Growing Closer to God Part 10
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Civil War of 1865
Civil War of 1865
This is the war that abolished slavery in America. The issue is that once the slaves were technically freed many of them stayed at the plantations they were enslaved to because they didn’t have the means necessary to full overcome their disposition. Some slaves up and ran away to eventually die due to lack of food, shelter, or they have been murdered. Fewer still were those who were integrated back into the culture and were able to create a productive self sufficient life for themselves and their families.
So why the issue: Abraham Lincoln under went an amazing victory of the south to stop slavery, but yet even after the war slaves still existed. The issue with overcoming slavery isn’t a means of freedom, but of resources. If you have freedom, but no resources in which to utilize this newly found freedom you are still enslaved.
Today’s scripture verse talks about freedom and slavery in the Christian world. The best way to represent such sinful slavery is through drug use. Many people state that being a drug addict is a disease. I personally don’t believe this as diseases are not by definition voluntary drug use. I believe drug addiction is a choice, but once the choice is made it’s more an issue of freeing a slave rather than healing a disease. When you attempt to heal a disease a person is generally perscribed medicine that will assist the body in fight of the disease. There isn’t a pill, an injection, or another avenue to rid yourself of drug use. Being a drug and alcohol counselor for a few years has shown me that when you treat drugs with drugs it just creates a different type of addict—not a freed addict. Only when 2 things happen can a drug addict receive freedom from drugs. First the addict has to desire help. Second they have to be equipped with the right resources to maintain their freedom. I have seen to many addicts go back to drugs like slaves that went back to slavery after the Civil War because they don’t have the right resources to be free.
In our Scripture this morning Paul states that there are in essence two types of slaves: ones of sin, and ones of righteousness.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The first words I want to look at is:
Present yourselves to anyone.
Present yourselves to anyone.
This is where I get my idea of drug use being a choice. We willingly present ourselves to drugs. Few people become addicts because they are forced to take a drug. Rather for one reason or another they make that choice. Once we make that willing choice we see that transition from choosing to slavery. Once that drug enters your veins rarely do people just walk away. The drug has its craft hooks in your flesh. Now you will do anything to chase the high of the injection. The issue is there is never an equal high to the first time. So you increase your amounts, you increase the times in which you do it but failure is all you taste.
You can really put any sin into this equation: Lying-one lie to cover up a fault. You feel relieved and suprised you got away with it. Now without any thought because you went from a willing servant to a slave the next time you get caught you lie before even thinking about it. The lie isn’t as well presented as the first because it wasn’t well thought through so you need to tell another lie to cover that and so on. Now instead of feeling at easy because you escaped you feel sick and can’t sleep at night because you may get caught.
Paul states that you are slaves to which you obey. I want to take it s step further and state:
That which you chase will enslave you
That which you chase will enslave you
I preached on the prodigal son before so I am not going to spend a lot of time uncovering the story, but it’s the best illustration of slavery. As the story goes the son receives in inheritance goes out into the pleasures of fine dining and women. Eventually choice leads to slavery. What once fed on the finer things of life now wishes to feed from the pig trough. Realizing his slavery he isn’t able to free himself. So he takes the journey back to his father’s house. The father reissues his position as son, but now he is under his father’s roof.
If you’re like me you tell your kids my house my rules. In order to live free they have to obey my standards. The same is true with God. When we take on his sonship— we must maintain an obedience to his rules.
Here’s the issue I find in many Christian circles. I get this same statement when people leave the church, leave God, and walk away.
A journey to find myself.
A journey to find myself.
When I hear those words I cringe. The prodigal son went on a journey to find out who he was apart from his father. Many teenagers find themselves desiring to leave home because they want to find themselves apart from the parents rules. But what are people really saying:
I want to taste the fruit of sin
I want to taste the fruit of sin
The issue is that like drugs and alcohol sin is intoxicating. It leaves you a continual search for more because it cannot satisfy your desires.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The issue we find is that when we separate ourselves from Christ—from the creator— we lose our identity.
The long argued issue of the toilet paper: does it go under or over? It wasn’t until they went back and found the blue prints of the original creator that people found what the creator of toilet paper had in mind when position it—the original blue prints are over the toilet paper to go over.
When the created separates itself from the creator we tend to go lost trying to find who we are and what purpose we serve.
The key to finding what you are meant to do in this life is in the blue prints. Only through a relationship with Christ can I figure out what I was truly made for. I found out that I am good at many things and I like to do many things. However, I created for one purpose—to preach the gospel.
Only once I figured out what I was created for could I be content in what I have, who I was, and ultimately what I didn’t have and who I wasn’t.
We, s Christians, a people, are on a journey to find out who we are. I believe that no matter how old you get you will have to redefine who you are and what you do from time to time. This takes correction and judgement calls, but a we align ourselves to the word of God we begin to align ourselves to the will of God—taking in freedom instead of bondage.