Captivity
We are rarely faced with being arrested, held, being captive, but are we actually ‘Free?’ With addiction to; food, sports, games, devices, lust, drink and so much more, we can so easily become captivated, and then captured and bound into “Captivity” to any of a single or multiple lusts, passions, desires or sins. Jeremiah 29:14 “And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” But people who repent and turn away from these captivities, will find blessed release and freedom from the cords that bind and constrict us. Ephesians 4:8 “Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Quote; “The appetites and passions, clamoring for indulgence, trample reason and conscience underfoot. This is the cruel work of Satan, and he is constantly putting forth the most determined efforts to strengthen the chains by which he has bound his victims. Those who have been all their lives indulging wrong habits do not always realize the necessity of a change. . . Let the conscience be aroused and much is gained. Nothing but the grace of God can convict and convert the heart; here alone can the slaves of custom obtain power to break the shackles which bind them. The self-indulgent must be led to see and feel that a great moral renovation is necessary if they would meet the claims of the divine law; the soul-temple has been defiled, and God calls upon them to arouse and strive with all their might to win back the God-given manhood which has been sacrificed through sinful indulgence.” {AG 100} Quote; “Nothing but the grace of God can convict and convert the heart; here alone can the slaves of custom obtain power to break the shackles which bind them. The self-indulgent must be led to see and feel that a great moral renovation is necessary if they would meet the claims of the divine law; the soul-temple has been defiled, and God calls upon them to arouse and strive with all their might to win back the God-given manhood which has been sacrificed through sinful indulgence. {4T 553} Sin and temptation can often be viewed as an ‘Open Prison Cell,’ you can freely come and go as you like, but then one day, the door suddenly clangs shut, you are now a prisoner of sin, incarcerated and trapped by whatever you have been playing with, you are now locked away, captivated has turned into “Captivity.” We must always be alert to what is before us, temptation and seduction could make a trap appear as a ‘Freedom,’ when in fact it turns out to be a prison cell, bondage, the trap springs, the door clangs shut, we are incarcerated, ensnared, caught in bondage and captivity.
Quote; “We are living in an age of great wickedness. Multitudes are enslaved by sinful customs and evil habits, and the fetters that bind them are difficult to break. Iniquity, like a flood, is deluging the earth. Crimes almost too fearful to be mentioned, are of daily occurrence. And yet men professing to be watchmen on the walls of Zion will teach that the law was designed for the Jews only, and passed away with the glorious privileges that ushered in the gospel age. Is there not a relation between the prevailing lawlessness and crime, and the fact that ministers and people hold and teach that the law is no longer of binding force? The condemning power of the law of God extends, not only to the things we do, but to the things we do not do. We are not to justify ourselves in omitting to do the things that God requires. We must not only cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well. God has given us powers to be exercised in good works; and if these powers are not put to use, we shall certainly be set down as wicked and slothful servants. We may not have committed grievous sins; such offenses may not stand registered against us in the book of God; but the fact that our deeds are not recorded as pure, good, elevated, and noble, showing that we have not improved our entrusted talents, places us under condemnation. The law of God existed before man was created. It was adapted to the condition of holy beings; even angels were governed by it. After the Fall, the principles of righteousness were unchanged. Nothing was taken from the law; not one of its holy precepts could be improved. And as it has existed from the beginning, so will it continue to exist throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. “Concerning thy testimonies,” says the psalmist, “I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever” (Psalm 119:152). {1SM 220}
Quote; “If we are faithful in doing our part, in cooperating with Him, God will work through us [to do] the good pleasure of His will. But God cannot work through us if we make no effort. If we gain eternal life, we must work, and work earnestly. . . Let us not be deceived by the oft-repeated assertion, “All you have to do is to believe.” Faith and works are two oars which we must use equally if we [would] press our way up the stream against the current of unbelief. “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” The Christian is a man of thought and practice. His faith fixes its roots firmly in Christ. By faith and good works, he keeps his spirituality strong and healthy, and his spiritual strength increases as he strives to work the works of God. {NL 38} John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Why then do we stubbornly persist to live in the “Captivity” of sin and deception, when Jesus is offering us Freedom, that real and genuine and true Freedom from “Captivity?” Quote; “The evil that led to Peter’s fall [in denying Christ at His trial] . . . is proving the ruin of thousands today. There is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency. Of all sins it is the most hopeless, the most incurable. Peter’s fall was not instantaneous, but gradual. Self-confidence led him to the belief that he was saved, and step after step was taken in the downward path, until he could deny his Master. Never can we safely put confidence in self or feel, this side of heaven, that we are secure against temptation. Those who accept the Saviour, however sincere their conversion, should never be taught to say or to feel that they are saved. {NL 41} What is it that has captivated your mind, are they unto God and Heavenly into life eternal, or are they earthly and unto death??
