"Maintaining Our Freedom in Christ"

Last Sunday I spoke about finding freedom from sin in Christ.

The four steps included:

1. Recognize that Christ alone is our righteousness.
2. Repent of self-righteousness
3. Count yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus
4. Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Freedom in Christ does require maintenance.

Maintaining our freedom in Christ requires:

I. Daily Detection of Sin

Hebrews 12:1, 2a = Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith . . .  

The witnesses are the heroes of the past who are mentioned in the previous chapter, Hebrews chapter 11, also called the “faith chapter.”

They are not spectators but inspiring examples.

The Greek word translated “witnesses” is the origin of the English word “martyr” and means “testifiers” or “witnesses.”

They bear testimony to the power of faith and to God’s faithfulness.

We are not the first to struggle with the problems we face.

Others have run the race and won.

Their example stirs us to run and win also.

The Christian life is pictured as a long-distance race rather than a short sprint.

The Christian life requires perseverance.

It requires us to give up whatever endangers our relationship with God.

We are to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

The Holy Spirit will help us do that if we let Him help us.

To get this right, we must keep our eyes on Jesus.

Just as a runner concentrates on the finish line, we should concentrate on Jesus.

If we take our eyes off Jesus, and begin to look at ourselves and the circumstances surrounding us, we may become sidetracked.

For some reason, human beings can’t walk in a straight line.

There’s just something about our inner orientation that causes us to walk in a crooked way.

Jan Souman, a scientist from Germany, did a study.

He blindfolded his subjects and asked them to walk for an hour in a straight line.

Without exception, people couldn’t do it.

People think they are walking in a straight line until they remove the blindfolds and see their crooked paths.

According to the research, there’s only one way we can walk in a straight line.

We can only walk in a straight line when we focus on something ahead of us like a building or a landmark.

If we can fix our eyes on something ahead of us, we can walk a straight line.  

When it comes to our spiritual walk with God, we can only walk a straight line when we fix our eyes on Jesus.

Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

Our faith, which has its beginning in him, is also completed in Him.

Jesus is both the start and the end of the race.

Jesus has already run the race and has overcome.

Maintaining our freedom in Christ also requires:

II. Daily Denial of Self

Luke 9:23 = Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

In that culture, to take up the cross meant that you would carry your own cross to the place where you would be killed.

Many Galileans had been killed that way by the Romans.

For the disciples, it meant to identify completely with Christ’s message, even if it meant death.

The natural tendency is for us to use our time and money our way and to choose our own direction in life.

We tend to be like Frank Sinatra in that way.

One of his most popular songs was the song “I Did It My Way.”

Denying ourselves and taking up our cross means seeking God’s direction for our lives and being willing to follow His leading.

There is a cost involved in following Jesus.

Those who pay, perhaps, the biggest price are the Muslims who turn their lives over to Christ.

Usually a Muslim spouse will leave the partner who has accepted Christ.

The family will disown him or her.

The boss may fire him.

If he or she wants to leave the country they may not get a visa.

They may starve to death in their own country.

There is a cost involved in following Jesus but in the end it will be well worth the pain and effort.

To maintain our freedom we need: 

III. Daily Devotions for Strength

The Psalmist asks a question but then he gives an answer.

Psalm 119:9-11 = How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

We are drowning in a sea of impurity.

Everywhere we look we find temptation to lead impure lives.

The Psalmist asked a question that troubles us all: How do we stay pure in a filthy environment?

We cannot do this on our own.

We must have wisdom and strength greater than the tempting influences around us.

Where can we find that strength and wisdom?

By reading God’s Word and doing what it says.

Hiding or keeping God’s Word in our hearts is a deterrent to sin.

This should inspire us to memorize God’s Word.

But memorization alone will not keep us from sin.

We must also put God’s Word into practice making it a vital guide for all that we do.

Some of you baseball fans may have watched some of the World Series a few weeks ago.

The St. Louis Cardinals are the new world champions.

Cardinal’s first baseman Albert Pujols hit 3 home runs in one game.

In a 2008 poll of 30 major league managers, Pujols was voted the most feared hitter in baseball.

But even more impressive is his life off the field.

The Pujols family foundation supports people with Down Syndrome and their families.

They also help the poor in the Dominican Republic.

Pujols spoke at Lafayette Senior High School in Missouri.

He told the audience of men and young boys, “As a Christian, I am called to live a holy life.”

“My standard for living is set by God, not by the world.”

He then spoke about humility.

He said, “Humility is getting on your knees and staying in God’s will.”

He concluded by saying, “It would be easy to go out and do whatever I want, but those things only satisfy the flesh for a moment. Jesus satisfies my soul forever.”

To maintain our freedom in Christ we need:

IV. Daily Direction for Service

Proverbs 3:5, 6 = Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Putting this passage into practice has advantages.

It will reduce your stress level because you do not have to lean on your own understanding.

Putting this passage into practice also leads to a life of adventure.

The adventure is discovering God’s will for your life and then following His leading.

God may have more for your life then what you are now experiencing.

The word “leaning” means putting your whole weight on something.

It means resting or trusting in that person or thing.

When we have an important decision to make, we sometimes feel that we can’t trust anyone, not even God.

But God knows what is best for us.

He is a better judge of things than we are.

We must trust God completely in every choice we make.

God has given us the ability to think carefully and the ability to reason.

But we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of all others.

We must not be wise in our own eyes.

We should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by God’s Word and wise counselors.

Bring your decisions to God in prayer.

Use the Bible as your guide.

Follow God’s leading and he will make your paths straight by guiding you and protecting you.

Ken Sande, author of the book Resolving Everyday Conflict, tells how one morning he noticed a blind woman on the other side of the street with her Seeing Eye dog.

A car was blocking a driveway a few steps ahead of them.

The dog paused and gently pressed his shoulder against the woman’s leg, signaling her to turn to the side so they could get around the car.

This woman had probably walked this route many times and knew this was not the normal place to make a turn.

That day she didn’t seem to trust her dog.

She wouldn’t move to the side and again the dog pressed his shoulder against her leg.

She ordered the dog to go forward and when he did not her temper flared.

Finally, she kicked him and on her own stepped forward and bumped right into the car.

She immediately realized what had happened.

Dropping to her knees, she threw her arms around her dog and sobbingly spoke words into his ear.

The Holy Spirit is like our Seeing Eye dog.

Are we letting the HS do His job?    

Maintaining our freedom in Christ also requires:

V. Daily Dependence on Christ, the Source

Colossians 1:27 = To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Paul called God’s plan a mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, a mystery hidden until Christ came.

God’s plan is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

God planned to have His Son, Jesus, live in the hearts of all who believe in Him.

Do you know Christ?

Christ is not hidden from us if we will come to Him.