Day 5 - Thursday - Connect the Testaments - A 365-Day Devotional with Bible Reading Plan - Logos
December 16: Freedom Jeremiah 31:1–40; Romans 6:15–7:6 ; Proverbs 21:1–12 We like to think of ourselves as autonomous. Our modern culture champions freedom and the right to pursue happiness. But if we apply the concept of rights when we think about faith, following Christ can feel like religion, dogma, rules—a type of bondage that requires us to think and behave in ways that make our autonomous selves bridle. Paul looks at the issue differently: “Do you not know that to whomever you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to whomever you obey, whether sin, leading to death or obedience, leading to righteousness?” (Rom 6:16). He uses another analogy in his letter to the church in Rome—one that draws on the practice of slavery within his own culture—to highlight the opposite view. He says that if we live without God, we have a debt that binds us. We are a slave to sin, and it’s the type of bondage that leads to death. Yet, there is hope. Although we were sla...