Our Freedom in Christ

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See full series: concerning-first-principles

Our Freedom in Christ

Sermon by  Thomas Thornhill Jr


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Today, in America, we celebrate our independence.  July 4th, ,1776 is known as the day our nation was born.  We celebrate it every year – usually with picnics, fireworks, decorations, and other summer festivities.  And hopefully on this day, we will pause to 1) To consider what it means to be free, 2) appreciate and give thanks for our freedoms and 3) consider the price that was paid to make us free.

But of course, we are not here today to celebrate the independence of this nation.  Instead we are here to remember a far more important freedom – our freedom in Christ.  So today I would like to address what this means for us.

 

  1. What does freedom mean?
    1. What is bondage? A word associated slavery, it means to be bound and lose your freedom. To be subject to another without much hope of freedom.
      When we speak of bondage, we are talking about being enslaved to sin.  John 8:34 notes that whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Romans 6:16 speaks of being slaves of sin leading to death.
      In spiritual terms, we are captives of Satan because of sin.  And we will remain in captivity, until something is done to help us gain freedom.
    2. What is freedom? In Biblical terms it is the state of being no longer oppressed or in bondage. It is one has been set free spiritually.  He is no longer captive to Satan. We will talk more about this as this lesson develops.
    3. Let us understand that freedom is a major theme of scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament gives numerous examples of physical bondage- at the forefront is Israel’s captivity in Egypt, and later carried away into Assyrian/Babylonian captivity.
    4. When we speak of freedom in the New Testament, there are many words that’s come to mind that are related
      1. Liberty – which is akin to freedom. Galatians 5:1 speaks of the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and we are challenged to not AGAIN become entangled in the yoke of bondage.
        James 1:25 speaks of the Bible as “the perfect law of liberty” because of everything it can free us from.
        Liberty is also associated with what we are able to do in Christ, without condemnation.  Examples would include what we eat, the observance of certain days (personally), etc.   Galatians 5:13 notes we have been called to liberty, and we are not to abuse that to take advantage of others.
      2. Release – Hebrews 2:15 speaks of releasing those who were all their lifetimes subject to (spiritual) bondage.
      3. Deliverance – a word that can mean to be handed over, or to be rescued. In the latter sense it is associated with freedom.  Colossians 1:13-14 notes that we have been delivered from the power of darkness, and conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His love.  2 Peter 2:7-9, if God delivered righteous Lot, He can deliver us out of temptation.
      4. Redemption – a word that means to be delivered from harm, often as a result of another paying the price to one to be freed. Galatians 3:13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (of Moses).
        1 Peter 1:18 speaks of how we were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Jesus…
      5. ALL of these words point toward freedom in Christ. Together they show that this is an important topic that deserves to be examined in some detail.
  2. Freedom in Christ
    1. What does freedom in Christ mean?
      1. Simply stated, Christ Jesus is the one who has made us free – Galatians 5:1 notes this.
      2. It was for this purpose that He came to this earth – He bound Satan and defeated death.
        1. Satan, through temptations and sins has brought man into bondage (slavery) and death as we have seen. Note again John 8:34 – slaves of sin.
        2. Jesus defeated Satan and his bondage, and made us free from that bondage
          1. Hebrews 2:15 also (again) emphasizes that Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death, that is the devil.
          2. 1 John 3:8 notes that Jesus was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.
          3. Romans 7:24-25 – Paul notes his wretched state and the need for deliverance. He notes that it comes “through Jesus Christ our Lord.
          4. Romans 11:26 – speaks of Jesus as the Deliverer quoting likely from Isaiah 59:20-21 where the word Redeemer is used in Hebrew (the LXX is the same Greek word as Romans 11:26).  While dealing with Israel’s deliverance, it points to how Jesus is our deliverer/redeemer.
