Fourthly, because Jesus has defeated the enemy and deposed the dictator, the enemy no longer has a rightful claim on our lives. Jesus has freed us from the power of the enemy over us.
“He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness,” Paul writes to the believers in Colosse. “And he has brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”
Not only does death not have a right on us anymore, the enemy also has no claim on our lives. The enemy of our souls used the fact that we turn away from God, our sin in other words, to keep us under his control. He held us hostage by doing everything in his power to keep us from turning to God. He lied to us about God, getting us to believe that God was no longer interested in us, that God had rejected and abandoned us, that God was angry with us. He lied to us about ourselves, making us believe that we are never good enough, that we will always fail and so never merit or be worthy enough to receive God’s Love. He held us prisoner through fear. Now this enemy no longer has a ‘legal’ right over us. He no longer has a claim on our lives. Humanity is free because Jesus paid the ransom needed to release us, the ransom being our very lives. Humanity is free because Jesus deposed the dictator, ousted the tyrant and in doing so took back the authority the enemy took from humanity at the dawn of time! All requirements have been met and humanity has been legally freed! Freed from the lies about ourselves that hold us back. Freed from the guilt that dogs us when we think about our past. Freed from the lies about God that keep us away from His Love. Freed to turn to God, to receive his Love and to live in the light of it.
And that is wonderful news!
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