurrection of Christ, His sacrifice, and His obedience in going to the cross for us. Those who have become born-again, know that there is nothing like it! To experience the love of God and His forgiveness through Jesus is awesome! No amount of education, hard work, ministry, or good works could have bought us what Jesus gave us freely when we received His offer of salvation. We were incapable of wiping our sins and being set free from the guilt and shame of the past, but Jesus in His love and obedience purchased this amazing freedom for us! While this freedom is powerful, we have to be intentional in keeping our freedom!
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
Stand Fast (according to Strong’s Concordance): to stand firm, to persevere, to persist, to keep one’s standing
Paul in speaking to the church of Galatia, tells them that now they need to persevere in their freedom. Freedom is powerful, but we can lose it! We have an enemy who is looking to trap us from every direction and put us back in bondage. In addition, we have our own flesh that can easily get us entangled in carnality and the ways of the world. All these influences can result in losing the freedom that Jesus paid such a high price to purchase for us.
I don’t think most Christians realize that their freedom needs to be protected. Since freedom is valuable, many assume that they will never let it go not realizing that in order to maintain our freedom we must stand our ground.
You might ask how do we lose our freedom!? One of the ways that we readily lose our freedom is when we take up offense against others. Offense is a bait that the enemy uses because he knows our weak spots and proclivities. When someone pushes our buttons, our flesh goes into protest. We can react by becoming mean or rude. We can develop strife in relationships. We may also have a pity party and gossip about others. None of those activities bring about freedom. As a matter of fact, they put us in bondage of carnality and sin because we choose to take the bait.
How do you handle offenses? Are you quick to forgive and let go of offenses? Do you stew over them for a few days or weeks? Do you discern the bait that is set by the enemy?
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
