06-29-14 Free From Sin Pt 2

We are going to return today

to a passage we began studying last week.

The passage is found in Romans 6,

but it will help us to take a few minutes

to bring us up to speed with where we’ve been

and how we got there.

We are now in our third month

on a series we are calling Freedom in Christ.

The study began with a statement Christ makes in John 8:32 where He says,

‟... and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

From that statement we have moved ahead in our study to see

that when we come to Christ

our union with Him brings us freedom in two major areas:

1. Freedom from the Law,

and 2. Freedom from sin.

We spent several weeks looking at the first of those two,

freedom from the Law,

and then last week we moved on

to the second area of freedom,

freedom from Sin.

And last week we spent most of our time

in several verses in Romans 6,

verses in which Paul talks to us

about where freedom from sin comes from,

and how it becomes a growing reality in our lives.

In Romans 6:11-13 we saw Paul calling us to live lives free from sin.

He said,

Rom. 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Rom. 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

Rom. 6:13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Now, in our study last week

we zipped through those three verses pretty fast

so that we could get to verse 14

and the concept that it contains.

In that 14^th verse

Paul went on to reveal to us how

the power of sin can be broken in our lives.

He said,

Rom. 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

We did not have time

to look closely at what that meant,

but we did establish a sort of beachhead for our study

by recognizing that Paul was telling us

that in those areas of our lives

where sin continues to dominate,

that sin domination exists

because we have not yet understood

the true nature of God’s grace

sufficiently to break the power of that sin.

Now, we have a lot more work we need to do with that verse,

but as we move back into this study

I want to back up first of all

to those three verses we ran through so quickly last week.

We talked last week

about the crucial link between how we think

and how we act.

... and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

...And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...

There are a lot of positive thinking philosophies floating around the world today.

‟Change your mind, change your life.”

‟Anything is possible if only you believe.”

‟Think positive - be positive.”

‟I’m OK, you’re OK.”

There is an element of truth

behind all such philosophies.

The way we think

really does have a dramatic effect

on the way we act,

and if we change our thinking patterns

it will bring changes to our performance.

But there is a dramatic difference

between what God offers the Christian

in the way of changed thinking

and what the world offers.

All the changed thinking systems offered to us by the world around us

begin with changing our thinking

so that we can then experience changed performance,

resulting in our becoming a new, or different, or better person.

Changed thinking

changes performance

which changes who we are.

And the motivation for changed thinking

is the promise of the changed life that will follow.

But that is exactly the opposite

of what God offers the Christian.

With God and the Christian

it is not:

changed thinking

bringing changed performance

resulting in changed identity,

but rather it is changed identity

providing the basis for changed thinking

resulting in change behavior.

Let me try it again.

The world says change your thinking

so that you can become a new person.

God says to the Christian,

“I have already recreated you and made you a new person,

now let Me teach you how to think

in a way that is consistent with who you really are.”

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name...

2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

If we wanted to take the time

we could spend the rest of the morning,

and the rest of the month

tracing through statement after statement throughout the New Testament

presenting the truth,

the certainty,

the eternal fact that those of us who enter into Christ

have been recreated into new beings

by the sovereign work of God

as a result of our faith in Christ.

Now, to our minds, of course,

this just doesn’t seem to be possible.

Forgiveness we can understand.

But becoming a new person we cannot.

The truth is, there seems to be so much evidence to the contrary.

We still fight many of the same temptations,

we still see the same stupid responses

blasting out of us at times,

we still wrestle with fears,

and with confusion,

and with doubts about ourselves and about our God.

So how in the world could we be a new creation?

But the truth is...

the TRUTH is we are.

And God’s entire blueprint for bringing freedom from sin into our lives

is constructed upon this truth - we are now new creations in Christ,

sons and daughters of God,

brothers and sisters of Christ,

having already died to our former life,

and been resurrected to a new eternal life in Christ.

Now, I bring all of this up at this point in our study

because I want us to return to some statements we covered too quickly last week,

beginning with Paul’s statement in Romans 6:11.

Paul says:

Rom. 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

There is a word in this verse

we need to look at more closely

before this statement will make sense to us.

It is the word “consider”.

It is used numerous times throughout the New Testament,

but whenever it is used

to describe our relationship with a statement of Christian doctrine

it carries with it unique meaning -

it describes an active process

in which we choose to wrestle with the concept,

to focus on it,

to stay with it mentally

until we see that it is true.

A number of years ago a fascinating type of art work became popular.

For a while there were displays of these things in many of the shopping malls.

I’ve also seen books of them for sale,

and they’ve even turned up in the comics section of the Sunday paper.

When you first look at the paper

on which this art appears

it looks like a mass of unrelated colored dots and lines.

It’s meaningless in the way our eye normally focuses on an object.

