Demonstration

Exodus 8:16-10:29

Not only is God committed to demonstrating his supremacy over Pharaoh, but he is committed to demonstrating his supremacy over the rest of the Egyptian pantheon of gods.  The plagues are a complete subversion of all of the Egyptians gods. Each of the plagues demonstrates that the gods of Egyptian mythology are not in control of the situation.  Each plague demonstrates that Yahweh alone is the God who should be served.

This is helpful for us in thinking through our freedom.  The tyrants in our lives are other sources that we look to for comfort, hope, encouragement and support instead of to God, in the old testament they were called idols and we may as well use that name as well.  Idols often take forms that seem quite good, but when looked to beyond their capacity, they begin to rule us, a pharaoh.  A glass of wine is a great way to celebrate and enjoy the gifts of God’s creation, but when looked to for escape or comfort, we give it power over us that only God himself should have.  

A spouse or friend is also a great source for encouragement, but if we find our sole identity in the approval or affection of another, we again place a responsibility upon them that they could never bear, and we find ourselves subject to them and all that happens to them.  Instead of showing them the kind of love that God calls us to show, in our neediness we use them to get the kind of affection, attention and affirmation that only God should give.

When reading through the plagues, allow yourself to wonder at the majesty of God in his supremacy over the elements of creation.  Ask yourself about your own freedom.  If God were going to demonstrate his supremacy over your own personal pantheon of gods, where would he start and what would it look like?  Maybe he has already started?  Can you see his hand at work?

"Let My Son Go"

Exodus 4:18-31

When Moses is to speak for God, he would not just be saying, “let my people go…” but “let my son go.”  Israel was to be God’s firstborn son.  Moses was instructed to warn Pharoah, “my firstborn for your firstborn.”  Pharaoh at that time was considered God and the battle that was to take place was to be  demonstration of who the true deity was in the world—Yahweh or Pharaoh.  Moses was to warn Pharaoh about the specialness of the firstborn and the consequences of enslaving Yahweh’s first bornn.  

Yet, as we said, Moses couldn’t speak on behalf of God’s firstborn son if he hadn’t set apart his own firstborn son.  The sign of the agreement between God and Israel was 

signed by man through the sign of the covenant.  Since his son was away while they were born, he was never circumcised.  So that needed to be done.  Circumcision produced blood and that blood was the sign that distinguished Israel from the nations.  That blood was needed for Moses’ to cover the offense of trying free God’s firstborn while ignoring the sign of freedom for his firstborn. 

In the ultimate release of the Hebrews from slavery, blood would be used on their doors to mark them as different (free) from the Egyptians.  That sign was a protection; for eventually the angel of the Lord came and claimed the first-born children that God promised for Pharaoh’s resistance.  The blood set apart God’s people as holy to Him and protected them amidst the battle between Yahweh and Pharaoh.  

The blood of Jesus, God’s perfect, true firstborn son of creation(Col 1:15) still protects us in the battle between God’s Kingdom and the kingdom’s of darkness in this world.  It sets us apart as holy.  It declares us as separated unto God.  Dark forces and Satan cannot control us because the blood of Christ has broken us free from their power.  Because of Jesus’ blood, we are made holy in God’s sight. Because of his blood, we are able to grow in realizing that holiness because we don’t need to purchase ourselves into forgiveness, but we can live in that forgiveness as dearly loved children.  That is freedom.

A New Beginning

Day Two of 50 Days to Freedom: Gen 12:1-20, Gen 15:1-21

If you are movie buffs, you need to understand the beginning of Gen 12 to be like:

Star Wars (the original) when Luke chooses to go with Ben Kenobi to save the world.

The Fellowship of the Ring when the Council of Elrond determines that Frodo will take the ring to be destroyed in the fires of Mordor.

Rocky, when Mickey decides to help Rocky prepare to find “that animal” Apollo Creed.”

Mission Impossible, when they hear, “your mission should you choose to accept it…”

This is God taking initiative to save the world.  He is going to choose one man, make him into a great family, which will become a great nation and through that nation, he will bring blessing to the world.  This is the salvation story in seed form.  Just like the story of those movies drive the turn of those scenes, the rest of scripture will watch this seed of the story take root, burst from the ground begin to bear fruit, fight off the threats to its life and eventually be the tree of life for the world.

If you look back at Genesis 10 and 11, people tried to regain their freedom on their own.  They would build a tower so they could oppose God.  They thought that God was the enemy of their freedom.  It was the other way around.  From that tower, God created all of the nations… then made one more, through Abraham that would bring salvation to the rest.

