By Dr. Dale A. Robbins
Freedom! Everyone calls for it. But freedom means different things to different people. To many, it means living without restraint--how I want and where I want.
What did it mean to Jesus? He said, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). When pressed by His enemies, He also said, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin." (John 8:34). The freedom He promises is freedom from inner bondage, a release from sin to serve God. Christian freedom means freedom from guilt over a past life of sin. "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). It is also freedom from the practice of sin. "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires" (Romans 6:12).
Christian freedom means a clear conscience and Christ-honoring conduct.
A changed life leads to a changed lifestyle. How we live is important.
What are some of the change issues in today's world?
Violence
A barrel-chested man stood up in a Sunday evening church service. "I am," he began slowly, "a wife beater." There was a hush. Grown children had turned him in. He'd been before the courts. Now he was in therapy. He confessed he was not "out of the woods" yet. In his distress he turned to Christ and the church for healing and help.
Violence is everywhere. It's beamed into our homes by TV; it breaks out in the sports arena, the classroom, on our streets. Helpless children are often its victims. We take it for granted, but we shouldn't. Christ calls us to be "rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." (Ephesians 4:31).
Gambling
The subject of gambling came up in a Free Methodist membership class. Someone asked, "What's so wrong about Bingo?" Carl spoke up. "Before I was saved at 18," he explained, "my Grandma and I played Bingo at least three nights a week." He told of its hold on him, his dependence on luck, the greed it nourished inside him. Christ had set him free from the slavery that was gradually taking control.
The Free Methodist Church teaches that gambling has no place in the lives of its members.
Drug Dependence
A young man told his pastor what he knew about the enslavement of alcohol. He had started in early childhood with liquor he had found around the house. Yet before he was saved, he had begun to see that drinking was wrong. His dad would drink a whole paycheck away. When the young man came to Christ he found freedom.
In our society, one in four families is troubled by alcohol--as many as 65 million poeple. According to estimates, alcohol is involved in nearly 50 percent of all sex offences, and 10,000 murders occur each year in incidents involving alcohol. Free Methodists across many generations have believed that this addictive drug is not for Christians who want to live free and clean.
Other drugs are also a concern to Christians. Society itself is turning its back on tobacco, the killer. Illicit drugs are out. But what of the medicinal drugs we may need? We counsel as follows: "Because drug dependency of any kind inhibits fullness of life in Christ, we guard against the indiscriminate use of perscription and over-the-counter drugs."
Sexual Control
One of the first things Sandra wanted to do when she became a Christian was to get control of her sexual impulses. She admitted that one of her girlfriends had been smart and the other pretty. She didn't think she was either, so she decided she would be sexy. It cost her a year out of her life, a baby she couldn't keep and a certain sadness she couldn't overcome.
Free Methodist people stand by to minister to men and women similarly wounded or out of control. At the same time the church affirms sex, and Hebrews 12:4 teaches that sexual intercourse is God's gift to humanity only for the intimate union of a man and a woman within marriage.
Free and Clean
A lifestyle marked by freedom in Christ has effects that go beyond ourselves. It makes for personal and family stability and sets a good example for our children; it makes us better able to handle our resources; and it frees us to serve others. It never takes something away without giving something better in its place.
The Free Methodist Church gives clear guidelines for lifestyle and also offers help for those who struggle with change. Caring Christians in the church stand by to help new believers become free, whether from gambling, sexual wrongdoing, or a string of other damaging enticements.
Freedom in Christ is a glorious freedom! It is more than mere moral uprightness. It is a release to serve Jesus Christ freely--in the community of His people, and in the power of His Spirit.
He is Lord of all!
the widespread abuse of drugs and narcotics is a cancer that has devastated our nation. Drugs are linked to virtually every evil and criminal activity within our society. While it should be obvious that the use of mind-bending drugs is inappropriate for serious followers of Christ, yet there are Christians who occasionally attempt to justify their continued use of drugs. Let us be reminded that if any person has genuinely become a “new creature in Christ” the Bible says that old things are supposed to pass away... that all things should become new (2 Cor. 5:17). Therefore, every believer should seek to put on the new creation of Christ, and to put off the old life, including the continued use of mind altering drugs and narcotics. Christians should not do drugs for the following seven reasons:
1. Drugs have a Proven Connection with Sorcery and Witchcraft
Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
According to W.E. Vine’s expository dictionary of New Testament Words (page 1074), the word SORCERY comes from a Greek word, PHARMAKIA - used as a noun, it “signifies a sorcerer,” one who uses drugs, potions, spells, enchantments, as in Rev. 21:8.
The english word for drugs, pharmacy, comes from this same root. Drugs and potions have traditionally been used in witchcraft and satanic rituals to induce deeper subconscious states which enable persons to have fellowship and communication with demons. Realizing the satanic relationship with drug use helps us to understand why abusers of drugs experience such bondage and depravation. No where in the Bible or in history have drugs been used to bring people closer to God - they have always been used in relation to bringing people closer to evil powers and demonic influences.
2. Drugs have an Obvious Affiliation with the Desires of Satan
In the daily newspaper reports, the ravages of drugs are continually linked with the headlines of Death, Robbery and Destruction. If this sounds familiar, it should. According to the Bible, these happen to be the identical characteristics of Satan.
John 10:10 “The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Satan is the evil inspiration behind the destructive nature of drugs. They are his own tools which, when persons are under their influence, accomplish his goals and fulfill his wicked desires. Understanding the satanic relationship with drugs, Christians should find it easy to understand why drug use doesn’t mix with a Christian life-style.
1 Corinthians 10:21 “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.”
3. Drug use will Cause Others to Stumble
According to the Bible, believers are accountable to avoid anything which would lead our brethren astray or cause them to stumble in their relationship with God.
