Welcome to Waymaker Church! We are so excited to have you join us today! We exist to Encounter, Live for, and Advance the Kingdom of God!

Big Idea of the Series: This four-week series takes a look at what freedom in Christ entails. Does this exempt us of any spiritual responsibilities? Jesus says his “burden is light,” but does this mean that a Christian life will always be an easy one? This shows us that true freedom moves us toward obedience and debunks an unchristian understanding of freedom.

Welcome to Week 2 of Freedom.

Last week I spoke to what Freedom isn’t…
•Freedom isn’t cheap (an extreme price was paid for us to receive it), but it is free due to payment being made in Christ!
•Freedom isn’t a license to sin!
•Freedom isn’t responsibility-free!!

Today, my heart is to dive a little deeper into what freedom is!

•We can look at the turmoil of our own country to see how far off base some of our ideas of freedom are in relation to God’s kingdom!
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of Assembly
• Freedom of Religion
• Right to bear arms

Big Idea of the Message:What freedom is:
The nature of Christian freedom is freedom from condemnation under the law, and the result is peace with God.

Today, we are in Romans 5:1-5
•How many of you desire peace with God?
•I know some of you have matured enough in your faith that you have come to this revelation.
•You can’t earn it… you don’t deserve… you are simply thankful for it.

•But there are so many trapped under the humanistic thought process that you are going to have to work real hard to earn God’s approval!

1. Worldly Freedom Can Enslave Us

We all try to get peace with people and succeed in our lives through our efforts, work, or how other people see us.

We try to gain freedom (in this case, money to do whatever you want) but actually the things that we serve end up being our taskmasters
-I know we hear this and boldly say, “that’s not me… I don’t dothose things.” Unfortunately there is always something that trips us up though, because…

2. Freedom doesn’t look like we thought

Tim Keller writes in, “The Reason for God”
“Freedom cannot be defined in strictly negative terms, as the absence of confinement and constraint. In fact, in many cases, confinement and constraint is actually a means to liberation.”

Worldly freedom can enslave us, and true freedom doesn’t look like we thought it would. So, what is true freedom?

3. Freedom is God’s Grace
Defined as God’s unearned, unmerited favor.

What it does do is license us to walk away from sin.

Might you stumble?? … most likely. Overcoming the self-gratification of the flesh is a difficult task.

That is why he empowers you with His spirit. Not only is it possible to walk away from sin, but it is likely that if you embrace this journey of faith, your hope in salvation will grow with your character and endurance.

God’s grace gives you the ability to walk away from the things that have enslaved you in this world.

Application Point: Make a list of the things you go to in order to find peace; which of these are responses to your justification before God in Jesus?

In other words… Which of these items in this list satisfies your flesh, and which of these edifies your spirit? Because I’m justified in Jesus. Do I choose godly things because I have the freedom to do so? Or do I choose worldly things because I’m free to choose what I want?

Keller writes,
“What is the environment that liberates us if we confine ourselves to it, like water liberates the fish? Love. Love is the most liberating freedom-loss of all.” Tim Keller also quotes C. S. Lewis: “Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements … it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy is damnation”

Conclusion
So, freedom is peace in God brought on by the grace of God. That is the environment that liberates us if we confine ourselves to it!

This isn’t about your human rights.. this is about being right with God through His son Jesus!

You want true freedom?
-It starts with Jesus brought to you by God’s grace!
-It isn’t worldly freedom, as that can entrap us
-It won’t look like you thought
-It is simply His grace