Cleansed And Set Free! Cleansed And Set Free! Cleansed And Set Free!

• For he that is dead is freed from sin. - Romans 6:7

Paul declared that when he was a child he spoke as a child, understood as a child, thought as a child but when he became a man he put away childish things. (I Corinthians 13:11)  As adults, all of us can understand, at least in part, what he was saying.

When we were children our world was very small and without much serious thoughtful understanding. Our actions and speech reflected that. Fortunately, this behavior did not follow us into adulthood. As Paul did, we grew up--at least some of us.

In addition to our actions and speech, the cares that develop during our growing years also dissipate when we finally are faced with the real world. Life becomes much more challenging and complex, the choices more serious. Each takes us down a very distinctive path. Even with the best training and wisdom received from those who were important and instrumental in our formative years, we find life becomes more and more of a daunting intricate web to navigate within. We make some good choices but we also make some we come to regret--to be set free!

As the years pass the effect of these choices becomes magnified. We are constantly struggling with their consequences. We grow weary of their adverse affect. We struggle. We stumble. We fall. But we know we must get up. Life does not wait. Our fall teaches us something unsettling about ourselves. Even with our successes in life, we discover we have become less than the person we thought we would be. Something is missing. Somehow we have missed the mark. We struggle to understand--to be set free!

Finally, growing tired of who we see on the inside, we develop the desire to be liberated of the weight of this knowledge--to be set free. But how? We know we cannot go back and begin again. Life does not afford do overs. The enormity of the burden casts such a pall over our life. It hangs there each day. We try everything to escape from under it. We immerse ourselves in work. It remains. We seek happiness in activities we enjoy. It follows, robbing us of all the hope we desired it to be--to be set free!

For most, it is not something we wish to talk about. We keep it to ourselves. We think, to speak of it would be admitting failure and diminish us in the eyes of others. Pride keeps us from admitting that, even to ourselves. Sometimes, we seek detrimental avenues to drown it but it is a constant presence. After some time, even those things we do to escape join with all the others to compound our woes. We are exhausted in our search for a more truer self. How do I change this? What do I do to be free?, we ask--to be set free!

There was a man, a very rich and powerful man, who came to Jesus and confessed this burden. (John 3)  Jesus responded by telling him his only hope for a do over was indeed to be born again. His need compelled him to ask how to do that which he desired but failed to understand how it was possible to be "born again."

Are you this person? Are you tired of living with the conflicted person you have become? You wish to be rid of the person you do not desire to be? You yearn to find the one thing that will bring complete satisfaction and the possibility to discover and experience the person you were born to be? You just want to be free!?

Now, at this point you likely are saying to yourself, of course, I know that when I am dead I will at last be free! You are correct. But do you want to die in that condition? Go through your whole life living with yourself? What Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about was he could experience that freedom before he died! We know in the Bible that it says we are certain of death. But that is not the end. In the same sentence, it also says after that comes a judgment. Have you thought of that?

The good news is that Jesus said He could make it possible for us to be born again--to have a "do over". Start new! To be set free, free to live from that point on into and throughout eternity--free to escape that judgment promised to all. Wouldn't that be great?

Think how you would feel living life knowing that when you die you will not have to stand before God in judgment. Exhilarating, right? However, there is one catch. You say, I knew there had to be. Nothing in life is free! But Jesus says that it is. Ok, you ask, what is it?

We find that answer by listening to what Jesus told another very rich young man who came to him seeking a life greater than he had, one that would not end with death. (Matthew 19:16; Mark 10:17)  Jesus told him he had to deny everything about himself, give it up, if he wanted to start all over. He must surrender his life to Jesus, everything about it, even his control of it, if he is to be free. (Mark 10:21-22)

You don't get to start over by dragging along every thing from your past. That's not really starting over, now, is it?

Think about this illustration. Once, I helped a family member move into a new apartment. In order to move out of the old, a lot of housecleaning was necessary. I don't mean dirt. I mean several years of accumulation of what I call "stuff"--stuff never used nor would ever be, some things with the price tag still on them! After reducing it down to a manageable amount, finally the movers were called.

One evening, a week or so later, we went over for dinner. Of course, we were taken on the "grand" tour. As we went from room to room, something seemed a bit off, in fact, really odd and out of place. It wasn't until we went into the beautiful dining room that it dawned on me what it was. It was the "stuff" kept and brought from the old apartment to the new. It was dated. It fit well enough with the previous apartment but in the new, although nothing was wrong with it, it looked old and dated. It would have been a time for a new beginning, all things new! If only they could have parted with the old. I'm sure you have had the same experience.

Imagine. Imagine what your life could be like, free! Not just free, but everything new, everything! (II Corinthians 5:17)  Now, whatever your imagination is, it doesn't begin to draw the portrait of what it can be and who you will become. (I Corinthians 2:9)  You can only know that once you have trusted and follow Him. (John 3:3)

Finally, ask yourself this question: What is there about my old life that, as good as it may be, by hanging on to it prevents all things from being new in my life? Out with the old and in with the new! Now is your chance to start over, to begin new--to be cleansed and set free! (II Corinthians 6:2)

There is a wonderful old hymn written by Lewis Edgar Jones in 1889 when he was attending a camp meeting at Mountain Lake Park, MD that was once regularly sung in worship that has touched many hearts down through the years. Here is a redacted portion that I hope touches yours today.

1.
 Would you be free from your burden of sin?
  There's power in the blood,...
Would you o'er evil a victory win?
  There's wonderful power in the blood.
Chorus...

2.
 Would you be free from your passion and pride?
  There's power in the blood,...
Come for a cleansing to Calvary's tide,
  There's wonderful power in the blood.
Chorus...

Chorus.
  There is power, power, wonder-working power,
  In the blood of the Lamb;
There is power, power, wonder-working power,
    In the precious blood of the Lamb.

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P.S. Oh, and that judgment we talked about that is coming, without question, this new life gained by trusting in Jesus voids that. In fact, you can begin living free from that hanging over your head right now!

See also: Your Plan For Life?.