“There are two freedoms; the false, where man is free to do what he likes; the true, where man is free to do what he ought.” – Charles Kingsley
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“See, the hardest thing for me was leaving the life, I still love the life.”
Don't we feel the same way?
Don't we feel the same way?
What kind of freedom does God provide? Do I have to live the rest of my life like a schnook?
What is God’s responsibility in our freedom and sanctification? What is our responsibility?
I. EMBRACE YOUR NEW IDENTITY – ROMANS 6:8-11
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, no longer dies. Death no longer rules over Him. For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
What is your first thought when you hear, “He was a good man, but he wasn’t a Christian?” or “I am not ready to give up my way of life now?”
Do you know you are a Christian or does your casual attitude toward sin make you wonder? How is a believer dead and alive at the same time?
What could our casual attitude toward sin mean to our “professed” identity as Christians?
Could you really live with Jesus and not be transformed? What is the problem with being slightly alive to sin?
II. FIGHT SIN – ROMANS 6:12-14
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
Why do Christians still sin if Christ set us free from sin’s power? What is sin’s appeal? It’s bite? It’s persistence?
What defensive strategy did Paul tell us to put in place to fight sin?
What offensive strategy does Paul suggest?
How does living in the freedom of God’s grace give you the encouragement and power you need to fight sin and win?
III. OBEY THE RIGHT MASTER – ROMANS 6:15-18
From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God
What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! Do you not know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey —either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.
How can a credit card provide a measure of freedom or take away freedom?
Why does freedom in Christ make higher demands than the commandments of the law?
Why are some people suspicious of living under grace but not the law?
Prayer of Commitment
Lord, help me live free under your grace, not bound by sin, or the law. Amen.
Wow, this lesson goes directly to our everyday struggle - we should pay close attention to what God is telling us this week as it is foundational to our ability to continue living each day with freedom in Christ.
I pray that you have had a blessed week and that God is tapping on your heart with His Word as we continue in our understanding of what true freedom really is and how there can't be any real freedom without Christ.
See you Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
