It’s these very things that “I want to do” …when I don’t do them, they become a source of condemnation and attack so that in my own heart I join Paul in his desperate cry: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free?” (Romans 7:24 nasb)
We have strayed significantly from the days when our first President, George Washington, concluded one of his many public prayers in 1752 with these words, “Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou has this day prescribed in Thy Holy Word. Direct me to the true object, Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Washington’s Papers, Burk, W. Herbert 1907, p. 87–95
I. Introduction—Freedom Lost “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). In the wake of our 21st century world tumbling from crisis to crisis— politically, economically, socially, and morally— if we are honest we must agree that our nation has slowly drifted away from the biblical moorings we had as a young nation. We are experiencing the downstream symptoms of addictions and violence, immorality and materialism, racism and secularism as upstream from these symptoms “people’s love grows cold” (Matthew 24:12). Christ’s mandate to “love God and others” (Matthew 22: 37–40) remains unfulfilled as: Vain imaginations have replaced moral absolutes. Permissiveness and tolerance have been lifted up as moral ideals. The definition of tolerance (correctly defined as respect for other people without necessarily sharing their ideals, beliefs, and practices) has been twisted to mean that all individual beliefs, values, lifestyles, and “truths” are of equal importance and value. Even as we grieve the bondage of sin in our culture, it’s our personal freedom—or the lack thereof—that we will explore together in this time.
II. Toxic Shame: The Pain of Condemnation “It was for freedom that Christ set you free” (Galatians 5:1). Even more sobering and alarming than these cultural signs of love growing cold is the tragedy when WE as followers of JESUS are NOT living out the FREEDOM to which we have been called! Sadly, a sense of shame and condemnation can replace joyful freedom. Having been set FREE from the penalty of our sin through His sacrifice and our new birth, are we daily living out this freedom in more and more areas of our life? This will be the focus of our time together in this message. 201708
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