by Lee Turner and Lee LeFebre

There were ten dogs on leashes. They were in bondage and couldn’t help themselves. Since their earliest puppy-hood, they had a cruel taskmaster that could make them do anything. They had some freedom; they could go left or right but were controlled by their master. He yelled and screamed at them. He kicked at them. They lived in mortal terror as he kept them in captivity. They thought, “When we get older, we will overcome him.” As they got stronger they kept trying to get free. Some tried so hard that they developed high blood pressure. Then one day they tried so hard that they died of heart attacks.

For the sake of example, let’s say that five days later they came back to life. They were the same dogs, each with the same body, mind, will, and emotions. They looked around and said, “This feels good. It’s almost as if we were free.” (Much like a new convert). But they realized that their old master was still there, kicking and yelling at them. He held out his hand as if he had a leash on them. After a while, they could almost feel their old collars on their necks. They continued to wrestle inside to get free. But the more they tried the more tired they got. He bamboozled them and had them believing they were still his servants. They said to themselves, “We shall overcome; we are getting stronger.” They helped one another try to get free, but with no success.

Five years later, I said to the lead dog, “Why don’t you run away?” “I can’t,” he answered; “I’m not strong enough yet. I’m getting stronger but not quite strong enough to break free.” I said, “Don’t you know that when you died and were resurrected that you were freed from your old taskmaster?” He replied, “If that’s so, why do you think I have been serving this guy the last five years?” I assured him, “It’s because you didn’t know that you were free. Can’t you see that all your efforts aren’t helping at all?” He started to get a little testy (like some Christians living in their own power) and said, “Don’t you understand we are doing the best we can and that there is no difference between us and other dogs?” “Doggie,” I asked, “What must I do to convince you that you are free because of your resurrection? If I had a ‘Doggie Bible’ I would prove it to you. You can choose to serve anyone you please. If you choose to serve your old master, he will weaken and destroy you. But this time it will be voluntarily. You can choose to walk in freedom once you discover you are indeed free.” He replied, “Well, we’ll try.” This is the picture of many Christians struggling for victory, not realizing that their co-death, burial, and resurrection with Christ freed them from the old nature. The old man was crucified. (Romans. 6:6) He did not come out of the grave.

A whole new creation arose (2 Corinthians 5:17) and is seated in heavenly places with Christ (Ephesians 2:6), a place of victory. We now have Christ’s life, one that is victorious over all sin (1 John 4:4). We can now yield to the Holy Spirit who dwells within and have victory. Christ now lives in us, through the Holy Spirit, to express his life through us–think his thoughts, and speak his words to others.