When we think about freedom, living free from sin and bondage, it is so important to remember that God is the one who takes initiative in our lives.  We aren’t standing alone in the world trying to shake off the chains that bind us.  The fact that we are seeking Him for freedom in and of itself is a sign that he has already been at work drawing us to himself, giving us a distaste for bondage and a longing for righteousness.  Gen 15:6 says “that Abraham believed God and God credited that to him righteousness.”  Abraham had not really done anything yet.  The first move for us for freedom is to believe that God is at work already and we are simply responding to his grace.

The Land of Hopes and Dreams

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Day 1 - 50 Days till Freedom

Reading:  Genesis 1:26-31, 2:18-3:24

The words “freedom” and “church,” when spoken in the same sentence often produce in people a three-pronged counter-attack of raised eyebrows, cringed faces and flooded emotions that communicate their response that says “freedom” and “church” only belong together with the word “versus” between them.  This is because churches, for many people, have been experiences of “restriction” not freedom; yet, this is not how God intended it to be.

In these initial verses, a sense of clarity to what man and woman were supposed to do and be was formed. They were to take the newly formed creation and rule it, subdue its wildness and bring its chaos into a beautiful order; so that it reflected the image of God.  Adam began that work through naming the animals.  Remember, it was not just ordering the world that they were called to do, but to fill it with beauty.  Man and woman would accomplish this by bearing fruit and filling the world; filling the world with the image of the glory of God.  In the beginning there was clarity.

In the beginning there was also freedom.  They were free from death, sin, brokenness and shame.  The fact that they were naked and did not feel shame was a testament to their spiritual condition before God and before each other.

What broke everything was deception and the fall.  The fall of man damaged them and made their callings unclear and difficult.  From then on the work of bringing order came with sweat, bearing fruit came with pain, and the relationship between a man and woman was hindered by sin and brokenness. The calling of man and woman wasn’t removed. God himself did not remove their freedom to choose.  The curse of death, sin and brokenness entered and left a wake of bondage that would build upon itself; essentially strapping chains across each person born to Adam and Eve and their descendants. 

The curse wasn’t the final word.  The first five books of the Bible aren’t really about the fall and brokenness.  They are about God rolling out a plan to reverse the curse, save the world, and liberate His children to experience the true freedom He created them for.  

These next fifty days each blog entry will begin to unravel the story.  The story of the road to freedom that God leads his people on.  We hope you will follow along with us, and as you see the story of freedom for God’s ancient people unfold, may you see your story of freedom unfold as well.

Romans 8: The Good Life

What does American society lift up as the good life? Of course that would depend on whom you ask. It would be different if you watched MTV, CNN or Fox News. The good life is not making money because you never have enough and are always afraid of losing what you do have. It is not having fame or prestige because that only lasts about fifteen minutes. It is not adventure or sports because the thrill only lasts during the journey not after. So what is the good life?

We are set free from the bondage of sin and death for a specific purpose, to live according to the Spirit. The good life is living according to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is life and peace (v. 6). So how do we live this way?

The first step is to set your mind on what the Spirit desires not on what our flesh desires (v. 5). We have an obligation to live this way (v. 12). We must desire love, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness rather than anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language (Col 3:8, 12-14). We have assurance that in all things God works for the good of those who love him (v. 28). Therefore, even through the sufferings and difficulties we may face, we live the good life. Can wealth, fame, adventure or anything else make such a boast? Let us then seek the things of God and thus live in peace and true joy.

Posted by Aaron Miner

Romans 7: A New Allegiance

Let’s be honest. We all know personally what Paul is experiencing here. We all have known the good we should do and haven’t done it. We all have known what we should resist and we gave in. The guilt we feel in the face of these things is a sign that we are healthy enough to still know right from wrong. It is completely illogical and foolish. But sin can have such a hold over people that it seems to do things against their own will.

Even Paul knew what that was like, before he met Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9, Rom 7:14) he could not stop doing the evil he hated (Rom 7:19). Paul found out that his Judaism was unable to empower him to do the good that he desired. Within him, an insidious and powerful law imprisoned him. Though he delighted in the law of God, he was powerless to live it.

We all know and understand that dilemma, knowing what to do and cannot do it. It is not freedom but bondage, and it is extremely destructive. Few good things come out of that state. But hope do we have?

Paul places his hope solely and definitively in Jesus Christ our Lord who alone can free us from the bonds of the law of sin. But this requires complete surrender to Christ as our Lord and there lies the rub and the difficulty. To be free I must become a slave to Christ. There are only two options a slave to sin or a slave to Christ. A change of allegiance to Christ set us free therefore we are free and empowered to do the good we desire to do.

