Speaker Sermon/Lesson Title Audio   Video  Text   MS Word Category Bobby Stafford Freedom in Christ     Christian Living

Freedom in Christ

Introduction:

Liberty is a very precious thing.  America was founded because men wanted freedom.  Countless numbers of people have died to obtain it and keep it.  Blood throughout the age has been shed as the price for freedom.  Nowhere is this more true than when we consider the church.  Our Lord shed His precious blood for His church.  (Acts 20:28) “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” NKJV  He has set us free by His truth.  (John 8:32) “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” NJKV  He came into the world to bring liberty to His people.  (Luke 4:16-21) “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ ” NKJV

Body:

I.  Ways in Which Christians Are Free

A.  Christians are set free from the Law of Moses.  (Romans 7:4-7) “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another – to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.  For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.  But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.  What shall we say then?  Is the law sin?  Certainly not!  On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law.  For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ” NKJV  They are to enjoy the liberty we now have in Christ. 

(Galatians 5:1-3) “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.  And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.” NKJV

B.  Christians are set free from their sins and sins’ dominion over them.  The Roman Christians, before their conversion, had been servants of sin.  Then after obeying the doctrine [baptism], they had been set free.  (Romans 6:15-18) “What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?  Certainly not!  Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?  But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.  And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” NKJV  Then, as long as the seed [Word of God] remained in them, and they followed it, they would not be under the power of sin.  They would be slaves of God with real freedom.  (Romans 6:19-23) “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.  For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and  of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present hour members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed?  For the end of those things is death.  But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” NKJV  (I John 3:9) “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains  in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” NKJV  (I Peter 1:2-5) “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:  Grace to you and peace be multiplied.  Blessed be the God and Father  of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” NKJV  This meant walking in the Spirit – following the Spirit’s teaching.  They were free from the law of sin and death. 

 

(Romans 8:1-2) “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” NKJV

 

II.  Some Misunderstandings about Freedom 

It is thought by some that liberty means a license so Christians are free to do as they please, that we are not under law of any kind.  The truth is rather we are under the law of Christ.  (I Corinthians 9:19-21) “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;” NKJV  By bearing one another’s burdens, we “fulfill the law of Christ.”  (Galatians 6:2) “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” NKJV  As previously read in Romans 8:2, we are to follow “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”  Side Note:  Back in Romans 6:15, the law there is specifically referring to the Law of Moses.  That is the context of Chapters 5-7 of Romans.  By following the law of Christ, we will be blessed.  (James 1:25) “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed  in what he does.” NKJV

III.  Practical Applications of This Freedom in Christ

1.  After being converted to Christ, we are free to teach others the same good news.  We can tell others how they too can be freed from their sins.  But we don’t have freedom to change the teaching of God’s Word as to how that is accomplished.

2.  As members of the Lord’s church, we are free to worship God in Spirit and truth.  But we are not at liberty to change how that worship is to be offered.  We are free to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs but not free to use mechanical instruments of music. 

3.  As part of God’s family, we are free to fellowship brethren in Christ.  But we are not free to fellowship those outside the family nor those who have been withdrawn from.  All true freedom brings with it a kind of restraint.

Invitation:

One more freedom awaits the faithful child of God. – the freedom from suffering and from a corruptible body.  One day we will be like Him; for we will see Him as He is.  Don’t you desire that as well?

Bobby Stafford  July 7, 2019