Cowboys use ropes!
 

Little cowboys carry their ropes with them roping and tying anything that walks in front of them.  From bull ropes to piggin-strings;  from hack reins to nylons, cowboys use ropes.

When the calf roper ties his calf right, he can’t kick free.  Until someone unties him, he isn’t going anywhere.  And this is the perfect illustration of a verse found in Proverbs 5:22 that describe what sin does.

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In the New Living translation it is worded this way. ​

“An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.”
 

Sin is like the rope, we are the calves.  When sin gets a hold, we are captive.  The rope of sin can and will catch any of us and jerk us down.  We can be choked down and tied up in a sinful situation as fast as the best calf ropers can rope and tie a calf.  The awesome news is this; Jesus Christ came to set us free.  Jesus wants to untie our sins and release us from all that keeps us from being our best.

 

In Luke 4:18 Jesus tells us that, ​

“He came to proclaim that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

and that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors.” 

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In John 8:32 Jesus says,

“You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings, ​

and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  ​

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And a few verses later we read, ​​

“So, if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.”

 

When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then we are no longer slaves to sin.  Christ frees us from the power of sin that leads to death.  ​

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Romans 8:1-2 says,

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  ​

For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.”

 

When you are a Christian, Christ has given you the power to break any sin!  No matter what sin hinders you, through the power of Jesus Christ it can be broken.  With Christ in your heart, you are no longer tied to old habits.  A hot temper doesn’t have to hinder you.  Jesus can set free one with a jealous, gossiping spirit.  Entanglement of any sexual sin can be freed with the power of Jesus working in our heart.

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Job 36:8-10 gives simple directions to being set free from the ropes of sin.  ​

“But if men are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction,

He (God) tells them that what they have done—that they have sinned arrogantly. 

He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil.”  

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​God wants us to be free, He will show us our sins, we must be teachable and listen to what God has to say, and then we must repent of this evil.

One of the sins we can be free from is condemnation.  Many of us feel guilty about the wrong things we have done.  We can’t seem to let it go.  When we repented of these sins, God forgave us totally.  He will never condemn us for these past sins.  God forgives and forgets our sins.  We must forgive ourselves and we must make the choice to forget.  We must choose to let God set us free from the sins of our past. 

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Repent now of condemning yourself and see the ropes of this sin fall off. 

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Experience the freedom of this promise, ​

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“There is now no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

 

The last night that Jesus lived on earth, He said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth.”  (John 14:15-16)  When we are one of God’s kids, He works on our behalf.  He gives us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and we can be free. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, He gives freedom!” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Sin ties us up and we cannot free ourselves.  Jesus can free us.  Christ’s plan of freedom goes like this.  We accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Simply put we wholeheartedly acknowledge that Christ is our master and realize only He can free us from the ropes of sin and death. 

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Because it is God’s will for all of His kids to be free He sent the Holy Spirit to help us.  The promise given in John 14 says, He will never leave us.  The Holy Spirit living inside of us will never leave, He is always there to comfort, counsel, and lead us to truth.  It is so magnificent the love God has for us.  Not only did He send His son to die for us, He then comes to live in us—to restore us. 

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In Psalm 23 we are told that God restores our soul.  All of us have so many wrong thought patterns that stir up wrong emotions and consequently, encourage us to make really bad choices.  Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit to come along side to guide us into His freedom and strengthen us, so that we can make good, right choices.

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​We are able to be free through this power given to us by God.  ​

Free to be what God created us to be.

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​In spite of the turmoil that will continue in the world we live,

God wants our inner man to be continually filled with His peace and His joy and His love. 

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No longer tied up by the circumstances of the world,

​but freed from fear, condemnation, anger, hatred, and misery.