Physical Freedom in Christ

What does Physical freedom in Christ look like.  It may connote a thought regarding accepting how you feel about your physical appearance.  Perhaps, it conjures a thought of being physically fit, freed from desire that form bad habits.  Then again, it may cause you to consider experiencing freedom from literal and/or psychosomatic imprisonment to trauma that happened once or happens continually.
How can a physical freedom in Christ be experienced?

As with all the topics in this series, the key part of the answer is also in the question.  The solution is in Christ.  I, am by most accounts a very reformed and conservative theologian.  Do I believe in the cessation of gifts?  Yes and no.  I believe the gifts given as signs of the authority and kingdom presence of God are no longer given for that reason and thus no longer exist with the magnitude they did back then.  But that doesn't mean the gifts are not present in our world.  That's silly.  The Bible very often teaches that things are given or taken away, or happen a certain way for a specific reason.  But it very rarely teaches an all-encompassing and  binding generalism that opposing labels - such as "cessationism" and "Spirit-filled" - do today.  Those are man's rationalizations made to answer questions that satisfy their agendas.  We need to be careful.  What is expected via my normal civilized cultural experience for me, is not normal experience for my brothers and sisters in Africa, Japan, China, or New Zealand.

But, does physical freedom in Christ necessitate literal physical healing by definition?  Again, the Bible doesn't define anything like that.  So what do we do with this idea if Jesus set us "free indeed" and the physical realm is "indeed" a part of our human experience under the authority of faith?

We need to again remember that the antithesis of Freedom in Christ is slavery to sin; i.e. the power of sin, fear, death.  Freedom is freedom from sin.  What are sin's holds on us physically?  The answers are gluttony, lust, idolatry, fear and ego-centrism.  Their may be other categories I have not considered, but it seems to me, most of the physical sin in the world that affects us or holds us, fall into one of these main categories.  The problem is how we perceive where these sins are present because of an uncritical intellectual spirit - meaning we don't discern.

There are sins of gluttony.  That doesn't mean everyone who is overweight is caught up in this sin though.  There are sins of lust, this can be present in marriage as well as out of marriage.  So the sin doesn't just belong to those who fulfill the desire outside of marriage.  Anytime the selfish desire is not part of the fulfillment of the expression of Oneness God gave married people, it is sin.  It is serving selfishness, not love.

There are sins of holding self or some part of self up as an idol of self-expression, but not everything that appears as such is.  God knows the heart, we don't.  Some of it IS obvious, but most often, it isn't.  There may be sins of fear that affect a person so strongly, they cannot will themselves to leave abuse or co-dependent shame, but that doesn't mean that every situation that appears such is the sin of fear.  There is sin of ego-centrism all around us everywhere.  Much of it effects the physical body, but that doesn't mean that everyone who places great emphasis on personal health and fitness is ego-centric.  There are many other examples to consider, but lets conclude this thought on what freedom in Christ means for the physical realm.

It means being set free from any sin of gluttony, lust, idolatry, fear or ego-centrism that keeps us from realizing holistic joy in life and serving others well in whatever we are given to steward (that may be moment by moment as well as career).

Pain may always exist for some.  Handicaps may always exist.  Bad people and bad things will always exist.  Temptation will always exist.  But God exists eternally.  He always is and always has been, and our greatest foundation of faith is that He always will.  No matter what "consequence" a courageous decision brings, Jesus Christ will be there fulfilling our deepest needs and transforming our deepest desires to reflect His.  That is where freedom lies.  Not in the scale; in the prerogative or ability to decorate or perform; not in absence or presence of a feeling or sensation; not in the circumstances, but out of the broken grasp of sin.

Where do you need to experience physical freedom?  I don't know your predicament or circumstances, but I know sin is always involved in slavery.  If you sense it and need to break free, seek Godly counsel on how to make the God-honoring, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, Image Bearing (true dignity) courageous decision to do what needs to be done to REST in His freedom.

With you for His glory,

Intellectual Freedom in Christ: Part 2

So how does, "Walk by faith, " solve the dilemma of how to experience intellectual freedom as a Christian?

