Everybody on earth desires freedom. I do, and if I were a betting man, I’d gamble that you do, too! But many people don’t understand what freedom is or what freedom is not. Unfortunately, some people’s idea of, and quest for, freedom actually enslaves and imprisons them. Jude advises us “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:4 (NASB). And Peter says of such people, they promise freedom “while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” 2 Peter 2:19 (NASB).
Many seem to think that freedom is entitlement. “I can do what I want without regard of your need or rights because I am entitled to!” This sense of entitlement is one of the real problems plaguing the world today. It says such things as:
• “What’s yours should be mine, and you’d better divide it!”
• “If I want, I need it and I should be provided with it.”
• “If you have it, I should have it, too!”
But entitlement does not free us from responsibility, or consideration of others, or limitations on our rights, or from consequence! Just imagine the chaos if everybody did what they want, when they want, where they want, how they want just because they think they are entitled to do so!
• Some people would just blast through stop signals and others had better yield the right of way.
• Some would drive the wrong way on a one way street, concluding that “Whichever way I drive is the right way. Let others beware”
• Some would walk up to your table at Burgerville and make off with your lunch and you’d better let them – after all, they are entitled.
• Some would (and have) quit working and rely on others to provide for them.
And they defend their actions by claiming the freedom of entitlement. Freedom is not entitlement nor is it license. Real freedom recognizes that others have rights and needs, too. I am free to swing my arms around as widely as I desire, but that freedom ends where your nose begins. I have no license to poke you in the snout and blame you for not ducking.
Tom Landry, former Coach of the Dallas Cowboys and a man of faith in Christ, once said: "Most successful football players not only accept rules and limitations but, I believe, they need them. Players are free to perform at their best only when they know what the expectations are where the limits stand. I see this as a biblical principle that also applies to life, a principle our society as a whole has forgotten; you can’t enjoy true freedom without limits."
Freedom is not a thing we possess because we deserve it or demand it, nor is it something that nobody can deny us. We enjoy a fragile freedom; a freedom purchased at a terrible cost in terms of hundreds of thousands of lives being snuffed out. We thank our veterans who, in one way or another, contributed to our freedom. But it is fragile freedom that could be taken from us unless we are vigilant, responsible and prayerful! But let's consider the freedom that has been provided for us by the payment of only one life, the life of Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is. But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves. For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Galatians 5:1-16 (NASB).
Consider the freedom that belongs to those who surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I. CONSIDER THE SOURCE OF FREEDOM:
A. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (NASB).
1. It is Christ who is the source of our freedom. He alone was good enough to pay the price!
a. It was not purchased by what we give.
b. It was not purchased by what we do.
c. It was not purchased by what we intend or promise to do.
d. It was not purchased by our own merit or goodness.
2. You have heard the old saying, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” But did you know, or ever stop to think, that our Freedom grew on a tree?
a. What Satan meant as man’s destruction, God used as man’s deliverance. Satan sought man’s enslavement, Jesus sought man’s emancipation.
b. And, so, our freedom in Christ grew on a tree: the Cross of Calvary.
(1) "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.” Acts 5:30 (NASB). The word for “cross” simply means “wood” and is also translated as “tree.”
(2) I like the translation “tree” for a couple of reasons:
(a) First, trees are alive. Now I know that the cross speaks of pain, shame and death, but for us the cross of Christ brings life. The author of the Hebrew letter wrote, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” Hebrews 2:14-15 (NASB).
(b) Second, trees bear fruit, and the fruit of Christ’s tree is freedom from slavery to
i) The bondage of Law and legalism.
ii) The fear of death.
B. There is no freedom:
1. In the cults or in the demands of the religions of the world.
2. In self-indulgence in regard to the desires of the flesh.
3. In running rough-shod over others.
4. In material possessions.
5. In the denial of personal responsibility.
C. The Bible makes it clear that freedom comes from Jesus! “Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ 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”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:31-36 (NASB).
D. Think about it: everything has a source: Walnuts come from walnut trees; petroleum comes from fossil beds; knowledge comes from study; wisdom comes from experience and God’s freedom comes from a liberator – and that liberator is Jesus.
