“I
tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34) “Now the
Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.” (2
Corinthians 3:17)
What
does it mean to be ‘in chains’ when physically our hands and feet are not
bound? Well, we do not have to be physically bound to be in chains, just as one
does not have to be in prison to be a prisoner. We can be in chains and be
completely unaware of it because the chains with which we are tied are not
visible, but spiritual. Spiritual chains can be powerful, stronger than real
chains. Is that alarming? In reality, these chains are lodged in the social and
spiritual compartments of our everyday lives, sometimes they are deep-rooted
enough to become strongholds----fortresses even, difficult to bring down by our
own strength.
The
danger with these chains however, is that we have come to identify with them as
part of our daily lives, harmful though they may be to our spiritual
development. The influence they have on us is slowly destroying us. Having
ceased to be obstacles, they have blended in with our daily routines. They
stare us in the face but we are hardly upset at them.
Ever
since Adam and Eve sinned, the whole of humanity has been ridden with sin.
Until Jesus Christ came into the world to set the captives free, humanity was
held bound by the evil one. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. “The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has appointed me to preach good news
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners.” (Luke 4:18)
Apostle
Peter exhorts us thus; “----for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.”
(2 Peter 2:19b) Anything that we cannot free ourselves from has kept us bound
to the point of enslavement. It could be drugs, sex (fornication, adultery),
smoking, immorality, alcohol, lying or stealing, and any form of disobedience
to God’s laws. If we are entangled by it to the extent that we find it hard or
difficult to free ourselves from it, then we have been held captive.
Apostle
Paul further emphasises the point: “Don’t you know that when you offer
yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you
obey----whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience,
which leads to righteousness.” (Romans 6:16) Therefore we can be slaves to our
different pastimes and occupations when we fail to break from their hold. When
that happens, they become idols and take centre stage in our lives taking up
valuable space that should have been used in developing the Spirit of God in
us.
It
will take a complete overhaul of the brainwashing the enemy has programmed our
minds with to rid us of all the flimsy excuses and arguments that we put
forward that do not hold water----justifying that we are not in chains. Unless
we know the truth about the motives of the enemy---to deprive us from our
inheritance, we shall stay in ignorance. “My people are destroyed from lack of
knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) However when we know whose we are or whom we are it
makes a world of difference how we carry ourselves or how we behave.
When
we know the truth it will set us free. Our Lord Jesus who is the truth exhorts:
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
During His earthly ministry, Jesus went about releasing those that were
bound---by sickness, by adultery, by lack and all forms of oppression.
As
He healed a woman that He met in the temple ‘who had been crippled for eighteen
years,’ He justified His action when His critics were offended because He had
healed her on the Sabbath---a non working day. “Then should not this woman a
daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set
free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (Luke 13:16) He left Jerusalem by
foot across to Samaria (enemy territory where Jews were not liked) just to save
one woman adulteress who had had five husbands and the sixth man was not her
husband. (John 4: 18) The life of that lady changed completely to become an
evangelist bringing a whole village to come to know Jesus.
Another
woman ‘caught in the act of adultery’ that was nearly lapidated was saved when
Jesus asked her accusers to throw the first stone if they considered themselves
sinless. They left in shame and Jesus turned to her and admonished: “Then
neither do I condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11) This
lady was totally freed and became one of Jesus’ disciples. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be
free indeed.” (John 8:36)
Anytime
we do what is wrong in God’s sight we are bowing to the enemy. Doing his will
is a sign that we have been taken captive. We cannot be in both camps---having
a foot here and another foot there. We have to choose whom we are going to
serve.
Forsaking
all others, let us rather be slaves to righteousness. “You have been set free
from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:18)
