Evangelism & The Gospel: The Good News of A New Life of Freedom part 3
Evangelism & The Gospel • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsWhat Gospel Freedom is FOR: A freedom of flourishing, in God's company, WITHIN God's created purposeful limitations
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The famous novelist, George Orwell, also produced some captivating short essays.
One of those short stories gives a graphic illustration of human lostness — of our loss of deep purpose.
Orwell describes a wasp that has landed near him during a meal; he himself is seated at a dinner table.
He says, “It was sucking jam on my plate …and I cut him in half [motion with hand holding knife]
“It was sucking jam on my plate …and I cut him in half [motion with hand holding knife]
[the wasp] paid no attention(!), merely went on with his meal,
while a tiny stream of jam streamed out of his severed esophagus.
Only when he tried to fly away did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him.”
I put it to you this afternoon, that many, many people whom you know are similar to that wasp.
They are severed from the deeper appetites of their soul...
They are severed from the deeper appetites of their soul...
…but all the while they continue to hunger and pursue lesser longings instead.
They may be greedily indulging or mastering various passions...
…but they’re comparatively unaware of the deeper needs within their lives.
Such people continue to grasp at their priorities; they may suck at life’s sweets.
But only when it’s time to “fly away” , do the grasp something of the terrible realities.
Just then, they realize that:
[1] what they’ve been pursuing has not met their deepest needs AND
[2] their lives are so deeply broken that they’re ill-prepared for their deeper purpose SO
[3] when the time comes to rise up & truly fly, they CANNOT enjoy their created purpose
For all their sucking away, they have no strength, no wholeness and no hope left...
By contrast...
We have apprised ourselves of the fact that the gospel message of the Bible is GOOD NEWS
And that this good news is, at least in part, good news of a new life of true freedom.
We’ve apprised ourselves that in the gospel we’re offered
freedom from guilt, freedom from bondage to self,
and freedom from domination under fear.
Through His good news, Jesus can bring us freedoms from such things: guilt self-centredness, fear.
But we must also realize, that it’s not only important to be liberated FROM certain things,
it’s crucial that we be liberated FOR the right things as well!
We noted this a few weeks ago: that there’s a positive side to freedom as well as a negative
What must we be liberated FOR? …for what true purpose …or purposes?
It’s been easy to see what freedom is not …not crushing guilt…not self-obsession…not paralyzing fear.
But, in the Biblical gospel, what IS freedom in the first place?
Our liberating Biblical gospel message brings a beneficial positive purpose.
Our good news message intends to bring true freedom and that is freedom to be one’s true self as God made us and means us to become.
And what is a human being truly meant to be?
And what IS this kind of freedom that comes along with being true to God’s purpose?
— Most people have little awareness of God’s purpose for their lives
…and little experience of true freedom.
Therefore, we must answer this question for our friends, family and acquaintances, about what true freedom comes to us.
We can explain this by using three illustrations of how freedom comes by being one’s designed, true self.
Our first illustration is God and HIS freedom.
Have you ever thought about this:
that God is the unique Being Who alone enjoys perfect freedom(?)
Now, of course you might argue that God is not completely free,
in the sense that His freedom is not absolute freedom.
The Lord, is not just simply ABLE to do absolutely anything whatsoever.
— That’s not what the idea of the omnipotence of God means in the Bible!
— God’s omnipotence means that He is ALL competent and able to accomplish all the things that He says He will do
This is what the angel Gabriel is assuring Mary of in his message in Luke ch.1.
In v.37 Gabriel correctly says of God, effectively:
For not a thing, literally not a spoken word,
will be lacking in power with God as the agent, in the way I’ve just told you
What this means is that God is all-powerful, all-capable, to do, whatever thing He says.
So keep this in mind, if you don’t want to make God say and do things that are arbitrary:
The things that God is all-powerful to do…have to be real things, real ideas, not non-sensical things...
…not self-contradictory things, not foolish or immoral things.
They are, by context, things that are true to Himself such that He is willing to say them.
He’s all-powerful to do the things He says He will do.
So God’s freedom is not absolute freedom; it’s not arbitrary or capricious or foolish freedom.
Yet God’s freedom is nonetheless PERFECT freedom; there is no more complete freedom than His freedom.
You see, God’s freedom, is the perfect freedom to be Himself.
He is always perfectly Himself...
He’s always consistent with Himself — even when we can’t quite see straight away!
God is always true to His own character — there’s no higher standard.
God is never anything other than Himself.
And what a glorious thing that IS!
Nothing inconsistent. Nothing arbitrary.
He’s not unpredictable in that sense — He’s always, entirely Himself!
He doesn’t revise His character; He doesn’t need to!
He is true to His own perfect character.
Let’s read God’s Word together ; ; ;
The one thing the Bible really labours, in this regard, is this:
One thing God cannot do — and can NOT because He WILL not — is to contradict Himself.
He cannot contradict Himself, in the sense that He cannot deny Himself, by being untrue to Himself, by contradicting His own nature.
If you think that God has contradicted His own nature, there are several things you need to look at first:
[1] You may be mistaken as to exactly whose action and whose intention you’re talking about
Don’t attribute to the LORD the actions and intentions of people or the evil one;
that’s slandering God’s character or actions. ANOTHER PROBLEM MIGHT BE...
[2] You might be mistaken in the first place about your understanding of Θ’s character
OR YOU MIGHT BE mistaken...
