Freedom – Page 4 – The Nexus

Digging in Deeper: Romans 6:17-18

June 26, 2019June 26, 2019Leave a comment

“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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Where Real Freedom Lies

July 4, 2018July 2, 2018Leave a comment

In this special Fourth of July edition, allow me to share my message from our community patriotic service this past Sunday evening. Here, with the help of Jesus’ declaration of where real freedom lies, I talk about what freedom is and how we can preserve it for future generations. Happy Fourth of July!

Where Real Freedom Lies

I have a confession to make: I love the Fourth of July. Now, I don’t necessarily think I’m more patriotic than anybody else. I think the reason I love the Fourth of July so much is because growing up my family always made such a big deal out of it. We’d cook out. We’d have friends over. We’d enjoy hanging out with neighbors. And we’d blow stuff up. A lot of stuff. That’s the real reason I love the Fourth of July: I love fireworks. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: John 8:31-32

May 28, 2018May 22, 2018Leave a comment

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” (ESV – Read the chapter)

Jesus says two really important things here. The first gives us the rubric for having confidence in our fellowship. The second gives us the dual result of this state of affairs. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: James 1:25

May 23, 2018May 22, 2018Leave a comment

“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

As far as their historical worth goes, the Scriptures have a value that exceeds any other work of literature. They have had more of an impact on human history in terms of shaping and forming the guiding assumptions of people than every other book combined. The King James Version alone has had more of an impact on the English language than Shakespeare did. Simply knowing and understanding the Scriptures without caring two wits about the God they reveal is important if you want to be a well-cultured individual. But, if you want the real blessing they have to offer, you have to go beyond that to committing yourself to doing what they say. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Romans 6:20, 22

April 13, 2018April 10, 2018Leave a comment

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. . . .But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is one of the more confusing arguments Paul makes over the course of his letter to the church in Rome. First, he says Christians were slaves of sin before being saved, then, he says that Christians, once they have been saved and set free from sin, are slaves of God. So we are saved from slavery only to enter into another kind of slavery? What gives? Why not just stay where we were at first? Read the rest…