Freedom to Rule (5 of 21)
Series: The Promise of a Sound Mind
Eddie Snipes
We have been given the freedom to rule our emotions and bodies of flesh. One of the challenges of life is determining what is truly freedom and what is a trap of deception.
Proverbs states, "Folly appears to be joy to the one who is destitute of discernment," and that "his own iniquities entrap him and he is caught in the cords of his sin." In other words, giving ourselves over to ungodly behavior may seem like freedom, but it is a snare. While foolish actions and sinful desires masquerade as liberty, they are luring us into bondage, and then we become slaves to our behaviors. Instead of ruling, our sins can become our rulers.
What seems like freedom from the perspective of the flesh may be the friendly hand of bondage. The Bible says the kisses of an enemy are deceitful, and the one who flatters is setting a net for our feet. The trap of bondage presents itself as a friend until the shackles are in place. While this is true for deceitful people, it is even more true for our own deceitful heart. Consider the words of Jeremiah 17:9-10
9 " The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
Our greatest deceiver is the human heart. The heart is where our passions, desires, and emotions reside. While the wisdom of the world says, "Follow your heart," God has declared, "The one who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered." (Proverbs 28:26) To see the truth of this, look at the consequences around us. Prisons are filled with people who followed their heart. Adultery, theft, murder, manipulation, and any other sinful behavior comes from those who are following the desires of their heart.
According to Jesus, sin arises from the heart. He stated, "Out of the heart proceeds ev ...
Series: The Promise of a Sound Mind
Eddie Snipes
We have been given the freedom to rule our emotions and bodies of flesh. One of the challenges of life is determining what is truly freedom and what is a trap of deception.
Proverbs states, "Folly appears to be joy to the one who is destitute of discernment," and that "his own iniquities entrap him and he is caught in the cords of his sin." In other words, giving ourselves over to ungodly behavior may seem like freedom, but it is a snare. While foolish actions and sinful desires masquerade as liberty, they are luring us into bondage, and then we become slaves to our behaviors. Instead of ruling, our sins can become our rulers.
What seems like freedom from the perspective of the flesh may be the friendly hand of bondage. The Bible says the kisses of an enemy are deceitful, and the one who flatters is setting a net for our feet. The trap of bondage presents itself as a friend until the shackles are in place. While this is true for deceitful people, it is even more true for our own deceitful heart. Consider the words of Jeremiah 17:9-10
9 " The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
Our greatest deceiver is the human heart. The heart is where our passions, desires, and emotions reside. While the wisdom of the world says, "Follow your heart," God has declared, "The one who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered." (Proverbs 28:26) To see the truth of this, look at the consequences around us. Prisons are filled with people who followed their heart. Adultery, theft, murder, manipulation, and any other sinful behavior comes from those who are following the desires of their heart.
According to Jesus, sin arises from the heart. He stated, "Out of the heart proceeds ev ...
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