If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. —Abraham Lincoln
When I was a seminary student, I waited tables to help pay the bills. I wasn’t very good at it, but I did my best. Maybe that’s why my manager had a strong distaste for me. He was brutal to work for, but Libby and I needed the cash, so I put up with it.
Then the beautiful day came when I graduated. I was a new creation—a graduate. I was no longer a student; that phase of my life was dead and gone. So I quit my job. It was glorious. A few weeks later, Libby and I went to that restaurant for dinner. I have no idea why, but as soon as we walked in and I saw my old boss, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
Now, this didn’t actually happen, but what if he’d come up to me and said, “Pete, we’re slammed tonight. Get up and get to work.” I could have obeyed him and gone back to work. But I also could have said, “Nah, I’ll pass.” See, I was no longer enslaved to him as a boss. Because the seminary student was “no more,” the boss had no power over me. I was a new person! I didn’t have to listen to him.
Friends, if you are in Christ, you were crucified, died, and buried with Him. (Read Romans 6!) You have been raised to a new life; you’re a new person. Sin no longer enslaves you.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. (Galatians 2:20a)
That said, nowhere in Scripture are we told that the power of sin has been crucified. It says you were crucified. The power of sin is still alive, active, and annoying—the three A’s.
But that whisper of sin that still teases your thoughts? You are free to ignore it. You are free to walk with Jesus in His holiness—your holiness—because He’s gifted it to you. Man, this is exciting stuff! And it will change your life if you let it.
Jesus, I believe I died with You, was buried with You, and was raised to new life. I am a new creation, and I am no longer a slave to sin! Thank You! Reveal this truth to my spirit so I might walk in it. I long to experience the freedom You have purchased for me! Amen.