“But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.
A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.” (John 8:33-35)
Read: 2 Kings 15:32 – 16:9, 2 Chronicles 27:1 – 28:15, Micah 1:1-16, Isaiah 7:1-25
Relate: How can she be so stupid? The question was not a new one in Michael’s mind. He had mentally asked it time and again as one of his best friends, Ana, fell once again head over heels for another abusive jerk. He had been there time after time to help her pick up the pieces of a shattered relationship, broken hearts and even a few broken bones. Now he was listening as she told about how she was falling for another man who from any objective perspective was best suited to viewing life from behind bars. This would be her fourth such relationship in the past five years. As soon as she escaped from one relationship, she fell right into the next. It was almost as if she needed the abuse. It was almost as if she was a slave to it. How else could anyone explain such terribly poor choice in men?
Caleb sat down in the middle of the busy sidewalk and leaned against the building wall behind him. He folded his hands behind his head to try and stop their shaking. He needed a fix real bad. The track marks on his arms told a story of his fall from grace. Once he had been married. Once he had held down a respectable job and had been closing in fast on that six figure salary. Not he was a vagrant living from shelter to shelter. He had no friends. The only thing he lived for was that next hit and as much as he tried to resist it, there was no escaping the pull. The only question was how he would come up with the money before he grew desperate enough to try something stupid… again.
React: With some sins it is easy to see the destructive and addictive nature of its pull. Sometimes it is easy to spot how sin has enslaved someone. There is no question that apart from a radical encounter with the grace of God, they are on a fast road to hell. What about the sins that are not so easy to spot? What about the man who is addicted to the pornography he is streaming through his computer night after night? He knows he should stop, he wants to stop, but in the oppression of the moment sin has its grip and he cannot pull away. What about those sins that are deemed more socially acceptable. Even as your mouth pours out speech, you regret the gossip that is vomiting out. You know you should stop. You want to stop, but did you hear about what so and so did? I can’t believe it. Sin’s grip has its hook in deep and apart from a radical encounter with the grace of God, we are on a fast road to hell.
Fortunately, God specializes in radical encounters and mercy always triumphs over judgment.
Respond:
Sin enslaves but You save. God, help me to never forget that truth. Let me never underestimate the power that sin can have to ensnare. It is so easy to forget in the moment how deep its hook can go. But even more help me never forget that You are freedom. Our sin, our slavery, our addiction is never hopeless. You are greater. Help us to live in the freedom You have provided at the cross. Help us to walk in the freedom that is assured through the empty tomb. You are the God who saves.
THE RIVER WALK 
So thankful for His radical encounters and His mercy! And thankful for you too! God bless!
i suppose it’s why forgiveness is such a healer, it’s good for everyone, blessings
And when you start taking drugs and wind up a drug addict, you become a slave to drug dealers. Abraham had a easier time setting Egyptian slaves free than a drug addict may have from his or hers own drug addiction..
Regardss and goodwill blogging.
Actually, it was Moses who set the Hebrews free. 😉
Oops, your right. I just read a post on Abraham and must have experienced a psychological set. That coupled with old age can be hilarious at times. When you get to my age, me and my wife have a lot a laughs about our progression over time, , or regression in time, depending how you view old age.
Regards and goodwill blogging.
Thanks
Regards and goodwill blogging.r
Reblogged this on Using God's Word in Everyday Life and commented:
Our chains that attached us to sin were broken the moment Christ died on the cross and we accepted Him. Yet we still go back to our old sins from time to time. Our minds may know that we don’t have to sin, but our flesh still needs more convincing. When we are tempted by our sin, we must consider the consequences of our actions. We are living like slaves when we are really children of God! Let’s start thinking like His children.
A very deep thought indeed and no doubt Allah has specialzes in being merciful…… He is the one who provides hope in darkest hours….. May Allah be super merciful on me and alll weak souls like me forever…..
If by Allah you mean the word that is Elohim in Hebrew and God in English than I couldn’t agree more.
Yes i mean the same…..
Watever word we use for Him, He is the creator….
Yes. “All things were made through Him [Jesus, God, Allah made flesh] without Him nothing was made that has been made.”
Amen God bless you.
Hallelujah
It’s not by my power, not by my might, but by your Spirit O’ Lord! Thank You Jesus.Thanks for sharing,blesssings.
I just stumbled across this passage the other day.
I had a different take on it though….
I think we are enslaved by religious ideas of sin. For the Jews, it was the Law. In the synoptic Gospels, we are shown a Jesus that is repeatedly accused of transgressing the Law. Neglecting ritualistic cleansing, permitting his disciples to pick off seed heads of grain, commanding a lame man to pick up his mat and walk on the Sabbath…
In the example you posted, you equate a woman repeatedly choosing abusive partners as enslavement to sin.
Well, what is her sin? A failure to love and honor herself, perhaps.
It isn’t the behavior or action that is the sin though– just like Jesus’ behavior, although it transgressed the written Law, wasn’t sin.
At the core of all harmful actions is a lack of embracing Christ’s love for us, and consequently treating each ourselves and each other with real dignity and respect.
I so needed to read this, thank you! By ourselves we can’t stop doing and being a siner. Only with God’s help can we do so.