Freedom from Religion

“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)

God has called us unto liberty, not bondage. He has called us to be free so that we may serve him without fear all the days of our lives. (Luke 1:74)

The devil has devised all types of ways to keep this glorious truth from us. He brings condemnation and guilt to our minds, accusing us to ourselves, and to each other, night and day. But the days of Job are gone (Job 2:1, Revelation 12:10), and God doesn’t listen to him anymore, and neither should we! Religious bondage comes in many different forms, but its goal is always the same, to steal our liberty, our freedom and our joy, and to abort our destiny. God wants us free to become all that He has ordained us to become.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were ever present in Jesus’ day, bringing accusation against Jesus and his disciples. They were enraged when the blind regained their sight and the deaf were able to hear. They became delirious with envy when the dead were raised, and the crippled leapt to their feet. They accused Jesus and his disciples of everything from healing on the Sabbath day to not washing their hands before they ate dinner, and were so infuriated when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead that they sought to kill him again! (John 12:10) Can you imagine that! He was raised from the dead once, and they were contemplating giving Jesus the opportunity to do it again!

A religious spirit is a confused and mean spirit; it condemns things that God has not condemned in his Word, and promotes things that God condemns. It’s cruel and merciless, and will rear its ugly head at the very moment that you are stepping out to obey God! David was instructed of his father to bring sustenance to his brothers who were in “battle” (I Samuel 17:17-18). But when David arrived at the camp, he heard Goliath slandering the God of Israel and defying God’s people, while his brothers, and the rest of Israel’s “mighty men,” trembled in fear. (I Samuel 17:23-24)

David simply had faith, and he wanted to help, but his brother Eliab accused him vehemenently;“Why camest down hither? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle…” (I Samuel 17:28)

They not only accused him concerning his motives, but they accused him of being prideful and haughty, and they even insulted his occupation, referring to his few sheep in the wilderness. But all David had said was “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? (I Samuel 17:26)

David could have walked away thinking to himself, “Well, maybe my brothers are right; they are certainly older than I am, and they’re men of war.” “Maybe they’re right, I shouldn’t be so haughty, I guess I’ll just go back and feed my few sheep in the wilderness.”

But praise God that David didn’t do that! He had something larger on the inside of him, something louder than the voice of Eliab! He had a relationship with Almighty God, and he defeated the giant with a slingshot and a stone because he had faith in his heart, and a destiny from God. I challenge you today, what is your giant? What are the voices of Eliab screaming in your ears? What has God spoken to your heart? Take the sling and the stone of God’s promise to you, and don’t let the voice of Eliab keep you from your destiny!