FREEDOM: Slaves to Righteousness 7-14-24
INTRODUCTION
Freedom
“To
the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are
really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free.””
John 8:31-32 NIV
“It
is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”
Galatians 5:1a NIV
“Freedom
- no word was ever spoken that has held out greater hope, demanded greater
sacrifice, needed more to be nurtured, blessed more the giver...or came closer
to being God's will on earth."
General
Omar Bradley
I.
FREEDOM
FROM THE FLESH
“because
anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”
Romans 6:7 NIV
Jesus
set us free from the flesh.
A
poor German girl announced that she was going to give a piano concert. In order
to attract people to come, she mentioned in the advertisements that she was the
student of the famous Hungarian professor, Franz Liszt. But it was a falsehood.
To
her dismay, she learned the professor was going to visit her town on the day
before the concert. What should she do now?
She
went to meet him, confessed her guilt, and asked him to forgive her. The
professor answered, "You made a mistake. All of us make mistakes. The only
thing that you can do now is to repent; and I believe that you have already
repented. Sit down and play."
At
the beginning, she played with much fear. The professor corrected a few of her
mistakes and said, "Now truly you can say that I taught you. Go ahead and
play at your concert tomorrow evening, and the last piece will not be played by
you, but by your teacher."
Christian
Cheong, Sermon Central, April 15, 2006.
The
teacher set the student free.
“You,
my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to
indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”
Galatians 5:13 NIV
“Live
as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as
God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers,
fear God, honor the emperor.”
1
Peter 2:16-17 NIV
A.
Show
proper respect to everyone.
B.
Love
the family of believers.
C.
Fear
God.
D.
Honor
the emperor.
Everybody
longs for freedom. But for many people its pursuit leads to bondage. The
greatly loved Bible teacher Henrietta Mears knew
the secret of true freedom, and she wanted her students to know it too. With
young people in mind, she said, "A bird is free in the air. Place a bird
in the water and he has lost his liberty. A fish is free in the water, but
leave him on the sand and he perishes. He is out of his realm. So, young
people, the Christian is free when he does the will of God and is obedient to
God’s command. This is as natural a realm for God’s child as the water is for
the fish, or the air for the bird.”
II.
FREEDOM
FROM THE YOKE OF SLAVERY
Sitting
on top of the United States capitol building is a 20-foot statue known as the
“Freedom Lady”. She was sculpted by Italian artists in the city of Rome and
shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to her perch in Washington DC. During the
delivery, the ship carrying the statue encountered a fierce storm. Howling
winds and huge waves threatened to capsize the ship. Its skipper ordered the
cargo thrown overboard.
But
when the men went to toss the Freedom Lady the captain shouted, “No, never!
We’ll flounder before we throw “Freedom” away!”
That
is a great word for all patriots. Never throw away your freedom.
Dr.
Larry Petton, October 23, 2022.
“It
is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let
yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1 NIV
The
preacher, Ronnie Knight, said,
Freedom
is a concept that is built into the DNA of our being. This fact is true to the
extent that our souls cry out when we find ourselves bound under the weight of
tyranny. This truth is expressed clearly in our own past as a people. When
found under the tyrannical control of the British crown we as a nation cried
out for our freedom. The record of that cry was put to paper in the document we
know as the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson described this
document as "our expression of the American mind." In Christ, you may
be "free indeed."
A.
Circumcision
B.
The
Law
C.
Jewish
distinctives
“With
them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To
the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard
that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you,
troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and
send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked
their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending
Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good
to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the
following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from
blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will
do well to avoid these things. Farewell.”
Acts 15:23-29 NIV
III.
SLAVES
TO RIGHTEOUSNESS
In
the last days of the Civil War, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia,
fell to the Union army. Abraham Lincoln insisted on visiting the city. Even
though no one knew he was coming, slaves recognized him immediately and
thronged around him. He had liberated them by the Emancipation Proclamation,
and now Lincoln’s army had set them free. According to Admiral David Porter, an
eyewitness, Lincoln spoke to the throng around him: "My poor friends, you
are free—free as air. You can cast off the name of slave and trample upon it
... . Liberty is your birthright."
But
Lincoln also warned them not to abuse their freedom. "Let the world see
that you merit [your freedom]," Lincoln said, "Don’t let your joy
carry you into excesses. Learn the laws and obey them."
That
is very much like the message Jesus gives to those whom he has liberated by his
death and resurrection. Jesus gives us our true birthright—spiritual freedom.
But that freedom isn’t an excuse for disobedience; it forms the basis for
learning and obeying God’s laws. It gives us direction in action.
Christopher
Surber, All Things are Possible with God, 8/15/2012.
“You
have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
Romans 6:18 NIV
“But
now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the
benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
Romans 6:22 NIV
A.
Slaves
of God
B.
The
benefit leads to holiness
C.
The
result is eternal life
CONCLUSION
Freedom
from the flesh. Freedom
from the yoke of slavery. Slaves
to righteousness.
Only
in freedom can man direct himself toward goodness. Our contemporaries make much
of this freedom and pursue it eagerly; and rightly to be sure. Often however
they foster it perversely as a license for doing whatever pleases them, even if
it is evil. For its part, authentic freedom is an exceptional sign of the
divine image within man. For God has willed that man remain "under the
control of his own decisions."
John
Paul II
Decide
for yourself today to be a slave to God, a slave to righteousness.
INVITATION
It
is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the
Word. You may want to
follow Jesus. You
may want to proclaim your faith.
You
may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).
Perhaps
you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit. Possibly,
if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to
become a member of Kenwood Church.
If
you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can
come forward now. If you
would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about
what God is doing in your life.
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