Freedom in Christ
Introduction:
Liberty is a very precious thing. America was founded because men wanted
freedom. Countless numbers of people have died to obtain it and keep it.
Blood throughout the age has been shed as the price for freedom. Nowhere is
this more true than when we consider the church. Our Lord shed His precious
blood for His church. (Acts
20:28)
“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the
Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He
purchased with His own blood.”
NKJV
He has set us free by His truth. (John
8:32)
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
NJKV
He came into the world to bring liberty to His people. (Luke
4:16-21)
“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom
was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened
the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord
is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He
has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are
oppressed, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ Then He closed the
book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all
who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them,
‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ ”
NKJV
Body:
I.
Ways in Which Christians Are Free
A.
Christians are set free from the Law of Moses.
(Romans
7:4-7)
“Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the
body of Christ, that you may be married to another – to Him who was raised
from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the
flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our
members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the
law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the
newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we
say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not
have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known
covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ”
NKJV
They
are to enjoy the liberty we now have in Christ.
(Galatians
5:1-3)
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and
do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to
you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I
testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to
keep the whole law.”
NKJV
B.
Christians are set free from their sins and sins’ dominion over them.
The Roman Christians, before their conversion, had been servants of sin.
Then after obeying the doctrine [baptism], they had been set free. (Romans
6:15-18)
“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?
Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves
to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to
death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that
though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of
doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin,
you became slaves of righteousness.”
NKJV
Then, as long as the seed [Word of God] remained in them, and they followed
it, they would not be under the power of sin. They would be slaves of God
with real freedom. (Romans
6:19-23)
“I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as
you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of
lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present hour members as
slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you
were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the
things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you
have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”
NKJV
(I
John 3:9)
“Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him;
and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”
NKJV
(I
Peter 1:2-5)
“elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification
of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten
us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not
fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God
through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
NKJV
This meant walking in the Spirit – following the Spirit’s teaching. They
were free from the law of sin and death.
(Romans
8:1-2)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,
who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the
law of sin and death.”
NKJV
II.
Some Misunderstandings about Freedom
It is thought by some that liberty means a license so Christians are free to
do as they please, that we are not under law of any kind. The truth is
rather we are under the law of Christ. (I
Corinthians 9:19-21)
“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all,
that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might
win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win
those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law
(not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I
might win those who are without law;”
NKJV
By
bearing one another’s burdens, we “fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians
6:2)
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
NKJV
As previously read in
Romans 8:2,
we are to follow “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” Side
Note: Back in
Romans 6:15,
the law there is specifically referring to the Law of Moses. That is the
context of Chapters 5-7 of Romans. By following the law of Christ, we will
be blessed. (James
1:25)
“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and
is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed
in what he does.”
NKJV
III.
Practical Applications of This Freedom in Christ
1.
After being converted to Christ, we are free to teach others the same good
news. We can tell others how they too can be freed from their sins. But we
don’t have freedom to change the teaching of God’s Word as to how that is
accomplished.
2.
As members of the Lord’s church, we are free to worship God in Spirit and
truth. But we are not at liberty to change how that worship is to be
offered. We are free to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs but not
free to use mechanical instruments of music.
3.
As part of God’s family, we are free to fellowship brethren in Christ. But
we are not free to fellowship those outside the family nor those who have
been withdrawn from. All true freedom brings with it a kind of restraint.
Invitation:
One more freedom awaits the faithful child of God. – the freedom from
suffering and from a corruptible body. One day we will be like Him; for we
will see Him as He is. Don’t you desire that as well?
Bobby Stafford July 7, 2019
