BONDAGE
I was told by others in “the life” that I would find freedom in being proud of my gayness and accepting it, even boasting in it. But personally, I found the following words to be true:
We
all are born slaves to the sin that lives within us, and to the powers of
darkness that are at work in this world. We have no real, consistent power
to overcome the desires that are often so deeply imbedded in us.
Even
though I chose to act out on my attractions towards females, I never chose
to have those attractions in the first place. Even though I didn’t want
to have those desires, I had no power to consistently overcome them. I can
truly relate to the following scripture, and I’m sure that you probably
can relate to it too:
But
I need something more! For I know the law but still can’t keep
it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions,
I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can
will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really
do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such
as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep
within me and gets the better of me every time.
It
happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do
good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but
it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of
me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
I’ve
tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there
no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
The
answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set
things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God will
all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do
something totally different.
With
the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those
who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a
continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit
of Life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air,
freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin
and death.
Luke 10:19 "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy;
Because Christ overcame them when He died on the cross.
Col
2:15 “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public
spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
John 8:31 "To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are truly my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
TO THOSE WHO BELIEVED HIM - The first thing is that you have to become a believer. A believer that Jesus Christ is God, and that He died for your sins, and that he overcame death so that you too could overcome. A believer that you are a sinner in need of Christ to come into your life as Lord and as Savior.
IF YOU HOLD TO MY TEACHING - When you become a believer, the power that sin had over your life is broken. But if you want to stay free and walk in that freedom, you have to hold to Christ's teachings. You have to allow your old way of thinking, acting and responding to life to be transformed by the Word of God. And you have to continue to walk in God's ways.
THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH - As the Holy Spirit walks with you, he'll open your eyes to the things that you were once blind to. The truths that you once rejected you will begin to see to be truth.
THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE - Now, the truth that you learn about yourself, about God, about our enemy Satan, about the world, About God's love for you, etc.; those truths will set you free from bondage as you continue to walk in those truths.