E. A young boy into his father and asked the question, “daddy, where did I come from?” Dad sat the boy on his lap and did his best to explain the birds and the bees. After explaining things in way he thought would make his boy understand, the boy said, “oh, I was just wondering where I came from. Jimmy said he came from Texas.” But let there be no confusion about this: our freedom on all levels came from Jesus.
The source of freedom is Jesus Christ. But let’s also
II. CONSIDER THE SORT OF FREEDOM:
A. "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.”
B. There are various sorts of freedom.
1. Education frees us from ignorance.
2. Good rest frees us from exhaustion.
3. Our veterans helped provide national freedom.
4. But the sort of freedom Jesus gives is not political, or philosophical, or anarchical or temporal. David Foster Wallace, Kenyon College Commencement Speech stated, “there are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious you will not hear much talk about much in the great outside world of wanting and achieving…The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day.”
C. His freedom is
1. Freedom from the slavery of attempting to merit salvation by keeping the Old Testament Law.
2. Freedom from sin, its power and persuasiveness.
3. Freedom from spiritual death and eternity in a literal Hell.
D. The good news is that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” Romans 8:2 (NASB).
1. The law of sin and death amounts to this: If we live in sin, we earn, and are paid in, death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NASB).
2. While it is true that God has provided everything we need to live free of sin, the realty is we do sin.
a. We make wrong choices and heed the wrong voices.
b. But He has provided freedom from the power and penalty and regret and remorse of sin.
3. He has set us free from death and from the fear of death – not that we will never forsake our body of flesh, but that beyond this charade of life is life that is genuine and eternal.
E. A boy went fishing with his dad but he wasn’t getting much fishing done. While dad was catching fish, he was getting the fishing line all tangled up. He had the line caught in the bushes, on the ground, and all over himself. How often we find ourselves tangled in sins, difficulties, relationship problems, guilty, failure, and the list goes on and on.
And this all adds up to a life of bondage. The first step to a life free from all this entanglement is to recognize it, admit it and bring it to Jesus. Just as the boy’s dad untangled the line, so Jesus stands ready to give us the kind of freedom that untangles our messed up lives.
The sort of freedom Jesus gives is free, joyful and eternal, and He is the exclusive source of that freedom. Finally;
III. CONSIDER THE SELFLESSNESS OF FREEDOM
A. Both Paul and Peter teach that freedom must not be twisted into selfish indulgence.
1. Paul said, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”
2. Peter put it this way, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” 1 Peter 2:16 (NASB).
B. Freedom selfishly used is a dangerous and destructive proposition.
1. It recognizes no will but its own.
2. It seeks no good but its own.
3. It has no interests but its own.
4. It serves no purpose but its own.
5. It becomes, “Lord, bless me, my wife, two sons, us four, no more!”
C. Both Paul and Peter have said, in effect, “Use your freedom selflessly, regarding the needs of others, loving, helping, serving them, and never let freedom make you think you can live without restraint nor let it be an excuse for wrong doing.”
D. The kid’s Property Laws reflect the wrong use of freedom:
1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.
8. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it’s broken, it’s yours!
E. Ralph L. Woods told the story of an ambitious farmer who, unhappy about the yield of his crops, heard of a highly recommended new seed corn. He bought some and produced a crop that was so abundant his astonished neighbors asked him to sell them a portion of the new seed, or to tell them where he got it. “But the farmer, afraid that he would lose a profitable competitive advantage, refused.
The second year the new seed did not produce as good a crop, and when the third-year crop was still worse it dawned upon the farmer that his prize corn was being pollinated by the inferior grade of corn from his neighbors’ fields.”
That is what’s know as a pretty selfish attitude. Too often we can be selfish with things that God has given to us and which He expects us to share. That includes our use of freedom. Use it selfishly, or for evil purposes, and you can lose it. It will so cut us off from others and from God that our bondage is upon us before we realize it.
But, thank God, there is no bondage too deep, no chains too strong, no prison too impregnable for God to break and set you free. And, there is nothing too bad, too evil, too wicked, too broken, too ruined, or too destroyed for God to fix and forgive. He offers you liberty. And if your desire is to be set free then know that your Heavenly Father graciously waits to open the prison door and to release us. I will be here after we dismiss to speak with you if you have concerns or questions,
