Walking in True Freedom
Part 2 – Walking It Out
Brad Bailey – July 15, 2007
One question I asked last week…Are you free to do anything you want (if within your means)?
Yes… but somehow we sense that’s not the greatest news to hear… it helps us think about
what true freedom is… spiritual freedom… because it helps us realize that freedom to do
whatever we want… doesn’t resolve all that binds us.
Our condition… sense much that is good… but also that our nature doesn’t live out all that we
believe is good… gap… shame. The human condition is one of a self that longs for a good that
eludes us… and a self that tries to cope… and that coping includes the fabrication of a false
self…. that defends itself well from all that would pull it down.
As we face our honest condition… we can understand the nature of what true freedom must
involve… not simply the freedom to do what we want… but the freedom to be all we were
meant to be.
Began last week focusing on the nature of spiritual freedom… the nature of entering into the
true freedom from the destructive tendencies and drives that run through us… and the
consequences they bring. Christ provides freedom from the shame… consequences… and
power of sin.
It’s what makes the good news of Christ truly good.
But as noted… we often find ourselves in tensions between two feelings … the tension between
a spirit of legalism and a spirit license.
We could define these two dynamics as….
Religious spirit of Legalism – In it’s broader use, ‘legalism’ refers to the tendency to try to
control sin through an overly prescribed approach to moral behavior or an inappropriate sense
of controlling such behaviors in others.
Rebellious spirit of License – In it’s spiritual use, license refers to the tendency to control
permission for pursuing the fulfillment of inappropriate or destructive desires for perceived
pleasure… often based upon a limited perspective of pleasure (that ignores one’s ultimate
good) and freedom (that ignores responsibility.)
Often within we swing between the two powers of thought that each of these represent …
a process of reaction… and re-reaction.
It’s like a spiritual schizophrenia… double bind that can make us crazy.
Both the spirit of legalism and the spirit of license are rooted in fear and a
false sense of control.
A part of us wants to do the right thing… but it can become more out of fear of our failures…
and a concern for outward appearance… And then another part wants to be free to do what one
wants… afraid of what one might miss in terms of pleasure and happiness.
> Both of these tendencies reveal how confused our view of sin and salvation are… why
‘religion’ may not always sound so good…. may seem to complicate life.
2
The Apostle Paul knew both of these all too well…he was the elite of Jewish religious
lawmakers and law keepers…knew the emptiness of legalism… how it was unable to change
lives. But he also sees the utter destruction of Roman paganism and the pursuit of all
pleasure…now that of the Greek world…and knows how deceptive and destructive that which
glorifies sin can be. The poor and weak are trampled down … violence and sexual desires are
ruling and ruining human life. Neither mere duty… nor mere desire… can bring the human
spirit into true freedom. And neither the religious spirit nor the rebellious spirit will ever
lead us to rest.
True freedom comes through the transition from fear to love as the driving
and defining force of our souls.
Galatians 5:6, 13, 16, 22-23
6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The
only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to
indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
16
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful
nature. ….22 the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there
is no law.
1 Timothy 1:5 (ESV)
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a
sincere faith.
As the Message translation expresses this…
1 Timothy 1:5 (MSG)
The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love—love uncontaminated by self-
interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.
Today… I want to consider some of the practical implications for walking in freedom as both
individuals and a community when we replace fear and control with the ‘goal of love.’
Practical implications for walking in freedom with the ‘goal of love.’
1. The goal of love is not based on our mere subjective or sentimental ideas
about love, but is grounded in truth… the revelation of God made clearest in
Christ.
The goal of love can’t be defined merely by our subjective and sentimental ideas of love. The
Beatles wrote their famous song, All You Need Is Love”… and then broke up. We need a force
that transcends our ideas and ideals. It is God who IS love…. And we need his revelation of
what love in action and relationship looks like. Ultimately this becomes clearest in Christ.
Divine love is expressed in the ministry of grace and truth, which are intrinsically combined.
(John 1:14,17)
3
John 1:14, 17 (NIV)
14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the
glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 1:1-3 (NIV)
”
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in
various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of
God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…”.
> The only liberation from the false self… is that which comes from the One in
whose image we were created to bear… that entity… calling us, claiming us, and
conforming us from the inside out.
> When we say ‘love’ … we may as well say ‘Christ.’
2. The goal of love transcends the limits of the ‘letter of the law’ with the
‘spirit of the law.’ The ‘letter of the law’ refers to over prescribed and
externalized rules that can be manipulated and misdirected from the ‘spirit of the
law’ which is the ultimate intent of the matter.
If you’re driving in L.A. on a clear day… highway is open and flowing… why don’t you think
you get pulled over for driving 60 or 65 mph… when the signs posted state a maximum speed
55 mph?
> Because the most critical intent is safety. If it’s rush hour and raining… there is a good
likelihood that you will get a ticket driving 50 mph.
In a similar way… Jesus was constantly in confrontations with religious leaders… for such
issues as healing on the Sabbath. As he ultimately framed it: Laws were made for man… not
man for the laws. (Mark 2:27 - Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath.”)
Entire four Gospels… especially the Sermon on the Mount…expound this.
To the rebellious spirit in us… it’s equally foolish to ignore the ultimate intent… the very
principles which various rules may serve.
3. The goal of love directs us towards the true point of reference for good and
evil… the inner posture of our hearts. Love doesn’t simply assess outward
behavior as good or evil… but seeks what honors and serves both God and others.
