PSALMS 109:109-112: “My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts. Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, to the very end.” NKJV

OBSERVATION: Free will, apart from the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, is the greatest gift that God has given to man. The Creator of the Universe, who has all power and authority, has entrusted to His humble creation the freedom to do whatever we desire. This free will is never taken away. When a person becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ, they still have a choice in how they respond to His call each and every day.

FREE WILL REQUIRES STEWARDSHIP!

(The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. Webster)

Free will can lead us into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ or it can pull us back to our old patterns of sin. Each day, each moment, we are faced with decisions that God places before us. When we are saved by His grace we are not placed in a bubble of protection. We are called to live out our new life of faith in the public arena where each moment we have choices to make. Will we walk after the Spirit or succumb to the flesh? Will we allow God’s Word to be our guide or will we lean to our own understanding?

IT IS ALL A QUESTION OF OUR FREE WILL!

The Psalmist writes these words.

• “My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law.”

There is only one thing that stands between us and the wrong choices in life. It is the Word of God. Some versions translate this verse – “Although my life is in continuous peril, I will not forget Your law.” I believe you can look at this verse both ways. We are always faced with choices and we are always contending with the difficulties and challenges of life. Everything in life is trying to chip away at our walk of faith. The pull of the world is strong, yet God’s Word is stronger! Jesus reminded His disciples,

• “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John‬ ‭8:31-32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

So many believers today are doing everything – except abiding in God’s Word. In a recent poll conducted by the Barna Group, George Barna stated that only 4% of evangelicals hold a Biblical World View. What does this mean? It means that only this small percentage of believers who claim to believe in the Bible as their only source of truth – actually use the Bible to guide their lives and decisions. They are simply shooting from the hip and exercising their free will without any consultation with God’s Word.

I believe that I do hold a Biblical World View. I would count myself among the 4%. Yet, I know that, even with this, it is a daily battle to keep my free will submitted to the Word of God and walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit. It is not only the battles I face with my old sinful nature. I also face a hostile world that has marginalized me as a fanatic, a hate monger, a narrow-minded fool, and is poised at any moment to try and take me down! The Psalmist noted this as he wrote,

• “The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.”

The enemy of our souls is trying to get us to move away from a full and complete dependence upon God’s Word for all matters of life and practice. The snare he is trying to lay is for us to loosen our commitment, make exceptions, embrace the false concept of tolerance (which means to simply give a pass to sin), and use our free will in a way that will lead us away from life in Christ Jesus.

Yet, I need to be like the Psalmist as he writes,

• “…YET I HAVE NOT STRAYED FROM YOUR PRECEPTS!”

How do I do this? I can only do this by daily abiding in God’s Word. I need to read it, pray over it, meditate upon it, hide it in my heart, and take every decision I have before me and test it with the principles of Scripture. It is only then that I will truly be living with a Biblical World View. When I see all of my life, every decision, every exercise of my free will through the lens of Scripture, only then will I be…

A GOOD STEWARD OF MY FREE WILL!

(One who is careful and responsible in managing something entrusted to one’s care. Webster)

Lord, this morning, I am challenged to lay my free will at the foot of the cross. I am moved to recommit my life to You and Your Word. I pray that You would quicken me by the Holy Spirit to follow the example of the Psalmist and proclaim,

• “Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, to the very end.”

In Jesus’ Name!