The Sound of True Freedom

Here’s God’s commentary on the condition of the human heart:

No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies. Snake venom drips from their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. They rush to commit murder. Destruction and misery always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace. They have no fear of God at all. (Romans 3:10-18)

And Romans 2:1 slaps all of us right across the face with these pointed words:

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

It’s so easy to pass judgment on the evil of these traffickers without realizing that we come from the same sinful root. Our category of sin may be different, but, according to God’s Word, we are all depraved sinners, worthy of God’s divine judgment.

The Real Remedy

What’s the solution to the sin in us and around us? It’s the Gospel. Here’s how the apostle Paul put it in Galatians 1:3-5:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Jesus came to save everyone who has been trafficked by sin and sold into slavery to the Evil One. He came to save you, me, the traffickers, and the trafficked—anyone and everyone.

If you’ve never put your faith in Jesus, I challenge you to do so right now. He died in your place for your sin—past, present, and future. He rose from the dead and proved He was no mere mortal. He was and is God in the flesh. And He tells us in John 3:16 that “whoever believes in Him will not perish but has eternal life.”

So what does all this Gospel talk have to do with eradicating sex trafficking? I believe it’s central to the solution.

Henry David Thoreau once said:

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.

Only the Gospel can strike at the root of evil.

Yes, it’s important to support solid ministries that rescue children, but don’t underestimate the power of prevention. I’m convinced that the Gospel can prevent crimes from actually taking place.

My Own Story

For instance, it was the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, that catapulted me full-time into Dare 2 Share, the ministry I founded to equip Christian teenagers to reach their peers with the Gospel.

The questions I couldn’t get out of my mind were ones like these: “What if the two shooters had been reached with the Gospel long before anger infected their heart like a virus? What if they would have put their faith in Jesus? Would that have prevented the massacre?”