[3] ...about whether or not 1 of Θ’s commands or promises actually applies directly to you personally
In the end, the LORD will always be true to His character. SO, we conclude that:
God’s freedom is freedom to be His true self.
You know, any real security you’ll ever have, depends upon this faithfulness of God to His own true character and promises.
Now, what is true of God the Creator is also applicable to all His creatures.
Unlimited freedom, absolute freedom, infinite freedom is an illusion.
Independently, self-determining our own created nature & purpose, as the existentialists one did is an exercise in self-deception...
…because God the Creator HAS originally determined His purpose and design for every creature that God has made.
This brings us to our second illustration of freedom:
The freedom of every creature is limited by the nature that God has given it — by the purpose God has given it.
Why don’t we take fish as a humorous example of this.
At a very basic level, fish are created to live and thrive in water.
Their gills are well-adapted to absorb oxygen from water.
So, water is the only long term environment in which a fish can fulfill itself and find freedom.
Oh it’s true, from one point of view, that water can be viewed as a limitation.
The Creator’s purpose and design has placed some limitations upon a fish...
…but within those limitations, there is liberty, “to live and move and find their being”!
Now suppose that you have a fish in an aquarium.
And your gold fish swims round and round in its little fish-bowl...
…all day long, all night long, all day long, all night long...
...’til it finds its confinement, its frustration unbearable.
It decides to make a bid for its notion of greater “freedom”.
And so it leaps out of its bowl, imitating temporarily a flying fish!
Now if perchance, it lands in a less crowded, bigger bowl — or your backyard swimming pool —
— then, of course, your goldfish may slightly increase its freedom —
— because it’s still in water, the only element in which it can live & thrive —
— and now it simply has more water in which to swim!
BUT, if instead, your would-be flying-fish lands on your back lawn, not your backyard pool...
…why in that case, its bid for freedom has only brought it death.
Freedom is only enjoyed within the confines of God’s specific limitations on His creatures.
Now this brings me to my third, and most specific illustration and principle of application:
Human Beings, of course!
This principle of freedom within certain benevolent limitations applies to US as well!
We also have a certain purpose and nature intended by God.
So, if fish were meant for water — if fish were meant to enjoy and master water —
— just what ultimate purpose do you think human beings were made for…?!?
That is a very interesting question — a very N.B. question — a grand teleological question!
I have no hesitation, in standing before you today —
— summarizing the Bible, summarizing all human experience —
— that everyone of your friends and family will know in their bones to be true —
— I have no hesitation in saying that human beings were made for the environment of ...love.
That is to say, human beings were made for love relationships!
Love is the essential element in which human beings can truly and ultimately find themselves, their true human-ness.
Within the element of love, we can live and thrive.
Why? Because, God Who IS love, has created us as His own image-bearers, in His own likeness, with a profound capacity to love and be loved.
Human beings are meant to find their ultimate destiny within the confines of their created purpose, in loving God and loving one another.
The Bible from beginning to end is a love story set in the context of a prior war.
And the gospel accounts of Jesus all agree: the first great commandment is that “you shall love the Lord your God” and the second is that “you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
And the gospel accounts of Jesus all agree: the first great commandment is that “you shall love the Lord your God” and the second is that “you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
These are the greatest commands for human living, because it is only in genuine loving that we can learn real living.
There is no full life without learning to practise real love.
You all know that, don’t you? Intuitively, all the people to whom you bear witness about Jesus, they all know that this is what real life is all about.
They know that love is the most important thing in the world!
So, this much rings true within them …when you begin to talk with them.
They already know, deep down, that it’s only in loving that they will find their true purpose.
No matter what foolish things we all may’ve done to attempt to find real life,
No matter what foolish things we all may’ve done to attempt to find real life,
almost everyone, when confronted with this, is quickly aware that they have been BUILT for relationships of love… …and that deep down, they’re hungering for more of love.
…and that deep down, they’re hungering for more of love.
What I’ve just said about longings for love has great significance for how we invite people to respond to our gospel message.
Our good news of a new life of freedom contains a startling paradox — something which looks like a contradiction.
Chesterton’s explanation of a paradox goes like this:
Chesterton’s explanation of a paradox goes like this:
A paradox is truth standing upside down on its head,
waving its hands at us, seeking to gain our serious attention!
So what’s the paradox here in our good news message of a new life of freedom?
Let me lay it out for you:
Real freedom is freedom to be my true self as God made me and meant me to be.
And God made me and purposed me for “loving” God & others.
But loving is a special kind of giving — the giving of myself to others for their benefit!
Therefore, in order to be my true self, I have to deny my self and give myself up to God & to others!
In order to be free, I have to enter a life of service!
In order to really experience life, I have to die to my own self-centredness.
In order to find myself, I have to lose myself for God’s purposes.
Let me sum up our understanding of the Gospel message that we’ve rehearsed today:
The real freedom that the Gospel message offers isn’t just about freedom from certain things—
— important as freedom from guilt, self and fear IS!
The real freedom which the gospel offers, is FOR something — FOR SomeOne!
In order to be really free, I have find and be my true self by losing myself for God’s purpose...
…and that part seems highly unattractive to unsaved people without the ministry of the Holy Spirit
…why, it still seems somewhat dangerous to many people who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit!
But this is the “so what?” of the good news message of freedom which Jesus taught.
Every single gospel account of Jesus, records this kind of commanded invitation, , , and .
The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
“And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?
“An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.
And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread.
And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.”
But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?
“Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?
“Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up?
“How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.
From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.
Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”
But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.
“Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.