Category Archives: Chains

Bible, Chains, Freedom, Romans, Scripture, Slaves

FREEDOM

ROMANS 8:21

“that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

Oh, this verse rocks my world. Doesn’t it yours? Just think about what freedom means? I have to quote Gill’s Exposition here. Get ready. This will rock you too. Gill’s says this freedom is “a freedom from the dominion of sin and Satan, from the law and bondage of it, in the free use of Gospel ordinances, in liberty of access to God, and a freedom from the fear of death, and a glorious liberty it is; or the liberty of glory the saints shall enjoy in the other world, which will lies in a freedom from the prison of the flesh, from the body of sin and death, from all sorrows and afflictions, from all reproaches and persecutions, from the temptations of Satan, from doubts, fears, and unbelief, and in the full vision of God through Christ, and in a free conversation with angels and saints.”

This is what Paul is saying in today’s verse. Woohoo! We are destined for an eternal freedom. The word “freedom” is the Greek word eleutheria which means the “liberating reality that believers possess in Christ.” (Topical Lexicon) So, let me ask you this question. Are you walking in that freedom today? Or are you still walking around like you are chained to the sin nature in you?

APPLICATION

Peter says it well in 2 Peter 2:20. “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome,” Is that you? I pray not. We are to walk in victory, brothers and sisters, not to sin. Which is easier, to walk free or chained?

Paul writes the Galatians in Galatians 5:1 with the same message. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Do you get it now? Stop strapping yourself down by the yoke of slavery to sin. Will you walk perfectly? Of course not! No one can. But we do not walk this path alone. Christ, through the power of His Holy Spirit, has broken the chains that bind us.

Chris Tomlin writes these lyrics in his song “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone).” 

My chains are gone; I’ve been set free. 

My God, my Savior has ransomed me 

And like a flood His mercy rains 

Unending love, Amazing grace 

Walk in victory today and every day. He has set us free!

Thank You, Lord, for the freedom I have today and forever!

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Boldness, Chains, Prison, Scripture

AMBASSADOR IN CHAINS

EPHESIANS 6:20

“for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Once, as part of a fundraiser, I was handcuffed and put in back of a police car. This was done to get people to “bail” me out to raise funds for a charity. It was rather uncomfortable even though I knew it wasn’t real. I even had a friend who was a Sheriff deputy do the “arrest.” I don’t want to ever find myself in cuffs for real.

Paul, however, was in real chains. The word “chains” is used several times in the New Testament and usually referred to a single chain that was attached to the prisoner on one end and to a soldier on the other end. In some instances, the soldier would just hold the chain or let the prisoner carry it around. Since Paul was under house arrest when he wrote this letter, this was probably the case. But he could have been attached to that soldier. Poor soldier! Lol

APPLICATION

Chains couldn’t deter the apostles. Just look at this story in Acts about Peter when he was arrested and chained. Acts 12:6-7 says, “6 On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And his chains fell off his hands.”

Did you notice Peter was sleeping? Chains didn’t bother him. He was at rest in Christ. Neither should we be concerned about any restrictions we face today. We have to be bold in our witness. That is what Paul was asking for in today’s verse. He wanted to remain bold in proclaiming the good news.

How bold are you? What if you were faced with chains or prison bars? Would you go on proclaiming Jesus. You should read “The Insanity of God.” The persecuted believers in that book will give you some courage to face the enemy head on. Remember, God’s got your back when you proclaim His message. Whatever happens, He can sustain you. Now, be bold!

Father, give me courage to proclaim Jesus even in the face of persecution.

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Allegory, Bible, Chains, Devil, Encouragement, Freedom, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Law, Scripture, Slaves

ALLEGORY PART 1 – HAGAR

GALATIANS 4:24

“This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar.”

I have to admit that I am not a grammatical genius. If you have read many of my blogs, you have probably already figured that out. Right? So, I looked up the definition of allegory. “It is a figurative sentence or discourse, in which the principal object is described by another subject resembling it in its properties and circumstances.” – Webster. Thank you, Mr. Webster! I am sure we all understand it now.

Paul tells us plainly that he is going to be speaking “allegorically.” This Greek word is only used one time in the New Testament. It literally means to speak publicly something other than. Paul is going to be comparing the story of Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac to our slavery to sin and our freedom in Christ. This allegory is not to imply in any way that the Old Testament story is not true. You can use an historical truth allegorically to make a point, which is what Paul has done here.

APPLICATION

Now that I have bored you to tears with the English lesson on allegories, how do we use today’s verse in our lives? Well, let’s focus on the topic of this first part of the allegory – Hagar. Who was she? She was a servant girl of Sarah’s. But she was more than a servant. She had been given to Abraham by Sarah to try to conceive a child which would satisfy God’s promise to give then a child. God never instructed them to do this. They just decided to “help God along.”

This first part of the allegory isn’t very encouraging. Hagar and Ishmael represent slavery to sin. Even after Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, she was still a servant. Nothing had changed. You and I are slaves to sin until we come to Jesus. We have no power to resist. We have no way to escape the devil’s schemes. There is no hope. We can’t “perform” our way out of sin. We have to have the chains broken.

Praise be to God we have a “chain-breaker.” He is Jesus, the Righteous One. He is the One to whom we run for freedom. Paul is so aware of this. He now sees how bound to sin he was while he was under the law, which is also represented by Hagar. Paul wants these Galatians to be free in Christ, not bound to the law. In the same way, God wants us to be free in Jesus. Are you free today?

Lord, I am thankful You gifted men like Paul to write under the inspiration of the Spirit to give us these truths.

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Bible, Captivity, Chains, Conviction, Deliverance, Devil, Escape, Freedom, Judgment, Prison, Rescue, Scripture

NO ESCAPE

GALATIANS 3:23

“But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed.”

Click! Click! That is the sound you hear as you enter the jail. I served as a Chaplain for our County Sheriff Department for a while. Part of my duties was to visit the officers in the jail. You see, my role was not chaplain to the prisoners. My role was to the officers. And even though they were innocent of any crime, they were locked behind those bars every day also. On the other hand, the inmates remained behind. They could not just walk out. They were condemned to serve their sentence.

Paul continues the idea of the Law being restrictive and confining in today’s verse. In fact, he uses two words that point to that. He says “were kept in custody.” That’s the Greek word phrouréō which means “to actively display whatever defensive and offensive means are necessary to guard.” (HELPS Word Studies). The other word Paul uses is sugkleió which means to enclose or shut in. Paul is saying the Law held us captive until Jesus could be revealed.

APPLICATION

Well Carl, I’m not held captive by anything. I am free as a bird. Are you really? If you are in Jesus, you are free (as we discussed over the past few days), but even then, we can put ourselves back up under Law by thinking we have to do certain things to earn “brownie points” for heaven. There is nothing you can do, outside of surrendering to Jesus, that will get you through those pearly gates.

Acts 16:26 is a great picture of our salvation in Christ. Paul and Silas are sitting in prison for preaching about Jesus and then this happens. “and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.” That’s must be how it looks to God when we finally give our lives to Him. Bam! The chains fall off.

In stark contrast to our freedom in Christ, we see Satan, that ‘ole deceiver chained by God. Revelation 20:1-3 give us a great picture of that. “1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.” Praise be God, Who is the chain breaker and chain maker.

O Father, You have promised freedom for me and imprisonment for the devil. You are the all powerful Judge.

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