0321. LIBERTY BEFORE SERVICE.

LIBERTY BEFORE SERVICE.

"Let My son go, that he may serve Me" (Exo_4:23).

These words reveal the mind of God with regard to His people. From them we may learn that-

I. God has Sons. "Israel is My Son" (Exo_3:22). Chosen by Him, and claimed, because redeemed. Now are we the sons of God, chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. What a privilege! All who receive Christ become sons (Joh_1:12).

II. God’s Sons Sometimes get into Bondage.

Israel was in bondage in Egypt under hard taskmasters. Again and again were they led into captivity because of their rebellion against the will of God. Sin will bind a son of God as firmly and as surely as a servant of Satan. Pride, envy, self-will, love of pleasure, and the fear of man fetter the lives of many a son. We drift into captivity when we turn aside from faith. There is no midway between the liberty of the Spirit and the bondage of sin. "Ye cannot serve two masters."

III. God Desires His Sons to Live in Freedom. "Let My son go." To deliver us from the power and dominion of sin and Satan He gave His Son. Our lives dishonour Him when our gifts and affections fall into the snare of the devil. The man who hid his master’s talent in the earth was the slave of fear. "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Rom_6:14). "Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free" (Gal_5:1).

IV. God Wants His Sons Free that they may Serve Him. Salvation must come before service. The fettered slave must be loosed before he can work. Being delivered from all our enemies, we serve Him without fear (Luk_1:74). "Being made free from sin, we become the servants of God" (Rom_6:22). Disentangled from the thraldom of Satan, the love of sin, and the cares of the world, we are free to serve our loving and redeeming Lord. Slaves serve for fear, hirelings for wages, sons for love.

Autor: James Smith