Emancipated

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17

Just as surely as night follows day, in the life of a true believer sorrow will follow sin. It is impossible to be a growing, healthy Christian and also be happy in sin. The two simply cannot exist simultaneously. In the very beginning of creation, God made a bold statement when He spoke the words, “Let there be light,” forever separating darkness and light.

This physical reality in creation is also a spiritual reality inside every follower of Christ. Jesus is the light of the world. When we surrender our lives to Him in faith, He invades the sin-darkness of our soul with His light through the Holy Spirit who now lives in us. His light brings change, healing, and freedom. But this spiritual reality is not experienced instantaneously. We must grow in the knowledge and wisdom of the Lord, learning over time how to live as children of light. If a born-again child of God tries to continue living in sin, the result is disheartening and debilitating. Sin will sap your heart of joy.

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 a yoke of slavery.” There is perhaps nothing sadder than a free person continuing to live as a slave. 

Historian and genealogist Antoinette Harrell has uncovered cases of African Americans still living as slaves 100 years after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. Throughout her 20 years of research, she has unearthed some rare, painful stories in the deep south of black people who had no idea they were free all the way up to the 1960s. They were forced to work, violently tortured, and raped. While the intent of the Emancipation Proclamation was to end slavery for every African American, the reality is that it did not. It provided the means for freedom, but unless it was applied to each individual slave’s life, it was of no use on a personal level.

The same is true for so many Christ-followers who continue to live shackled to sin and its consequences when in reality, they have been emancipated by the blood of Jesus. The penalty has been paid. The way of freedom has been made. But we must learn how to live daily in that freedom not only from sin’s penalty but also from sin’s power. 

If you are in Christ, Satan is powerless to enslave you any longer. If you are wearing chains, it’s because you haven’t chosen to drop them and walk away in the power of Jesus Christ. Don’t continue to live as a slave. You have been set free!

God, thank You for freeing me not only from sin’s penalty but also from sin’s power each and every day. Please show me any areas of my life where I am unnecessarily living in chains. Give me the faith to drop those chains and walk in the freedom of the cross. In Jesus’ name, amen.