Freedom
Romans 6:16 – 23
Preached by: JB Hall
Introduction: Freedom is a wonderful thing. During the 4th of July Holiday we celebrate our freedoms here in America. Sadly though, freedom is very misunderstood. Even more serious is the fact that this misunderstanding of freedom poses a grave threat to its very existence.
With this understanding in mind, this morning we want to take an in-depth look at this thing called freedom from a Biblical perspective. By gaining a Biblical understanding of freedom and how it works, we will be equipped to enjoy it in a way that does not do damage to it.
1. Verses 17 & 18 – Freedom has an Authority.
A. I’ve said this many times. There is no such thing as absolute freedom.
B. You will not find any arena in which you are free from accountability to authority.
C. Whether it’s in the home (children and parents), in the business world (employee and boss), in society, or in the spiritual realm; all areas of life where freedom is granted and/or exercised, involves accountability to authorities.
D. These established authorities administer freedom, and set the boundaries within which this freedom is viable, and outside of which it is forfeited.
E. Therefore, to attempt to throw off all restraints, and to reject any attempt to come under any authority, is a fantasy – a notion that is non-existent.
F. When someone tries this they are fooling themselves.
G. Since no such freedom exists, they simply are substituting freedom for bondage without realizing it.
H. Since God has designed freedom to always have an Authority, He has set Himself to be the single Source of all freedom.
I. All freedoms, regardless of their earthly administrators, ultimately flow from God.
J. Rather than religious freedom being the result of political and social freedom, it is the freedom in the hearts of those who Christ has set free that produces political and social freedom.
K. Since we all will always be servants to some authority, spiritually speaking, we are either servants to sin or servants to righteousness, servants to Satan or servants to God.
L. Being set free does not mean being freed to do anything we have an impulse to do; it means we are free to walk in truth, to do righteousness, to live in peace, to have a personal relationship with the God Who made us.
M. Freedom has an Authority. So, freedom means we have chosen to exchange the authority of sin for the authority of God in our lives.
2. Verse 18 – Freedom is Exclusive.
A. In Matthew 6:24 Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
B. Since we all serve an authority, and since God will not share His authority with anything or anyone else, freedom is exclusive.
C. If we choose the freedom God provides, we must relinquish the authority of and our participation in the activities, attitudes, and interests of those things outside the Biblical allowances afforded us.
D. When you are a true child of God, and try to live outside Biblical guidelines, you have in effect forfeited the great freedoms granted you in Christ.
E. In thinking you have expanded your freedoms, you have in reality forfeited them.
F. Freedom and sin cannot peacefully co-exist.
G. Look at Verse 18a – “Being then made free from sin…”
H. We are freed from sin; not in sin, or to sin.
I. Each is exclusive. When you choose one, you must, of necessity, forfeit the other.
J. Think of it in terms of an unfaithful spouse.
K. You cannot have a husband or wife and an illegitimate relationship on the side. You cannot have a divided allegiance.
L. You must choose one or the other.
M. Likewise, if you choose the legitimate freedom that is in Christ, you must relinquish your sin.
N. If you choose your sin, you have relinquished your freedom in Christ.
O. Freedom is exclusive.
3. Verse 20 – Freedom has Perimeters.
A. I said earlier that freedom has perimeters; inside of which it is viable and outside of which it is forfeited.
B. Since there is no such thing as absolute freedom, and since God is the Authority Who establishes the boundaries of freedom, the perimeter of freedom is the extent of His will for you.
C. The perimeters of social law, while sometimes appearing restrictive, are in fact designed for your protection.
D. The law stating an individual cannot forcibly take property from another individual without legal permission may appear restrictive to the one seeking to steal another’s property; but the perimeter of the law was designed to protect the property rights of all individuals.
E. It only appears restrictive to the individual who wishes not to be subject to its dictates because he wishes to unjustly commit damage in order to advance his evil cause.
F. In like manner, the perimeter of the will of God is set for the benefit of everyone.
G. While there are things forbidden within the will of God, He has designed His will for the protection of all who will submit to its demands.
H. But, like social law, the will of God is designed also to result in consequences if it is violated for evil purposes.
I. Citizens of the United States of America must pay the penalty if they violate the law of their own country.
J. They are not exempt from the consequences just because they are citizens of this country.
K. Likewise, Christians who determine to be disobedient to the will of God will also suffer the repercussions of their rebellion.
L. They are not exempt from the consequences of sin just because they are children of God.
M. Let’s look at an example.
N. Proverbs 6:32 & 33 say, “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.” “A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.”
(1) Here we find there are 2 kinds of consequences for this particular sin – a wound, and dishonour.
(2) One is internal. One is external.
(3) The wound is internal. There is a soiling, a damaging of one’s inner self, the very essence of his being that is unseen when he violates God’s perimeters in marriage.
(4) The dishonour is external. There is damage to his reputation, his testimony, and his relationships.
(5) Sad thing is, with this particular sin, the reproach, or shame, lasts the rest of his life. It “…shall not be wiped away.”
O. We are quick to notice and bemoan sin’s external consequences but slow to recognize and acknowledge its internal damage, which is far greater than the harm that is visible.
