Freeing a Slave

FREEING A SLAVE

Matt.23: 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

When the slaves were set free in America many times the former masters did not provide for them a new life. Millions of slaves, although now free, had to fend for themselves in a white and prejudiced world. Yes, they were now free legally but they remained enslaved in a world of bigotry and segregation. And many times inside they still saw themselves as slaves or at least as subservient to white people. The repercussions of the horror of slavery continues to reverberate all the way down to today.

Yes, the country has made great progress. Through education, sports, and many black Americans who refused to allow prejudice to keep them down, society has changed significantly. It is very sad that the church was never a leading entity in the post slavery fight for equality and justice, in fact it was sometimes a barrier or at least ambivalent. And much of the prosperity movement in the American church has enslaved black believers by appealing to their greed. And that lust for material things and personal wealth is obvious in all races, however in the black community there are unmistakable residual effects from being kept in poverty through the decades. They had been free from outward slavery but now they have been enslaved inwardly. But make no mistake, millions of white people have been enslaved as well.

But spiritual slavery cannot be overcome through proclamations and edicts. And it cannot be overcome through any outward adjustments or freedoms. Jesus clearly teaches us that true spiritual freedom can only come from the inside first and then it will affect us outwardly. The first and most important step is faith in Jesus Christ which sets the spirit free and makes a sinner a new creation in Christ. Without that everything else is just religion, insidious and deadly.

But after we are set free from the eternal penalty of sin through Jesus Christ our Lord, it is imperative we replace the inward rot with the new wine of God’s Word and the power of God’s Spirit. How often has the church created an assembly line evangelism which manipulates sinners into a surface profession of faith only to move on to the next project? Even if a person genuinely believes on Christ and is saved, he still is in desperate need of an inward cleansing and metamorphosis. This is called sanctification and it is also called discipleship. But so often if the person gives up smoking or begins to come to church or has some other observable change they are treated as if they had arrived. Nothing can be further from the truth.

The heart, or the inward man, is a powerful force all its own. When a person enjoys some outward victories which run far ahead of any substantive inward spiritual changes, the evil one convinces him of his spiritual strength. And that begins a dangerous path which so often leads to shipwreck. But, sadly, the church in general has become consumed with the outside and deals infrequently with the inside. And even taking it a giant step downward, the church now calls professing believers to an outward set of moral and economic principles and those who adhere to the party line are deemed “faithful Bible believers”. That is another man made phrase which presents an air of superiority and eschews the humility necessary to be a follower of Jesus.

The overwhelming essence of the faith called Christianity is an inward faith. It is birthed by faith inside the heart and soul of a believing sinner, and there it either grows or stagnates. The outward manifestations are revelations of that inward dynamic. But there is a danger when the outward becomes the pursuit and the cause rather than the effect and the natural residual flow. So when a sinner who is demonstrably immoral believes on Jesus and is born again and he leaves that immoral life, it must be because he has been changed from the inside out. But in today’s brand of Christianity in the west we preach, we strive, and we concentrate on certain moral standards and ecclesiastical parameters. So if you have given up some bad habits, and if you are nominally faithful to a local assembly, you are unquestionably a believer in good standing. But that standard lacks the power of the Spirit and parades the outside of the cup and assumes something about the inside of the cup which may not be true.

And since the church has adopted a political fetish, these moral issues, although restricted to a few, are now the gold standard for being a disciple. And love and grace and humility and mercy are not considered moral in this new construct at least when compared to abortion or traditional marriage. Those have become the gospel itself. So conservative people who share those moral perspectives can and do sit in evangelical pews weekly and feel good about themselves while millions may be sitting in eternal peril. But the preacher and the evil one, working in concert, have convinced these people that gays and liberals and socialists are the ones who stand under the weight of God’s wrath while the common hard working heterosexual capitalist may not be perfect but he is surely better than those miscreants. And that kind of Christianity is a recipe for spiritual death.

Lk.11: 23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

This principle is very profound. We cannot just be satisfied with cleaning up our lives without creating and nurturing a spiritual growth in our hearts. This man had gotten rid of an unclean spirit, but he did not replace that spirit with a more powerful spirit of righteousness. And eventually that unclean spirit returned only to find his original place of habitation all clean and neat, but empty. That unclean spirit came with friends and a greater demonic power.

