so you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. [galatians 4:7]
today …
will be another day to walk in this world as a slave to sin. or,
today …
will be a day to walk as a son and heir of almighty God.
the difference in those days is not small. slave to sin vs son of God . today choose to be the son / daughter you are in Christ.
what will you choose? will you be who you truly are in Christ – or will be the lie of who you used to be?
- son of God
- “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” [matt 5:9]
- but love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. [lk 6:35]
- Jesus said to them, “the sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.” [lk 20:34-36]
- but as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. [jn 1:12-13]
- for all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” [rom 8:14-15]
- do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? or what harmony has Christ with belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,“i will dwell in them and walk among them; and i will be their God, and they shall be my people. “therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “and do not touch what is unclean; and i will welcome you. and i will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me,” says the Lord Almighty. [2 cor 6:14-18]
- for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. [gal 3:26–27]
- he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of His will, [eph 1:5]
- so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, [phil 2:15]
- see how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. for this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him. beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. we know that when he appears, we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. [1 jn 3:1-2]
- whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of him. by this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe his commandments. [1 jn 5:1-2]
- he who overcomes will inherit these things, and i will be his God and he will be my son. [rev 21:7]
- slave to sin
- 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. for when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. but what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. but now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [rom 6:16-23]
- but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? [gal 4:9]
- for we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. [titus 3:3]
- they promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. for whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. [2 pet 2:19]
~ john ryan