Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!
The following article is part of a series on FREEDOM in America. The first four articles appeared recently in the Hood County Newspaper during the four weeks leading up to this past Memorial Day. Two articles have been added since then making a total to date of six articles on this special bible-based subject. We pray that these articles have blessed you and led you to be thankful for our God-given FREEDOM.
SIX: THE PURPOSE OF FREEDOM
One of the most important ideas I've wanted to get across in this series is that the concept of FREEDOM comes from the Word of God. A biblical synonym is the word LIBERTY and both words are used interchangeably in various contexts. Indeed, FREEDOM is God's idea and the Bible says we have been "called" to it (Galatians 5:13). In other words, it's God's desire that those who believe would be able to live under and enjoy this thing called FREEDOM. And, He makes it available to us by and through His presence (2 Corinthians 3:17).
As we discussed last week, the definition of FREEDOM in general terms is the condition of life in which there are no outside restraints. In other words I am saying in this series contrary to traditional Christian teaching that God's plan FOR HIS CHILDREN is that we live our lives with NO outside restraints, FREE to act, speak and think AS WE WANT TO. On the other hand, the Bible says clearly that non-believers DO need restraints and the LAW of the Old Covenant was provided for that purpose. As we've covered in many previous articles, when we become Believers we are to come out from under the LAW to live under a New Covenant where there's FREEDOM. The purpose of the LAW was and still is to impose SEVERE, impossible-to-fulfill restraints on people so that they will eventually conclude that FREEDOM in Christ is a preferable way to live.
In addition to FREEDOM in Christ, there is also "political" freedom which is administered by government and attempts to minimize the amount of restraint for society as defined by a Code of Conduct. As I heard a wise preacher say this past Sunday, biblical FREEDOM operates independently from political freedom. In other words, we could experience biblical FREEDOM even if we had to live in a totalitarian political state. But it sure is better when government tries to agree with the WORD and minimize the restraints that limit even our political FREEDOM. In line with this, America is the only country in the history of the world that has tried to set up a system of political freedom that is based on and agrees with biblical FREEDOM. That's why the Declaration of Independence says that FREEDOM is an inalienable (absolute) right that has been endowed (provided) by our Creator. The idea of FREEDOM comes from God and people left to ourselves will ALWAYS try to control others and reduce FREEDOM, both political and spiritual.
The Bible tells us why God has FREEDOM on His mind and why He's made it available to us. Keep in mind that God doesn't do anything casually without a purpose. He ALWAYS has PURPOSE:
1. The first kind of biblical FREEDOM (liberty) is to be set free from the bondage of sin. By the shedding of His blood on the Cross of Calvary, Jesus makes FREEDOM available to those who will simply decide to accept it by faith (Acts 13:39, Romans 6:22).
2. The second purpose is to be set free from the LAW. According to Scripture, the LAW of the Old Covenant is bondage and we're set free from it by belief in Christ (Romans 7:6, 18, Galatians 3:25, Hebrews 7:18).
3. The third purpose is to be able to serve others (Galatians 5:13). When we're under bondage to sin and the LAW, it makes it difficult to serve one another. Sin is of the flesh which puts self-interest ahead of others including God. The LAW is walked out in the Flesh so that service to others becomes a distant priority.
4. A fourth purpose for FREEDOM is to provide an environment where Truth can be understood because it is understanding Truth that sets us free (John 8:31-36). The Truth is understood by hearing and accepting the Word (1 Peter 1:23) and according to Scripture it's the Law of Liberty that Christians are to live by and we do that by becoming DOERS OF THE WORD (James 1:25). In sum, where there is FREEDOM, it's easier for the truth of the gospel to be shared with others so they can hear the Word (the Truth) and find their way into the Kingdom of God.
Living without Restraints
Before concluding this series, we need to understand the biblical concept of "living without restraints." What the Bible is talking about is living without EXTERNAL restraints. God isn't going to FORCE you to live a certain way. It's your decision to make. And the Bible isn't trying to FORCE you to live a godly lifestyle either. Your local church can't FORCE you to live righteously even though many of them try. No, the idea is that by removing external restraints (sin and the LAW), we will be able to come to a place where we want to voluntarily adopt BIBLE-BASED restraints by being DOERS of the Word and allowing Christ to take over our lives. Removing external restraint isn't an invitation to sin more or to encourage others to establish new external rules and legalism to govern our conduct. If we live our lives willingly according to the Word then we remain FREE because no one is forcing us to do anything.
Somebody is sure to ask: "how can sin be a restraint?" According to the Word, sin is actually a controlling bondage. Even when we didn't want to sin, the pre-salvation sin nature we all carried controlled us and restrained us from a more righteous lifestyle. The only answer is to remove that restraint and get close to Jesus where sin can no longer control us. Once we're reborn a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), it follows whether we realize it or not that we are no longer under the dominion of sin (Colossians 1:13). We have removed a restraint that blocked us from a righteous lifestyle which will carry us into eternity with Christ.
When that happens, we find out we want to accept "voluntary restraints" and we decide to apply them to ourselves because we'll come out better than if we live with imposed restraints. Not only will our lives turn out better but we increasingly want to live righteously because we love God, we appreciate what He's done for us and we know that He doesn't like sin.
Thus, we conclude that biblical FREEDOM is an important concept that God wants for us to have and that it fits ever so nicely with a system of government where external restraints are minimized. The truth is that if we could all live as DOERS of the Word, imposed external restraints wouldn't be necessary. But that will have to wait for another day when the Kingdom of God has been established on the earth and all of us are believers and DOERS of the Word.
Thanks for joining our discussion tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night on July 17. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), pushing you to VICTORY in every area of life!
Sinners' Prayer
If you've never invited Jesus to be your Lord, you can do so today by believing and saying out loud the following simple prayer:
Jesus, I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and I believe that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven for all time and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed, God has already come into your life and you're a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
When you get a moment have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer and believing what you said:
Romans 10:9
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 2:8
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