“… 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.”—John 8:34-36
While we live on this earth, our
bodies and souls are united with Christ.
In his first letter to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul tells
Christians that freedom in Christ is a serious responsibility. “All
this are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not
be brought under the power of any. Foods
for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and
them. Now the body is not for sexual
immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also
raise us up by His power. Do you not
know that your bodies are members of Christ?
Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a
harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a
harlot is one body with her? For ‘the
two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the
body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the
temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are
not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Corinthians 6:12-20).
Yes, we can eat what we want, spend
our times as we please, and pursue activities we enjoy. However, as believers, we are inseparably
joined to Christ’s church. This means that when we die, we are raised
up to live with Him forever. However,
before we enter heaven, we live on the earth and our bodies and souls are
joined to the Lord. We are not our own;
we belong to the Lord.
As temporary custodians of these
bodies, we have the responsibility to find out what is and what is not good for
them. We must exercise discipline with
our God-given liberties because there is no value in “freedom” that spiritually
cripples believers or causes pain, shame, and guilt.
Notice the distinction that Paul
makes between freedom in Christ and reckless abandon; God’s grace and
forgiveness cover our sins, but that does not give us permission to engage in
harmful behavior. As followers of Jesus,
we are to give ourselves over to the pursuit of godly living, not self-serving
pleasures. Christians are
“earthen-vessels,” created by God to fulfill His purpose and bring honor and
glory to Him. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of
the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Therefore, anything that violates the
human body is not permissible for us.
True
freedom means living without the chains of sin and destructive behavior. Jesus Christ paid a price to release you from
those bonds. Therefore, do not put your
body into slavery to damaging habits.
Glorify God with your whole self—heart, mind, soul and body.
Prayer—Father
I thank you with Your help I take the responsibility for my freedom seriously. I
ask you to forgive me for giving my body, mind, will and emotions to things
that are harmful to me. I, like the Apostle Paul, bring my body into
subjection to Your will. I purpose to live a life humbly submitted to Your will
knowing that You have my best interest at heart, in Jesus Name. Amen.
