Freedom
Galatians 5:1
This is the time of the year to which we celebrate our freedom. July 4th is celebrated as America’s official split from Britain’s rule and the beginning of the American Revolution. There were 13 colonies in America who were forced to pay taxes to England’s King George III with no representation in the Parliament.
So the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
One year later, on July 4, 1777, Philadelphia marked the Independence Day by adjourning Congress and celebrating with bonfires, bells and fireworks. And that custom spread to other towns both large and small.
In 1941, Congress declared July 4 a legal Federal holiday. Today, across the nation mark this major midsummer holiday with parades, fireworks, picnics and the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner".
I think many of us take our freedom for granted. We think very little of the freedom that we have.
What does it mean to be free? I am proud to be an American. I feel that God has blessed this county. I am proud of the many soldiers who bled and gave their lives for the right to have that freedom.
Not only am I proud to be an American, but also I am proud to be a child of God. There is a song that the group called Casting Crowns sings called, “What if His people prayed”.
The first verse starts out with the words, “What if the armies of the Lord. Pick up and dusted off their swords. Vowed to set the captive free. And not let Satan have one more. What if the church for Heaven’s sake, finally stepped up to the plate. Took a stand upon God’s promise. And stormed Hells rusty gates. What if His people prayed?
We have a freedom in Christ Jesus. That is what the verse in our text is talking about. We have no longer bound by the Law but by grace. So this morning I want to talk to you about something that we are free from. But much like our freedom we have by being Americans, we take this freedom for granite as well. So lets talk about this freedom we have in Christ. So as we celebrate our Nations freedom on the 4th of July, we also can everyday celebrate the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus.
Free from Sin
If I were to ask you how many here believe that after you have accepted Christ that you can never sin again. Not too many hands would go up I’m sure. We all think of ourselves as just poor sinners saved by grace. We try, but fall prey to sin on a daily basses. The only difference between us and someone who is lost is that we have asked Christ to forgive our sins and they have not.
But is that true? Is it ok just because we have entered into a personal relationship with Christ that we have the green light to sin and then just ask forgiveness for it? Do we have the attitude, well I’ll do it then just ask God to forgive me and that will be ok. Was that God’s plan? Is that His will?
What is sin?
We go back to the Old Testament and in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He created the perfect place with the perfect environment and then He placed man in it. And when He was done it tells us in …
Genesis 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was VERY GOOD.
Not just ok, or it will do, but VERY GOOD. God did not create sin. We created it. He created us in His own image. The image that He is talking about here does not mean that we all look like Him.
In the image of God means that we have godlike characteristics of self-awareness, the ability to choose between good and evil, and the ability to have an relationship with our creator.
But then Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and that gave birth to sin. And we all inherit that sin nature when we are born.
That is what sin is. It is disobedience to God. Then we have the law, or what we want to call the 10 Commandments.
Do you know who was the worst sinner recorded in the entire Bible? It was Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.
Romans 3:19-20, Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
The commandments were not put there as to do list in order to go to heaven, but rather as the knowledge of right and wrong. In the Old Testament, they did not have the Holy Spirit to convict them so the Law was written as a guideline.
Sometimes we want to rate sins. This sin is worse than the other. But the truth of the matter is that is only takes one sin to keep us out of Heaven.
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
So sin is disobedience to God. And we are all guilty of sin.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Should we still sin?
President Calvin Coolege went to church, and afterwards was asked by a friend what the minister spoke on. “He preached on sin” The friend then asked him what the preacher had to say about sin, and he was told, “He’s against it”.
So is Jesus against us still sinning? Sense we have determined that we are all sinners, does that mean that we will always sin?
That was not the intent of Jesus. We read what John the Baptist says about Jesus in … John 1:29 “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Just as He created the world without sin, His desire is for us all to be without sin. When He healed the leaper in John 5:14, Jesus told him, “See you have been made well. SIN NO MORE, least a worse thing come upon you.”
Then you have the woman who was caught in adultery and when her accusers brought her before Jesus trying to trap Him and asked Him what they should do with her. According to the Old Testament Law the punishment for such a crime was that they were to take the person out and stone them. So what was the reply of Jesus? At first nothing. He stooped down and began writing on the ground and ignored them at first.
Some think maybe He was writing the 10 Commandments on the ground, listing all of them. But then He said to them. John 8:7 “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.
And one by one they each begin to drop their stones and leave.
Then Jesus ask her in John 8:10-11, When Jesus raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and SIN NO MORE”.
So His desire is that we sin no more and He paid the ultimate sacrifice of His own life to make it possible for us not to sin no more.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
And it was not just for us to be free from sin the go back and confess it and be free again. That was not the intent. So that leads me to my last point.
How are we set free to sin no more?
Two couples are seated in a living room engaged in Bible study. One of the women was speaking. "Well," she says, "I haven’t actually died to sin, but I did feel kind of faint once."
We don’t die to sin. We keep it in sight. We hold on to it. We don’t submit to God, we just admit we sin. But can we be totaly free from sin?
John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you ABIDE in MY WORD, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”.
Now the Jews were confused by this saying and said "What are you talking about? We are not slaves. We have no Master". Then we pick it up again in verse 34
“Jesus answered them, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”.
You have the slavery of sin or the freedom of the Son. Jesus urged the Jews who had believed in Him to abide in His word. Doing so would keep them in the truth, which in turn would give them true freedom. Free from sin. It is the nature of sin to enslave, and it is the nature of truth to set us free. And only God’s word can real truth and real freedom be found.
So you might be thinking ok, I get it. But I still don’t know how to not sin. I try to do what’s right but I fail. I want to do what’s right but then I mess up. You see the problem with that is that you try, you want. We cannot do it by ourselves.
I heard about a prisoner in Sydney, Australia who tried to escape from jail by climbing underneath the hood of a van delivering bread to the institution. When the van made its next stop, the prisoner sneaked out from under the hood—hot and dirty. He found himself in the yard of another prison just 4 miles from the first. Like that prisoner our own attempts at lasting freedom often leave us in another prison 4 miles down the road of life.
Often our attempts at freedom from our sins and with God leave us dejected, dirty, and in another prison. This shouldn’t surprise us. We cannot save ourselves. I know it almost sounds anti-American to not encourage you to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. But when it comes to our relationship with God, salvation and freedom comes from what Jesus has done for you, not what you or I might do for Him. We don’t earn God’s love, we are invited to enjoy it, experience, it, and to embrace it.
Turn with me to Romans 8:1-11 and let His word give us a guideline on how to be set free.
a. Live in Christ (Vs.1-4) Jesus Christ did for us what the Law of Moses could never do. He has delivered us from the law of sin and death. We can experience this freedom from sin and death when we walk in the power of His Spirit.
b. Rely on Christ (Vs 5-11) Our sinful nature tries to make us focus on our fleshly desires, which leads to the loss of fellowship with Christ. Verse 5 tells us to set our minds. Get up every day and say good morning God and good riddens Satan. Set your mind that you will not let Satan have the victory that through Christ Jesus you are going to be pure.
And when we do that it says in verse 6 we will have peace. Peace knowing that the battle has already been fought and when Jesus died on the cross and cried out, “It is finished”, it was not a cry of defeat but a cry of victory.
You can live a life of freedom without sin. You can experience the peace that only comes with the right relationship with God. You can be as it states in …
John 8:34 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
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