LIVING FREED

LIVING FREED

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION 

      Freedom men prize as a natural desire of their spirit

      Freedom in regard to God’s will

      Freedom in regard to sin

I. FREEDOM FROM LAW

            A.  Objective: free from the necessity of personal perfection

                  1.   Free from the Law of Moses

                        a.   As a codification that has jurisdiction over our behavior

                              Colossians 2:13-14: the Law was nailed to the cross.

                              Romans 7:1-6: by identifying with Christ, we die and pass from under

                                       the jurisdiction of a law governing a nation of this world.

                        b.   Free from the perfection requirement of law: Galatians 3:10 <

                              Deuteronomy 27:26 LXX

                        Freedom from law does not mean freedom from expectancies; personal

                        relationships have expectancies too. It means freedom from the necessity of

                        personal perfection in such matters.

                  2.   Not free from the “law” of Christ: 1 Corinthians 9:20-21

                        If we are in a right-turn lane when we want to go straight, we are out of

                        sync with reality. We do not feel that frustration when we want to turn

                        right in that right-turn lane. That is the difference that living according to

                        God’s teaching brings to us.

            B.  Subjective: free from the necessity of external compulsion

                  Jeremiah 31:31-34 + 2 Corinthians 3:2-6a

                  INTERNALIZING    &    PERSONALIZING

                                          1 John 5:3

                                          Romans 6:17: obey from the heart

II.  FREEDOM FROM SIN

            A.  Objective: freedom from the guilt of sin

                  1.   Hebrews 10:4-10: Christ’s provision is “once for all time.”

                        1 John 1:7: “The blood of Jesus God’s Son cleanses us from all sin.”

                  2.   Ephesians 1:7: We have salvation by identification with him in Christ.

                  3.   Repentance + forgiveness: The past cannot be removed, but the past can be removed from affecting present relationships.

                              Repentance separates me from my past as far as I am concerned.

                              Forgiveness separates me from my past as far as the other person is

                                       concerned.

            B.  Subjective: freedom from the sense of guilt (conscience)

                  Hebrews 10:1-2

            We are changed from disfellowship to fellowship.

            We are given a permanent status because we are reconciled into a personal relationship. When people reconcile, there is no thought as to how long; it is presumably permanent. Like marriage, it does not have to be renewed periodically.  

            We have it as long as we do not “divorce” ourselves from him.

            We are saved from sin, not sins: state vs. acts. “Sin” is the state of separation; sins are individual acts with their individual consequences.

            We are saved from sin, not from sinning.

CONCLUSION

            A.  Freedom in reality

            B.  Freedom from law

            C.  Freedom from sin

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