Sowing And Reaping For Life
The past couple of weeks I have been comparing the Old and New Covenants. Last week we saw that we were free from the stigma of guilt. This week I would like to discuss being free from sin. I have some good news. In Christ Jesus we are promised freedom from sin.
I have a very vivid imagination. I can still see Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart laying on the torturing table at the end of the movie. They were trying to get him to recant his errors but summoning his last breath he yells "FREEDOM." That should be the cry of every born-again Christian. FREEDOM!
Does this mean that a Christian never sins? Far from it! What it does mean is that we do not have to sin. We are not controlled by the sinful nature anymore and when we sin it is by choice. If you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you then there is a God sized power running through you that breaks the power of sin in your life.
Just so you know that the New Covenant does promise what I am saying I am going to quote two passages for you. The first is:
"But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin,
you became obedient from the heart to that form of
teaching to which you were committed,
having been freed from sin
you became slave of righteousness."
(Romans 6:17-18)
The second one is:
“There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus
has set us free from the lay of sin and death.”
(Romans 8:1-2)
A friend of mine named Jim Vogelzang wrote a devotional called “Doing His Time.” It is a devotional written especially for incarcerated men and women throughout the world. On Page 8 he quotes British author Charles Reade as writing:
“Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
This is the true lay of sowing and reaping. It is your choice. You are free. Please do not use your freedom as an instrument for license to sin. Sow to the Spirit and the Living God and reap life.
(“Doing His Time” is published by Doing His Time Ministries; Santa Barbara, CA; 2008
For more information about Doing His Time Ministries, please visit www.doinghistime.org)
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