The Bible for Women

Weekly Devotional

Our Independence

This week, our country will celebrate its independence. We will enjoy being with friends and family. Some of us will go to the beach or watch fireworks after a baseball game. Some of us will enjoy hamburgers, sweet tea and an iced cold watermelon. As we do these traditional things, we will remember the sacrifices of our military families and troops as they continue to this day to keep our country free and fight daily for democracy in other countries. Why do these men and women and their families choose to make those sacrifices? Recently, the Military Channel asked those questions to some new enlisted army recruits? Many of them answered, "Because I am needed; Because I believe in freedom; Because doing this will help me in the future."

Freedom always comes with a price. Freedom always comes with sacrifice. The ultimate sacrifice for freedom is death. Our freedom from sin came at the ultimate price and many times we do not fully appreciate that price.

Galatians 5:1 says "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery."

Christ set us free. We have read this verse and memorized this verse but let us read John 3:16 aloud and listen to every word, "For God so loved the world that he gave his ONLY begotten son that whoever believes in him would not perish, but have eternal life."

Why do we need freedom? The simple answer is eternal life with God, our Creator, and Christ, our Savior and our brother. Don't we want that more than anything? Is sin worth giving up our eternal life? Fill in the blank with the sin in which we struggle. Is cheating on my husband worth giving up eternal life? Is gambling worth giving up eternal life? Is gossip worth giving up eternal life? Is having sex outside of marriage worth giving up eternal life? Is lying worth giving up eternal life? Is being a lesbian worth giving up eternal life? Is lust worth giving up eternal life? Is being drunk worth giving up eternal life? Fill in the blank.

Fortunately for us, God sent his son so that we could repent of these sins and inherit eternal life by being immersed in the blood of Christ through baptism and faith. The sacrifice for sin could only be God's very own son. Romans 5:20-21 says, " ...But where sin has increased, grace increased all the more, so that , just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." But as Paul stated in Romans 6, God's grace does not give us the right to continually live in sin. He says in verses 1-4, "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Certainly not! we died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

2 Corinthians 2: 21 states, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Throughout Paul's letters, he begs and pleads with us to be transformed, to flee sin. He writes in 2 Corinthians 2:4, "For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you." God gave Paul the gift to preach and to teach and we should listen. His words were meant for generations. He writes in 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

According to this verse, can freedom abide with sin? Absolutely not because Christ cannot abide with sin. We cannot live in sin and have freedom. It is impossible. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:21-22, "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than He?"

We must understand that God gave us freedom from sin. He gave us the blood of Christ. We must be very careful to live in such a way that we can indeed inherit eternal life. We will all sit before the judgment seat of Christ. We cannot hide from Christ in judgment and we cannot hide from God now. He is pleading with us to choose freedom over slavery to sin. Remember the words of Christ in Matthew 22:14, "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

In 2 Corinthians 13:11 as Paul is giving his goodbye, he states... "Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you."

May God bless your week. Margie