The Concept of Freedom

Galatians 5

1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

We always say, we are free in Christ, but what does that mean??

Ephesians 2

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I think we all can agree that the chains of sin are much more a bondage then the restraints of an actual slave, that we are dead in our trespasses. Were we may differ is on the capability of the dead to move towards his freedom. Now I know thats a horse thats been beat for hundreds of years, but I still think its pertinent to analyze the switch in "allegiance" that our will goes through upon having faith in Christ.

The freedom we have in Christ is a freedom FROM sin, from judgment, from wrath... from the justice we deserve as sinners... not a freedom of the will.

Romans 6

16Do 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 and its 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.

Freedom...

We as believers trade one mantel of devotion for another... from the bondage of sin to the bondage of Christ.

Cloud of Ambiguity - Defining Terms

OK, so to start this blog off right I'm going to address an issue I have seen not just in the church, but in the world as a whole.

Few people know how to define what they are...

In a society where labels are used as liberally as contraceptives it becomes difficult to know what system of thought you are engaging... which in reality means you not engaging it as efficiently as you could.

For example...
I had this conversation while in my undergrad...

Girl - "I'm a vegetarian"

Me - "I can't imagine not eating hamburgers, spicy chicken, or catfish."

Girl - "Well i eat chicken and fish, just not red meat."

Me - "So... your not a vegetarian, your an omnivore."

Girl - "never heard that word before, but it sounds better than being a carnivore."

Me - "It means you eat both animal and plants as food."

Girl - "Well then thats me..."

Me - "...and everyone else on the planet who isn't a real vegetarian."

While not a particularly detrimental topic... its a simple representation of the kind of uneducated ambiguity being used today.

I'll give you another...

Me - "Wait... your a Darwinist?"

Man - "Of course..."

Me - "But your a homosexual right? Doesn't that strike you as antithetical?"

Man - "How so?"

Me - "Well within that system, you have no place... you can't procreate, and in reality are only wasting resources..."

Man - "So?"

Me - "So what’s the point of you existing at all? Your a biological dead-end street."

Here's the kicker most don't want to hear....

Definitions are not subjective to your individual emotions or thoughts. There are certain constraints that exist when grafting your self into a certain camp of belief.

Another example, a conversation I have semi-frequently...

Man - "Your a Calvinist? So am I!, well except the whole (unconditional election/limited atonement) thing."

Me - "..........."

Man - "What?"

Me - "So your not a Calvinist then."

Man - "Well I'm a 4 point Calvinist"

Me - "Or a 1 point Arminian? Your a Calminian?"

Man - "Thats ridiculous to say you have to hold to all 5 to call yourself a Calvinist!"

Well readers, its not ridiculous...

To truly be a follower of a system of belief you have to accept it as a whole... not treat the market of ideas like an all you can eat buffet, where you pick and choose what tickles your ears and pass by what convicts.

So yes...

In order to be a Christian you must believe in Christ death and resurrection, in the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture, the reality of Hell, the beauty of Creation ex nihilo... etc because that’s what HISTORIC Christianity is.

And you know what its not?

Its not Reincarnation, its not liberal acceptance of Homosexuality and Abortion, its not Universalism, its not Word of Faith, and its not the Power Team...

But here lies the real danger...

Not only are many people not logical thinking about the labels they operate under or the inconsistencies they create, they neglect to see how their lives are dictated by their hodge podge beliefs and they become misrepresentations of those labels...

A Christian who doesn't love their neighbor, misrepresents Christ, a father who doesn't lead the family in a godly manner, misrepresents Christ, a "pastor" who has a homosexual affair while indulging in meth, misrepresents Christ, a televangelist who commits tax fraud, misrepresents Christ, a street speaker who only screams "you Hell bound" misrepresents Christ ...

The list goes on and on.

1 Peter 4

“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does”

You call your self a Christian?

Act like it.