Freedom From Sin...

When we finally realize that we have everything we need in Christ we become free to love, free to live, free to give. When we understand that we possess the Kingdom of God we are free to give freely to others.


God justified us through the sacrifice of Jesus. God forgave all our sins, past, present and future, and made us to be the righteousness of God in Christ.

Because Jesus is strong for me, I am free to be weak
Because Jesus won for me, I am free to lose
Because Jesus was someone, I am free to be no one
Because Jesus was extraordinary, I am free to be ordinary
Because Jesus succeeded for me, I am free to fail.

Righteousness (right-standing with God) is based not on works, but on faith. There were no good works which we did which made us worthy to receive complete forgiveness.

God declared us righteous on the basis of His mercy and grace, through Christ.

Obviously, before we were Christians, it was never our nature to seek all our satisfaction in Christ and the gospel; but even after God saves us, that isn't where we naturally turn. In fact, when it comes to Christian life and experience, many of us have understood the gospel as the thing that gets us in, while the thing that keeps us in (we assume) is our own effort and performance.

We recognize that the gospel ignites the Christian life, but we all to often fail to see that it's also the fuel to keep us going and growing as Christians.

Mark 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

We view this scripture prescriptively rather than descriptively.

This amazing grace that we possess because of Jesus allows us to be imperfect and draws us closer to perfection.

Because Jesus is strong for me, I am free to be weak!

We are righteous on the inside, because we have become a partaker of God's divine nature (2Peter 1:4). Righteousness is infused into the very being of every Christian. This is why we can come boldly before God's throne. This is why we have the abiding presence of His Spirit with us continually.

Romans 6:8

Our identification with Christ didn't end on the cross. “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” Paul is referring to the fact that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we shall walk in newness of life. Alive to God and free from the condemnation of sin.

Eph. 2:5,6 “Even when we were dead in our transgressions, (He) made us alive together with Christ...and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.”

Crucified with Him!
Made alive together with Him!
Raised up with Him!
Seated in heavenly places with Him!

So if we aren't naturally prone to look to the finished work of Jesus for us as it is presented in the gospel for the “everything” - where are we looking? Please understand, its not that Christians seek to blatantly replace the gospel. What we often try to do is add to it.

Christianity and popularity
Christianity and success
Christianity and power
Christianity and social status
Christianity and reform
Christianity and tradition

Because Jesus won for me, I am free to lose.

We are part of His Kingdom, because He has made us new creatures and filled us with His own holy and righteous nature. Our new nature is the nature of God.

Satan will always try to convince you that you have failed and fallen out of the grace of God. He will always work to make you feel condemned, that your not good enough, that your aren't worthy of God's best.

The truth is none of us are! The truth is we are free to choose between sin and righteousness and sometimes we choose poorly but that doesn't remove God's grace. That doesn't change what happened on the cross. That doesn't “un-save” us.

You see, because Jesus succeeded for me, I am free to fail.

Our “good works” can become the very thing that gives us so much self-comfort and self-approval, this very thing we find so killingly attractive. Self-righteousness is our attempt to provide our own righteousness apart from God. God hates it because he loves us.
Self righteousness can lead only to the robbery of our freedom.

Do more, try harder
Do more, try harder
Do more, try harder
Do more, try harder

Not in this church, not from this pulpit. We want you involved, we want your talents, we want God to use you for the gospel but we want you to know that you already possess everything you need in Christ Jesus.

Because Jesus was someone, I am free to be no one. We don't need perfection, we have perfection in Jesus!