Scripture Romans 8:12-17, Romans 8:18-25, Luke 4:16-21
Rev.
Peter Marshall, a Presbyterian pastor who served as Chaplain of the US Senate in the 1940’s, once
said “Make
us to see that our liberty is not the right to do as we
please, but the opportunity to do what is right.” In the context of Christian faith, this can
be seen as a call to return to true and faithful dependence upon scriptural
authority, and to leave worldly opinions and attributes to rot by the wayside!
Unfortunately,
many people today believe that freedom is permission to believe whatever makes
sense to the individual, as well as the right to expect others to agree with
you! But the only true standard of what
is right and wrong has little to do with our own thoughts, and everything to do
with what God has put in place for our benefit.
Today’s
message will consider this concept.
Read Romans 8:12-17
Paul’s overriding theme for these verses is in his
warning to the church to never go back to the ways that they lived before
coming to the truth of Jesus Christ. He
even tells us that we have an “obligation” to live as the Lord has called us,
and not in the way that the culture demands.
And he then points out the pros and cons that are associated with this
obligation! The “con” is in the way that
the world will bring us nothing but death, while the “pro” is in the life that
comes when we walk in the way of Christ, when His assurance of eternity will become
ours! It doesn’t get much clearer than
this.
You may ask “why the difference?” Isn’t living a good life enough? And Paul would answer “Not on your life!” If we want to live eternally with our Lord,
then the only way is to invite the Lord Jesus into our life, and begin to live
as one of His disciples. (Matthew 28:18-20) And when we do, we will also receive the Holy Spirit to
guide us, enable us, and empower us through the presence of God. (John 16:7-16) He
will bring the truth of God into our lives, in a way that we will never be able
to avoid. He will convict us of our
sinful ways, and encourage us in the ways of righteousness. And by the grace of Jesus Christ, He will
also be our source of freedom from judgment of our sin, for He will always be,
by faith in Him, our true and complete forgiveness!
And what can the world offer us? Very little, other than condemnation for our
sins, absolute darkness, fear, hatred, conflict, loneliness, death, and, worst
of all, eternal separation from God!
Read Romans 8:18-25
Again, Paul makes the point of his letter very clear
– that the glory that awaits the faithful will far outweigh any suffering that
we may have to endure in the present.
And he even proclaims that the rest of creation is also waiting for the
day when the entire family of God, meaning the entirety of the faithful, will
be revealed! Why would all of creation be
waiting for this with great anticipation?
Because the created order has also been struggling right along with
us! After all, what else would decay be
described as, other than a struggle!
Creation waits for the time of God’s renewal, as proclaimed in Revelation 21:1-3, when the new heaven and the new earth will
appear, and the new Jerusalem will descend from heaven as our new home with the
Lord! No more death, no more decay, no
more darkness, only new and eternal life!
Suffering has, indeed, been severe, and on the day
of the Lord’s glory – as grand as it will be – it will no longer exist solely in
God, but then, on all of His creation!
In our funeral liturgy, we proclaim “Here and now, dear friends, we
are God’s children. What we shall be has
not yet been revealed; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like him,
for we shall see Him as He is. Those who
have this hope purify themselves as Christ is pure.”
This is the hope of salvation, and the culmination
of freedom from condemnation and death! And
what do the worldly of Earth’s ways wait for?
Hopelessness! Desperation! Futility!
Misery! Finality!
Read
Luke 4:16-21
Unbelievers chastised Christ at every opportunity
that came their way. But they not only
denied Jesus’ teaching, but they denied the prophets and all that God revealed
to the people. Israel had been chosen,
from the beginning, to spread the good news of God’s promise throughout the
world, and yet, they refused. Genesis 12:1-3 – 3 I
will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Apparently, God’s people, who had been chosen
to serve Him, decided that they alone were worthy of those blessings, and that
they would not offer the Lord’s blessings for anyone other than themselves! And how did that work out? (Matthew 21:33-40)
The people had failed, so Jesus would be the one who
would be called to preach God’s good news to the poor and those from other
nations, and Christ’s faithful followers would be called upon to continue the
ministry that Jesus had begun. So when
we share the Good News with others, we are actually “proclaiming freedom for
the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release for
the oppressed”, all of whom are still, for now, caught up in the
condemnation of their own sin!
This is what the church should be focusing their ministry
on – Freedom from the world’s conviction, and the gift of a blessed and renewed
hope in the scriptures that have been fulfilled and justified though faith in
Jesus Christ! For we, too, have been called to
be an undiminished light for others (Luke 11: 33).
Are each of us prepared to carry the light of Christ
wherever we go; eager to proclaim the Freedom that awaits all who put their
trust in Jesus; ready to offer the “Key” that will overturn the verdict of “guilty”
that has already convicted so many throughout the world?
Do we see the Lord’s Freedom as our gift, but expect others to discover God’s
Freedom for themselves? Remember the
Lord’s word to Abraham in Genesis 12 above – will we joyfully bring the
blessings of God to all the people of this Earth, or are we willing to let them
remain convicted in their sin, and condemned for eternity? And how do you think the Lord will respond to
our arrogance? Don’t wait to find out –
share the hope and promise of Christ with someone else today!
