In Christ, there is true freedom
This month in our series Dare to be different we have been considering Different Freedom.
This evening I want us to consider the truth that in Christ there is true freedom.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians wrote: “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free”. These words, written by Paul to first-century followers of Jesus are an important truth that is still relevant to us today in the 21st Century.
Throughout his letter to the Galatian Church, Paul speaks about how Christ’s death takes away fear,
he speaks about how God provides lasting forgiveness and restoration, and He speaks of the truth of knowing that Jesus Christ has set us free not just for a day, but for eternity.
If you are a disciple, if you have repented from your sin and accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, then you have BEEN set free by Jesus, you HAVE freedom.
But freedom from what?
What is it that you and I are free from?
Listen to Galatians 5:1 again: 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.
When I look at the world today, when I look at the lives of ordinary people, there seems to be far too many people who appear to be living in some form of slavery.
Take a moment and think about how many people you know who are burdened with guilt, or bound by fear, or enslaved to sinful habits, or shackled with bad attitudes.
I’m sure you can think of a few people who are not living in freedom. Maybe you can even think of a fellow believer in Christ who seems to not be living in the Freedom Christ died to give them.
We are called to be people who are living in the freedom, knowing Christ as our Lord and Saviour has brought into our lives. Paul says Jesus HAS already set us free. In fact, let me remind you of the words of Jesus in John chapter 8:31,32,34-36, Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”
Why is it, if Christ HAS already set us free, so many Christians still seem to be in chains and still in bondage?
If Jesus has already set us free why are so many still shackled by fear, by sin, by wrong desires, by the stuff this world offers?
The truth is Christ died to set us free from the burden of sin, but too often we choose to continue to carry it.
Friend, do you understand, in Christ you ARE freed from the burden of your sin?
Let me remind you what Jesus has already said to us ‘“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will…’ ...add more weight to your burden? No, Jesus said come to me ‘and I will give you rest.’
On many different occasions Jesus told people – come to me and I will remove your burden of sin. We HAVE been freed from the burden of sin. Jesus HAS died and risen. Jesus HAS already conquered death. Jesus HAS already paid the price for our sins.
Isn’t it time we actually started living in the Freedom that is already ours?
Let us return to Galatians 5:1 again: 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.
Paul warns the Galatians not to put the yoke of the Law back on themselves again.
Paul told the Galatian church they had rejected the gospel of grace, there were people who had started to say that believing in Jesus was not enough, there were people who were teaching that to really be saved they was still a need to be circumcised and to obey the Letter of the Law.
Paul told them if they believed that circumcision or anything else needed to be added then they did not believe that Christ’s death on the cross was sufficient to save people from their sins.
Living under the Laws of the Old Covenant could never bring freedom. The Law brought condemnation and guilt.
The Old Covenant law laid a burden on the people, it held them in bondage.
But when Christ came, He fulfilled the requirements of the Law, Jesus was the atonement for sin. Jesus death was sufficient to save all who believe in Him as Lord and Saviour. The burden was lifted from the people because the requirement of the Law had been met when Jesus perfect life was sacrificed in their (and our) place.
Jesus HAS already set us free.
Have you ever wondered why would the Galatians go back into slavery when they had been already been given freedom? Their behaviour was similar to the pattern of their ancestors, and ours.
Years before, Moses had led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, God used Moses to lead the people into freedom. But the people were not happy, even though they were free they begin to moan and complain that life was better back in Egypt.
They complained about so much, listen to Numbers 11:5-6, “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”
The Israelites had been set free, and instead of living in the freedom God had given them, instead of being thankful that God was providing manna for them to eat each day, they complain of a lack of “cucumbers and Garlic”
The Galatians were doing the same. Instead of living in freedom in Christ, they thought they needed something more.
The Galatians allowed men to come in amongst them and spread heresy.
The Galatians were deceived into thinking they needed something more to earn freedom and salvation.
Paul is clear when he says we can’t earn our salvation and if we try to earn our salvation we deny the truth of God’s grace.
