lynette66 Posted January 29, 2010 Report Share Posted January 29, 2010 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? There is no complete independence; this is pretty black and white-you're either with God or with sin. We all desire independence and autonomy, but we have to look for it in smaller areas of our lives, not in the scope of our entire life. I don't hesitate to clearly take God's side; just sometimes the sin is more tempting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted January 29, 2010 Report Share Posted January 29, 2010 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? No is the very simple answer to this! We are in one camp or the other. Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Everyone likes to think that they are in charge, that they are masters of their own destiny. Of course, that is a myth. If we believe that we are independently free, then we deceive ourselves and in fact are a slave to sin. Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? I think that this stems from our natural desire to want to be loved by everyone and in most cases to conform to everyone around us. So we become like a chameleon and change the way we act and are depending on who is around us. The Bible makes it absolutely clear that it does not matter what the World thinks of us, and in fact Jesus warns that the World will hate us. What matters is our relationship with God So we don't need to be loved by everyone, we don't need to conform. We need to live as a slave to Christ. This was a huge lesson for me to learn, and I am still learning, but the burden which is lifted when you finally accept this in full is enormous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaiden Rochelle Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Hi, Dr. Ralph, No,there is not place of independent freedom from "slavery" to sin or to Christ. "Imagine" is the old Beatles' song that wants us to imagine that there's no heaven or hell, just us. So many people are living that way, but they are ignorant to the fact that God created us for His pleasure, Rev. 4:11, and not for ourselves. Many people would like to have independent freedom because a lot of sin is fun, and no one wants to think that what they do is going to result in damning consequences. Many people just want to do what they want to do. Many of us hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all because we don't want to be ridiculed, threatened, killed, or ostercized by our family or friends. However, we must choose to live our Christian life by actual actions in order to please God. That means we have to stand up for Him and witness to others as needed. We must do what He tells us to do and how He tells us to do it. There used to be a saying: If you are accused of being a Christian, will there be enough evidence to convict you? It's still a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissioned Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? No there is not a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery to sin or to Christ" We long for this kind of independent freedom because we want to be in control. We hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all because there may be some addictions that we still hang on to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Sanger Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? From my understanding you are either a slave to God or a slave to sin. There is no middle ground. Regarding the last question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon burke Posted May 29, 2010 Report Share Posted May 29, 2010 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=809 Yes because we are set free from sin (18) and made righteous through Christ. It is in our wicked nature to want to sin and satan has great pleasure seeing us fall and sin. Through Christ in our new, clean rebirth we are made holy and pure and should no longer be slaves to sin. That part of our life should be cut off, forever. Gone washed away by the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We are slaves to God (22) resulting in eternal life and not death. We have to show our allegiance to God by our lifestyles and choices we make by living a Godly life. Sometimes we may be the only bible people will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marloes Posted June 24, 2010 Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 No, we have to chose one side or the other. We want to do things ourselves. We want to eat from two plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul G Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? ANS - No, we either are living in Christ, or we are living in our "old man", the "old life", the life of sin and slavery to it. Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? ANS - We want to life unto our self, the very philosophy of the world system around us. Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? ANS - Its oftentimes easier to live in the middle, on the fence, and live in a world of compromise, to go the "easy path", lest we stand out and be labelled as a "radical" in this world of liberal thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foofee's Nana Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? There is no middle ground...no in between....are are either for God or a slave to sin. Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? It is that part of us that wants to be free to make decisions...but we have to choose....we suffer death if we stay in bondage to sin and have the gift of eternal life in we make that stand for Christ. Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? Perhaps it is pride that always takes over with humans....but to stand with the Lord Jesus Christ is to be on the winning side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Jerry Posted August 6, 2010 Report Share Posted August 6, 2010 In Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wifee Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 5a)Part of us wants to be free to make decisions about our future, but there is no real independent freedom apart from slavery to sin or Christ, so we must chose one side or the other. b)Foolish people live for the moment, but the end result is not long term contentment,& in the short term may bring danger to self or others. c)Pride can be in the way of committing to Christ, easier to sit on the fence-we must chose. We are in the process of sanctification(being made holy)current saved, in between saved(past at conversion)and saved future(eternal life in glory of God). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramon Posted September 3, 2010 Report Share Posted September 3, 2010 Answer: There is no independent freedom,in Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moody Grad Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 No, there is no independent freedom apart from slavery to sin or to Christ. You are enslaved to one or the other. We want independent freedom because we want to be free from the control of righteousness. We hesitate to state our allegiance because we want to control our lives but we forget about the wonderful promise of eternal life found in Christ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosegarden Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? - No, there is no middle ground we must choose either to be a slave to sin or slave to Christ. - We long for independent freedom because of wanting to be independent and control our own lives. - Fear commitment, failure, paying the price, when we need to be dependent on Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljmnkscart Posted November 11, 2010 Report Share Posted November 11, 2010 There is no middle ground as to whether we will serve sin or Christ. We must chose one or the other. We long for this independent freedom because we want to be able to make our own choices which God does allow, but we must be ready for the consequences of our choices, whether to the good or bad. We may hesitate to make our position clear because as humans we want to look good to all. We want Christians to think of us as fellow Christians and we want the world to think that we fit in with them. We just want to straddle the line. But we must make a choice, whether to be slaves to sin or obedient to God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Jim Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? No. Bob Dylan, of all people, said it best: It may be the Devil or it may be The Lord but you gotta serve somebody. To go our own way is to go against God's Way. Humanity is flawed ever since Adam's fall and going our own way, even if we think we're going OK, leads to our being out of the Will of God. Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? God gave us a free will and we like to exercise it. To some people freedom, or the ideal of freedom, is the ultimate prize. Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? Speaking personally, I think it's the fear of failure. We declare it from the housetops that we're God's people and followers of Christ, then we slip up and people see that. We're then branded as hypocrites. I became a Christian in 1971 and I was involved in a high profile Baptist Youth Fellowship as lead singer in the rock choir they had going, if such a thing can be said to be. By the end of 1972 I'd stopped going to church because I believed I was setting a bad example of what a Christian teenager should be. No one asked me first if I wanted to be thrust into the limelight as a role model. They all thought that since I had long hair, played in a band, and appeared cool that the kids would look up to me. The organizers were so out of touch with the kids they were trying to reach that they didn't have a blessed clue. They'd been totally opposed to Rock music and the whole youth culture all their lives and suddenly realized they had to embrace it to reach the youth. Desperate for a draw card they picked me. It all happened so fast. One minute I was being asked to join the choir, the next I was being quoted from the pulpit! And I had nothing worthwhile to say! I was 17 years old and I'd been a Christian for three months. At first the plan stayed on track, then as people got to know me, all the kids saw was an ordinary guy with feet of clay, just like everybody else. When some other slightly older guys took me severely to task for not being the perfect role model I just quit, rather than bringing the name of Jesus into disrepute. Given that time over again I'd have kept a much lower profile until I'd become more mature in the faith. Then again, like I said, I had no say at all in what became of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chichii Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? There is no middle ground. We are either for God or for the devil. Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? I think that our longing for independent freedom is in itself a temptation and deception of the devil. It allows one to live unconsciously and without taking responsibility for ones actions. Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? For me I hesitate sometime because I fear being judged that is I fear that if I take sides and make my position clear and then slip up that people will laugh, sneer or call me a hypocrite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara A. Lee Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? According to these verses, We have no independent freedoms. It is we are either a slave to God or to Sin. A. Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? We long for this kind of freedom because we are human. God gave us the ability to choose right from wrong, and because of this we don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pastor neal Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? Absolutely not! One must choose to be either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness...no middle of the road. The reasons, I believe, that we long for independent freedom is that it would allow us to live in both worlds with little or no regret. When we are hesitant to take a particular side and make it known we are actually allowing ourselves room to choose whatever side moves us at a certain situation. Maybe a friend wants to do something sinful, so we chose this side of the street, but when engaging in something Christian we can claim the narrow path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iam4_1god Posted September 4, 2011 Report Share Posted September 4, 2011 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? Freedom from slavery comes when we have taken the Word into our heart, and we become "willing" recipients of the liberty that we have been given. I no longer see it as duty to serve the Lord-I see it as a priviledge! An honor! I love serving Him! Humans want to be independent because it makes us think we are in control of something. We don't want to take sides cause we don't want to be proven wrong. It makes us feel stupid. People would wonder if we read the bible, and they would start to question our Christianity-are we really saved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross_laoshi Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? There is no place for independent freedom, we have to serve Christ or the devil! I think it's our old man that wants independent freedom - the old nature always wants its own way. We hesitate to firmly take sides as slaves to righteousness because the old nature is so stubborn and unwilling to die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeraja Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? There is no place of independent freedom. You have to decide whether you want to be a slave to sin or to God. We cannot have two masters. There is no place for fence sitters either, As in Rev 3:15-16 it is written. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. We long for the independent freedom because we want to excercise the right to make choices . We want to be in control and thus are not willing to be 'slaves' of God. We hesitate to firmly take sides because we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to work fully in us. We are contemplating whether to listen to the 'deception' of Satan or the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Although as Christians, our sins have been forgiven and have dominion over sin, we still have sinful desires. It becomes a challenge as we face temptation and are led more by our thinking rather than letting the Holy Spirit lead us. There won't be any hesitation if we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in our words and actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertprice Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 No, no place for 'independent freedom' for a Christian. He has placed himself at the service of Jesus, or as Paul puts it, as a slave. It is 'The Old Man' within us, another of Paul's favourite constuctions, that often desires to go it alone. We must therefore resist all attempts for Satan to lure us back to selfish and carnal ways and thoughts. We hesitate to 'nail our colours to the mast', so to speak, for various reasons all unsound of course. Satan's lies about the Truth, if entertained, can bring doubt and deception into our hearts, which is certainly not conducive to vibrant Christian testimony. It also would depend to some degree on the type of person you are upon conversion. Thus a timid and self-deprecating person would be most hesitant to testify to the Lord's grace until that person is more firmly under the control of God's Spirit when he can cheerfully and honestly give voice to his gratitude for God's grace in Jesus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awylie1949@yahoo.co.uk Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 No there is not. We have to be slave of one or the other. Maybe because the concept of being in slavery is abhorrent to us and we want to be free but that can be a kind of slavery to self or sin. Maybe because we dont think we have the necessary willpower or strength or desire to be totally committed to one or the other. Maybe we are afraid we will fail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnjaylynn731 Posted May 4, 2013 Report Share Posted May 4, 2013 Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? Romans 6:18-22 King James Version (KJV) 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Question one: No you are a slave to either flesh and sin or you are a slave to God and his righteousness. John 15 says apart from God, you can do nothing. Question two: Not sure how to answer this because there is no independence apart from Christ. Question three: Because of the shame of sin. Coming to Christ is first coming to yourself and realizing you are a sinner. Then we do not want to lose the friends who we are in the sin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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