I like this time of year. I enjoy the fireworks and the hot dogs. In Lexington, where I live, there is a big parade on July 4th. All of this to celebrate American independence. We are all about freedom, we hold it as one of our highest values. While this understanding of man being free from man is all well and good, this love of independence leaks into our spiritual understanding as well. The fact of the matter is that we are not and never have been independent. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe we have freewill, that isn’t what I’m addressing here. What I’m addressing is the fact that there is a war going on with only two sides. You are either serving the kingdom of God or the kingdom of Satan; choose this day whom you will serve.

In sharing the gospel, I often run into people who don’t want to follow God because they don’t want to submit to him and they want to live for themselves. However, this is simply a deception. To live for yourself is to live under a yoke of slavery. Let’s take a look at Romans 6:16-19:

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Human beings by nature are slaves, either to Christ or to Sin. Satan has used our love of freedom and independence to draw us away from the true freedom which is ours as sons of God. In Ephesians 2:1-4 we learn that when we were dead in our sin we were “sons” of disobedience. I don’t know about you, but I would rather be a son of the king than a son of disobedience.

We can look at this issue as a big picture. In other words, if you are a Christian you are on the good side and if you aren’t then you are on the bad side. However, I want to look at this a little more closely. If you consider that every one of your actions is accomplishing some end, intentional or unintentional, then you realize that every one of your deeds is either serving God or serving Satan. Choose this day whom you will serve. Look at your actions. This is a war and we cannot afford half-baked Christianity.