Galatians 5:1
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
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Here in the United States where I was born the national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, refers to the nation as the land of the free. Of course the nation of Belize, Central America where my wife Alice and I lived doing missionary work has a national anthem titled the ‘Land of the Free’—interestingly, as well as unfortunately, they are both incorrect.

Jesus Christ, who is the Truth {Jn.14:6}, stated plainly that it is only God’s truth that sets a person free. He went on to say that everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin! {Jn.8:34} Today's verse from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian believers certainly reveals that it is a choice and a responsibility to stand firm in His Word and remain free. Neither a declaration from the White House oval office nor an amendment to the Constitution can truly set a person free! And, while I understand that the Lord has given governments the responsibility to punish evildoers {1Pt.2:14} all of the blood that has been shed on all of the battlefields through all time cannot and has not in reality set anyone free.

Coming out of the wilderness where Jesus had just used the Word to defeat Satan the enemy {Mat.4:1-11}, a liar by nature, the Lord went into a synagogue in Nazareth and spoke from the book of Isaiah saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,” {Lk.4:18}

The battle that we children of God now face daily is with our own flesh which sets its desire against the Spirit as Paul continued on to say in his letter to the Galatians. {Gal.5:17} But, praise God, greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. {1Jn.4:4} We need to put on the full armor of God and stand firm against the wiles of the devil. The Lord has given us His word, His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. {2Pt.1:4}

The simple truth is that sin, which is the greatest bondage there is, can only be atoned for by the shedding of blood, {Lev.17:11} and that of an unblemished lamb. {Ex.12:5} John the Baptist seeing Jesus approach said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” {Jn.1:29} It was only the shed blood of Jesus on the cross of Calvary that could and did set us free! For in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.

“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 you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”
(Romans 8:1-3)

LIVE AND WALK BY THE HOLY SPIRIT