On July 4th each year, America celebrates our independence from Great Britain. All those years ago people decided they didn't want to be under Britain's rule anymore and, because of that, we have freedom today. People celebrate this freedom in different ways. Some people get together with family. Others just stay home and rest. Some decorate their homes. No matter how we celebrate, we have the freedom to choose how we celebrate because of the country we live in.
Yet, there are some who still live in the bondage of slavery. I'm not talking about other countries. I'm talking about some of us still living in the bondage of sin. While we are free in America, we are not free in our hearts. God wanted better for us and sent His Son to set us free from that bondage. Some of us accept this freedom and keep it, while others turn back to bondage.
It's like if we would have fought for our freedom from Britain and then decided, no we don't like our freedom. We would rather Britain come back and tax us. We want to be under someone else's rule. Would America look like it does today if we would have decided that? No, it would have looked very different. God gives us a choice. We can choose to follow our sinful desires and stay in bondage to sin and Satan; or we can choose to get freedom in Christ's sacrifice on the cross and stay free.
Many people choose the freedom in Christ but they go back to sin. It happens to all of us probably where we sin even after choosing to accept Christ as our Savior. But the problem is some of us choose to continue to walk in that sin without repentance. That's not freedom. That's choosing to go back to bondage. Sin is bondage. God offers freedom.
How do we get free and stay free then? We grow in God. We learn about him and how to follow him. We read his word so we know how to say, "no" when Satan comes knocking. We choose to follow Jesus' example and do our best to emulate him. That's freedom. Freedom is having the choice. We choose who we follow each day. We choose if we will sin and eventually go to Hell or if we will accept Christ as our Savior, follow him, and stay free from our sins by choosing to continually follow him.
So, are you in bondage or free from sin? How can you continue to stay free from sin?
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