First, we need to realize that we are susceptible to being imprisoned by our pride.  God did not give us His Spirit so that we could know all the answers about His character and other people's problems.  He gave us His Spirit so that we could become more like Christ.  That is the transformation we are trying to achieve.  But remember that Jesus' character is the perfect balance of perfection and Grace.  The Image we hold of Jesus should be the actual portrait of Scripture that reflects that balance, not one that a certain theological bent has made in its' image.  One that is either too conservative or too liberal.  Jesus wasn't a politician, He is Sovereign Jesus.  He didn't align with any party, He demonstrated a new reality.

If you understand that you were made in the Image of God, then you understand that once the Holy Spirit lives in you, it works to conform us to the Image of Christ.  We literally become a temple of the Living God.  But when we place anything other than Christ on the altar of that temple, we destroy a little of who we were created to be.  We are breaking down the temple.

Listen.

All the knowledge of God on that altar is not the same as God Himself on that altar.  Those who base their conformity to Christ on how much they know and how many answers they have to sophisticated theological issues (loving God with all their mind) whilst not living out humble, self-sacrificing, personable service to  others (loving God with all their heart, soul, and strength and others as themselves) are least in the Kingdom of Heaven.

I struggled for a long time feeling like I knew a lot of Scripture, but knew little of the intimacy, fellowship, and camaraderie of the Spirit-filled life.  That was because I was heady and consumed with a worldly idea of separatist leadership that is displayed almost everywhere I go, including the churches I grew up in.  It seemed the more a leader knew, the less available, compassionate, and empathetic they became.  The ministry of the Church became leadership development oriented, not servant oriented.  I was a part of churches that were extremely proud of their knowledge and sanctity, but struggled to build any kind of evangelism program that actual produced spiritual results.  Every jot and tittle of by-law was in place and every parameter and process of ministry preservation had been thought of and was in place, but unless you were like them, you could not fit in.  I realized that was not the kind of leader Jesus was, and so I needed to stop trying to be that kind of leader.

A man who walks by faith is not absent of knowledge or greatness.  His knowledge is tempered with Christ's nature of self-sacrificing, personable servanthood.  He doesn't simply teach how to get out of the hole, he gets in the mud to help.  His greatness, is likewise tempered with Christ's nature of compassionate humility.  There is little more repugnant than an inappropriate truth given in error based on a hasty assessment and uncompassionate understanding.

A woman who walks by faith recognizes that God's Word is not a rule book to weight people down with, it is a story of Holiness pouring out Grace to liberate from the darkest and most hopeless of prisons.  Such a person understands that we don't control God or define God by our "knowledge".  That is placing something else on the altar inside our temple.  That something comes from a puffed-up mind.  We need to keep our intellectualism in it's rightful place, submitted to the Image of Christ so that it serves that Image.  Our intellect can never compromise our purpose of serving and loving God and man - WELL.

The answer then is this:  Scripture tells us that faith is being sure of what we have hoped for, confident of what we have not seen.  Therefore walking by faith is trusting in the fact that we have not yet experienced or arrived at God's reality for this given situation in life.  We may have experience that helps, or knowledge that informs, but walking by faith means trusting in the God we know, not the knowledge we have about.  Knowledge about does not make mature, knowledge which comes from a saving relationship with, does.  Intellectual freedom in Christ comes when the person with all the answers loves and serves like Christ despite what his knowledge tells him about the situation.  Mercy will trump judgement.  Those who have experienced much love, will love much - regardless of what they know.  And they will love the way Scripture says to love; knowing truth and grace are inseperable.

With you for His glory,

Intellectual Freedom In Christ: Part 1

Are you, or is anyone you know imprisoned by intellectualism?  Of all the prison's that disciples can encounter, I think this is reserved for those who consider themselves the most mature in the Christian faith.  Notice I said , "For those who consider themselves the most mature...".  Romans 3:4 says, "... let God be true and every man a liar."

It doesn't matter what we think, it matters what God says, and God says, "Much knowledge puffs up."  (1 Corinthians 8:1)  Now lest we take this proverb out of context, let us look at what it means in light of the rest of Scripture.

