{"id":37,"date":"2009-02-23T16:30:18","date_gmt":"2009-02-23T16:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=37"},"modified":"2009-02-23T16:30:18","modified_gmt":"2009-02-23T16:30:18","slug":"sunday-february-15-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=37","title":{"rendered":"Sunday, February 15, 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Live Free!<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Various Texts<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Introduction\u201d\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom is the oxygen of the soul.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

~Moshe Dayan
\n\u201cThere are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

~Charles Kingsley<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLiberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

~Harry Emerson Fosdick<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

~Author Unknown<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFor to be free is not merely to cast off one\u201d\u2122s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedoms of others.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We are FREE in God\u201d\u2122s grace in Jesus!\u00a0 <\/span>Free from God\u201d\u2122s condemnation, free from the dread of death and hell!\u00a0 <\/span>Free in grace to live by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit to God\u201d\u2122s glory!\u00a0 <\/span>Free from the opinions and religious standards of men!\u00a0 <\/span>We are FREE!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

BUT, . . .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Swindoll:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBelieving grace is one thing.\u00a0 <\/span>Living it is another<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLiberty means responsibility.\u00a0 That is why most men dread it.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

~George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman<\/em>, “Maxims: Liberty and Equality,” 1905<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

4<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong> Responsibilities<\/strong> with regard to your freedom in Jesus:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Enjoy<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong> your freedom as a gift from God<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

READ Acts 15:10-11 from The Message<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Galatians 2:15-16 [The Message]\u201d\u201d\u201cWe know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ.\u00a0 <\/span>How do we know?\u00a0 <\/span>We tried it\u201d\u201dand we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen!\u00a0 <\/span>Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

John 3:16 [Quote]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

—Cup of Water + 1 Drop of Arsenic=Poison<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>(NOT Refreshment!)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We are saved by grace in Jesus to live daily in the grace of Jesus<\/span><\/em>!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1 Tim. 4:1-6–<\/span>\u201cThe Spirit makes it clear that as time goes on, some are going to give up on the faith and chase after demonic illusions put forth by professional liars.\u00a0 <\/span>These liars have lied so well and for so long that they\u201d\u2122ve lost their capacity for truth.\u00a0 <\/span>They will tell you not to get married.\u00a0 <\/span>They\u201d\u2122ll tell you not to eat this or that food\u201d\u201dperfectly good food God created to be eaten heartily and with thanksgiving by believers who know better!\u00a0 <\/span>Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks.\u00a0 <\/span>Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out.\u00a0 <\/span>God\u201d\u2122s Word and our prayers make every item in creation holy<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d (The Message)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Colossians 2:16-23 [READ from The Message]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Enjoy God\u201d\u2122s gifts with prayerful and grateful hearts!\u00a0 <\/span>God wants you to worship Him in the exercise of your freedom in Jesus<\/span><\/em>!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Guard<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong> your freedom because it is a gift from God<\/span><\/em><\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Galatians 5:1-2\u201d\u201d \u201cChrist has set us free to live a free life<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span>So take your stand<\/em><\/strong>!\u00a0 <\/span>Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span>I am emphatic about this<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span>The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ\u201d\u2122s hard-won gift of freedom is squandered.\u201d (The Message)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Do not let others bind you with their rules, their standards, their personal practices, when God doesn\u201d\u2122t make the same demands<\/span><\/em>!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Swindoll:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFaith plus works is a catchy tune.\u00a0 <\/span>It sounds harmless, even helpful at first.\u00a0 <\/span>If we listen long enough, we\u201d\u2122ll find ourselves humming it.\u00a0 <\/span>Then singing it.\u00a0 <\/span>Then living it.\u00a0 <\/span>Then forgetting all about grace\u201d (8).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Swindoll:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u201d\u2122ll go to the wall and square off against any enemy who threatens to take away our national freedom, but we\u201d\u2122ll not be nearly so passionate as Christians under grace to fight for our rightful liberty.\u00a0 <\/span>Let enough legalists come aboard and we will virtually give them command of the ship.\u00a0 <\/span>We will fear their frowns, we will adapt our lives to their lists, we\u201d\u2122ll allow ourselves to be intimidated, and for the sake of peace at any price (even though it may lead to nothing short of slavery), we will succumb to their agenda\u201d (91).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NOT Jesus!\u00a0 <\/span>He openly rebuked them!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew 23:24-26\u201d\u201c \u201cBlind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel<\/em><\/strong>!\u00a0 <\/span>Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites<\/span>!\u00a0 <\/span>For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.\u00a0 <\/span>Blind Pharisees, first cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.\u201d (NKJV)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Swindoll:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTrust me, legalists don\u201d\u2122t get the message if you\u201d\u2122re unsure and soft with them\u201d (113).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Are you guilty of trying to \u201cout-god\u201d God by imposing your personal preferences on others?\u00a0 <\/span>Or, are you guilty of trying to \u201cout-god\u201d God by submitting to others\u201d\u2122 standards in fear<\/span><\/em>?\u00a0 <\/span>With all energy and vigor\u201d\u201dand by way of clear rebuke and assertion of the truth–we must guard our freedom in Christ against both the legalist within ourselves and in our community<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