Posted by Aaron Miner

Romans 6--New Reign, New Environment

In Boston, they don’t know what a hoagie is!?!? Anyone who has travelled there has experienced the accent, slang and even the characteristics that are uniquely Bostonian. Environment does a lot to shape our behavior. I know that if I stayed there it would not be long before I was speaking and acting like a local. Our environment creates a unique kind of pressure on us that shapes us even when we don’t realize it.

What does Romans teach us about environment? Flashing back to chapter five we read that because of our faith, Christ brought us to a place of undeserved privilege. Yet we are told that we will experience problems and trials. Now we move into chapter six and find that we are no longer under the law since Christ paid our debt through his death and resurrection. Yet, we still confront sinful desires and constant temptations. We continue to live in this tension of two worlds. Christ’s coming and resurrection has brought his kingdom to Earth, but only in part. We do live in the reality of his love and faith and hope. But, we also still live in this broken, sinful world. We are strangers in a foreign world where sin and Satan attack. There is duality to this place we temporarily live. Just like Boston has an environment that can shape us, the Kingdom has its own environment that will shape us if we will allow it to.

Paul shows us in chapter six that while there is tension between these two environments, we have moved from the realm of sin and death and the reign of the first Adam to the realm of peace, hope and love—the reign of the second Adam. Though we are free under the grace-filled reign of Christ, we still can choose to re-enslave ourselves under the principles of the former regime. In Christ, our workplace and community is a mission field and garden that we can develop for the glory of God. Or, we can allow the cut throat corporate environment to re-enslave us to the principles of the reign of sin and death? Are we experiencing the freedom to love people or are we enslaved to the busyness of this world? Do we enslave ourselves to our own desires or do we embrace the freedom which God has called us? We live in the constant tension of two worlds. We can practice this freedom with every decision we make and develop lives of holiness as strangers in a foreign place. As we embrace this new heavenly environment, its characteristics will soon create the kind of pressure upon us that will shape us for eternal life.

Posted by Jim

Galatians 5: All the Freedom in the World

What would you do if, with one spell, you were freed of all of your obligations and were completely free, bound to no one or no thing? It is an intriguing concept that, no doubt, has been the theme of a few sci-fi novels (I don’t read them, so this is just my ignorant impression). Do you remember what happened to the Israelites when they were given their freedom from Pharaoh? They wanted to go back. There is security in bondage—even if it is abusive at least there is security in it.

Jesus freed us from the abuse of the sinful nature. Paul is particularly concerned with sinful bondage to religious ceremony and tradition. Religion becomes sinful when it becomes a mechanism that replaces works for the approval we can only find in God. In short, religion becomes sinful when it is used as a means to avoid God.

Religion is the easy way of having the security of bondage AND the affirmation that comes from faith. But Paul says you can’t have both. God gave the Israelites a new vision when he led them out of bondage in Egypt. Go take the promised land! But they didn’t have the courage to enter into the new life that God had promised (Num 13-14). Similarly, Jesus has given us a new vision and direction by which we may indulge our freedom—love. We are to take our freedom and use it to serve one another in love.

Jesus was fully free and he bound himself to us allowing our sinful nature to drag him to the cross and to the grave. The Spirit liberated him from that grave and seated him in heaven for eternal life. Paul speaks of the fruit of this Spirit. The Spirit that we have is the Spirit that binds us to Jesus in his freedom. Because we are bound to Him, we can walk in his freedom and enjoy love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control and gentleness.

1 Corinthians 15: Resurrection = Freedom from Sin

What is so important about the resurrection? Hearing of dead people, people all dead not mostly dead, walking around is weird and reminiscent of something out of a science fiction or horror movie. Do I even need to believe such a thing to be a Christian?

This is the same question that Paul was facing in the Corinthian church. People were denying the resurrection of the dead (v. 12-19), but Paul would have none of that. In fact the resurrection is so central to the Christian faith that without Christ rising from the dead there is nothing to believe in (v. 19). So what does the resurrection effectively do for those who trust in Christ?

Verse 22 states, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (NIV) Simply, being human makes us sinners—just turn on the news and we can see that—but those who trust in Christ are raised with him into new life. Though this may be difficult to understand, it means we are born again (John 3:3) and a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). We are now something different from what we were before, sin has been defeated in us and we can live freely from it (1 Cor 15:55-57).

In verse 58, Paul charges the Corinthians and us to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain. We are able to do these things because Christ has been resurrected. Therefore, the resurrection gives us the hope and strength to live lives worthy of Christ. The resurrection may seem strange to us at first but it is foundational to the Christian faith and life.

