Sermon Snippet – Putting the Fun into Fundamentalism – Part II
INTRODUCTION – Fun and fundamentalism go together in my life, and I believe that they are copartners in the Christian faith. Last week, we considered the subject of forgiveness, finding it both fun and fundamental. (As an aside, my wife forgave me for last week’s message, and I forgave her for giving me a cold. It could have been worse: she could have also given me the cold shoulder… or two.) Today, let us think about the Biblical concept of freedom, which flows logically from forgiveness.
1. JESUS SETS US FREE
Quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2a, Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). Circumstances, other people, our own poor choices – all of these bruise us. Jesus offers to set us free by enfolding and enveloping us in His love and liberty. His embrace is genuine, generous, and gentle. In John 8:31-32, 36, Jesus explains that “truth” is crucial to setting us “free.” He rejects the world’s slavery – spiritual, emotional, physical (and more than half of the people in the Roman Empire at that time were slaves) – and even its political subjugation (the people of Israel were controlled by the pagan Romans). The “truth” is that the world is wrong in its assessments, that its power is fleeting, and that it offers nothing eternal. Jesus sets us free from the stranglehold of sin and from the ways of this wicked world of woe.
2. THE HOLY SPIRIT CONFIRMS AND CONTINUES OUR FREEDOM
II Corinthians 3:17 states, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” The context of this verse deals with the limitations of any system, including the Old Testament Law (which was good), in setting us free. Only Jesus offers “the new testament [covenant]” (verse 6) that sets us free from that which cannot save eternally. The abiding and indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit not only validates the “truth” propounded by Jesus but also provides the ongoing spiritual power that we need to progress in our sanctification. In a passage about our Savior God’s future redemption of the entire cosmos (Romans 8:18-23), Paul uses the lovely expression “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (verse 22b), a freedom ensured by “the Spirit” (verse 23).
3. OUR FREEDOM DOES NOT NARROW OUR LIVES
A common criticism is that Christianity is too narrow, too limiting. I know otherwise. Galatians 5:1 exhorts us to “stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Anyone who has been addicted or who has been around addicts knows the danger of entanglement “again” and also knows how much better life is without the addictions. Paul’s exhortation in verse 13 clarifies that our freedom is not freedom to sin but freedom from sin: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Why would anyone willingly go back into slavery? Of course, there are good rules – reflecting God’s goodness and also bringing good into our lives – that we find in “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). God’s Word sets boundaries for us, but we need them. Imagine planning a day trip to a favorite destination. The freedom of the open road beckons, and a pleasant day is rightfully expected – until you find out that all of the rules of the road have been suspended. No speed limits, no stops, no legal side of the road – a reasonable person would stay at home, and be safe. I stay at home because I have God’s freedom to love my wife. My life with her is not narrow (even though she has lost weight). We laugh our way through life together. These principles of freedom hold for all of us in all areas of life.
CONCLUSION – I Peter 2:15-16 says, “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” When we trust in God the Son, Jesus Christ, for salvation, we are both “free” and “servants.” The two belong together, for this freedom is fun and fundamental to our faith. We no longer need any type of “cloak” – no pretending nor pretensions. We are liberated, as a song says, to “look up and laugh and love and lift.”