John
8:34-36 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever
commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever,
but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall
be free indeed. NKJV
Those of us descendants of African heritage can
never forget the ugly scar in the history of this country due to slavery.
Africans from practically every part of the continent were captured like
animals and brought to a foreign land they had never seen and forced to work
for other men for nothing. I can almost go back in my mind and relive the
voyage for a young African boy scared, confused, hurt, and despondent as he is
ripped from the arms of his Father, Mother, and siblings and the only life he
had ever known to now be owned by another human being.
Many of these men were Kings and Princes in their
own land and now they were being treated worse than they would treat their
animals they owned back home. Many tried to escape often but most would be
quickly found and beaten severely almost to the point of death many times. Imagine
their continual desire to be loosed from their chains their bonds and experience
the liberation and freedom of once again living without being under dominion
and restraint.
The definition of slavery is the state of being
under control. This was the condition of every one of the African slaves before
the emancipation proclamation. A documentary was shown last night about the
life of President Abraham Lincoln and it detailed some of the various trials he
endured before the emancipation proclamation was finalized and became the law
of the land. Once it became the law of the land, then every individual slave
was given his emancipation papers and they were set free from the ownership of
another person.
The unregenerate man or woman remains under sins
dominion and control and cannot find freedom. The idea of “commits sin” that
our Lord says here in John 8:34 means to continue in the love of sin and give
oneself over to sins control. Listen to what Dr. John Gill had to say of John
8:34, “But this is to be understood of such whose bias and bent of their minds
are to sin; who give up themselves unto it, and sell themselves to work
wickedness; who make sin their trade, business, and employment, and are
properly workers of it, and take delight and pleasure in it: these, whatever
liberty, they promise themselves, are the servants of corruption; they are
under the government of sin, that has dominion over them; and they obey it in
the lusts thereof, and are drudges and slaves unto it, and will have no other
wages at last but death, even eternal death, if grace prevent not.”
Jesus Christ through the blood of His cross and His
resurrection from that tomb has defeated, devastated, and destroyed sin. Therefore,
all of us that have come to the foot of His cross fed up with our sin, guilt,
and shame have been loosed from the bonds of sins enslavement and been adopted as
sons. The Lord Jesus says that a slave of sin will not be with Him in His
house, but all who I make sons will be with me in My Father’s house forever. Jesus
Christ is the great liberator of the souls of men.
2
Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty. NKJV
The sons of the living God by way of a new birth are
liberated by the Lord Jesus Christ from the power of darkness and conveyed and
transferred into His love and care. The chains of sins dominion our Lord breaks
asunder. The Lord Jesus chastens or disciplines His sons when they sin and rebel,
but He will not allow His sons to be slaves of sin any longer. We are now every
day in warfare with sin and it will require some suffering on our behalf that
we would gain continual victory over sin, but we can never be slaves of sin
again. Hallelujah!
Romans
8:17 And if children, then heirs --- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
NKJV
“If I had a brother who had been murdered, what
would you think of me if I...daily consorted with the assassin who drove the
dagger into my brother's heart; surely I too must be an accomplice in the
crime. Sin murdered Christ; will you be a friend to it? Sin pierced the heart
of the Incarnate God; can you love it?” Charles Spurgeon
“If God put Adam out of this earthly Eden on account
of one sin, do you think He will let us into the Paradise above with our tens
of thousands sins upon us. Looking at the wound of sin will never save anyone.
What you must do is look at the remedy.” D. L. Moody
“Sin is the dare of God's justice, the rape of His
mercy, the jeer of His patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of
His love.” John Bunyan
“A person who is not being purified from sin has no
claim on being saved from it.” John MacArthur
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you
Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus
Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and
Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple
I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader,
Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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