CHAINS THAT BIND

John 8:36  “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Isaiah 10:27 “...and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”

2 Cor 3:17 “...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Galatians 5:13 “For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty...”

It is God's intention for us, as believers, to enjoy true freedom in God.  Now we are not free to sin.  There’s no true freedom in sin.  Not freedom to sin, but freedom from sin.  If we continue in the practice of sin we are no longer free, but slaves to sin.  People who are slaves to sin are not free to live righteous lives.  As believers, we should not be slaves to sin because we are free to do right and glorify God through our actions and lifestyle

This freedom/liberty should be the norm for every believer.  Too many Christians, today, are walking around all bound up.  Some from sin.  Some from Satan's devices.  Some due to lack of knowledge and understanding.  Some due to wrong teaching from dictatorial preachers.  Jesus has made provision for us to be “free indeed”!  We should walk in this freedom

There are chains that bind us in our spiritual journey.  Chains are used to confine – to restrict movement.  Satan will do his best to bind us thereby limiting our ability to be what God would have us be.  How does he do that to the believer?  There are several ways.  Among them Satan will use our past to bind our present.  He will remind us of our past sin.  He will throw it our face at the least opportune time.  He does so to still victory as well as joy from our lives.  We mustn’t allow Satan to get as foothold in our lives.  We are victorious through Jesus!

Fear is another chain of bondage.  So many lives are bound up with fear today. There are those who are fearful of the unknown.  Solomon wisely said, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).  It’s the wicked who ought to be fearful!  The righteous are to be bold.

Paul, the apostle, wrote in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  Sometimes we are fearful of what others say or think.  When we allow people to intimidate us, we neutralize our effectiveness of God.  The power of the Holy Spirit can help us overcome our fear of what some might say or do to us so we can continue to do God's work.  God has given us a spirit of power – Unlimited strength is at our disposal.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the believer can serve valiantly, endure patiently, suffer triumphantly and, if need be, die gloriously.  God has given us a spirit of love – It is our love for God and His love for us that casts out fear.  God has given us a spirit of a sound mind – A spirit of self control or self mastery

We are to use discretion and not act rashly, hastily, or foolishly.  No matter how adverse our circumstances, we should maintain balanced judgment and act soberly.  What a promise to stand on!

Doubt is another chain that will bind us.  Remember when Peter walked on the water  to Jesus?  He began to sink only after taking his eyes off of Jesus and putting them on the circumstances.   Jesus said, “...wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:22-26).  Matthew 28:17 “And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him: but some doubted.”  Some today continue to doubt their faith.  Many years ago I heard a preacher share some good words of wisdom.  He said, “Don't doubt your faith, doubt you doubt!”

Worry is another chain that will bind you.  Satan wins when the Christian worries!  You see worry and faith do not co-exist.  Let’s look at the words of Jesus, “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:25, 34).

Planning for tomorrow is time well spent; worrying about tomorrow is time wasted.  Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference.  Don't let worries about tomorrow affect your relationship with God today

A workless faith is another chain that will bind you.  James said in  James 2:17, 20, 26 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”  If we’re saved we’ll be serving God.  Our works don’t save us and we don’t work to be saved.  Rather our works confirm we are saved.

We have this all wrong.  It’s not believers who are to be bound up.  Satan is the one who will be bound! (Rev. 20:1-3).  That day is coming!  Praise God.

Let’s live a life of freedom and liberty in Jesus.  Let’s be the Christians God called us to be.  In doing so, we’ll have the impact Jesus meant for us to have.

Be encouraged in Jesus!

 

Until next time…enjoy the journey!

Ray

Thanks for taking your time to read and share this blog. If you know of someone who would be encouraged by this blog, please feel free to forward a link or use the icons below to repost this blog.