"And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
2 Corinthians 3:17
2 Corinthians 3:17
God has richly blessed us here in America. The freedom of religion we have is so wonderful. May we never take this for granted. Many Christians around the world face persecution every day because they don't have this freedom. Let's remember to keep the persecuted church in our prayers. "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body" (Hebrews 13:3). Thank the Lord for the liberty He's given to us. As Christians, the best freedom we have is in Christ. He sets us free from the bondage of sin and death. "Being then made free from sin, ye become the servants of righteousness" (Romans 6:18). The Scriptures lead us to this fact. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Any freedom we have should be used for good, not evil. "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve on another" (Galatians 5:13). We must not slide back into sinful ways. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1). Jesus has delivered us from death unto life. We're not under the control of Satan anymore. Jesus Christ Himself has set us free! One liberty that everyone has is choice. We all have the freedom to choose whether or not we'll accept Christ. John 3:16 even states that "whosoever believeth on Him" will live eternally. This means that everyone has the choice but the people who choose to believe and repent will live. The following is a chorus (from the song I Give You Freedom) that seems to sum it up.
I own the cattle on a thousand hills,
I write the music for the whippoorwills,
Control the planets with their rocks and rills,
But give you freedom to use your own will.
And if you want Me to, I’ll make you whole,
I’ll only do it tho’ if you say so.
I’ll never force you, for I love you so,
I give you freedom - Is it “yes” or “no”?
I write the music for the whippoorwills,
Control the planets with their rocks and rills,
But give you freedom to use your own will.
And if you want Me to, I’ll make you whole,
I’ll only do it tho’ if you say so.
I’ll never force you, for I love you so,
I give you freedom - Is it “yes” or “no”?
So God gives us the choice. He wants to save us, but He only will if we ask Him to. He is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). He loves us so much, yet He gave us all free will. He doesn't demand anything of us. We have the choice of either loving Him or hating Him. We have the choice of either accepting Christ as our Lord (master) and Savior or not accepting Him. We have the choice of either going to heaven to live eternally or going to hell to die eternally. Which will you choose? God has given us freedom!! Praise the Lord!!