The story of two biblical prison inmates . . .

"We were going to the place of prayer, and we met a slave woman who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to practice."

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners enjoyed listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, how can I be saved?"

They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved -- you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God -- he and his whole household."
-- Acts 16:16-34

The apostle Paul and his teammate, Silas were imprisoned; incarcerated -- not because they had committed a crime, but because they took a stand for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

An interesting question which tantalizes the mind is whether or not incarcerated men can indeed, ever become free in spirit. It would seem Paul and Silas might have something to say about that. Conceptually of course, we admit that they can. But can they really FEEL free? Do the walls, the barbed wire fences, the barred windows and cell blocks mean the imprisonment of the soul as well as the body?

"There is not a lot of difference between a prison and a monastery except the attitude of the inhabitants." -- "Doc" Stanley, (inmate) San Quentin

Did these two biblical personalities feel free?

No less than four books in the New Testament were written in prison. The book of Revelation was written by an exile.

Physical incarceration is one thing. Government authorities can put our bodies in confinement, BUT -- there is no way any government can imprison the spirit of those it imprisons.

Still, what about our spirit? Can it indeed be imprisoned? Perhaps not by others, but do we ever imprison our own sense of freedom with God.

Spiritual imprisonment does happen. Here are four reasons why:

1. Imprisoned by Ignorance

Ignorance. of what God is really like. He is often thought of as always demanding, always punishing and sending people to Hell. Such a person has likely heard the phrase, "God is going to take you to the woodshed for that . . ." much too often. Such a person has seen the bumper sticker . . .

. . . too many times.

Then there is the misbegotten perception that God is merely a non-personal "higher mind," disinterested in human affairs. He created everything that is, and left it all behind. Que sera, sera. (What will be, will be)

Ignorance of what Christianity really is. Owing to Christian hypocrisy and our many other foibles, this has led many to think, "If heaven is the place where Christians go, I'll just go ahead and miss it if you don't mind."

False notions of Christianity accepted by many:

. . . a "Religion"

While there is clear evidence that the institutional church is certainly a religion like all other religions, authentic Christianity is not at all. It is a personal, individual relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

. . . a system of belief

A "relationship" is not "systemized." Would you say that your relationship with your spouse or your parents or children is nothing more than a "system of belief?" Of course you wouldn't. Jesus is alive, you are alive. He loves you. You love him back. That is a loving relationship between two living entities. Systemization is completely foreign to the reality of relationship.

. . . a fantasy

A fantasy is a delusion and many believe this to be true of Christianity. Fact: Jesus Christ is a historical Person. He taught divine principles and truth. He was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. This is true of no other person in human history. The evidence of these facts is overwhelming.

. . . a religion of rules

The "Law" of the Old Testament has been fulfilled and satisfied in Jesus Christ. While the Law reveals the values of God, human beings are incapable of following them in anything resembling perfection. Hence, Jesus paid the penalty of our failure to be what God wants us to be. Hence, our forgiveness.

. . . military institution

A chain of command and obedience. If that is all Christianity is, then it is, indeed, banal and worthless. Christians love Jesus Christ and count it an honor to worship him and follow his values. Christians talk a lot about "obedience," when what they mean is that they follow Christian principles because they love Christ.

2. Imprisoned by Fear

Afraid of peer rejection and persecution.

Anyone foreign to the Christian faith will often think twice before they approach it. This is often due to the fear that others might reject them or criticize them should they be born again. Christian language and terms are often the butt of jokes and scorn by those who have no idea what it is like to enjoy a relationship with the Creator of the universe.

Afraid they won't be able to "hold out"

They think that the control of the relationship is their responsibility. Do not realize that it is God himself that controls and monitors the relationship. It is God holding on to them, not the other way around.

Afraid of God himself

This is not surprising. Christians have for centuries preached the fear of God. Often quoted is the passage from the letter to the Hebrews where these words occur: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Here is a serious question: Why should one be afraid of the One who loves you? The fear spoken of so often in the bible has to do with respect, worship and awe. A loving God has no desire to have those he loves be afraid of him.

3. Imprisoned by Sin

"There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." --Romans 3:10-12

Understand: God is Holy, completely and infinitely set apart from sin. No one with sin can be tolerated in the presence of a Holy God.

That is why Jesus came to liberate the world from sin. Your sin. My sin.

This is a pre-condition for all of us. When a "sinner," (you and me) comes to Jesus Christ, sin is forgiven. In the eyes of almighty God, when he looks at you, all he sees is the shed blood and righteousness of his only begotten Son. Because of this, he does not regard our sin.

Pre-emptive sin: There are those who believe they are too deep in their evil for God to be even remotely interested in them. "I'm bad!" . . . said with a certain attitude of pride. "God wouldn't have me." This is a kind of self-imprisonment and a very low view of how great the Grace of God really is. It is still, nonetheless, a prison.

People need to understand that relationship with the Son of Man, our Savior, Redeemer and Friend, not institutional religion, is the only reality in which genuine spiritual satisfaction can occur.