Have you ever needed to be delivered from something? I have. Do you understand what it means to be delivered? I think I do. Can you deliver someone else from something? How is someone delivered? What kind of power is needed to deliver someone from something?
The dictionary defines it as either “to give over into the possession or power of another or the act whereby a person or people are rescued from danger.” So, this helps me to understand that a person can be delivered by another person like a lawbreaker can be given over by the police to the jailer. It also tells me that a person can rescue someone from danger, such as a lifeguard rescuing a drowning child. But that is not really the type of deliverance I am writing about.
I want to talk about being delivered from the terrible consequences of sin in my life. It is important for me to remember that “For the wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23a (ESV) So, when I allow sin to flourish in my life, I am tempting death as the result. In the meantime, I become separated from God because of my sin. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (ESV) Yes even as a believer in Jesus my sin has consequences. Also, we find this in Hebrews 10:26-31, “ For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (ESV) Here I find the author of Hebrews points out that as a believer I deserve a greater punishment for my sinful acts. It does not say that I will ultimately lose my salvation because Jesus has paid for them. Romans 6:23b says, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So, yes, I do believe that there are consequences for my sin today. There is not an eternal consequence for my sin because Jesus has saved me from my sin. The consequences today are broken relationships with others and most importantly with God. The ability to communicate with both people and God is damaged. All of that can be repaired by repentance and trusting God to heal the wounds between me and Him and between me and other people.
Consequently, the greatest thing we all need to be delivered from are our sins. If you do not know Jesus, He is the only one that will truly deliver us. He delivers us from fear, distress and our sins, He sets us free from the grip of sin upon our lives. By His death and resurrection, we are delivered if we ask Him to deliver us. Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (ESV) Do you want this kind of freedom? If so, it is not too late to cry out to Jesus to become free (delivered) from your sins. Find out here!
If you have not read my previous blogs, you can find them here.
You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here.
eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google.
Soli Deo Gloria
