Temptation, Suffering, & Freedom

Temptation, Suffering, and Freedom

Hebrews 2:14-18 “14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. 17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” (NASB)

When life is a mess of failures, Jesus knows what you are going through.

Jesus became a human person so that He could identify with the temptations and suffering that you deal with every day. He went so far as to know that His death was coming and to look it in the face. He cried out to the Father to get Him out of that awful situation if at all possible. Then in the end, He faced it down, submitting Himself to be killed by those who had been created through Him.

Why would He do this? First, He did it so that our enemy, that lying old snake, would be rendered powerless. Our enemy has been defanged and declawed. He can no longer harm you. All he can do is lie. Truth is his Kryptonite. There was a second reason Jesus became flesh, laid down His life and conquered death. Because we were afraid of death and what would become of us after we died, we were slaves to that old snake. He could lie convincingly so that we would work harder to make ourselves acceptable, and then accuse us when we inevitably failed. After we did that a while, some of us would give up and decide we were lost and there was no hope. The end result was death—and not just physical death, but the kind of death that separation from the giver of life produces. Jesus died to free us from that.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. If Jesus sets you free, you are free indeed. Everyone born of the Spirit is born free; including you.

Grace and peace to you.
Larry