For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free

            For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.  (Galatians 5:1-6 ESV)

I realize that this is my third post on this blog and I in serious danger of coming across as something of a Matt Chandler fan-boy, so let me explain myself… Some people start their day with a reading from My Utmost for His Highest, a Spurgeon devotional reading, or that day’s reading assignment from their “read the Bible in one year” plan, but in my house, my day begins at about 5:30am and one of the first things I hear is my wife playing a Matt Chandler sermon while she feeds the baby.  Believe it or not, waking up to a 45 minutes sermon isn’t as bad as you may be thinking!  I digress…

I would encourage you to listen to this sermon and reflect upon the fact that the Gospel plus or minus anything is no longer the Gospel.  Let me unpack that. 

We, Christians, often hear the Gospel, receive and accept it, but then add to it.  “I am saved through imputed righteousness via Christ’s propitiatory death AND by attending church, not swearing, doing community service, homeschooling my kids, and abstaining from anything I wouldn’t want my Grandmother to hear about.”  If we add to the Gospel, then we no longer believe in the Gospel!

If you’re unfamiliar with the book of Galatians and seeing repeated usage of the word “circumcision” either confused you or made you feel very uncomfortable – don’t worry, these verses are part of a larger letter written to Christians who were struggling with adding to the Gospel and circumcision was the example Paul was using.  And, the freedom being referred to, is the freedom from the burden of trying “keep” the law (which is impossible), freedom from a fear-based obedience to a set of rules and empty-religion, and the freedom to live in obedience to God through faith in and as a response to the Gospel – the whole Gospel, and nothing but the Gospel.

Chandler gives an incredibly convicting and inspiring sermon here, and again, I’d really encourage you to take a listen and reflect upon the Gospel today.

http://www.thevillagechurch.net/sermon/motivations-fear-or-love#.UFcx6g1N3t4

It's not about you

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Romans 5:6-11 ESV) 

The fact of the matter is that we don't deserve forgiveness.  In fact, we deserve the consequences for our actions - God's wrath (John 3: 36).

So isn't incredible to know that God's love and forgiveness doesn't depend on our abilities, efforts, and desire?  While we were busy rebelling against God, he was preparing to reconcile with us.  In fact, He took the punishment for our rebellion upon himself so that not only was justice served, but we are now reconciled and forgiven (Galatians 3: 13).

Again, we're not forgiven because we're good people - we needed forgiveness because we're sinful people.

Matthew 9 - And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

I hope that today you can accept and reflect upon the truth that God loves you, not because of what you've done, but despite it and because of who He is.

I would really encourage you to take a look at this talk given my a pastor named Matt Chandler.  Is somewhat lenghty (about 45 minutes), but he's a great communicator and the content of his message will blow your mind.

Pastor Matt Chandler: God is for God
(Skip the first 5 minutes - it's just the introduction) 

Week 1

1 Timothy 1: 15-17

15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

I’ve had these verses on my Facebook page for a few years now, but it’s amazing how it can be so difficult to accept a simple truth.

This week I celebrate completing my first full week of being on staff full-time with Campus Outreach.  It’s taken months to reach this point (let alone the years it took before I finally surrendered to God’s calling into ministry) and now I’m finally “here.”  It’s an incredibly challenging yet exciting time for me, personally, and for my family, but despite the excitement, the provision from God that made this possible, the support from friends and family, and the affirmation of my peers – I can’t help but feel inadequate.

When the Apostle Paul, wrote the words I’ve quoted above, he might as well have been writing about me.

I look at my own life and it’s clear to me that I am not a good person, I am not worth emulating, and compared to Jesus, I am utterly inferior.  So why would God call me into ministry?  Well, I think the answer is found in the same verses.  I received mercy so that Jesus could display how merciful and amazing He is, so that others might see that and receive that same forgiveness too. Now does this mean that I am now able to live as I please and use Christ as my “get out of jail free card?”  No.  Now, rather than focusing on myself and on the “bad” I’ve done and the “good” I’ve failed to do, I can look to Christ and what He’s done on my behalf.

The truth is, I am not “worthy” of being a Christian, let alone a full-time missionary/minister to college students, but through what Christ has done for me and in me – He has made me worthy.  It’s when I focus on myself (e.g. what I have accomplished, what pitfalls I have avoided, the good things I’ve done, the bad things I’ve done, etc.), and not on Christ and what He has accomplished for me, that the feelings of inadequacy can weigh me down.

So going back to the verses, I praise God and seek to bring Him glory and honor – not by doing my best (because my best isn’t worth much), but by proclaiming what He has done.  He was and is adequate and I am not – and that is why I am here.

Take a look:

Romans 6

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

¹ What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

¹⁵ What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹  I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

²⁰  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹  But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification andits end, eternal life. ²³  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.