FREEDOM FILES
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).
ISSUE #1
June 19, 2014
My Declaration of Independence
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed, marking the beginning of a new nation, free from the rule of England. But it didn’t begin there and it didn’t end there. The “shot heard round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775, marking the beginning of the fight for freedom. General Cornwallis finally surrendered on October 19, 1781, bringing an end to the colonies’ fight for freedom, but not really. The people of the United States of America have learned that the fight for freedom is a constant battle. The War of 1812, the Civil War, and even the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s were all efforts to keep or gain freedom for both individuals and groups of people.
Today there is another fight for freedom going on. It is against the slavery of legalism within the Body of Christ. It seems to me that I have been fighting this battle since I was a teenager. At times I didn’t even realize the battle was raging around me because the battle was going on inside me.
Like many people of my generation I grew up “attending church”. Some attended on Sunday morning, my Jewish friends attended synagogue on the Sabbath, but, like others of my friends, my family attended “whenever the doors were open”. In other words, we attended “church on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening.
I don’t know if I was the typical young teenager, but I struggled with understanding the sermons. The preacher read from the King James Bible and used big words like sanctification, propitiation and forbearance. I don’t have anything against those who read the King James Bible, but, since it was written four years before the death of William Shakespeare, it reads somewhat like one of his writings and is not the easiest to understand since the English language has changed so much since 1611. As I struggled with understanding the sermons I would busy myself with reading from my own Bible. One Sunday I realized that I could read the entire book of Jonah (all four chapters) before the sermon was completed.
As I continued to read my Bible and my desire to learn how to best follow Christ increased, I began to listen to what the preacher was saying and followed along in my Bible. I no longer wanted to have a faith that belonged to my parents. I wanted to have a faith that I could call my own.
THE BEGINNING OF FREEDOM
Like the freedom we enjoy in our great country, freedom in Christ didn’t come in a day. There are those who continually work toward enslaving those who seek freedom in Christ. This is not a new problem, and I fear it is not one that is going away anytime soon. While Jesus ministered here on earth the Jews had their own theft of freedom. The “Pharisees and teachers of the law” (Matthew 15:1) confronted Jesus to challenge the freedom of his disciples. They asked him, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat” (Matthew 15:2)! This was not a personal hygiene washing of the hands. It was a ceremonial washing (Michael J. Wilkins, The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew, Zondervan, pg. 534). “Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition’” (Matthew 15:3)? Jesus’ reply shows that the Jewish leaders had elevated their traditions to the place of LAW and thereby ignored the true command of God. They tightened the noose of slavery in order to restrict the freedom of Jesus’ followers.
During Paul’s ministry as an evangelist to many churches he continually ran into those who attempted, and sometimes succeeded, in stealing the freedom of Christ’s followers (Acts 15:1-2, Romans 14-15, Galatians 5:1, etc.). Today there are still those (some with good intentions, and others seeking power and control) who want to steal the freedom we have in Christ. In an effort to honor the prayer that Jesus prayed for his followers, I would like to explorer our freedom in Christ and how it can bring unity to all believers.
Jesus prayed, “My prayer is not for them alone (his apostles). I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one,
Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:20-23).
I invite you to join me in this journey of discovery into God’s Word to seek the unity of the body of Christ in today’s world through the freedom we have in Christ.
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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me and I will immediately comply with your request. If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription. I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).
ISSUE #1
June 19, 2014
My Declaration of Independence
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed, marking the beginning of a new nation, free from the rule of England. But it didn’t begin there and it didn’t end there. The “shot heard round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775, marking the beginning of the fight for freedom. General Cornwallis finally surrendered on October 19, 1781, bringing an end to the colonies’ fight for freedom, but not really. The people of the United States of America have learned that the fight for freedom is a constant battle. The War of 1812, the Civil War, and even the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s were all efforts to keep or gain freedom for both individuals and groups of people.
Today there is another fight for freedom going on. It is against the slavery of legalism within the Body of Christ. It seems to me that I have been fighting this battle since I was a teenager. At times I didn’t even realize the battle was raging around me because the battle was going on inside me.
Like many people of my generation I grew up “attending church”. Some attended on Sunday morning, my Jewish friends attended synagogue on the Sabbath, but, like others of my friends, my family attended “whenever the doors were open”. In other words, we attended “church on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening.
I don’t know if I was the typical young teenager, but I struggled with understanding the sermons. The preacher read from the King James Bible and used big words like sanctification, propitiation and forbearance. I don’t have anything against those who read the King James Bible, but, since it was written four years before the death of William Shakespeare, it reads somewhat like one of his writings and is not the easiest to understand since the English language has changed so much since 1611. As I struggled with understanding the sermons I would busy myself with reading from my own Bible. One Sunday I realized that I could read the entire book of Jonah (all four chapters) before the sermon was completed.
As I continued to read my Bible and my desire to learn how to best follow Christ increased, I began to listen to what the preacher was saying and followed along in my Bible. I no longer wanted to have a faith that belonged to my parents. I wanted to have a faith that I could call my own.
THE BEGINNING OF FREEDOM
Like the freedom we enjoy in our great country, freedom in Christ didn’t come in a day. There are those who continually work toward enslaving those who seek freedom in Christ. This is not a new problem, and I fear it is not one that is going away anytime soon. While Jesus ministered here on earth the Jews had their own theft of freedom. The “Pharisees and teachers of the law” (Matthew 15:1) confronted Jesus to challenge the freedom of his disciples. They asked him, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat” (Matthew 15:2)! This was not a personal hygiene washing of the hands. It was a ceremonial washing (Michael J. Wilkins, The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew, Zondervan, pg. 534). “Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition’” (Matthew 15:3)? Jesus’ reply shows that the Jewish leaders had elevated their traditions to the place of LAW and thereby ignored the true command of God. They tightened the noose of slavery in order to restrict the freedom of Jesus’ followers.
During Paul’s ministry as an evangelist to many churches he continually ran into those who attempted, and sometimes succeeded, in stealing the freedom of Christ’s followers (Acts 15:1-2, Romans 14-15, Galatians 5:1, etc.). Today there are still those (some with good intentions, and others seeking power and control) who want to steal the freedom we have in Christ. In an effort to honor the prayer that Jesus prayed for his followers, I would like to explorer our freedom in Christ and how it can bring unity to all believers.
Jesus prayed, “My prayer is not for them alone (his apostles). I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one,
Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:20-23).
I invite you to join me in this journey of discovery into God’s Word to seek the unity of the body of Christ in today’s world through the freedom we have in Christ.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me and I will immediately comply with your request. If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription. I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.