Galatians 5:1
“For
freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again
to a yoke of slavery.”
It
is hard to imagine anyone who has been in slavery wanting to return to those
who have enslaved them. It’s not
logical, but it seems to be the norm for many of us who go by the name of
Christian. Why do we return to sin after
our eyes have been opened to the destruction it has done to our family,
friends, and to the joy and peace we had when we were free of it’s control?
One
of my better habits is to put in my mind each morning a reading from the Psalms
and Proverbs, and most mornings I read the devotion “My Utmost for His Highest”
by Oswald Chambers. Today was titled;
“The Opened Sight” taken from Acts 26:18, “The first
sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words – “that they may receive
remission of sins.” When a man fails in
personal Christian experience, it is nearly always because he has never
received anything. The only sign that a
man is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our part as workers for God is to open men’s
eyes that they may turn themselves from darkness to light; but that is not
salvation, that is conversion – the effort of a roused human being. I do not think it is too sweeping to say that
the majority of nominal Christians are of this order; their eyes are opened,
but they have received nothing.
Conversion is not regeneration.
This is one of the neglected factors in our preaching today. When a man is born again, he knows that it is
because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because
of his own decision.”
Now
that would explain why a person would return to being enslaved to sin, if they
were just converted, as was the rich young man who came to Jesus, you may want
to read the account in Matthew 19:16-26, he came to Jesus wanting eternal
life. His coming tells us that his eyes were
open to this fact; Jesus holds the keys to life, yes and to eternal life. I have no doubt this young man was converted,
but his wealth kept him from receiving anything from Jesus.
For much
of my life I knew Jesus held the keys to life, but sin’s desires had a stronghold
on my life, I, like the rich man in the account above wanted eternal life on my
terms, and guess what, that is not in the cards. I’m so thankful that God loves sinners so
much that He sent Jesus to pay a debt I could not pay, and I’m also thankful
that the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to understand that I must confess with my
mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that God raised
Him from the dead, and on that and that only, Jesus came into my heart and
began a work that is yielding fruit today.
From
the Back Porch,
Bob
Rice
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