captive to sin

When Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem,  he worshipped God and prayed.  This was part of his prayer,  a call to repentance:  

“When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the enemy’s land, [whether] far away or near; if they take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and they repent and pray to You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong and we have acted wickedly;’ if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and they pray to You toward their land [of Israel] which You gave to their fathers, the city [of Jerusalem] which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your Name and Presence; then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven Your dwelling place, and maintain their right and defend their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions which they have committed against You, and make them objects of compassion before their captors, that they will be merciful to them (for they are Your people and Your heritage, whom You brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace [of slavery and oppression]), that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them and be attentive to them whenever they call to You.

1 Kings 8:46‭-‬52 AMP

As I read this,  I see our world today.  Solomon spoke of those who would forget God and turn to sin. These souls are captives of sin. Captives that are trapped and do not have freedom. They have no hope where they are.

In today's world, many of us have fallen captive to sin, whether blatant sin or hidden sin.  Sin holds us captive. Sin entered this world and there are grave consequences. We see the effects of sin all around us. Sin takes us down roads we don't really want to go and keeps us longer than we want to stay.  Sin takes many forms in this life, but it boils down to disobedience to God. It may look like hate,  evil,  addiction, strife,  fighting, killing, or secret sin. We can identify sin as anything that goes against God.

The Bible describes sin this way.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:16 KJV

Sin is coming from three areas: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  It is not of God and goes against God's word and will.  It separates us from God. He intends us to love Him,  love others, to put aside the sins  and choose to do His will.  

When we obey God, and demonstrate love one for another, many things change.  A big change is God changes our hearts. Our lives should change. We should begin to reflect the heart of God. We treat others better, we care about one another, we have compassion for one another,  we choose life and we choose good.  We choose to forgive and we choose to love.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.   By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

John 13:34‭-‬35 KJV

We need to think long and hard over what is happening in our world,  our countries, our communities,  and even in our homes.  We need to ask ourselves if God is finding His will being done or is sin holding us captive. Only He can set us free through repentance.  

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV

Healing and true freedom will only come from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His blood can wash away all sin and set us free. We need repentance to break free of the torment of sin.  We need God in our homes,  in our communities, and world. 

May we realize that this is what it will take to change this world.  We will be held captive without the salvation that comes from Jesus. His grace and mercy are ready to set us free.  His eyes are open and he is listening intently to hear us call on him. 

“The Spirit of the Lord God  is upon Me, Because the Lord  has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those  who  are bound;

Isaiah 61:1 NKJV

We need to pray for freedom of souls being held captive by sin. We need to examine our hearts and minds for any sinful thing still working in us and allow God to purify us through repentance.  We need to call on the Name of Jesus to change the hearts of mankind and submit ourselves to be His hands and feet to those around us that so desperately need to be loved and set free. We are commissioned to preach the good news of salvation to the world.  Let's pray for the captives to be set free. God's word promises to set us free.