Paul says it is Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection which justifies you before God. It is Jesus’ sacrifice that restores you to a right relationship with God.
You have been freed from sin but you are not free to sin. Do you understand the difference?
You are free from sin but that is not the same as saying you are free to sin.
You are free from the condemnation of the Law but you are not free to disregard or break God’s Law.
Paul tells the Galatians, and he tells us, we are made right with God by grace through faith in Christ – our justification. Jesus frees us from the burden of sin, from a guilty conscience, from the fear of death.
1 Peter 1:18-19, For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
We are called to ‘stand firm’ in the freedom which Christ and Christ alone brings.
We have been ransomed, the price has been paid, we have been saved from an empty sinful life and brought into freedom through the precious blood of Christ
God has freed us from the burden from the punishment of our sin.
But if we are not free to sin, then what exactly are we free to do?
We have the freedom to enjoy a relationship with God that was once denied to us because of our sin.
You have the freedom to be in a real relationship with a God who loves you...
Let me ask you a very important question:
Is it a joy to you to be a Christian?
I don’t mean are you always happy...
I don’t mean are you always smiling...
Is being a Christian a joy or a burden to you?
Sadly, some people see it is a burden, they think being a Christian is more about what we do not do - instead of what we do, do.
If you are a Christian this evening, God loves you unconditionally.
You cannot make him love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less.
Your salvation is in Christ – not in your obedience.
Your Freedom is in Christ - but your sanctification is in your obedience.
Ah – that is the key... Your holiness, your personal godliness, your witness before God and others, depends on your obedience. But your salvation is all of Christ.
Your sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit - every day leading you to obey God’s Word and will so you might become a little more like Christ each day.
We are free to be obedient, obedience leads to godliness, holiness, and Christlikeness.
What do you have the freedom to do?
You have the freedom to serve others in love.
Galatians 5:13-15, For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
We have the freedom to serve others, not exploit them. A mark of our freedom is how we serve God by serving others.
Our freedom was not cheap, we have been bought with the blood of Christ.
When Jesus is our Lord, then we must seek to serve the plans and purposes of God.
Because we have been freed from the slavery of sin, we are called to become servants of Christ.
We display our freedom in Christ by serving others in the name of Jesus.
It is out of our freedom that we serve.
It is an expression of our love towards Jesus who has set us free that we serve others in his name.
We are freed from self-indulgence and from the slavery of our sinful nature.
We are being freed from the power of sin in our lives and in its place comes the fruit of the Spirit.
Freedom in Christ comes by being filled by the Holy Spirit so that there is no room for sin.
The fruit of the Spirit in your life brings freedom – against such things Paul says there is no law, nothing to condemn, nothing to convict and therefore no guilt.
We are free to be filled with the Spirit, which brings freedom not bondage.
We are free to live without condemnation of the past or fear of the future.
God does not wipe away your sin, give you salvation and then put on shackles of past memories to hinder your Christian life.
What self-imposed shackles are you wearing?
What are you allowing to keep you in bondage to sin?
If you are in Christ, you are free from your past, God has wiped your slate clean.
Christ’s righteousness is yours.
Your sin no longer imprisons you, the debt has been paid you have been forgiven.
If you not have repented of your sin, if you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour then I would encourage you with the words of Peter on the day of Pentecost - Acts 3:19-20, Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord
Let Jesus set you free from your past – don’t continue to carry the burden He died to remove.
Right here, right now, accept God’s forgiveness, repent and start living in the Freedom Christ HAS already died to give you. Trust Christ and He will set you free.
As I draw to a close let me encourage you to dare to be different because in Christ there is true freedom:
Freedom from the punishment of sin,
Freedom from eternal death,
Freedom from the past,
Freedom from fear of the future
But we are not autonomous, we are not free to do our own thing.
We are not free from responsibility.
We are not free to sin.
We are not freed from love and concern for others.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free”
Be encouraged this evening by the Freedom YOU already have in Christ.
Sermon audio available at: https://sermons.estuaryelim.church/20191117_apm_dean_courtier(freedominchrist).mp3
