Free to Love – Part 1

 

1 Peter 4:1-9 “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”

This last Sunday, Pastor Kyle continued in our church’s sermon series through the book of First Peter, asking: how would you personally define freedom in your own life?. There is always the dictionary definition of the word, then there is how a person would explain it. The freedoms we enjoy in America and the other places in the world that do not enjoy the freedoms that we have in this country, like being free of religious persecution. How America was founded on the truth that all men and women created equal in the eyes of God, our Creator. We can think about how far we have come as a civilization, but also the reality of how far we still need to go in terms of finding freedom. Maybe, the Exodus story of the Israelite’s freedom from 400+ years of bondage in Egypt and setting foot in the Promised Land. When we think about freedom, we can think about Jesus Christ, who freed the world from the bondage of Sin. 

Some people define the word freedom as “being able to live like you want to live and do what you want to do”.  Jesus definition of freedom was to live in perfect submission to the way that His Father God wanted. You think about spiritual freedom, you have to think about the cost that Jesus Christ had to pay so that we could enjoy that freedom ourselves. Think about the punishment before and on the cross for our sin that our Savior endured unto death that we would be saved and free. The shame and the pain of the Cross should have been ultimately upon you and I. Those who repent and believe are “born again” of the Spirit, transformed and eternally free because of the price that Jesus paid for us. Our Heavenly Father sent Jesus to die for our sins so that, not only so we could be saved from eternal damnation if Hell and have eternal life in Heaven with Him, but also so that we could live with freedom here and now on earth. We are free. Do you remember the day that you accepted Christ as Savior and Lord of your life, and found true spiritual freedom in your life?

Freedom comes at the cost of someone else’s sacrifice. The only way for a society to be truly free is for individuals within that society to be willing to sacrifice for that freedom to be possible. The same thing is true spiritually. To provide true spiritual freedom, Jesus had to pay the ultimate price. We’ve talked about how Jesus Christ suffered, died and rose again so that we could be forgiven and free. One of the first thing that we learn after becoming a Christian is that we are forgiven. Where many Christians struggle is to find freedom from our past sins and shortcomings of falling short of the glory of God. The Apostle Peter talks about what freedom looks like in all of our lives, and one of the things that we are going to see is that freedom is a set of actions that we choose as a response to Jesus’ sacrifice for us. And, if our lives are not changed as a result of Jesus’ removing our spiritual chains, then we are very much still in bondage. You see, freedom is a reality that we get to experience and it is also a daily choice that everyone has to make. Because of what He has done, we get to live out that true freedom.

In the first two verses of 1 Peter 4, we see the Apostle discuss how Christ suffered and died to defeat Sin on the Cross, once and for all, so we could choose God’s Will over human passions and desire of the sinful flesh. In other words, we all used to live one (sinful) way and now Jesus tells us that we need to live in a different (godly) way. There comes into all of our lives, when have to choose to take up our Cross daily and follow the Lord, meaning abandon our individual throne and reign over life and choose to have God sit on our throne, let Him reign and rule over our lives and willingly follow in obedient dedication, devotion as our desire for His honor and glory to His praise. We have to choose to live for the things of the Lord rather than whatever it is that we want to do. Jesus suffered so that we could choose God and choose His Will over human ways. Jesus lived the “free” life that we are now enabled to live by the Holy Spirit.  

In the third verse of 1 Peter 4, we read the Apostle share about everything that we typically associated with sinful behavior. Concerning the bondage and slavery to sin that we commit in thought, word and deed which was the death of our spirit and separated us from our just and holy God, this is the behaviors that we have been freed from. All sin is against God and shall be judged. Romans 2:12-16 tells us, “For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when [pagan] Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. God’s Law is written on every human heart and seared into their conscious so they know the difference between “right” and “wrong”. When a person becomes a born again Christian, God activates their conscience and gives their spiritual discernment , which gives them the ability to choose the “right” thing in a way the pleases God. 

In cases where someone says that they do not feel that what they are doing is wrong and it’s not an issue with them, we have the Word of God found in the holy Scripture of the Bible to say that no matter how anyone feels about a behavior, this is what God says about it. People can ignore their conscience. Sin is sin and wrong is “wrong in the eyes of the Lord” and people need to hear it, so say it.  Isaiah 30:21 instructs us, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.” There are people in the world that deny the existence of a conscience. Deep down they are fooling themselves, becoming numb to their conscience telling them what they do not want to hear. In their heart, they know it’s wrong. What is needed is conviction of their sin that leads to repentance, forgiveness and freedom from sin and the associated wrath of God.

Never avoid the issue of sin in the world and our lives. It is the root cause of all problems in the world. As light expels darkness and exposes everything, be the light of the world that exposes sin and points to the foot of the Cross for redemption and reconciliation. We want people to walk towards repentance and freedom from the bondage of sin. Focusing on sin communicated or exhibited won’t get sinners out of that behavior but exposes the sinfulness of sin against a just and holy Creator God, which leads to conviction of sin and repentance. They need spiritual freedom to change their life direction that God wants everyone to go, not someone making them feel go in their sin on the wide road to Hell. Heaven is where God wants us choose to live.

Let's continue Pastor Kyle's message on "freedom to love" in the next post.
Happy Independence Day America, and Happy Dependence on God Day everyone. 
In Christ, Brian