Faithfulness is About Freedom

”For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1

Yesterday we talked about being a part of God’s royal family. For some of you that may have been a helpful reminder, but for others it may have been a terrifying thought that you are a daughter of a King. History has shown us that there have been many rulers and leaders, some who have been great and others who have been terrible. So in order to find true comfort in the fact that being of God’s royal family is even a good thing we have to go to the Word. What do people say about God’s rule? Is he an evil king, set to rule over us as we are in bondage to Him or is He worthy of the title King of Kings, Lord of Lords? Is he a King that a daughter would be proud of, or embarrassed, ashamed, and bitter towards?

This is what men and women say of God from the Bible:

1. The Israelites - “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Exodus 15:11

2. Hannah, Mother of Samuel - “And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.” 1 Samuel 2:1

3. King David - “For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.” Psalm 96:4-5

4. Sarah, Wife of Abraham- “And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.” Genesis 21:6

5. The Prophet Samuel - "For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God? God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.” 2 Samuel 22:32-34

6. Rahab, Mother of Boaz - “And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.” Joshua 2:11

7. The Apostle Paul - “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8

8. The Apostle John - “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11

According to these quotes from the bible, and thousands of other quotes you could take of the Bible, God is a good, just, loving, gracious, patient, glorious, trustworthy King, and we should be grateful heiresses instead of ashamed. More importantly though, so we acknowledge our standing as His daughters, we must not forget that we are also called something else. Slaves. We are, as believers, slaves of Christ. We are adopted into the family as daughters and as slaves. It seems to be a bit contradictory. On one end we are given opportunity as daughters of a King and on the other end, it seems we are in bondage and no better than prisoners.

Luckily, the Bible makes this clear distinction that being a slave to Christ is about freedom, not bondage. Our sinful nature, our natural fallenness, is bondage. What we need is to be set free – truly free – from this bondage, and there is only one person who can do that, Jesus. Jesus came to set us free from our own destructive, enslaving desires, at the cost of his life. He entered our brokenness for the purpose of taking it upon himself at the cross. Jesus absorbed God’s due justice for our wrongdoing and rebellion against his holiness. He laid down his very life so that you and I could be truly free. So we should be truly grateful to be daughters and slaves to the King of Kings because which is more freeing: death or eternal life?

Questions to Ponder: 

1. Does the thought of being a part of God’s royal family give you freedom, or make you feel trapped?

2. What freedom are you celebrating? At what cost are you celebrating it?

    

Today’s Reading:

Galatians 5