Freedom In Christ

FREEDOM IN CHRIST

In the 1700s, Great Britain was the most powerful nation on the earth. It had the strongest armies and all the navies of the earth combined couldn’t match the British Navy. One thing we don’t talk about much, though, is that Britain was giant bully. They conquered most of the world and owned territories all over. The saying was “the sun never set on the British Empire.” Every place on the earth that had any valuable resources, they sought to conquer and basically enslave the peoples of those lands for their own financial benefit.

In America, they acted a little different. They didn’t enslave the colonies, but they heavily taxed them and abused them greatly. When the colonists finally had enough of the King, they gathered together and on July 4, 1776 proclaimed their independence from England. We know the document as The Declaration of Independence.

America may have won its freedom from Britain, but when you look at our nation today it becomes obvious that we are still slaves– to sin. The only way we can be set free is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1. THE PROCLAMATION OF OUR FREEDOM.

A. Why Christ Came.

Lk 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,

When Jesus came to earth, He did amazing things. Hen healed the sick, He performed miracles, the blind see, the deaf hear, the crippled walked again, and raised people from the dead. All amazing things. But, the main reason Jesus came to the earth was to set lost people free from sin. He came to bring salvation to all who would repent and follow Him.

B. What Christ Preached.

Jn 8:31-36 31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."

He preached that the problem for man is sin. Sin enslaves and destroys the lives of all people and all people have sinned. But the Good News He came and preached was that He came to set us free from the power of sin and reconcile us to our Heavenly Father.

2. THE PROCUREMENT OF OUR FREEDOM.

A. The Price Christ Paid.

1 Pet 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

** The Hailstorm. A man and a woman were caught out in the wide open and a hailstorm surprised them. Nowhere to run, no shelter to protect them. The put his wife down on the ground and spread his body over hers as baseball sized hail beat him to pieces. He was knocked unconscious and couldn’t protect himself. Afterwards, he awoke in the hospital with all the facial bones broken and stitches covering his face and body. The scars never went away. Later, a reporter asked her about the horrible scars her husband had. She said, “Those scars aren’t ugly to me. Every time I look at them I’m reminded how much he loves me and how he sacrificed himself for me.”

** When we get to Heaven, the only person in eternity with scars will be Jesus Christ. Stripes on His body. Holes in His hands and feet and spear wound in His side. His scars will be an eternal reminder of how He loved you enough to pay the price for your sins to satisfy the wrath of Holy God. And you and I will love Him even more than ever.

B. The Accomplishment Christ Made.

Col 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

At one time we were held captive by Satan in a prison that our sins built. Jesus paid the price for our sins and set us free from Satan’s hold. We were forgiven by the mercy and grace He showered upon us and we were set free.