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FREEDOM

FREEDOM. The Hungry Dragon. Warm-Up Questions. Should all Christians be held to the same standard of conduct? What legitimate areas of latitude exist among Christians in the area of personal conduct? How do we know what’s permissible for us and what warrants righteous rebuke in others?.

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FREEDOM

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  1. FREEDOM

  2. The Hungry Dragon

  3. Warm-Up Questions Should all Christians be held to the same standard of conduct? What legitimate areas of latitude exist among Christians in the area of personal conduct? How do we know what’s permissible for us and what warrants righteous rebuke in others?

  4. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:1-6

  5. The Yoke of Un-Slavery • “It is for freedom that Christ set us free.” • Our new master purchased us to remove our chains. • Circumcision (personal conduct under compulsion) is a return to the old slavery. • “Obligated to obey the whole law.” • “Trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” • “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

  6. Great! Freeeeeeedoommm! • See? If you tell me to stop doing (X) or put away (Y) in my life, you are just getting in the way of the freedom Christ desires for me. • So kindly bugger off! • Christianity is a discipline of counterbalance.

  7. You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14

  8. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. Galatians 5:16-18

  9. Freeeddoooo… Wait. What? • We’re free, but not to indulge in sinful nature. • Also translated as “the flesh.” • “Sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other.” • Jack Sparrow’s compass… • Even if you are impressively “not going anywhere” with some practices in your life, do they point to the Spirit or elsewhere? • Little help?

  10. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

  11. Inpermissible • Turn to 1 Corinthians 6:12 • Ever wonder why “Everything is permissible for me” is quoted? • This is one of the most misquoted and misapplied phrases in the Bible. • These were not Paul’s words…he was quoting the Corinthian Church for the purpose of correction! • His counter phrases: • - but not everything is beneficial. • - but I will not be mastered by anything.

  12. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:15-17

  13. United in Flesh • Paul reminds us that we have been united with Christ in our flesh (bodies). • We are His temple (v19) • God is omnipotent and omnipresent. • Through salvation, however, we have a personal, powerful, and persistent linkage with the Holy Spirit. • Just as Christ identified Himself directly with our sin, we are identified directly with His holiness.

  14. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall. 1 Corinthians 8:9-13

  15. Who is my (weaker) brother? Let’s start with your children. You absolutely lack a full knowledge of whom and how you are influencing. Your freedom in strength now could even be a stumbling block to a weaker you in another time or area.

  16. If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 1 Corinthians 10:30-33

  17. Real-Life Application • We are rarely faced with the direct issues of circumcision and idol-sacrificed meat today. • Translations: • Legalistic practices in pursuit of “righteousness.” • Participating in something “tainted by sin.” • SIN WAS SIN BEFORE THE LAW. • SIN WAS SIN UNDER THE LAW. • SIN IS SIN AFTER LAW’S ABOLISHMENT.

  18. Real-Life Application • Our freedom in Christ is meant to draw us ever closer to Him and ever further from the world. • What compass reading do each of your current practices show? • Time for a change in heading? • Proactive change? LIVE IT! • So, what’s our approach to changing the minds around us?

  19. When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

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