ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE DAY

Bound to Disobedience

Romans 11:32
For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

 

 

Not long ago I was speaking with a man about Jesus. He told me, "I have absolutely zero interest in becoming bound by Christian morals, rules, and rituals." I quoted today's passage: "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." I asked him what he thought this passage meant. After considerable discussion, he steadfastly held on to the idea that his choice and freedom to either do right or wrong was not disobedience, and it certainly was not something he was willing to give up. Try as I might I could not get him to understand that Christ did not come to bind, but to set us free from our bondage to sin. We still retain our right to choose Ð follow God or sin. The difference is as Christians we are saved. God knows we will continue to sin as long as we are in these mortal bodies. It is why we need His mercy and forgiveness.
I think this is perhaps one of the greatest problems with non-believers in general. So many do not want to believe there is a power higher other than ourselves, or a standard of morality and decency superior to anything our own society could conceive. I guess this attitude proves Paul's point in our passage today Ð "God has bound all men over to disobedience."

 

 

Imagine that you were chained to a chair secured by a giant paddle lock. I held the key to releasing you from bondage, yet you refused to accept the key. Why? Because you didn't think you were chained. So it is with mankind. We have become so accustomed to our bondage that we now think of our chains as freedom. Unfortunately, it is only when we are free that we realize how bound we once were. Are you chained? Bound by disobedience to sin? God wants to set you free. It is why He offers His only Son as payment for our sin. Have you accepted His gift -- His mercy and grace?

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