Freedom to...

Hey WestK, yesterday was great.  The youth did a great job leading worship and also a huge “Congratulations!!!” to Tiffany Welch for getting baptized. 

In the sermon yesterday, we covered 1 Peter 1:13-19.  In it we discussed that you are forgiven and that Jesus Christ is still working on you to make you more like himself.  We call this process sanctification.  It is God working in and with us to make us more like Jesus.  Because we are sanctified (Heb 10:10) and because we are still being sanctified (Heb 10:14), we know that we are forgiven.  This knowledge and understanding allows us to shout out, “We are free! “

But free from what?  Yesterday I demonstrated that we are free in 3 ways:

1.       From the need to sin.  When you are a slave to sin, you are obligated to sin.  We who are Christ-followers, who have accepted him as our Lord and Savior, are no longer under the control of sin and are free from that need (Romans 8:1-2).  I also added in that we are free from the need to fix out sin.  Now let me clarify this a little bit more than I did yesterday.  We are free from the need to fix our sin against God.  There is no way for us to “fix” or take care of our own sin.  We cannot pay the price for our sin.  Only God was able to fix this, and he did it on the cross.  So we are free from the need to fix our sin against God; however, we still are commanded to reconcile our sin against each other. 

2.       We are free from our need to fake it.  Too many of us act like things are spiritually okay, but the reality is that we are not.  Instead of sharing that with the rest of the body of Christ, we hide it.  We put on our mask to everyone, including God.  We do this because we are afraid of what others will say if they were to know that we are struggling spiritually or that we have a sin issue in our life.  We also do this because we think God would be mad or disappointed in us if he finds out.  But God is not mad at you.  In fact, Jesus knows you are not perfect and he loves you just the same.  That is why we are still being sanctified.  Check out what Colossians 3:9-10 says.

3.       We are free to take risks.  Jesus wants you to take risks for his glory in your life.  Some of us might not like that word “risk.”  We associate that too much with what has been going on in our economy.  The Bible uses a better word.  “Faith” is used a number of ways, but it also implies risk.  We are free to put our faith in God and when we do that, we are taking a risk that he will come through.  I love what Ephesians 2:8-10 says.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, what we should walk in them.”  Did you see that?  We are his “workmanship.”  God wants to work with and through you for good works, which he has already prepared.  I know I say this a lot, but it is so true.  God is and has been working in the hearts and minds of those around you.  He is preparing a good work for you to do and that is to share the Gospel of Jesus with others.  So let me reiterate what I said yesterday – We (you and I) are free to take a risk for Jesus!

Now before you go off and attempt to live out your freedom in Christ, I want to also point you to a few scriptures.  I want to do this because anytime I talk about forgiveness and freedom, someone always asks, “So what you’re saying is because I’m free my sin doesn’t matter and I can continue doing it?”  No, that is not what I’m saying.  In fact, when Paul shared the Gospel, he had to come back and addresses that same question.  He answers that in Romans 6.  Read that chapter and then look back at verses 20-23.  Paul is not saying that we shouldn’t try.  He is actually saying the exact opposite.  We need to participate with the Holy Spirit in our sanctification.  We have been “set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification…”  As we work with the Holy Spirit, this leads us to become more like Jesus.

Peter also reminds people in 1 Peter 2:16 – “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”  We have been set free from sin.  This doesn’t mean you are free to sin without concern; it means you are no longer defined by it.  We are the image of Jesus and we are to continue working with the Holy Spirit as we reflect that image to the world.  Next time you look in the mirror, remember that God sees Jesus in you.  So, what do you see?