Romans 14:21 “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.”
For the sake of our brethren in Christ, and for our own protection from temptation, the Bible tells us to refrain from anything that may even “appear” sinful. “Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thes. 5:22).
Those who are mature in the Lord are supposed to use their life-styles as an example for others to follow. They deny selfish desires and personal preferences in order to minister to those who are less mature.
Romans 15:1-3 “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
{2} Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
{3} For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
4. Christians are no Longer Their Own
The Bible says that we belong to the Lord and we are to glorify Him with our body and with the way we live.
1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
5. We’re not to be Infected by Mind Bending Stimulants
The Bible warns believers to not be intoxicated by alcohol, and (by implication) others stimulants such as drugs1 which distorts our thinking or alters our ability to control our behavior. Instead, the scriptures teach that we should be under the influence of God’s power -- that is, we should be filled with His Spirit which gives us the “buzz” of His power, His peace and strength.
Ephesians 5:17-18 “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
{18} And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit...”
6. We are Warned not to Defile God’s Temple
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
{17} If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
Once again, we are reminded that Christians are God’s possession, and in fact, they are the dwelling place of His Spirit. For this reason, we must consider our bodies something sacred -- not something to be trashed or abused. The word defile means to “pollute, foul or corrupt.”
7. Addictions Are Not Pleasing To God
An addiction is anything we cannot free ourselves from, which overrules our freedom to choose, whether physically or psychological. As Christians, we are given power over habits and behavior - they should not have power over us.
1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
Jesus Can Set You Free!
If you are addicted to drugs, ask Christ to give you power to overcome them, and He will. Don’t seek to justify your addiction, but keep reaching toward full and complete freedom. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name:” (John 1:12). Seek the anointed prayers of church leaders and other Christians -- God promises to honor their prayer of faith to help you (James 5:15).
Be encouraged. God will never condemn the person who keeps reaching out to Him -- who keeps trying to grow and make progress in Him. If you sin, ask Him to forgive you (1 John 1:9), then get up and keep moving on and growing closer to Him. And be assured, the closer you draw to Him, the further He will withdraw you from the old life of sin and bondage to drugs!
Freedom! Everyone calls for it. But freedom means different things to different people. To many, it means living without restraint--how I want and where I want.
What did it mean to Jesus? He said, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). When pressed by His enemies, He also said, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin." (John 8:34). The freedom He promises is freedom from inner bondage, a release from sin to serve God. Christian freedom means freedom from guilt over a past life of sin. "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). It is also freedom from the practice of sin. "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires" (Romans 6:12).
Christian freedom means a clear conscience and Christ-honoring conduct.
A changed life leads to a changed lifestyle. How we live is important.
What are some of the change issues in today's world?
Violence
A barrel-chested man stood up in a Sunday evening church service. "I am," he began slowly, "a wife beater." There was a hush. Grown children had turned him in. He'd been before the courts. Now he was in therapy. He confessed he was not "out of the woods" yet. In his distress he turned to Christ and the church for healing and help.
Violence is everywhere. It's beamed into our homes by TV; it breaks out in the sports arena, the classroom, on our streets. Helpless children are often its victims. We take it for granted, but we shouldn't. Christ calls us to be "rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." (Ephesians 4:31).
Gambling
The subject of gambling came up in a Free Methodist membership class. Someone asked, "What's so wrong about Bingo?" Carl spoke up. "Before I was saved at 18," he explained, "my Grandma and I played Bingo at least three nights a week." He told of its hold on him, his dependence on luck, the greed it nourished inside him. Christ had set him free from the slavery that was gradually taking control.
The Free Methodist Church teaches that gambling has no place in the lives of its members.
Drug Dependence
A young man told his pastor what he knew about the enslavement of alcohol. He had started in early childhood with liquor he had found around the house. Yet before he was saved, he had begun to see that drinking was wrong. His dad would drink a whole paycheck away. When the young man came to Christ he found freedom.
In our society, one in four families is troubled by alcohol--as many as 65 million poeple. According to estimates, alcohol is involved in nearly 50 percent of all sex offences, and 10,000 murders occur each year in incidents involving alcohol. Free Methodists across many generations have believed that this addictive drug is not for Christians who want to live free and clean.
Other drugs are also a concern to Christians. Society itself is turning its back on tobacco, the killer. Illicit drugs are out. But what of the medicinal drugs we may need? We counsel as follows: "Because drug dependency of any kind inhibits fullness of life in Christ, we guard against the indiscriminate use of perscription and over-the-counter drugs."
Sexual Control
One of the first things Sandra wanted to do when she became a Christian was to get control of her sexual impulses. She admitted that one of her girlfriends had been smart and the other pretty. She didn't think she was either, so she decided she would be sexy. It cost her a year out of her life, a baby she couldn't keep and a certain sadness she couldn't overcome.
Free Methodist people stand by to minister to men and women similarly wounded or out of control. At the same time the church affirms sex, and Hebrews 12:4 teaches that sexual intercourse is God's gift to humanity only for the intimate union of a man and a woman within marriage.
Free and Clean
A lifestyle marked by freedom in Christ has effects that go beyond ourselves. It makes for personal and family stability and sets a good example for our children; it makes us better able to handle our resources; and it frees us to serve others. It never takes something away without giving something better in its place.
The Free Methodist Church gives clear guidelines for lifestyle and also offers help for those who struggle with change. Caring Christians in the church stand by to help new believers become free, whether from gambling, sexual wrongdoing, or a string of other damaging enticements.
Freedom in Christ is a glorious freedom! It is more than mere moral uprightness. It is a release to serve Jesus Christ freely--in the community of His people, and in the power of His Spirit.
He is Lord of all!
No comments:
Post a Comment