Righteous Freedom From Sin

For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness (Romans 6:20)

You were free from righteousness - you had no righteousness in you

You were servants of sin - you lived as subjects and slaves to sin

Contemplate with me on our topic of righteousness. Can you feel within your being, the tug in this direction? 

Being a drudge to sin, a slave to this master, is a pulling down into abysmal darkness. Compare this to the appeal and urging of righteousness, to live according to the will and way of God, with Christ as our utterly perfect example of holiness.  

Matthew Henry speaks directly to the subject we have at hand: 

You were free from righteousness (v. 20); not free by any liberty given, but by a liberty taken, which is licentiousness. "You were altogether void of that which is good,  -- void of any good principles, motions, or inclinations, -- void of all subjection to the law and will of God, of all conformity to his image; and this you. were highly pleased with, as a freedom and liberty; but a freedom from righteousness is the worst kind of slavery." (Matthew Henry, Acts to Revelation, Volume 6, page 327). 

Licentiousness is one of those $100 words. Here is what it means: 

Lacking legal or moral restraints; disregarding sexual restraints; marked by disregard for strict rules of correctness.

Look around you dear reader. Lawlessness, immorality, sexual indulgence without restraint, are normative, with streams of humanity drafting in the wake of sin. Political correctness is a demonic displacement of actual correctness; dignity has been thrashed and battered beyond recognition, so that we look nothing like the image of God because surely, most assuredly, we do not follow his ruling, or live his commands. We, as a global society, have become heathens, pagans, barbarians, and base in our behaviours. 

Look once more to Matthew Henry's description of humanity, the very humanity that we see all around us, as they disregard what is good: 

VOID of good principles

VOID of good motions

VOID of good inclinations

VOID of all subjection to the law and will of God

VOID of all conformity to his image

Let us look at the VOID:

Useless, ineffectual, vain, devoid; destitute, a life void of meaning, without contents; empty, without incumbent, as an office

Is it any wonder we see eyes dulled and devoid of hope, in those that are without God?

... and this you. were highly pleased with, as a freedom and liberty; but a freedom from righteousness is the worst kind of slavery

You know, you are called to higher ground, dear reader. You were made as an image bearer of God omnificent, and you can be transformed by his power and might, into a majestic creature that glows with the light of Truth, the hope of eternity, the delight in knowing the Author of life. 

Conforming to Christ is the Saviours mediatory work in you: your sincerity matters in this matter - God extends the sceptre of grace, and when you humble yourself before him, confessing your sins on bent knee, and plead for your heart, mind, and soul, to be cleansed of all that is dark, sinful, and hideously abhorrent in his sight, he will do a work in you. You can be filled up:

FILLED with good principles

FILLED with good motions

FILLED with good inclinations 

FILLED with the desire to submit to the law and will of God

FILLED with the desire to conform to the image of Christ as Lord

Licentiousness must be addressed in a most purposeful manner; our souls hang in the balance, when we sin and sin some more without any thought of consequences. When sin becomes the unobserved habit, permitted to lead us astray, we must take the time to take hold of all our sins, in order to question our choices, that have become unconscious motions of our wayward will.  

It would appear that many a conscience is seared, meaning the masses are highly pleased in taking the liberty to sin without a care or thought, without comprehending they have become slaves to habitual sin. No one has to stay here though - no one has to continue down the path to perdition. If you are reading this, you can choose to read scripture, and learn what God has commanded for his people so that you have rules and principles to live by, honouring God, and working your way toward conforming to the image of his Son.  

I asked you early on in this piece of writing: Can you feel within your being, the tug in this direction? and I add here, the tug in the direction of righteousness?

I pray you can, dear reader, and that you go to Christ, bask in his Light, and sin no more.