Freedom Isn't Free

Well should then, we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was. Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life. We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. He died once to defeat sin, and now he lives for the glory of God. So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. Romans 6:1-12


The problem with freedom is that it is never free. True freedom comes at the cost of life by the shedding of blood. When the price for our freedom is paid by others we can often mistake our liberty as a license to abuse the freedom. We forget the high cost by which our freedom comes. While we have liberty from the law, such liberty does not dictate that we are free to do whatever we desire. However, such misunderstanding has plagued man from his creation. Adam was given the perfect environment, the perfect promise of eternal life, the perfect Father and only one commandment.

Oddly enough man is usually separated from God by the one thing they are unwilling to surrender to the Lordship of Christ; one man wanted to bury his father, another could not surrender his wealth, yet another wanted the assurance of where disciple might lead before he would follow Christ. You and I never fall by the abundance of sins, which will not let us go; we each fall by the one sin of which we will not let go.

As God’s children, the price for our freedom has been paid; our refusal to abandon that which separates us from our God and robs us of our potential in God is indeed sin. The wages of sin is death; this eternal cancer threatens, not only us, but threatens those for whom we are also responsible; Eve’s deception becomes Adam’s sin, the penalty for each is the same.

The Apostle closes this passage with a command; only one command, but is it too much for us to consider? “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires.” It is just one command, but is it too much for you and I to consider in order finding our way back to God? Let us pray. Amen!

Are You Ready For Christian Community?

“AND THEY, CONTINUING DAILY WITH ONE ACCORD IN THE TEMPLE, AND BREAKING BREAD FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, DID EAT THEIR MEAT WITH GLADNESS AND SINGLENESS OF HEART,” ACTS 2:46

There is good reason that most of the church is not modeled after the early church; it is easier to practice religion than it is to live together in Christian Community.

Within what I call the Traditional Church Model, I may need to be able to tolerate you once to three times a week, if we are both active in our church. Our relationship can remain superficial, perhaps as superficial as the occasional “hello” or “goodbye”. If the church is large enough I can avoid you altogether if I am upset with you.
In an organic church modeled after the first church we must not merely tolerate one another, but we must love one another in spite of our differences until we come into the Unity of The Faith, where the purpose of Christ is more important than our petty differences and disagreements. Note the emphasis of the above passage; “AND THEY, CONTINUING DAILY WITH ONE ACCORD” - DID EAT THEIR MEAT WITH GLADNESS AND SINGLENESS OF HEART,” In the Temple where they ministered together and from house to house where they lived, they came together “DAILY WITH ONE ACCORD, WITH GLADNESS AND SINGLENESS OF HEART”
It is easy to say, “Let’s be like the first church and eat meals together” But what set the first church apart was that their shared life was born out of the community of the church, not the other way around. They came together because they shared life, they didn’t share life and because they came together.
The real key to unity is not how well do you get along. The real key to experiencing family unity is how well do you handle it when you DO NOT Get Along? Do you run? Do you hide? MUST you be right? What if you aren’t? Must everyone agree with you? How do you handle it when they don’t? Unity is not born out of mutual agreement. Community is born out of the unconditional love we share with one another in spite of our disagreements.
“CONTINUING DAILY” implies continued effort – daily striving and working. For what end; to be right? No! To come together in “ONE ACCORD”, to be able to live and love those who hurt you, mistreat you and misunderstand you. To allow love to cover a multitude of sin, so that God family can live with a “SINGLENESS OF HEART”.
ARE YOU READY FOR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY? I doubt it. How do we prepare ourselves? Jesus told His Disciples to go into the upper room and wait until the Holy Spirit had come upon them. And so they waited and prayed and waited and prayed and waited and prayed and in Acts 2:1 we see the result; “AND WHEN THE DAY OF PENTECOST WAS FULLY COME, THEY WERE ALL WITH ONE ACCORD IN ONE PLACE.” He doesn’t say go or be alone; He says come together and allow me to knit your hearts and your lives together into one Body with One Heart and One Mind with One Purpose. Amen!

“AND EVEN WHEN YOU DO ASK, YOU DON’T GET IT BECAUSE YOUR WHOLE MOTIVE IS WRONG - - YOU WANT ONLY WHAT WILL GIVE YOU PLEASURE.” JAMES 4:3

We’re all familiar with the preceding verse; we quote it all the time. The truth is we misquote the last few words of it, we say, Jesus said “YOU HAVE NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT”! The implication being that if we want something all we need to do is ask, but this is NOT what Jesus was saying. In fact the point He was making was not about how to get what we want from God; His message was that our hearts are wrong in their lusting for what we do not have.

Within context what Jesus said was, “YOU WANT WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE, SO YOU SCEME AND KILL TO GET IT. YOU ARE JEALOUS FOR WHAT OTHERS HAVE; YOU CAN’T POSESS IT, SO YOU FIGHT AND QUARREL TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM THEM. AND YET THE REASON YOU DON’T HAVE WHAT YOU WANT IS THAT YOU DON’T ASK GOD FOR IT. AND EVEN WHEN YOU DO ASK, YOU DON’T GET IT BECAUSE YOUR WHOLE MOTIVE IS WRONG - - YOU WANT ONLY WHAT WILL GIVE YOU PLEASURE.”

It’s amazing to me that we can use the very conversation of Christ concerning our greed and lust to kindle fires of more greed and lust. I have long heard people pray, “God, give them the desires of their hearts!” The better prayer is, “God help us to desire what you desire for us.”

Too often our hearts are out of alignment with God’s. We ought to be praying align our hearts for then we will have no trouble asking for and receiving what God has for us.

In Gethsemane, Jesus had a choice; His will or the Father’s. The work of our salvation was actually decided in the Garden when Jesus prayed, “NEVERTHELESS, NOT MY WILL BUT THINE BE DONE”. Certainly, we can ask God for whatever our heart’s desire, but we often don’t for when we do; we ask outside of His will for us or we know better than to even ask. Remember as a kid wanting something, but knowing better than to ask your parents?
Are you needy or greedy? He wants to supply your needs, but a good Father never wants to feed his children’s greed. The good Father that He is, He takes pleasure in blessing us, but in His wisdom, He understands the difference between what we want, what we think we want and what is best for us. My 15, soon to be 16 year old may want a high powered, high performance car, but there is not a 16 year old who would not be in danger of destroying himself with such a vehicle. God knows us better than we know ourselves and so He warns us, “Check your motives when you pray; is it for you or for the glory of God that you ask?” Lust is sin, regardless of what it is that we are lusting after.
Hear the words of Jesus in context with what He is saying, “YOU WANT WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE, SO YOU SCEME AND KILL TO GET IT. YOU ARE JEALOUS FOR WHAT OTHERS HAVE; YOU CAN’T POSESS IT, SO YOU FIGHT AND QUARREL TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM THEM. AND YET THE REASON YOU DON’T HAVE WHAT YOU WANT IS THAT YOU DON’T ASK GOD FOR IT. AND EVEN WHEN YOU DO ASK, YOU DON’T GET IT BECAUSE YOUR WHOLE MOTIVE IS WRONG - - YOU WANT ONLY WHAT WILL GIVE YOU PLEASURE.” AMEN!