A common theme in worship songs is the idea of FREEDOM. Songs (both old and new) proclaim the freedom that we have in Christ. For instance:
- “Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray – I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth and followed Thee.” – Charles Wesley (“And Can it Be” 1738)
- “Now we’re free, free, forever we’re free! Come join the song of all the redeemed. Yes We’re free, free forever AMEN. When death was arrested and my life began.” – Heath Balltzglier, Adam Kersh, Brandon Coker, and Paul Smith (“Death was Arrested” 2017)
These choruses (of course) are actually anchored in God’s Word. Just a sampling:
- “For freedom Christ has set us free …” – Galatians 5:1a
- “For one who has died has been set free from sin.” – Romans 6:7
- “Live as people who are free …” – 1 Peter 2:16
The concept of freedom is attractive to us, isn’t it? We love the thought of being set free from the bondage of sin. However, in our rush to sing of our freedom, let us not allow our eyes to STOP when we see the word “free” in the biblical passages on which this concept is based. Keep reading:
- “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery … For your were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” – Galatians 5:1, 13
- “For one who has died has been set free from sin … Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” – Romans 6:7, 12-13
- “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a coverup for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” – 1 Peter 2:16-17
See where those passages end up? We are not set free to simply do whatever WE want to do, but we are set free from sin’s necessary rule so that we might live the life we were CREATED FOR. We do not make our own purpose (any more than we make our own God.) God made us … and He made us on purpose and for a purpose. And the purpose for which God created us is FAR BETTER than whatever else we might cook up. As it is written:
- “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him …” – Acts 17:26-27
- “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10
- “And God blessed them (Humanity). And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” – Genesis 1:28
This Sunday at Wildwood, we will continue to anchor to the Rock of God’s Word as we look at a truly Christian PERSPECTIVE on humanity. Who are we? What were we created for? These questions are of utmost importance, and much confusion exists today about this matter. On Sunday we will look at a number of different biblical passages to remind ourselves of who we are, so that we can make more sense of what we have been called to do. This message will be part 2 of the “Perspective: Viewing today’s world through a Christian lens.” You can join us in person at Wildwood for our 9:00AM, 10:15AM, or 11:30 AM service on April 18. Or, you can join us online live at 10:15AM that day (or watch anytime thereafter) at wildwoodchurch.org/live
As I mentioned last week, this series of messages is really one long message broken into 4 parts. If you want to look back at last week’s message, you can find it by clicking here.
Hope you can make it … and hope to see you Sunday!!! Let’s live the FREE life God has created us for together to the glory of God.