The nature of one’s context, consciousness, and intent are naturally involved.
Issue is not thing itself but what it represents to someone
I Cor 8:4, 7-12
4
"So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the
world and that there is no God but one…But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so
accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an
idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God;
we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise
of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak
conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be
emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ
died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and
wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ."
> He is saying there are things that are not actually bad… but if such things / activities
represent something bad to someone (the worship of idold)… then love will lead us to forgo it.
Guiding principles for our behavior then are not conformity to law or rules… nor personal
pleasure, but rather those which reflect surrender to the love of God leading to love of others….
The goal of love will ask…
• Is this glorifying to God? (1 Cor. 10:31)
• Does this serve to hurt or help others in any particular way? (1 Cor. 10:23, 1 Cor. 8:1-13)
• How would this convey or confuse my witness of God to others? (1 Cor. 10:33, Col. 4:5, 1
Thess. 5:22)
• Is this controlling my life or constricting my spiritual growth? (Hebrews 12:1, 1 Cor. 6:12)
4. The goal of love, as an inner quality, calls for our deepest honesty.
Our hearts can be so easily deceived… as Paul understood… rules can draw out the most evil
in us… most deceptive… as the religious spirit claims self righteousness… and the rebellious
spirit can deceive us with a false freedom.
Note the means and adjectives in 1 Tim 1:5
“…love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
As Brennan. Manning describes…
“The Evil One is the great illusionist. He varnishes the truth and
encourages dishonesty. "If we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves
and refusing to admit the truth" (1John 1:8). Satan prompts us to give importance
to what has no importance. He clothes trivia with glitter and seduces us away from
what is real. He causes us to live in a world of delusion, unreality, and shadows.
The noonday devil of the Christian life is the temptation to lose the inner
self while preserving the shell of edifying behavior. Suddenly I discover that I am
ministering to AIDS victims to enhance my resume. I drop hints about the absolute
priority of meditation and contemplation to create the impression that I am a man
of prayer. At some unremembered moment I have lost the connection between
internal purity of heart and external works of piety. In the most humiliating sense
of the word, I have become a legalist. I have fallen victim to what T.S. Eliot calls
the greatest sin: to do the right thing for the wrong reason.
5
At Sunday worship, as in every dimension of our existence, many of us
pretend to believe we are sinners. Consequently, all we can do is pretend to believe
we have been forgiven. As a result, our whole spiritual life is pseudo-repentance
and pseudo-bliss.”
-Brennan Manning, "The Ragamuffin Gospel", p134-136+
5. The goal of love appropriately defines right and wrong in a way that is
comprehensive, proportional, and positive.
Comprehensive – Love calls us beyond our personal and cultural sense of what is offensive…
to consider all that may cause equal hurt.
Jesus and Pharisees… tithing cumin but ignoring injustice
"“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from
your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not
neglect the more important things." (Luke 11:42, NLT)
Proportional - While all sin separates us from perfection… and from God…and thus places us
all in the position of humility under grace, when it comes to seeking to grow in righteousness
(right living)… not all sin is equal in it’s consequences. Some things offend love more than
others.
Positive - Love isn’t simply a matter of actions we don’t do… but also actions we should do…
it involves both. Just secluding oneself for the sake of purity… is not a way to love others.
6. The goal of love also helps us to recognize that there is a distinction
between ‘struggling’ with our sin… and choosing to give ourselves over to a
‘state’ of sin.
7. The goal of love understands the proper and positive role of personal
discipline…. not as a means to simply repress but to reorient… not merely
denial but development.
There are two equally foolish ideas about spiritual formation… one is that more self exertion
and will power alone will make us holy.. the other is that it’s all up to the work of the Spirit…
and requires no effort on our part.
Disciplines are a natural part of a beings development… not as a means to simply repress but to
reorient… not denial but development.
8. The goal of love understands the reality of human freedom and leads us to
influence others rather than try to control them.
Now I realize that there is a natural season of formation… human development…
children > the children of Israel. But when we don’t grow out …. Religious … control or
at least coercion.
6
9. The goal of love will presume communal accountability according to the
professed intent of others.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 ( The Message)
"I’m not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don’t we have some
responsibility for those within our community of believers?
One of the great gifts that spiritual community offers is that of the leverage and support of
others to help us become who we believe we are meant to be. This brings up the issue of
whether all who attend a church should be confronted about behavior that is commonly
deemed inconsistent with what God has revealed as good and right. These public gatherings
are for all who want to both explore and establish a relationship with Christ. Therefore it’s
my hope that many are willing to come seek… while others to grow… and as such, we can all
support each other at whatever place we profess to be.
If you tell me that you are seeking.. exploring… then I will come alongside and help you seek
with all the integrity that comes with truly seeking. If you profess to want to follow Christ…
then I will help you follow with integrity.
10. The goal of love when engaging others, must hold a redemptive desire in
our heart...not resentment or retribution.
• Like Jesus with the woman caught in adultery, we must often first silence the
condemnation (shame) and then call one out from sin.
• We will all struggle and fall… but let’s be those who help make sure that if we fall…
we fall forward.
CLOSING: There is grace… freedom in the love of God…. freedom to become who we
were meant to be. Some of us realize that walking in to such freedom… and walking out
such freedom… means letting go of our religious desire to control… and others that we
need to let go of our rebellious sense of control.
