“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” Galatians 5:1
A slave, released from years of bondage, wouldn’t need to be informed that it was for his freedom that he’d been freed. He’d never go back to that bondage. Amazingly, God must remind us that we have been set free to be free, and warns that if we go back, Christ will be of no value to us at all (Galatians 5:2).
There’s always a cost in being set free. Those forgetting this soon fail to appreciate what they have been given. When God left His throne, He came to set you free. Seeing you in prison, powerless, and in bondage to your sins, He left heaven to purchase your release with His own blood.
Be very careful to remember the cost of your freedom or you may drift back into slavery by subtly seeking approval from God for your good works, forgetting that it is His work alone on the cross that justifies you. Or slip into longing for the old world and its lusts, forgetting the yoke of bondage you were in. 2 Peter 3:17 states,
“Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.”
Remember when you first believed and how precious He was to you at the beginning? Never forget it was for freedom that He set you free.
Lord keep me from my old way of thinking and take away my desires for worthless things. Remind me often that you alone by the death on the cross have removed my sins and given me a righteousness that was not my own. Amen.
Memorize this: “for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), which shows our total dependence on the grace of God.
By Rich Vega
Used by Permission
Further Reading
• A Yoke of Freedom or Bondage – A Devotional by Karen Woodard
• Freedom Reigns in This Place – A Devotional by Claire Colvin
• Freedom in the Truth – A Devotional by Debbie West
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