I did not start going to church regularly until my mid-teens. It seems like we sang a lot of songs then about being free from sin.
One our youth choir sang was called "Set Me Free." That's the only place I ever heard this particular song. I haven't been able to remember enough of the words to look it up.
One we sang often in my early married years was "Free From the Law."
Then there was, "Power in the Blood":
Would you be free from the burden of sin?
There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood;
Would you o'er evil a victory win?
There's wonderful pow'r in the blood.
Would you be free from your passion and pride?
There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood;
Come for a cleansing to Calvary's tide–
There's wonderful pow'r in the blood.
There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r
In the precious blood of the Lamb.
- Lewis E. Jones
And "I Will Sing the Wondrous Story":
I was bruised, but Jesus healed me;
Faint was I from many a fall;
Sight was gone, and fears possessed me,
But He freed me from them all.
- Francis H. Rowley
There are a couple I haven't heard in church, like "For Freedom, Christ Has Set Us Free" and "Glorious Freedom."
It occurred to me that I don't hear these kinds of songs, or the theme of freedom from sin in Christ, much any more.
Jesus once said "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). I wonder if the world doesn't appreciate the impact of that statement because they don't understand that they're not free.
They think they are.
2 Peter warns of false prophets and teachers who use false words to entice people. They appeal to greed and lust to deceive. "They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved" (verse 19).
Their chains are so pleasurable, they don't realize they are bound. They're so comfortable and having such fun, they don't want to be free.
But the pleasures of sin, Hebrews 11:25 says, are only for a short season.
Jesus also said that He is the light of the world. We need to pray that He will shine in people's hearts and show them their need of Him and His love for them.
Jesus said He is the bread of life. He invites, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). We need to pray God would create in hearts hunger and thirst for Him greater than what the world has to offer.
And we need to tell them about Him. May they find that "the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).
The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in;
The Light of the world is Jesus!
No darkness have we who in Jesus abide;
The Light of the world is Jesus!
We walk in the light when we follow our Guide!
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Ye dwellers in darkness with sin-blinded eyes,
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Go, wash at His bidding, and light will arise;
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Come to the light, 'tis shining for thee;
Sweetly the light has dawned upon me;
Once I was blind, but now I can see:
The Light of the world is Jesus!
- P. P. Bliss
(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)
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