Therein lies an important principle. It is not enough to plant good seed and then walk away. Soon the weeds will take over. When we become believing followers of Christ many things begin to change. And so often we become fixated on our outward changes and we ignore the inward man. The cart rides before the horse. And when we elevate the outward above the inward and place great weight upon that which is seen over that which is unseen, we immediately wade into the waters of self righteousness. Like a painter pointing people to an exhibition of the paintings of which he is most proud, but exerts great energy to hide his personal flaws, so does the church create great and swelling banners of morality and conservatism, yet sweeps the voluminous shortcomings and sins under the carpet.

It is quite the spectacle. When we seek the inward man we are faced with our own mortality and sinfulness placed against the august greatness and holiness of our Redeemer. It is within that sanctuary where we do real and painstaking and glorious business with Christ our Lord. It is in the majesty of that threshing floor where we are brought low and humbled as we worship the Exalted One. It is when we are alone with Christ in our inner life where we are who we really are and not the person we so often pretend to be. The church has become a playground for pretenders who easily scale the lower hills of earthly morals but refuse to even acknowledge the unscaled mountains of the life and person of Jesus Christ.

Moral tenants can be so easily embraced on the pages of written doctrines and printed sermons. But to exhibit Christ through an earthly life is a mystery which requires much more than picking some low hanging fruit. It begins with the denial of self, which is in and of itself a colossal task. Self is an accomplished deceiver and as soon as its lordship seems to be placed in jeopardy it can perform all kinds of maneuvers designed to deceive us into believing it has submitted. But like a possum, it is only playing dead. It can even transform itself into a form of religion and an outward show of self denial, but all the while it is only waiting for an opening to once again stretch its fallen wings.

The flesh relies on being measured by the outward appearance. It can claim to have ceased certain habits and even pick up a few more acceptable ones. But again, those are outward awards which applaud the ability of the flesh and often times leave smoldering the fires of the flesh just waiting to be stoked once more. Oh yes, the inward life of a true believer is not for the weak of heart or the quick fix sinner. This kind of inward warfare is vicious which not only does battle with the spirits of wickedness, but often is most bloody when the war is between you and you. That battle rages and can only be won when one or the other is put to death. Unconditional surrender is the only option, and to reach some earthly armistice is spiritual defeat.

But how often, you ask, must we fight this war? Every single day, and every single moment. But do not conclude that this kind of life is without rewards and only a hard taskmaster. Oh no, there are treasures in the Spirit that cannot be explained. There are experiences of power that take away your breath. There are entrances into His presence which are truly mystical and yet completely tethered to God’s Word. There are layers of revelation of Christ that are universal truths and yet personalized just for you. It is the incredible ministry of the Spirit.

So there are two paths placed before us. One is the well worn path that seeks outward reformation and recognition. It is the path which has many comrades and walks in the shade while avoiding the heat of the sun. Yes, it is what man would call the blessed life. Tickets are selling fast.

But there is another path that begins with a warning to count the cost. This path has great and exceeding promises which live in the realm of the Spirit, but few earthly promises. The blessings of this path are unspeakable and filled with glory, but they cannot be measured by worldly standards. The path demands sacrifice. This path is a labor of love, but a labor nonetheless. This path tests the will and is filled with temptations at every turn. This path is never crowded and there are few encouraging voices in the earth. If this is the path you wish to traverse you must understand that many have started and become weary and changed paths. Discouragement will be a constant companion. Your flesh will kick and scream and reason with you. Look around you, who is walking with you? Even the most committed believers you know have avoided such rough terrain. You must have made a serious mistake.

But if your eyes are on that Celestial City you will find strength. If you believe your life abides in heaven you can make it. If the things of this world are strangely dim you can resist temptation. But remember the most important part of this path. Jesus is not only walking it with you, He has already walked it once before. Look at Him. Listen to Him. Love Him. Worship Him. With each step He will empower you to take another. And one more thing. The path I just described cannot be found here on earth. It is inside you. Your freedom from the slavery of sin is within you.

Do I sound like a dreamer?

Ps.126: When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.
3 The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.