The emphasis of Scripture is doing as opposed to simply knowing about.  As Disciples of Christ, the exhortation of the Lord over and against the religious leaders of Jesus' day (and many today) is to move form pride-engourging knowledge to Christ-exalting, ministry-applied love.  To know God over knowing about God.  God does not condemn knowledge, He condemns self-centered pride.  Today, the great challenge is to grow in Christ without growing in knowledge-based self-reliance.

The temptation is to retort, "Well, the more you study God, the closer you get to Him and therefore, this is not an issue."  The public and private disgrace of many spiritual leaders throughout history testify to the false nature of this assumption.  The subject of 1 Corinthians 8:1 is not study or knowledge, but the pride that comes from attaining much knowledge.  There is much knowledge in many churches today.  Many of those same churches are also experiencing a drought of Biblical wisdom and practical, personal love.  Many intellectually mature disciples live out the truth of Proverbs 18:13 daily, "It is to a mans' folly and shame to offer counsel without first seeking understanding," while at the same time remain very distant from the truth of Matthew 7:12, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets."  Which flows from, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27)

The problem is one that James spoke about when he wrote, "So speak and act as one who is to be judged under the law of liberty.  For judgement is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy,  Mercy triumphs over judgement." (James 2:12-13) This is his Spirit-led conclusion to a conversation starting with, "But be doers of the Word and not hearers only...if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart (pride of knowledge), this persons religion is worthless."  (James 1:22 and 26).  Everything in between amplifies this dichotomy.  Intellectual freedom in Christ is a liberation from knowledge that magnifies man's stature, to that of wisdom that magnifies the "measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Eph. 4:16)

So how do we experience this Intellectual Freedom in Christ?  We "walk by faith".  Sounds simple, but let's look at how that is the solution and why it doesn't compromise growing in knowledge the right way.  

That comes in part two tomorrow!

With you for His glory,

Social Freedom in Christ

We live in a socially catered-to world.  Business today is built on internet powered connectivity and smart-phone driven immediacy.  Gone are the days of the telephone and the telegraph.  Carefully thought out correspondence is replaced with #anewwaytocommunicate.  Patient anticipation has been usurped by the ever present *bing* of the "omnipresent" app-clustered phone.

There is a social sphere of life that plays into a balanced, holistic healthy lifestyle.  But, just like any other area of life, the social life can be imprisoned by sin and brokenness.  In order to understand how Jesus sets us free socially, we need to understand how sin imprisons us socially.  What does it look like?

Status.

The social sphere of our lives is all about how we engage with and move within the rest of our society.  Born into this world, depending on what our birth order is, our personality type, and our love language and style, we battle the ever present onslaught of "should" and "could".  What this means is that our sinful nature always cries out for what "should be ours" or what "could be ours", which the world is constantly telling us to pursue.  We desire to have stuff, we desire to have position, we desire to have recognition.  And, most of the time, the reason is so that we feel better about ourselves when we engage with others in our social spheres.  It's called "keeping up with the Jones's"; or if you happen to be the Jones's, "Maintaining status."

We are enslaved to sin socially when our desire to have status keeps us from experiencing Jesus' purpose for our lives.  It can spill over into financial bondage, emotional bondage, and vocational bondage as well; but it's true power is usually rooted in our social bondage.  We cannot engage the world with the identity Christ purposed for us if we are so concerned with engaging the world for the purpose of being what it has purposed for us.  They will always be in direct conflict.  One is of the natural order - the "old creation".  The other is of the spiritual order - the "new creation".

In order to experience freedom socially, we have to be brutally honest with ourselves.  We have to be able to admit where the world and other people control our idea's of what is fair and appropriate for our lives.  We have to discern where other voices are deciding for us how we engage with them and the rest of the world according to their rules instead of Gods.

And then, we give it up.

There is only one status in this world that matters, and it has to do with the only real throne that matters.  That throne is in Heaven and the only true King and Creator of all status sit on it.  The only status that matters is the status that is granted from that throne by His hand.  Many of us have forgotten that there is a purpose for our lives that comes from that Throne.  We do have a freedom in finding and growing into it; but nonetheless, our redemption comes at a cost of surrendering our lives, socially as well as physically and spiritually, to His purposes.

Christ died to give us Freedom.  He, and others, have shown us that we can have an abundantly fulfilling life if we choose to embrace the social freedom he has given us as well.  Life abundantly.  That is what He makes available to us.  Trust His way for it.  He will give you status that matters.