P. Like the perimeters in marriage, that in today’s world are often deemed restrictive but are really set for our protection and security, so all the perimeters of God’s will are designed for our good.
Q. Those who choose to test this truth, do so to their own hurt.
R. Proverbs 5:22 says, “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.”
4. Verses 21 & 22 – There are Evidences or Fruit of freedom.
A. The fruit or evidences of sin are manifest in our lives.
B. This fruit produces shame and damage and culminates in death.
C. In the same way, there are evidences, or fruit, of freedom from sin when we have chosen the Lord Jesus instead of our sin.
D. This fruit, or evidence, manifests itself as holiness, or pure living with an emphasis on God’s wishes for us instead of pursuing selfish desires.
E. The end, or resulting culmination of freedom from sin, is everlasting life.
F. Matthew 12:33 says, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by his fruit.”
G. In this passage of scripture Jesus makes it clear that the fruit of a tree is an accurate indicator of the nature of the tree.
H. In Matthew 12:35 Jesus makes the connection between the fruit of a tree and the evidences of good or evil in man.
I. It says, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.”
J. If the fruit, or evidence, of your life does not support what you profess, perhaps you need to re-examine your profession to see if you have genuinely been set free from sin.
K. Romans 6:2 says, “…How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
L. II Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
M. In other words, if we have been freed from sin, as we behold the face of Jesus, spiritually, we will step by step be changed to resemble Him; the change being accomplished by the Holy Spirit.
N. If there is no evidence of a progressive process leading to your character appearing more and more like Jesus, there has likely not been a genuine salvation experience in your life.
5. All external Freedoms result from the individual’s soul Freedom.
A. Galatians 5:13 & 14 say, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
B. Like I stated earlier, rather than the individual’s freedom to make internal, soul choices resulting from political and social freedom, political and social freedom are derived from the freedom of the soul chosen by the individual when sin is rejected for a relationship with Jesus Christ.
C. Rather than freedom flowing from outward to inward, it flows from inward to outward.
D. It is the liberty of the soul that frees us to pursue love and the interests of those around us.
E. Without individual soul liberty we are locked in the sinful pursuits of selfish interests to the disregard of and indifference to the interests of others.
F. The liberal agenda will never be in the best interest of our nation for it is in direct conflict with the principles of scripture.
G. The Source and Preserver of our freedom is not our government. It is God Himself.
H. A government that is consistent with the principles of scripture is a result of a people who have chosen to be governed as individuals, first by the dictates of the will of God, and second by the government that He places over them.
I. A people whose first allegiance is to its government and then to God will always find itself in conflict with the will of God; and the very freedom it seeks to preserve will be threatened.
J. The principle stated earlier, of those who seek to expand their freedom by extending it beyond the will of God, thereby forfeiting the very freedom it seeks to expand, is clearly evident in our nation today, as liberals in our government seek to throw off all restraints and in so doing, are beginning to persecute the Christians who try to tell them the truth.
K. So, in our attempt to live without perimeters, our freedom is being threatened by the very government God has set to be the protector of it.
L. Only when external freedoms flow from the individual’s internal right standing before God will those freedoms be secure.
6. There are Benefits of Freedom.
A. First – Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
B. Romans 6:22a says, “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God…”
C. This happened, according to Verse 17, because “…ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”
D. In other words, because you have obeyed the gospel and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you have now been reconnected to the God Who your sins had kept you separated from.
E. You have now been placed under the secure, protective watch care of the only One who can provide security and protection for you.
F. Second – The second part of Romans 6:22 says, “…ye have your fruit unto holiness…”
G. Hebrews 12:11 calls righteousness “…Peaceable fruit…”
H. In other words, the peace you could never find is now the dominant force in your life.
I. The fear you could never escape has now disappeared.
J. In John 14:27 Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
K. When you received Jesus into your life, He imparted (gave) you His peace.
L. Third – The last part of Verse 22 says, “…and the end everlasting life.”
M. This freedom in Christ brings the anticipation of a glorious eternal destination.
N. When you served sin, you wandered, with no purpose, not knowing where you were going or why.
O. This new destination provides meaning and purpose to life now, as well as direction.
P. The benefits of freedom will be unfolded more and more, right on into eternity.
Q. Each day we understand more and more the sheer glory of the freedom we have been granted by rejecting our sin and choosing our Savior.
In Summary: Freedom has a single Source and Authority. This Authority, which is God Himself, has the right to set the perimeters within which freedom can be experienced, and outside of which it is forfeited. These perimeters are intended for our protection, not our restriction.
All freedoms, external as well as internal, flow from a single Source. These freedoms begin with, and result from, a choice by you to choose to reject sin in order to become the servant of Jesus.
Being a child of God does not exempt you from the consequences of choosing to violate the will of God. Since freedom is exclusive, it cannot peacefully co-exist with sin. You must make a choice. Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree evil and its fruit evil, for a tree or a person is known by the fruit, or evidences, manifested in his life.
The benefits of freedom begin to accrue immediately but are revealed more and more throughout our lifetimes and will only be ultimately known in eternity.
The question to you this morning is this: Are you experiencing this unspeakable freedom, or, are you limiting or forfeiting freedom by trying to extend its perimeters beyond the will of God for you?