        3. 1 John 4:4 notes that Jesus is greater than Satan. He demonstrated it thought His life, death, and resurrection.  Ultimately that is why we have freedom in Christ.
    2. From what has Christ made us free?
      1. The bondage of Satan and sin –
        1. John 8:34-36 – the Son makes you free from (from the slavery of sin)
        2. Isaiah 61:1-2 looks to Jesus in prophecy and notes He will proclaim liberty to the captives. Luke 4:18-19, as Jesus taught in the synagogue of Nazareth, He proclaimed Himself the fulfillment of that prophecy.
        3. Romans 6:11-14 – finds Paul challenging these brethren to not let sin reign in your mortal bodies. In vs. 14 he notes that sin shall not have dominion over you.
        4. Matthew 6:13 – as Jesus taught us to pray, “deliver us from the evil one”. We can approach God about this.
      2. The consequences of sin – death
        1. Romans 6:23 – the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life…
        2. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 speaks of our eagerly waiting for Him who will deliver us from the wrath to come.
        3. Titus 2:13-14 – He redeems us from every lawless deed.
      3. The fear of death –
        1. Hebrews 2:14-15 speaks to this directly. And the point is, if we are in Christ, we should have no need to fear death – because we are prepared for eternity.
        2. 1 Corinthians 15:54-56 bears this attitude.
        3. So did Paul in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 where he knew his departure was near. He was not afraid (cf. 2 Timothy 1:12)
      4. From the Old Law –
        1. The Law of Moses restricting and very difficult to keep. It was physical and bloody, and materially costly.   And it brought condemnation because it could not be kept.  But through Christ, we are no longer under that law.
        2. Romans 8:2-3 (primarily the LOM, but could mean more including the universal law of sin bringing death).
        3. Colossians 2:14 tells us that He nailed that law to the cross.
        4. The law we are now under is called, “the law of liberty” (James 1:25). It is such because of the ease with which we can receive forgiveness, and the greatness of that forgiveness.
        5. There are other things we could mention concerning our liberty in Christ – freedom from hopelessness (cf. Ephesians 2:12), Ignorance (John 8:32-36 – the truth will make you free), the enslaving effects of sin, etc.
        6. Truly our freedom in Him is great.
  3. The price of freedom
    1. We often pause to consider the price of freedom – a tremendous sacrifice has been made to obtain and maintain our freedom in this nation. Blood has been shed both abroad and at home, and many other sacrifices have been made and recorded in history.  Truly the cost of freedom is HIGH!
    2. But an even greater price was paid to secure our spiritual freedom. It cost Jesus His life on the cross
      1. Romans 5:6-8 – Christ died for the ungodly.
      2. 1 Timothy 2:6 speaks of Jesus, our mediator, “who gave Himself a ransom for all…” He redeemed us, paid the price for us.
      3. Also Titus 2:14 again, which notes He gave Himself for us, to REDEEM us from every lawless deed.
    3. There is also a price we need to pay.
      1. The price of freedom comes with a cost. Be reminded that while Christ has given us freedom, we are now in bondage to Him (Romans 6:16-18).  We have simply changed owners, to one who genuinely cares about us.   Matthew 11:28-30 – Jesus calls for us to take His yoke.
      2. Ours is to be a life of sacrifice to Him – Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “You are not your own.” Are we willing to give up whatever it takes to obtain the reward of eternity in heaven with Him?
      3. Are we willing to serve others? 1 Corinthians 9:19 speaks of how Paul made himself a servant of all to win them. Galatians 5:13, Paul notes in our liberty, through love we are to serve one another.
      4. We cannot return to the bondage of sin – Galatians 5:1 tells us to not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage of sin. Note Hebrews 10:26ff – if we sin willfully (return to a life of sinning), there no longer remains a sacrifice for our sins, but fear of judgment.

And thus we can see that in our Lord Jesus we find our true spiritual freedom.  For most of us, this lesson is a mere reminder.  We ought to pause today and be thankful for our freedoms in this great nation.  But even more, let us CONTINUALLY ponder our freedom in Christ IF we have freedom in Christ.   What about you?   Are you in Christ?  If not, obey His gospel today (Galatians 3:27).

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