Grace Restoration Ministries

 

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:6-11 ESV).

 

Freedom from anything begins by knowing you are free. “Juneteenth” is short for June 19^th, which is also a state holiday in Texas. It commemorates the day in 1865 that the news of freedom was publically proclaimed. The slaves were legally free for two and a half years, but they never knew it. That freedom had been kept a secret for two and a half years. When Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation it was effective on January 1, 1863. However, many southern plantation owners kept the information a secret. It was not publicly acknowledged until Union troops arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865.

 

There is a greater freedom for believers. God has given us a spiritual Juneteenth through Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul reminds us in our reading today: “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (v. 12). Believers are free! But for many of us, spiritual freedom is still a secret. The child of God is “dead” to the power of sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus!

 

The Bible doesn’t say, “Pretend it’s true,” or “Act like it’s true.” It says, “consider it a fact.” Let me give you a few more facts to ponder. We are separated from sin’s power over us, but not its presence with us. That freedom will only come in heaven. Because of this truth, sin can (and will) still tempt us, but the act of sin has become one of choice, not compulsion. We have the freedom to walk away from sin instead of submitting to its demands. That knowledge is no small thing. The devil can no longer “make you do it.”

 

So, the question then becomes how do I break the chains of bondage to the old sin nature? Perhaps the first step is to believe the “news” of your freedom; then, practice being free. Refuse to allow anyone or anything to compel you to believe you have no power over your choices. Our God is much bigger than that! I hope you’re living the truth of your spiritual emancipation.