Posted by Aaron

1 Corinthians 9: My freedom for example

Can freedom exist all by itself? Paul uses his own example in this chapter to follow through on his call to the Corinthians to restrain the use of their freedom for the sake of others. There is no such thing as complete freedom. Complete freedom means that there is nothing of any gravitas, meaning or significance in your life to pull you in any direction.

Paul tries to help them see that he has all kinds of freedom that he doesn’t indulge. He has freedom to marry. He has freedom to eat and drink. He has freedom to receive the offering of the people of God to provide for his physical needs. Though he is free for such things, none of them have the kind of gravitas in his life to pull him towards them (9:15).

The true pull upon his life that has captured his affections is the opportunity to know Christ and transform lives through the preaching of the gospel. He gives us up the right to eat whatever he wants, to have a spouse, and even an offering because the pull of voluntary gospel ministry is so much greater than those things. There is nothing wrong with them and he does not condemn others who enjoy them. Yet, he longs for his Spiritual children to use their freedom to pursue much more glorious endeavors as he has—to follow him as he follows Christ (11:1).

In so doing, he submits to religious and social codes that the gospel has already freed him from (19-23) and disciplines his life so that not only will he pursue the greatest glory but he will pursue it with all his strength and energy (24-27). The question before us is what shall we do with our freedom? What shall we do with the extra 5-10 hours of our life each week? Does it count for Christ? The one who demands their complete freedom is aimless (9:26). What is your aim? Have you disciplined yourself to reach the target when you have opportunity?

Posted By Marc

1 Corinthians 8: Freedom for example

The issue that Paul is addressing is that much of the meat eaten in Corinth came from sacrifices that were performed at the temples. This was meat offered in Pagan worship. Paul told the Corinthians that they were free to eat that meat as long as they weren’t participating in the worship. The meat was just meat. However, some Christians felt that this would be an expression of false worship even though they weren’t participating in the sacrificial aspect of the meat.

Paul could condemn these people and tell them that their conscience is too sensitive. But Paul knows too much about the conscience, the playing field for the Holy Spirit. Many of the believers that he is speaking about were steaped in Pagan ritual and to eat the meat of Pagan worship would bring back the previous experience to the point where it would violate their own worship of Yahweh. Even though they were free to eat the meat legally, it was spiritually dangerous for them. It endangered their heart by exposing it to affections that had previously had it captured and enslaved.

So Paul teaches that the people of God need to be conservative with their freedom. “Everything is permissible—but I will not be mastered by anything“(6:12). Though everything is permissible for me, we need to be sure that those around us are not mastered by anything. We can certainly apply this to alcohol, smoking, entertainment and the way we use our words. It is humbling and convicting to think that our example really matters. If you are around those who are new to the faith, you need to know that they are watching you and listening to you. What you do becomes an embodiment of Christian spirituality to them. Though you may not struggle with gossip, if someone new to the faith struggles with gossip, what you think is borderline might thrust him or her across clear lines with your example s their justification.

That is why Jesus said, “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to the person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.” Luke 17:1-3

What are issues about which we need to watch our example?

Posted by Marc

1 Corinthians 6: Freedom and Oneness

Since we have received grace, does that free us to do whatever we want? This chapter is all about being free and being bound, or to put it another way, to be in union with another. Paul’s perspective is an assault against the teaching of the environment we swim in. Our environment would teach us that our body and possessions are our own. We can do whatever we want with our body; as long as it doesn’t hurt another person (it can hurt another person as long as there are two mutually consenting adults at the outset). And if someone hurts us, the legal system is available to make restitution for our damages—so that we might personally be made whole again.

Paul’s view of the world is different. Paul views it this way. We have more freedom than anyone in all creation (“Everything is permissible for me” 6:12). That doesn’t mean we are autonomous. No one is autonomous. We are either united to sin and idols or we are united to Christ. And if we are united to Christ, we are inseparably united to the rest of the family of God. These Spiritual realities must reveal themselves in concrete forms.
So what does this look like? Christians must learn to resolve their disputes with one another through one another. To go outside the church would be like asking a soccer referee to umpire a baseball game. They are two different environments and the laws are different inside and outside the church.

Sexual sin is a concrete violation of our union with Christ. Our body is a temple--a physical space united to a heavenly person; A dwelling place for God; A place for worship. Everything we do in our body is an expression of worship. Do we celebrate the goodness of God in food? Do we celebrate marital love? Or, are we mastered by our body and enslaved to it? If we serve the appetites of our body, whether they are physical appetites, emotional, social or sexual appetites, we find ourselves serving them. Service is the best Old Testament word for worship. Whom do we serve? That is where the gospel gives us genuine good news. We should not be mastered by anything because that would betray the basic principle that Jesus Christ is our master and we are united to him.

Posted by Marc