Bought 1

You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Corinthians 7:23

Savior I come Quiet my soul remember Redemptions hill Where Your blood was spilled For my ransom Everything I once held dear I count it all as lost Lead me to the cross Where Your love poured out Bring me to my knees Lord I lay me down Rid me of myself I belong to You Lead me, lead me to the cross (Lead me to the Cross - Brooke Fraser)

Ransomed. Redeemed. Bought at a price. All terms of exchange, all indicating ownership. If I am owned by Christ what have I to do but what He wants me to do? Why do we think we have a choice?

In the verse above we see the Corinthians had become slaves of men. How do we become slaves of men? We look at society and live the way they live. We’re slaves to our culture, to fitting in and doing what is accepted. Radically following after Christ is not acceptable in our society, in case you haven’t noticed.

Here is the other way we become slaves of men. We become a slave to our own will. Tonight Pastor Matt discussed something similar. Here’s my summary of it: Do you want to be a true follower of Christ, not just a saved Christian? Here is where the line is drawn. We can go ahead, either not seeking God’s will or just thinking we are in it, but it is a sin of presumption. “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins,” David said in Psalm 19.

We can’t presume to know what God wants for us without seeking Him for His will, then, of course we should do it! Can I tell you though, that in my experience, Jesus has never made it harsh? He never asks us for more than we can give. There’s an old song I think of when I think of walking with Christ. “A bruised reed He shall not break, His gentleness has made me great.” If anyone is a bruised reed it is me. Breakfast with my children can make me unstable. Recently I was facing a bit of trouble and I did not want to do something I knew God wanted me to do. He gave me these encouraging words, again from David, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me,” Psalm 138:7. You know what? He did revive me. I promise too that He will walk along side you as you take steps to obey Him.

To be continued…

PS – The verse about a bruised reed is in Isaiah 42:3 and the verse saying His gentleness has made me great is 2 Samuel 22:36.