But if you continue to stare at the painting,

and then force your eyes out of focus,

as if you were looking at something a long distance away,

when you suddenly hit the right focal distance,

what appeared to have been

just a mass of meaningless blobs of color

suddenly becomes this amazing 3 dimensional world containing depth,

and perspective,

and detail of landscapes,

and faces, and creatures so real

you feel as if you could reach out and touch them.

If you have ever seen one of those pictures,

and have been successful in forcing your eyes to view it in a way

that allows you to see that normally unseeable world,

that is the best example I can offer you

of what is involved in this word “consider”.

When Paul says,

Rom. 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus...

he is calling us to focus on this truth

until what seemed to be absurdity

suddenly becomes the true reality.

So how in the world do we do that?

I can remember the first time I ever saw one of those pictures I just described to you,

I mean REALLY saw it.

I remember the frustration of the person at the display

as he tried to help me see

what I could not yet see.

I remember him describing for me

the picture I was suppose to be seeing.

There was a phase in that discovery process

in which the only thing that kept me continuing to stare at the blobs of color

was the patient, confident encouragement of this other person

assuring me that there really was something there,

something I could not yet see,

but something that was very much worth seeing.

The Word of God used by the Spirit of God

serves that same kind of role in our lives

when it comes to understanding our freedom from sin.

Do you remember last week I told you

that we should allow passages like this

to make us angry.

We should allow ourselves to fight with them,

to be able to say to ourselves

and to our God,

“I DON’T SEE IT! If it’s there,

if it’s true, I don’t see it.”

Now let me see if I can help us

make some practical sense out of this.

If as a Christian

we find ourselves still fighting

with some areas in our lives

in which sin continues to have mastery over us,

I can tell you two huge lies

that we are currently accepting

as absolute truth in our lives.

#1. We believe our sin is consistent with who we really are -

it fits with our perception of our true identity.

We would maybe say it this way to ourselves:

“This is who I am. It is not who I want to be,

it’s certainly not who my God wants me to be,

it may not be who I will be in the future,

but the fact is, it’s who I am right now.”

And #2, we believe that our sin

is necessary in order for our needs to be met.

Now, we may wholeheartedly admit it is sin.

We may even feel a tremendous sense of shame

and regret that it is a part of our life.

But because we believe

that it provides the only way for certain needs in our lives to be met,

we find ourselves helpless to break its power.

You know what that is?

That is us staring at the two-dimensional sheet of paper covered with meaningless blobs and lines of color,

believing it is the true reality.

And then, into that blindness,

and the lies it breeds,

comes the voice of our God.

He says, “You are my holy one,

freed forever from sin,

My chosen ambassador,

and My eternal friend.”

And we say, “Yes Lord, I know I should be. And I will try harder. I promise.”

And He says, “My child, I did not say you should be My holy one.

I said you ARE.

I did not say you should be freed from sin.

I said you have been freed already.”

And we respond by saying,

“Oh I get it, Lord! When you see me through the blood of Christ,

then you do not see my sins,

so then because of Christ I am seen as holy.”

And He responds to us,

“My child, read My Word. I did not say that I see you as holy. I said you ARE holy.

2 Cor. 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

Our God says to us,

“My child, more than 60 times in My Word I have called you my Holy Ones.

I do not say you should be My Holy Ones,

I said you are.

I have recreated you at the deepest level of your being.

I have given you a new identity,

and created a new heart within you.”

And we respond:

“But then, Lord - why do I still sin? If I am a new creation,

why does sin still have such mastery over me?”

And the beginning of the answer to that question is simply this:

we sin because we do not believe we are who God says we are.

Remember the first of those two lies I mentioned a few minutes ago,

those two lies that exist in all those Christians

who continue to live in bondage to sin?

#1. We believe our sin is consistent with who we really are -

it fits with our perception of our true identity.

As long as that lie remains in place within us

we will continue to live under the mastery of our sin.

Only when we can look at ourselves

and affirm the truth,

saying to ourselves,

“I am not who I once was.

I am not the tacky little creature

who once spent his life

scrounging in the gutters,

digging through other people’s left-overs,

looking for scraps of love,

and significance,

and acceptance.

I am no longer the helpless emotional orphan I once was,

clinging desperately to my own inadequate abilities to meet my needs

in any way I can.

I am now a holy one of God Himself,

His son, His daughter,

His priest,

His dwelling place,

His joy and His delight.

This sinful behavior -

this bitterness,

this lust,

this self-centeredness,

this obsession with things...

this is now completely inconsistent with my true identity.

I once clung to these things,

hoping they would ease my pain,

and give me purpose,

and make me feel important and loved.

But through my Lord Jesus Christ

I have become a new creation.

And sinful behavior is so completely inconsistent who I really am.”

Rom. 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

And the power of sin

will only begin to be broken

when you can at last hear and accept the truth.

