Have you wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, which incidentally was just sold for 8.1 million dollars to Norman Leer? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary army another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the war. There was and is a tremendous price to pay for freedom. Liberty is precious but often taken for granted here in America. Some say we need freedom from religion because it is too confining it takes away liberty. Actually I would like to show you how accepting Christ as Savior adds to our freedom as shown here in the 3rd chapter of 2 Corinthians.

Note it says believers are epistles written by the Spirit in their heart. In other words, we have the Spirit of God in our hearts, sealing us as belonging to Him (Eph 1:13), witnessing with our spirit that we are the children of God (Rom 8:16). The Spirit of God, resident in believer’s hearts, removes all doubt as to whether God will accept us, He already has, and whether He counts us as His own, He does. As believers, we are manifestly declared to be His by His presence in our hearts. No more doubt or worry or concern about our relationship to God. Are you certain of yours? Have you asked Jesus to come into your life? Have you turned your life over to Him? If so, rejoice in this new freedom from doubt.

The writer is speaking of spiritual death, separation from God for all eternity. Trying to keep the law is impossible and results in failure. Receiving Jesus as Savior and having the Holy Spirit in our heart guarantees we have eternal life. This confidence is based on God and not our self. It is not a question of how much work we can do, but on whom we have placed our trust in finishing the work for us. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” He has completed the work needed for salvation. Believers who rest in His finished work have newness of life in Christ (Rom 6:4). Eternal life is not as much a question of time as it is place. All of us will live eternally, but where? Will you be with God or separated from Him? Make the right choice and it will free you from all doubt about your place in eternity.

There are two ministrations spoken of here, the ministration of condemnation and righteousness. Both have a glory associated with them, but the ministration of righteousness has exceeding glory. The one fades because of our defilement and the continuing need for forgiveness of sin. The other has dealt with defilement by the one sacrifice that can take away sin, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:21). All sin is an abomination to God. Try as we may we cannot avoid it. The world is filled with sin, our own flesh is susceptible to sin, and Satan encourages us to sin. Christians deal with sin by confessing it and receiving cleansing by the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9). There is no other way to effectively deal with sin. So only believers can be free from the defilement of sin and made righteous by the blood of Christ.

Outside of Christ there is bondage to sin and unrighteousness. In Christ, those bonds are broken. Now, by looking to Jesus as our example as well as Savior, there can be transformation and development in our lives. In Christ the veil on the heart is removed and we can look on Him through the eyes of faith. As we look to Him and obey Him there is a gradual change into His image through God’s grace. The more we conform to Christ, the more we experience this new dimension of development. While it is not possible to be completely like Him, we are encouraged to follow His guidelines as we wait for His coming and the completion of the transformation (1 John 3:1), We get to know Him now through Bible study, fellowship, meditation and prayer. How well do you know Jesus?