*HOW do you know the difference between a modern-day Pharisee and a Christian who isn\u201d\u2122t quite as free as you may be<\/em><\/strong>?\u00a0 <\/span>The same way Jesus and Paul did.\u00a0 <\/span>The legalist will always assert his\/her legalism as the main thing and will try to impose it on others<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span>The growing believer who still struggles with some of these issues will focus on the gospel and be confused about freedom<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Limit<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong> your use of your freedom out of love for other Christians<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1 Cor. 10:31-10:33\u201d\u201c \u201cSo eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you\u201d\u201dyou\u201d\u2122re eating to God\u201d\u2122s glory, after all, not to please them.\u00a0 <\/span>As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God\u201d\u2122s glory.\u00a0 <\/span>At the same time, don\u201d\u2122t be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren\u201d\u2122t as free as you are<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span>I try my best to be considerate of everyone\u201d\u2122s feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.\u201d (The Message)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Galatians 5:13-14\u201d\u201d \u201cIt is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life.\u00a0 <\/span>Just make sure you don\u201d\u2122t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span>Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that\u201d\u2122s how freedom grows<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d (The Message)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Is our priority our own pleasure in the exercise of our freedom, or helping\/building up a brother\/sister in Christ who doesn\u201d\u2122t fully understand our freedom in Christ?\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Limit<\/span> your use of your freedom in order to be able to share the Gospel with unbelievers<\/span><\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 9:19-23–\u201cEven though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all<\/em><\/strong> in order to reach a wide range of people<\/span>:\u00a0 <\/span>religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized\u201d\u201dwhoever.\u00a0 <\/span>I didn\u201d\u2122t take on their way of life.\u00a0 <\/span>I kept my bearings in Christ\u201d\u201dbut I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u201d\u2122ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life.\u00a0 <\/span>I did all this because of the Message<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span>I didn\u201d\u2122t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it.\u201d (The Message)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How might you need to limit your use of your freedom in Jesus so that a friend or co-worker or family member can hear the truth of Jesus\u201d\u2122 grace from you?\u00a0 <\/span>What might you be doing that could be hindering that person from really understanding Jesus<\/span><\/em>?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Piper:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou might say, \u201d\u02dcThat sure sounds involved.\u201d\u2122\u00a0 <\/span>But life is involved.\u00a0 <\/span>This is the sort of careful thinking you must do if you are going to take the risks involved in adapting to all kinds of people so that you might save some.\u00a0 <\/span>As soon as you say, \u201d\u02dcI have made myself slave to all\u201d\u2122 and \u201d\u02dcI have become all things to all me\u201d\u2122, you are on the brink of idolatry and compromise and worldliness and sin.\u00a0 <\/span>You are walking the razor\u201d\u2122s edge between fruitless separatism and unprincipled expediency.\u00a0 <\/span>If you fall one way you are of no use because you have no connection with the world; if you fall the other you are of no use because you are just like the world.\u00a0 <\/span>How do you keep your faith and your freedom and your radical zeal to win people and not just copy people?\u00a0 <\/span>. . . I am not bound to earn my salvation by the law . . . We are not without the law of God . . . We are under the law of Christ.\u00a0 <\/span>This is the law of love . . . Galatians 5:14, \u201cThe whole law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, \u201d\u02dcYou shall love your neighbor as yourself\u201d\u2122 . . . In freedom, for love\u201d\u2122s sake, you try to overcome unnecessary, alienating differences that cut you off from unbelievers<\/em> . . . Christ died to set us free.\u00a0 <\/span>Free from the wrath of God, and free from the loveless limits of the law.\u00a0 <\/span>Free for love and eternal life.\u00a0 <\/span>Are we using our freedom to make this good news plain?\u00a0 <\/span>Or are we so separatistic that we have no connection with unbelievers; or are we so worldly that they don\u201d\u2122t know we have anything radically different to offer?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Paul would say this:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDon\u201d\u2122t tell me there are rules I must keep to be saved\u201d\u201dand, if you do, I\u201d\u2122ll fight you over that!\u00a0 <\/span>Salvation is by faith in Jesus alone!\u00a0 <\/span>But if I need to live by someone else\u201d\u2122s rules for a time, out of love, in order to build up a fellow Christian or so that an unbeliever might hear and understand the message of God\u201d\u2122s free grace in Jesus, then I\u201d\u2122m more than happy to limit my use of my freedom, because Christ has freed me, first and foremost, to love as He loved<\/em>!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion\u201d\u201d<\/span><\/em>\u201cIf I belittle those whom I am called to serve, talk of their weak points in contrast perhaps with what I think of as my strong points; if I adopt a superior attitude, forgetting \u201d\u02dcWho made thee to differ?\u201d\u2122 And \u201d\u02dcwhat has thou that thou hast not received?\u201d\u2122 then I know nothing of Calvary love.\u00a0 <\/span>If I take offense easily, if I am content to continue in cool unfriendliness, though friendship be possible, then I know nothing of Calvary love.\u00a0 <\/span>If I feel bitterly towards those who condemn me, as it seems to me, unjustly, forgetting that if they knew me as I know myself they would condemn me much more, then I know nothing of Calvary love.\u201d (Amy Carmichael, Swindoll, 356).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cLove has a hem to her garment that trails in the very dust; it can reach the stains of the streets and the lanes . . . and because it can, it must\u201d (G. Frederick Owens, Swindoll, 356).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1 John 3:16\u201d\u201d\u201cThis is how we\u201d\u2122ve come to understand and experience love:\u00a0 <\/span>Christ sacrificed his life for us.\u00a0 <\/span>This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves.\u201d (The Message)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to Live Free! Various Texts \u00a0 Introduction\u201d\u201d \u201cFreedom is the oxygen of the soul.\u201d\u00a0 ~Moshe Dayan \u201cThere are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-messages"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/38"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}