Tag: Freedom in Christ

Digging in Deeper: John 8:31-32

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“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Sometimes the thing you see first isn’t the only thing to see. I had a puzzle book growing up where you had to find things hidden on each page, and use those things to solve a bigger mystery. Everything was there to see, but you had to spend a fair bit of time taking in each picture if you were going to see it. Once you saw it, you couldn’t miss it, but until then it might as well have been invisible. The Scriptures can be kind of like that sometimes. Everything we need to see is right there in the words, but some of it takes more time than others to find. This passage represents one of those places. Let’s talk about it.

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Live like You’re Free

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This week we celebrate the Fourth of July, the founding of our great nation. The United States of America, in spite of its flaws and struggles, is nonetheless still the greatest, freest nation in the world. If we are going to be a free people, though, we have to learn to live like it. This week, as we celebrated, we took a look at some words from the apostle Paul encouraging us to live like free people as followers of Jesus. This lesson is profoundly important not just for our relationship with Jesus, but for our nation as well. Listen in as we unpack these important ideas together.

Live like You’re Free

Our freedom is under attack. How’s that for the start of a sermon? Do you feel like you’re at a political really of some sort yet? I’d better explain what I mean, or I’ll have you heading for the exits before I even get to my first point! Let me try that again: Our freedom is under attack. Sound any different that time? No? Well, let’s talk about it anyway.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 7:5

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“So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders, instead of eating bread with ceremonially unclean hands?'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever crossed a taboo? I live in the south now where, “Yes, Ma’am,” and “Yes, Sir,” are a fundamental part of the culture. Not so where I grew up. I grew up greeting most adults with nothing more than their first names. You can perhaps imagine the shock, then, when I met my wonderful in-laws when visiting Lisa in Charleston, SC for the first time and greeted them warmly by name…first name. Much to their credit, they handled my massive faux pas without even blinking, but I had violated a culturally sacred custom. Every culture has its customs. Some are wise and rightly held (like patterns of respect and honor in the south), but some are just there because, well, they’re there. Others are locked in place because of the currently prevailing worldview whether or not that worldview accords with reality. Jesus and His disciples came up against some of these during His ministry. Let’s talk about it.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 6:17-18

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“But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Freedom beats at the heart of every person. This has always been the case. Freedom hasn’t always been as widely available in the world as it is today, but the freest people have always been the envy of the rest. In the ancient world, some longed for it but assumed they weren’t made for it. Today, there are occasionally national revolutions to obtain it, even as rulers try and deny it every way they can because they understand that the freer people are, the less power the ruling class has. But our longing is freedom. So, why would anyone want to follow a religion that calls its devotees to be slaves? 

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Digging in Deeper: 1 Corinthians 8:9

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“But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

When it came to the issue of eating or not eating meat that had been offered as a sacrifice to an idol, Paul’s position was that because idols were nothing, eating the meat was not in any way morally problematic in and of itself.  In other words, the act was not sinful.

But…for some folks in the church, the idea of eating such meat was really problematic for them and for their conscience.  Some Gentile background folks who had grown up as pagans and who were really into idolatry before following Jesus could not eat the meat without being tempted back into their old life.  Similarly, many of the Jewish background believers couldn’t eat it without feeling like they were sinning against God by participating even indirectly in an act of idolatry.   Read the rest…