by Peg Yarbrough

The hope of Christ’s return is an anchor to our soul; it is our goal, our aim, our destiny in life. But as with any other goal, it takes many steps to get there. The Christian walk is comprised of our day-by-day decisions to walk according to the precepts of God’s Word or walk according to the lies of the Adversary.

Jesus Christ is the Great Liberator. He set us free to walk for God. Before we accepted Christ, we were all under Satan’s heel, we were all under the bondage of sin.

THE PROBLEM

Galatians 3:22
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”

We are delivered from the bondage of sin by believing the accomplished work of Christ. At that moment we are free indeed!

THE SOLUTION

John 8:36
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

The first word “free” in this verse means “to liberate”, the second time “free” is used is means “not a slave”. Before Christ came, you and I were slaves to sin. After we accept Christ we are delivered from the slavery of sin, but we must continue to walk according to the precepts of God’s word to enjoy the fruits of righteousness.

In Exodus the children of Israel were slaves under Pharaoh. They were under terrible bondage, living in a land full of idolatry, cruelly oppressed by their captors. Not only were their lives miserable, it was impossible to serve God, to give Him the worship and service due Him, under these abominable conditions. The Lord appeared unto Moses and said:

Exodus 3:7,8
And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey…

Moses came before Pharaoh nine times with God’s message, and each time the Lord revealed clearly His intentions. On each of the nine occasions the Lord drove home His point, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. “ God’s desire was not only to give them a land “flowing with milk and honey”, but also to set the Israelites free so that they could serve Him.

“Let my people go, that they may serve me.”
This is still God’s desire.

There is a significant parallel between the deliverance of the Israelites in the Old Testament and the Christian’s walk today. Just as God delivered the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt in order to serve Him, He sent his son to deliver us from the bondage of sin, so that we too, are free to serve Him. This life is all about God, our service, and our relationship with Him.

All through the Bible, man’s first and foremost responsibility has been his personal relationship with the Lord God Almighty, to love and honor Him above all else. But man has never been able to do this without God’s help. The book of Romans illustrates this point very well. Man could not free himself from the bondage of sin, that is why God sent his son to do so.

Romans 6:16-23
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, [in bondage to sin] but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine [believing on the Savior] which was delivered you.

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Being made free from sin” is God’s part, becoming “servants to God” is our proper response. Christ has set us free from sin so that we can serve God and have eternal life. Once we are set free, it is impossible to be neutral. We continually choose a master – either God or sin. Many people erroneously think that once we accept Christ we can no longer sin. I assure you that is incorrect. A Christian is not someone who can no longer sin, but someone who is no longer a slave to sin. The walk of freedom is our choice.

When Moses led to children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and into the wilderness, many of them turned back to their old ways; worshipping the golden calf, murmuring against Moses, and cursing God. Those people never made it into the promised land. However, others chose to serve God, and they were blessed and rewarded according to that choice.

So it is today, Christ has set us free from the bondage of sin. We are now free to choose our master, but we are not free to manipulate the consequences of our choice: sin IS unto death, and righteousness IS (God’s way) unto eternal life. We can choose to again make sin our master, but we are negating the death of Christ, and all that he did for us. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

Romans 5:6
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

“The ungodly”, that’s you and me. Christ died for you and for me, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. His death set us free, so that we can live unto righteousness.

I Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

He freed us from sin so that we could choose to serve God – with every fiber of our being. He set us on the path to our promised land, the Kingdom of God. But what we do along the way is our decision, just like the children of Israel. That is why we are supposed to learn from their example.

I Corinthians chapter 10 is full of the mistakes, the bad choices, that many of the Israelites made along the way. And we are to learn from their example in order to walk the Christian walk, in order to avoid the same pitfalls.

I Corinthians 10:5,6,11
But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

What does it mean to walk? It means to put one foot in front of the other in pursuit of a destination. It is also defined as “one’s code of behavior”. The Christian walk encompasses both aspects. Daily we are to conduct ourselves in a manner prescribed by God. Each day that we choose to do that, we are one step closer to our ultimate goal, the Kingdom of God.

Many believe that once we accept Christ as Lord we are guaranteed a place in the Kingdom of God. They believe the lie of the Adversary that HOW we walk may have consequences in the here and now, but our place in the future is guaranteed. Let’s see what the Bible says by going to the verses in the New Testament that define salvation.

Romans 10:9 ,10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

In Strong’s Concordance “confess” is the Greek word homologeo, which means “to assent, i.e. to covenant, to acknowledge.” When we accepted Christ, his death and resurrection, we cut the covenant with him through his blood.

Matthew 26:27-29
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
For this is my blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

II Corinthians 3:5,6
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament (covenant)…

Through his blood of the New Covenant, he has washed us from the slavery of sin and made us able ministers, able to keep our part of the covenant. And he is going to celebrate with us when we join him there!

Making Jesus LORD is all about, continuing in his word, until we fall asleep or are gathered together with him. The word “shalt” in verse 9 is in the future passive tense. Total salvation is not something that takes place immediately, but shall take place, in its fullness, some time in the future, when we are changed into our new glorious body.

Romans 10:10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

“Believeth” is the Greek word pisteuo which means “to have faith, to entrust, especially one’s spiritual well-being” unto Christ. We believe unto righteousness, we confess unto salvation. Both uses of “unto” here are the Greek word eis. In the past I was taught that this word always means “the complete length of a vector”, or “all the way unto”. I was quite surprised to look up eis in the New Testament Word Study Dictionary to find that there are two and a half pages of definitions, depending on how it is used in a sentence.

In Romans 10:10 eis means “marking an object of desire, ‘unto salvation’, for or toward salvation”, which is something yet to be attained. How do we attain it? By keeping our end of the covenant, by walking the walk, by living for God more than ourselves.

I am not saying that salvation is by works. There is no doubt that we are saved by GRACE. Through God’s grace, Christ did in and for us what we could not do for ourselves. It is God’s unmerited favor that opens the door for us to enter into the Kingdom. He has set us free from sin and set us on the path to righteousness, now the choice is ours.

I Corinthians 9:27
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. ( adokimos -unapproved, rejected, worthless)

II Peter 2:20,21
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

THE CHOICE IS OURS. It cost God everything to give us this opportunity! The walk is our decision.

Hebrews 3:12-14
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

And again we have the parallel between our walk and the children of Israel.

Hebrews 3:15-4:1
While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

Don’t give away your birthright. Choose to live for God and enjoy all that He has given you, both now and in the future.

Hebrews 13:5-9
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Hebrews 13:14-18
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

Hebrews 13:20,21
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

That is why my prayer for you is:

Colossians 2:5
For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

Walking steadfastly in the faith of Christ is the walk of freedom. May you use that freedom for that which God intended, all the way home!

“Let my people go, that they may serve me.”

After all, that is why we are here, to bring glory to God and to allow Him to love us back.

Amen

p.s.

Some of the ways to succeed in our Christian walk are covered in my most recent tape series, “Free Indeed”. In this series we see that God has set His people free to serve Him. He wants us to know this experientially, not just in our head, but also in our heart. In so doing we taste and see that the Lord is good!

In this tape series we also see that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and that God has given us everything that we need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. He has given us everything we need to stand against the wiles of the devil. And finally we see that in all these things (life’s trials) we are more than conquerors through him that loved us, Jesus Christ.

I exhort you to listen to these tapes. Choose God’s way of blessing as taste what true freedom and peace are all about. And if there is anything that I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We are pilgrims on a journey to the same holy place, the Kingdom of God. Let us exhort and help one another along the way.