DYING IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM (26 OF 53)
by Mike Stone
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:23, 1 Corinthians11:1
This content is part of a series.
Dying in the Cause of Freedom (26 of 53)
Series: Straight Up Truth for a Messed-Up Church
Mike Stone
1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1
By federal law, we celebrate Memorial Day every year on the last Monday of May. It's a day set aside to remember those who laid down their lives so we could live our lives in freedom. You could say it's a day to celebrate those who gave up their own freedoms so that others could enjoy the freedoms that they had experienced.
As grateful as we are for those gifts of freedom, this text tells the Christian that every day is to be ''Memorial Day.'' But in this case, you are not the one to be remembering someone else's death for your physical freedom, rather we are to fix our gaze on the blood-stained cross of Calvary where the Son of God laid down His life...setting aside His privileges so we could be free.
And standing in the shadow of that life-transforming tree, we are to hear its call to personal sacrifice and surrender. Having been freed by its power, we are to model our lives after the selfless Savior who gave His life there.
Chapter 10 continues and concludes the broader section of this letter dealing with Christian liberty...the question of ''How should I behave in those areas of life where the Word of God is not explicit in its commandments?''
As this section ends, Paul wisely answers that question by pointing us, not to a LIST but to a LORD. Not to a MANDATE but to a MAN...The God-Man who models for us a simple truth.
We all need to die in the cause of freedom. Not literally but spiritually. As Paul said, ''I die daily.'' Or as he told the Galatians, ''I have been crucified with Christ.''
To be clear, when WE die spiritually in the cause of freedom, our ''death to self'' purchases redemption for no one. But when we give up our Christian liberties on the altar of self-sacrifice, we clear the way for others to see the Nail-Scarred Nazarene whose blood alone can grant them true freedom.
That they may know, ''He ...
Series: Straight Up Truth for a Messed-Up Church
Mike Stone
1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1
By federal law, we celebrate Memorial Day every year on the last Monday of May. It's a day set aside to remember those who laid down their lives so we could live our lives in freedom. You could say it's a day to celebrate those who gave up their own freedoms so that others could enjoy the freedoms that they had experienced.
As grateful as we are for those gifts of freedom, this text tells the Christian that every day is to be ''Memorial Day.'' But in this case, you are not the one to be remembering someone else's death for your physical freedom, rather we are to fix our gaze on the blood-stained cross of Calvary where the Son of God laid down His life...setting aside His privileges so we could be free.
And standing in the shadow of that life-transforming tree, we are to hear its call to personal sacrifice and surrender. Having been freed by its power, we are to model our lives after the selfless Savior who gave His life there.
Chapter 10 continues and concludes the broader section of this letter dealing with Christian liberty...the question of ''How should I behave in those areas of life where the Word of God is not explicit in its commandments?''
As this section ends, Paul wisely answers that question by pointing us, not to a LIST but to a LORD. Not to a MANDATE but to a MAN...The God-Man who models for us a simple truth.
We all need to die in the cause of freedom. Not literally but spiritually. As Paul said, ''I die daily.'' Or as he told the Galatians, ''I have been crucified with Christ.''
To be clear, when WE die spiritually in the cause of freedom, our ''death to self'' purchases redemption for no one. But when we give up our Christian liberties on the altar of self-sacrifice, we clear the way for others to see the Nail-Scarred Nazarene whose blood alone can grant them true freedom.
That they may know, ''He ...
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