Shackles of Sin Numbers 14:2-3 by Dr. Paul Chapplle

#MorningGlory
RTTBROS

Missing the Shackles of Sin

by Dr. Paul Chappell

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

Numbers 14:2-3

When the Children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt, they cried out to God for deliverance. They hated being forced to labor for others, without the freedom to live as they pleased. The conditions of their slavery were harsh, and they got increasingly worse over time. Then God answered those desperate prayers and sent Moses to lead them out. Yet despite their answered prayers and their deliverance, the Israelites did not respond with gratitude. Instead they complained again and again. They did not have enough food, and then when manna fell from Heaven, they grew tired of it. Their complaining became so bitter that they even began longing to be back in slavery again. At one point, they began looking for a leader who would take them back to their former bondage.

We look at that story and find it hard to believe that people could long to be in bondage again after having been freed. Yet we see the same thing in the Christian life in all too many cases. People who have been released from the slavery of sin and should be rejoicing in freedom in Christ instead spend their time looking backward and missing the very thing from which they were delivered. Paul warned about the importance of guarding our liberty, writing to the Galatians, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). The shackles of sin cannot stand against the power of the gospel. We only come back into bondage when we ourselves choose to yield to sin rather than yielding to God.

Today's Growth Principle:
The deliverance God has given us is precious, and we should not let any sin bring us back into captivity.