“The Edict Of Our Emancipation!”

“The Edict Of Our Emancipation!”(Rom.6:3-8).
The Russian “Edict of Emancipation” was signed in 1861, during the reign of Tsar Alexander II (1855-1881). This edict freed not less than 23 million Russian serfs. What a great loss to the slave masters!
We are however interested in one of the outcomes of this emancipation. Household serfs did not benefit much from this new found freedom. They had no land and no means of acquiring one. The end result was that many of them prefered to return and continue serving their masters so as to put food on the table.
May be by now you are saying to yourself that such people acted foolishly; and that you would have acted otherwise.
Freedom comes with a price! Freedom takes away from you all that had become part of you. Freedom takes away your dependency. Becoming independent means you start learning how to depend on yourself.
You see my friend, we were serfs to sin and Christ Jesus used his blood as ink to sign the edict of our emancipation. But instead of learning and becoming masters in our new found freedom, we often behave like the Russian freed serfs. It is like the dog going back to its vomit!
Paul says we cannot like the Russian freed serfs continue to remain slaves to our former masters (sin) as if that would cause the Tsar to keep signing other edicts of Emancipation (because grace abounds).
Through baptism into Jesus Christ we were baptized into his death as well. We were buried with him through baptism into desth, “in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life…For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”
We should find delight in our new found freedom and bear the challenges that come with freedom: losing all that we were used to, and straining even in pain to acquire that which makes us free indeed. But being happy that the gain is worth the pain!
In Christ Jesus we become new creations when we recognize the merits of grace rather than juxtaposing grace with merit.
Prayer; Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for signing my edict of Emancipation with your life’s blood. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.