Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Dr. Keith Lamb wrote a wonderful book called Security of the Believer. He found an image of a pair of ancient handcuffs to illustrate being set free from the power of sin. In this image was a pair of stone handcuffs without any signs of a locking mechanism. It appeared that whoever bound that prisoner never intended for his prisoner to be set free. The only way to be fitted into those handcuffs was to grow into them.

Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Our sin nature is born into us and if we are not set free by the love of Christ at a tender age, we will grow into those cuffs. Invisible as they are to the sight of the world, in the spiritual realm they are real and Satan has bound sinners with the intention of never letting them go.

Job 33:24 Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Grace is unmerited favor, a free gift from God. Faith also is a free gift from God. God gave you the key to set yourself free, but the life of His Son was the ransom. You have to insert the key into Christ in order to set yourself free from the bondage of sin. You have to place your faith in Christ and the atoning work of the cross.

If you trust and obey, you have been set free from the bondage of sin. You have been set free.

Now what are you going to do with new found freedom?

Genesis 3:14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Cause and effect. Because is used in the King James Version of the bible 1138 times. I’ve read them all at one time or another. You would think that I should have a fair warning of the consequences of choices.

Psalm 5:11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Not all those because clauses lead to evil ends. Some of those because refrains point out clearly the benefits of believing and trusting in our God.

Jeremiah 35:17 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.

God has repeatedly warned us and we stopped listening. God repeatedly called and His Word fell on deaf ears. God is not to be blamed for the consequences.

It amazes me that some who do not even believe in God blame Him for the evil that besets them. It is the devil cursed in Genesis 3:14 that hates all mankind. God loves you and has done everything possible to demonstrate His love.

If you reject His love offering, God is not to blame. Satan has the world in handcuffs and only Jesus has the key to set you free.

That key is faith.