" Declaration of Dependence " Parts 1 and 2

" Then said JESUS unto them, When ye have lifted up the SON of MAN, then shall ye know that I AM HE, and that I do nothing of MYSELF; but as MY FATHER hath taught ME, I speak these things. And HE that sent ME is with ME: the FATHER hath not left ME alone; for I do always those things that please HIM. As HE spake these words, many believed on HIM. Then said JESUS to those Jews which believed on HIM, If ye continue in MY WORD, then are ye MY disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered HIM, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest THOU, Ye shall be made free ? JESUS answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abides not in the house forever: but the SON abides ever. If the SON therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. "  John 8:28-36

     As a believer in the LORD JESUS CHRIST and based upon the clear and immutable facts of GOD's WORD, I declare myself to be "free indeed" (v.36) My liberty is seen in three realms: First, concerning the god of this age, to whom I once belonged, I have been "delivered . . . from the power of darkness" and have been "translated . . . into the kingdom" of GOD's beloved SON (Col.1:13), turned "from the power of Satan unto GOD" (Acts 26:18). Second, concerning my relationship to this world system, my SAVIOR gave HIMSELF for me that HE might deliver and rescue me "from this present evil world (age), according to the will of GOD" my FATHER (Gal.1:4). I boast in the cross of CHRIST, by WHOM the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Third, concerning the terrible slavery of sin, the Scriptures declare that though I once was the slave of sin, I am now the slave of GOD (Rom.6:17-22), and "the law of the SPIRIT of life in CHRIST JESUS [has] made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom.8:2). the source of my liberty is found in the cross of my LORD JESUS CHRIST in which I truly boast (Gal.6:14). The cross is my Statue of Liberty. It was there that my soul was set free. In CHRIST's death I died, and in CHRIST's life I now live (Rom.6:4).

     Based on the unchanging truth of GOD's WORD, I joyfully declare myself to be "dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto GOD through JESUS CHRIST our LORD" (Rom.6:11). I am not free to live as I please or do whatever I want. Rather, I am free to faithfully serve and fully depend upon the LORD JESUS CHRIST and to do as HE pleases, living unto the ONE WHO suffered, died, and rose again for me (2nd.Cor.5:15; Gal.2:20).

" This I say then, Walk in the SPIRIT, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the SPIRIT, and the SPIRIT against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the SPIRIT, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, sedition's, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of GOD. But the fruit of the SPIRIT is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are CHRIST's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the SPIRIT, let us also walk in the SPIRIT. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. " Galatians 5:16-26

     Again, as a believer in the LORD JESUS CHRIST and based on the facts of GOD's WORD, I declare myself to be "free indeed" (John 8:36). My Declaration was not written by men but by the living GOD. It was not signed by men; it was signed by the LORD HIMSELF and sealed with the blood of CHRIST. GOD has declared me to be truly free, and I am to "stand fast" in the liberty wherewith CHRIST has made me free (Gal.5:1). 

     My Declaration is not a Declaration of Independence but rather a Declaration of Dependence. I declare myself to be totally dependent upon my GOD. Of myself I cannot keep the Law. I cannot measure up to the LORD's righteous standards. "How to perform that which is good I find not" (Rom.7:18). The more I try in and of myself, the more I seem to fail, "for the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do" (Rom.7:19). I thus acknowledge that JESUS CHRIST is my only deliverance from my wretched self (Rom. 7:24-25). The LORD JESUS CHRIST is my VINE (John 15). HE is my life source. Apart from HIM I can do nothing because HE is my life (Col.3:3-4). Like David of old, I can declare, "The battle is the LORD's" (1st.Sam.17:47) ! HE shall fight for me. My life is the LORD's ! HE shall live in me. Along with the Apostle Paul, I can proclaim, "CHRIST lives in me" (Gal.2:20) and, "For to me to live is CHRIST" (Phil.1:21). I cannot, but HE can. Whenever I try I fail, but whenever I trust HE always succeeds without fail. Thus, with a firm reliance upon my ALMIGHTY GOD I will claim the victory, which HE won and which HE graciously gives to me: "But thanks be to GOD, which gives us the victory through our LORD JESUS CHRIST" (1st.Cor.15:57). GWZ
Your servant in CHRIST,
Julie
Copyright,  FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.
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