And to help you better relate to what I’m trying to say here,

I want to add a strong warning

and at the same to time

prepare you for one of Satan’s most powerful tactics

in his efforts to keep us forever in bondage.

And in a single statement, here’s my warning - beware of Satan’s labels!!!!

If he can create within our minds

an alternate identity,

one that we accept as true,

one that serves as a substitute

to who we truly are through Christ

we will live out his lie.

And the surprising thing here

is that the label he gives us

may be either positive or negative,

and either way it can have equal power over us.

All of his labels are rooted in whatever society we happen to live in,

based upon the values of that society,

and defined by that society.

He may say to us, “You are ugly.”,

or he may say, “You are beautiful.”

He may say, “You are stupid”,

or “You are a part of the intellectual elite

and far smarter than those around you.”

He may say, “You are worthless,”

or “You are a failure,”,

or “You are God’s special gift to the world”.

The labels the enemy selects for us

are tailor made for each individual,

and once we accept them as truth

rather than accepting the real thing -

the truth given to us by our God,

the truth about our being His holy ones,

those labels will literally determine

the life script we will ultimately live out.

I’ll give you just one example

to show you what I mean.

For more than 40 years now

I have been involved in discipling and mentoring young people.

For most of those 40+ years

at any given time

there have been several young people

that the Lord has given me access to.

And I love doing it

because I love them

and I love helping them discover the truth about themselves and their God.

During those 40+ years

there have been several times

when a young man I’ve been working with

has had the courage to confide in me that he has discovered within himself

same-sex sexual attraction.

Such a discovery is both tragic and terrifying.

It is obviously a huge issue.

And every time that has happened

Satan has been right there with his great trump card

telling them, “Well then of course that means you’re gay!”

And if they accept Satan’s label and the identity that comes with it

their future is written.

There have been a few I have known who have faced honestly

their same-sex attraction,

recognized it for what it was - a huge battle their Lord has called them face,

and fight,

but who have rejected Satan’s label,

telling themselves the truth, “This is indeed a major battlefield in my life,

but it does not define who I am. My God and my God alone defines who I am.”

And those who have seen that truth,

and who have chosen to build their lives upon it,

have become men of tremendous integrity,

and among the greatest healing miracles of God I’ve ever seen personally.

And those who have accepted Satan’s lie, his alternate identity,

have gone on to live out exactly the lie Satan handed them.

And once they accept the identity

that is imbedded in the label

their future is written.

Now of course I know

that selecting an illustration like this

is a potentially volatile thing to do

because it obviously raises so many more questions.

In my own very limited experience

about half of those I’ve worked with

have rejected the label

and half have not.

And with those who don’t reject the label

what do I do?

Well, I just keep loving them,

and walking with them through life

at whatever level they’ll let me

because my calling as a Christian

is not to try to change any other human being.

I can’t even change myself,

how am I going to change someone else?

My calling is to just keep on loving

every human being God brings into my life,

doing everything within my power

to point them to their God who loves them more than I ever could.

The only real tragedy

would be if I in some way communicated the message

that their God’s love for them

and acceptance of them

was tied to the turmoil going on inside them

or that He would turn His back on them

if they made the wrong choice.

Every day of my life

I churn over needs in my own life

that, if I saw them clearly, in the light of His love,

I would instantly turn over to Him.

That’s what it is

to be God’s child in a flesh body.

But more often than not

a instinctively run to my own flesh techniques for meeting those needs

and sometimes churn for days or weeks or years

before I finally turn to my Lord.

And He never walks away from me,

never leaves me,

never deserts me,

and never ever stops loving me.

How could I ever even suggest

with either my attitudes or my words

that it would be any different for any other human being.

And just one further comment, as long as I got into this -

I in no way mean to minimize

the kind of questions

and tremendous turmoil and growth and pain

that the issue of same sex attraction will bring into a young man’s life.

But I do know with certainty

that at the core of that turmoil

is the same question every one of us faces every day,

the question of what voice a person ultimately chooses to trust

to tell them the truth about their real identity.

If they choose to trust the voice of their society and their own flesh responses

they will live out the script written for them by that society.

If they choose to trust the voice of their God,

knowing that at the core of their being they truly are the holy one of God,

they will become who their God says they are,

and they will know the truth, and the truth will set them free.

Now, that is certainly not the whole picture,

but it is the beginning.

As long as we believe our sinful behavior

fits with who we really are

that sin will continue to have full reign in our lives.

Only when we hear the voice of our God

telling us about who we have become in Christ,

and accept the truth of our new identity,

will we be able to say to our sin,

“This is not who I am! I am God’s holy one...”

only then will we begin to build within us

the foundation that will break the power of evil in our lives.

And that is not a point we reach,

it is a daily process we go through every day of our lives.