By: Chris V Freedom. You hear that word used for tons of different things: freedom of a country, sexual freedom, freedom from slavery, etc. According to Dictionary.com, freedom is "The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint". The second definition of freedom on Dictionary.com is "exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.". The definition of freedom I want to hone in on right now is the second one; this definition strikes me as rebellion instead of freedom. Let me ask you this: is lack of regulation and external control truly freedom? When you rebel against your parents, are you usually granted more privileges or are privileges taken away? If the world's definition of freedom isn't really freedom, then what is true freedom? To answer that, we need to take a look at what the Bible says. Jesus, the Son of God In the book of John, we read about Jesus (the Son of God, as seen in John 1:1, 3:16): the start of His ministry, His death on the Cross, and His resurrection on the third day after His death. What does this have to do with freedom? Here are a few verses give you an idea:
As seen in the verses mentioned above, Jesus came to this earth to be our Savior from sin and death. And that wasn't easy! Throughout Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus was persecuted by all kinds of people (and believers are still persecuted for choosing to follow Jesus today!). Even though it was hard and tough, Jesus succedeed in His mission- the reason He came to earth- through His death on the cross and resurrection on the third day. What does this mean, and what does it have to do with freedom? His Death Gave Us Life When Jesus died on the cross, He took on all of God's wrath and judgement that was meant for us because of our sins, conquering and breaking the bondage of sin (Romans 5:18-21). He set us free from sin! Not only that, but He also conquered death when He rose again from the dead on the third day after He died (Hebrews 2:14). Not only did Jesus prove He has power over all, He set us free from the bondage of sin and death when He died and rose again! This is true freedom. When we accept God's free gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), we become free from sin and are now free in Christ to serve and glorify Him. In other words, Jesus is our Savior, and the true freedom we've been trying to find in things of this world. It can only come from Him; true freedom is found through salvation in Him alone! Can I get an amen? "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed"- John 8:36.I'd love to hear from you! Have you been set free in Christ? What has changed in your life because of that? (If you aren't sure about trusting Jesus yet, that's okay! If you have questions, talk to a mature Christian like your parents, a youth leader, or a pastor. I'm sure they would love to help you!) Tell me in the comments below!
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By: chris V One relevant and difficult topic seen all over the world and media today is the topic of submission. There's so many voices telling us whether to obey or to rebel against the authorities God has placed over our lives: our parents, guardians, government, pastors, and even our own God! Thankfully, the Bible is clear on the topic of submission and is full of verses about submission as Christians. Check out five of them below! (Also, be sure to check out the sermon linked at the bottom of the blog post! My pastor preached on Romans 12-14 on submission, and I'd love for you guys to get a chance to listen to what God put on his heart to share!) 1. James 4:7"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you". 2. 1 Peter 5:5"In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble”. 3. Ephesians 5: 20-21"...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ". 4. Hebrews 13:17"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you". 5. Romans 13:1-2"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment". To Submit or Not To Submit? I'm going to be honest here: Submission sometimes isn't the easiest thing! Denying what YOU want and obeying what someone else says definitely is a struggle. But, like seen in Romans 13:1- "...For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God". Whoever that authority is, whether it be a parent, teacher, or government leader, God put them there in that position of authority. When you obey that person in authority, you're ultimately obeying God. However, there are also some times to disobey authorities and instead to chose to obey God. Usually, these situations are when an authority asks you to do something that goes against God's Word, resulting in either choosing to follow the authority or what God says. A few examples of this in the Bible are found in Daniel 3, Daniel 6, and Acts 5. I highly encourage you to check these stories out! Ultimately, as Christians, we should strive to obey God and His Will in our everyday lives (Luke 11:28, John 14:15, Acts 5:29). What are ways you can obey and submit to God today?
Check out a recent sermon on submission in today's context here: youtu.be/II2vbPeHMxc. I'd love to hear from you! What are some of your favorite Bible verses on submission? Share them in the comments section below! By: Chris V "Why should I have to do all the work?" I grumbled after my parents told me to do a particular chore I'm not a fan of- pulling weeds. (There's always so many of them!) Later that week, I ended up getting in trouble with a teacher because I refused to do some of the class work and instead, read a book. By the end of the week, I was thinking, "Why would God put authorities in my life? And why should I listen to them?" Have you ever asked yourself that? The real problem with the scenarios above was not the authorities God put over me (Romans 13:1), but my rebellious heart. You see, we rebel because we live in a fallen, sinful world, and we often respond with a terrible attitude. For example, when your parents ask you to wash the dishes, do you immediately go and do them with a joyful heart (you're doing it for the Lord! (Colossians 3:23-24) or do you immediately go and do them while complaining under your breath? What about when your teacher assigns you a 5 page essay? Do you respond with "I need to write HOW many pages?!?!? There's no WAY I'm doing that." or do you respond with a joyful heart and do the essay? (Side note: Rebellion in never an excuse for sin.) Joy Instead of Rebellion What does the Bible say about rebellion? In Romans 13:2, it says "Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement." Another verse says: "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you" (Hebrews 13:17). That sounds like some big stuff! Notice Hebrews 13:17 says "Let them do this with joy and not with groaning...". So instead of saying, "Why do I have to go to this place with this person?", you could say "I get to go this place with this person; how can I serve God to the fullest in this situation?". Why Should I Submit? Now that we have addressed the heart issue, let's talk about why we should submit to authorities. (I used to wonder about why we should submit to authorities a lot when things in a situation didn't go my way.) We should submit to God-ordained authorities because God commands it! In 1 Peter 2:13-17, it says, "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." Paul is saying that God says to submit to authorities, even when you don't agree with them (like when your parents say no to you going to a certain party, or when a youth leader tries to help you correct a sinful habit). If you truly love God, wouldn't you want to try to keep His commands? Submission= Best Freedom Ever! A few years ago, I got a copy of the book Lies Young Women Believe by Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth and Dannah Gresh as a present. (I was super excited to read it!) One thing that stuck out to me in the book (and still does!) is a sidebar on page 190. The side bar featured an acronym that reads T.R.Y. (Totally Relinquishing and Yielding). This basically means you are surrendering to God. Surrendering to God is saying "Okay God, I'm giving you control of this situation because you know what's best for me." That may sometimes mean submitting to your parents, youth leaders, teachers... the list goes on. The best part of surrendering to God? You have the best freedom ever! When you submit to God, you remove any reckless thought or action that could ruin your future and takes the freedom God has already given you. Submit to God (and God-ordained authorities), and He will give you freedom beyond belief.
Have you ever struggled with submission? What did you learn? Share in the comments below! |
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