Religious Freedom in 2015

Pastor Steve Ellison

Much is said these days about religious freedom. Vocal and impassioned advocates from both ends of the spectrum wail quite a lot about freedomofreligion or freedomfromreligion. Freedominreligion seems a better term. Freedomin Christis the best term. Christ Himself spoke about it. In the midst of a heated argument with the unbelieving Jewish leaders, Christ turned to the believing Jews and said,"If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.(John 8:31-36 NASU) The only real freedom is found in Christ because Christ alone offers a release from bondage to sin.

Throwing oneself on the mercy of Christ, trusting Him for eternal salvation obtains forgiveness for sin, i.e. freedom from the penalty of sin. Throwing oneself on the mercy of Christ also yields a promise from God that in this life, the Christian can be freed from bondage to sinful behavior. This is a progressive work done by God in the life of the believer in Christ. Finally, this same throwing oneself on the mercy of Christ brings another promise from God, that one day the believer will be freed from the very presence of sin. In short, the unbeliever is under the penalty of sin. Once he trusts Christ the penalty of sin is removed. Now that he is a believer, he will in this life be gradually and progressively brought out from under the power of sin. Sometimes this is so dramatic that it appears to be instantaneous; however there is always other sin that needs to be dealt with. Galatians 5:1 tells us,It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.(NASU) Gods additional promise is that there will be no tears or pain in eternity, which means there will be no sin. These are wonderful truths based wholly on the mercy and grace of God. We cannot earn any part of them. They are gifts of God.

Our part is simply to yield to the Spirit of God. Second Corinthians3:17states,Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.(NASU) Second Thessalonians 2:13-14 tells us how this liberty will come about;God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.(NASU) Real freedom is not dependent upon the government keeping anti-religious people from preventing me from exercising religion. Neither is it dependent on the government keeping religious people from forcing their religion upon me. Real religious freedom is found in Christ alone. Real religious freedom means that I am not required to keep the Old Testament Law in order to be reconciled to God. Real religious freedom means that I am free from the penalty of sin; I can be free from slavery to sin; I will one day be free from the very presence of sin. I will not sin and neither will anyone around me. This is religious freedom. ..pastorsteve8800@gmail.com

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Religious Freedom in 2015