With you for His glory,

Spiritual Freedom in Christ

The first of our seven part series is, of course, on spiritual freedom.  Of all the great theological and spiritual teachings of all time, this is the crux of our faith.   Jesus said that He came that we may have life, and to have it abundantly (John 10:10).  He also said that if He sets us free, we will be free indeed (John 8:36).  

Of all the denominational arguments that have ever existed regarding wealth and healing, and whatever else has divided the Kingdom of God for lesser reasons, none dispute the central pre-eminence of this truth.  Jesus Christ has set us free from the Power of Sin and Death; we are spiritually free.

But what does this mean?  Can I live life as a born again, chosen, redeemed, child of God, and still not experience spiritual freedom? 
 [WHAT I MEAN BY THIS IS NOT, "CAN MY SOUL GO TO HELL STILL?" The answer to that is emphatically, Biblically, "NO!"  but "CAN I LIVE LIFE WITHOUT THE SPIRITUAL JOY AND SENSE THAT I AM FREE FROM THE BURDEN OF SIN?" ]   
Sadly, I believe the answer is yes!  
"But mustn't I necessarily experience spiritual freedom?  Is it not forced upon me by the effectual calling of God?  Isn't that what John 8:36 says?"  Again, I believe the answer to that question is no!

The rest of that passage reads this way,
"31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave[a] to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

The Son makes freedom available to us, but notice how he makes it available to us...

"and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The Truth is the mode and method by which Jesus sets us free.  The problem, earthly speaking, is that Jesus left the "Truth" in the stewardship of human hands.  We are the ones that 'dish out' the truth according to our allegiances and personal belief's.  The Lutheran's steward the truth differently than the Catholics did.  That changed the World.  Literally.  It led to war in 1546-47.  Since then, numerous men and women have stewarded the truth in different ways that  led to global conflict and shedding of blood.  It is no little thing, that idea of "Truth".  

The Bible makes it clear that when the Holy Spirit - not a man - effects a sinner to repentance, that sinner is redeemed and set free from the power of sin and death; yet, the Bible also points out that those same redeemed individuals can live a life devoid of the experience of freedom because they are still living under the burdens of lies, or fear, or man-made regulations.  What Am I talking about?  Listen to Paul,

"For freedom, Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."  Galatians 5:1 

and James, 

"16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[a] 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."

The problem is that in these and several other occasions in Scripture, the recipients of the letters, Christians, had already been deceived, had already submitted to a yoke of slavery.  They were being encouraged to return to true spiritual freedom in Christ via the Truth alone.  

They had thought they were trading in slavery for freedom, but in reality they were simply trading in one burden for another - usually a man-made burden of faulty religious system.

Many of these things are honest attempts to honor God, but they become man-made stipulations that are not concretely found in Scripture.  Things like baptism, communion, and confession are big ones that people argue over, which are found in Scripture.  But there are other things, like - going to church, reading the Bible, attending Bible Study, wearing pants, dancing, smoking, drinking, etc. which are not concretely prescripted.  I wonder what else is out there as a burden on believer's shoulders.  What stigmas do people carry because of shame and guilt that others have assigned to them outside of the grace of Christ?

But beyond these issues which are heaped on worshippers as burdens of holiness, people have their own burdens that they have not realized freedom from.  Is it any wonder?  

Are we really surprised that people struggle with trusting Jesus with their broken hearts and shameful past when religious leaders tell them that the simple choice of lower extremity wardrobe is an affront to God?  Is it truly surprising that born again believers have a difficult time letting go of anger or shame, when they have been taught that God can't get over His anger and shame at their continued failings as His children?

