We Are Free From Slavery To Sin, And Are Now Slaves To Righteous Living

Friday, the day we left for our weekend get-away to Rocky Mountain House, Brian and I took a detour to visit Calgary and their world famous zoo. It was astounding to see such a diversity of God's living creations all in one day! I don't know how anyone can walk through a zoo and not believe in Him. Below are some of my cherished pictures.

The tigers were my favourite animals, so their pictures come first.

This baby tiger was asleep when I first saw him, lying by his mother and two other siblings. Then all of a sudden he got up and walked right past me. Click went my camera.

As I was watching these magnificent creatures, one of the elephants started to play with his ball all on his own.

I couldn't even guess how much this hippopotamus weighs.

This was the first time I saw an anteater with my own eyes. I thought it to be a very strange animal. God sure is creative!

Pink flamingoes are beautiful birds, but the ones below have their heads hidden in their feathers or turned away from the camera. I guess they were camera-shy, unlike some of the other animals who seemed to pose for me.

This is a mega bat. I didn't know there were bats this large on earth.

I loved watching the penguins. They are so cute!

This animal reminds me of one of my sons when he was a baby. I won't tell you which one though, so as not to embarrass him.

I sure wouldn't want to meet a grizzly in the woods without a cage of protection. They are huge.

Even though all these zoo animals are very well cared for, they are not free. This is what it is like for so many people in our world today, including many professing Christians. They are well cared for too: they have houses to live in, cars to drive, beds to sleep in, clothes to wear, and food to eat. But they are not free. They are still entangled in, ensnared by, and hooked to their own sins.

God's grace offers forgiveness for our sins. God's grace and forgiveness are freely offered to all of us. But once we accept this gift from God, our responsibilities don't stop there, though for many they do. As Christians, we are not called to be free to sin. We are called to be free not to sin. Yes, we are called to live a life of obedience and sacrifice to Jesus Christ. Once we give our hearts and lives fully to Him, His Holy Spirit comes to live inside us and it is His power in us that sets us free to live a life pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

If we do fall into sin, we shouldn't lay there on the ground, weak and helpless, unable to get up, waiting for Satan to throw us back into prison. The power of God inside us gives us the strength to get back up and continue our Christian growth in Him. But we must first have a desire to obey, and not just be free. If we don't have this desire for obedience to God, then we have not given all of our hearts to Him. We want the free gift, but not the servanthood.

"Now you are free from your slavery to sin,

and you have become slaves to righteous living."

Romans 6:18 (NLT)

Beware of the modern false teaching in today's churches that preaches only freedom and grace, but not obedience and sacrifice. This erroneous teaching leaves people in prison with a false sense of freedom which will result in dire consequences.