----'ENSLAVED' ~~ // THE CONFLICT OF TWO NATURES ~~

---"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin."
--[Romans 7:14] --

----In the first century, slavery was widespread in the Roman Empire, which conquered various people groups and took those they considered valuable in some way and sold them in slave markets to the highest bidder. This inhumane process would have been very vivid to the believers of that day, and it is the mental image that Paul is evoking here when he says we were sold as slaves to sin.

--The modern Church has been reluctant to acknowledge the power of sin or even the existence of sin. Who has the right to say a behavior is wrong, after all? I would answer that by saying simply that the Creator of Heaven and earth has identified behaviors that will destroy you. That’s what sin is. When the Bible says the consequence of sin is death, it’s not God being punitive; God told you the outcome of that behavior at the beginning and then pleads with us, “Don’t do that.” Let’s recognize the reality of sin and be grateful that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, paid the price for our freedom.

THINK ABOUT IT
--Consider the degrading process of being sold in a slave market and being held in bondage. Think about the nature of enslavement to sin and how God has redeemed you from that way of life.

PRAYER
--"Heavenly Father, without receiving Jesus’ sacrificially redemptive work on the cross, I remain a slave to sin. Thank You for the ability to repent, receive Your forgiveness, be delivered from sin’s bondage, and walk in Your freedom. In Jesus’ name, amen."
Blessings,
Pastor Allen Jackson
--[Friend, please read (Romans 7:14-25) // Paul is talking here about his life before Christ and after he came to the Lord. We all were once like this, until we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives. Please, if you have not yet asked Jesus to be your Lord, invite Him in. He never turns away a sincere seeker. You are loved with an everlasting love and underneath are His everlasting arms. Romans 10 verses 9-10 are the salvation verses. Please get it right. Jesus could come at any moment. We are hearing and reading this on most of the true Godly messengers on television.]