How do we experience true Freedom from the burdens that keep us from experiencing life fully?  The answer is in Jesus' answer.  Be His disciple.  His disciples will know His Truth and be set free.  If you are studying what someone else says about God, you are not a disciple of Jesus, you are a disciple of that person.  If you are sold out to a denomination based solely on what that denomination has taught you and not on your own study of the Word, you are not a disciple of Jesus, you are a disciple of that denomination or of that denominational leader.  To be a disciple of Jesus you have to study His words yourself.  You can be led to the Table, but you have to pick up the fork after the initial invitation is over.  Sometimes, we need help, but we can never surrender our conscience or our will to the integrity of another, no matter who they are.  Our Freedom is given to us.  Anyone else who comes by to 'regulate' the gate is a "hired hand" or a "stranger" and is operating under false pretense.  John 10.  If they simply proclaim the truth and guide toward understanding, that is different than regulating.  Jesus said in the same passage, "My sheep will know my voice [and be able to discern it from others]." John 10:8, 14, 16.

We have cheapened the definition and experience of a disciple in our world today, and that wreaks havoc on the less mature disciples.  They don't understand why they are not experiencing freedom, and the truth is because they are not living in Jesus' Truth, but someone elses'.  For those who think we will never be able to agree on truth, Ephesians 4 tells us that the purpose of the Church is to build up the body till we all reach unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. 4:13.  

We have work to do, and we need to begin by realizing that there are myriads who are longing to experience freedom.  It is available.  We need to be faithful proclaimers without adding our own regulations.  If you are striving to experience it, can I encourage you to simply start reading through the Bible?  Just read it for now.  Get the story in you.  Hear it from Him, and learn the Gospel from Him.  Then there will be plenty of people who can help point things out to you.  I hope this helps at least a little in moving you toward freedom.  God Bless.

With you for His glory,

True Freedom in Christ

I have several friends who live and worship in Africa.  I'm not talking about white missionaries who have gone over to build churches, but native Africans who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and who belong to God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Holy Spirit empowered churches.

I miss you all.  I pray for you often.  And I miss experiencing Church with you.

I have been guiding a group from our church through a study of the book of Revelation, and at the same time, preaching through the Sermon on the Mount on Sunday mornings.  Concurrent to this, I am also counseling individuals in jail, and in mainstream society.

The combination of these three things lately, have made me acutely aware of the lack of freedom that many of us as Christians are experiencing in many areas of life. Myself included.  Jesus said that He came that we may have life, and to have it abundantly (John 10:10).  He also said that if He sets us free, we will be free indeed (John 8:36).  So why are so many of us not experiencing freedom in our spiritual lives, our social lives, our emotional lives, our intellectual lives, our physical lives, our financial lives, and our vocational lives?

I am reminded of many of my friends who live in much different situations in life, with much less opportunity and resource than myself, and yet have what I have so often lacked, and longed for.  You may have heard a pat Christian answer before; however, while I do believe it is simple, I do not believe the answer to the question, "Why am I not experiencing real Freedom in Christ?", is quick or "pat".

With this post, I am beginning a series on True Freedom in Christ.  I believe Jesus and the Apostles saw the reality of this situation in their day as well as knowing it would continue to happen in future days to come.  Notice Jesus did not say, I came to give you life and in abundance.  He stated that because He came, we may have it!  It is ours to receive if we choose, but we are responsible - as has always been the truth with God's People - for making choices that will embrace God's best design for our lives.

If we are honest, we will admit we do not always make choices which embrace God's best. Often, we make choices knowing full well it is not God's best provision.  And again, we often make choices betting on, rather than waiting on, God's direction and provision.  One of my favorite leaders, when speaking about money, calls this kind of behavior, living on "ifcome rather than income."  Spiritually speaking, I would apply the same idea and call our behavior at such times "ifdependence rather than independence from slavery to sin."

Here's the big picture:  Jesus came so that we may have freedom from sin.  That includes defeat, fear, anger, depression, guilt, shame, addiction, debt, ignorance, lust, control, illness, etc.  That's doesn't mean I am promised wealth, it means I am promised to be free from debt.  It doesn't state I will never be sick or infirm, I states I will not be a slave to the circumstances that wants to imprison me in.  It doesn't say, I will never lust, anger, or be tempted.  In fact, scripture promises that persecution and temptation will come, but we have the option to embrace His provision for freedom - if only we could see what it is.  As a child of God, I can see what it is, if I am looking.  I look forward to this study of God's Word over the next few weeks, and I hope it will be a blessing to you as well.  Let's grow together and learn to experience true Freedom in every area of the life abundant available to us.

God Bless,

With you for His glory,