Freedom Through Slavery to Righteousness [Part 2]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus juice.

It's what you earn destruction and death are by sinful living destructive choices, but life abundant and eternal life is not our Alan welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life for the whole new light.

I'm excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series called unbleached is presented at renewal the church in North Carolina.

If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program today to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. You can find out more about it and even receive a copy of your very own for your donation this month to Alan Wright ministry. So as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer@pastor.org find out more about it and make your request or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. Again, our website pastor Alan.org. More on this later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright. Modern age is the version freedom is in Paul saying no that's not it at all. What a steady saying is that freedom that you have in Christ is not a transfer from being in slave to Santa now.

Just do whatever you want without serving anybody say no it's not like that. After I told you all about grace in chapter 5, and how we make it so plain that you're no longer under law, and how the law only serve to show you how much you needed the grace of God in Jesus Christ and how law has only served to show you how powerless you are over your own sin and therefore how the law that never worked in all the legal successor never worried now is over because Christ has come to fulfill your benefit. Now that I've shown you all of that, you're asking what does this mean we should just go ahead and send him our freezer know you're totally misunderstanding freedom if that's what you think about is that instead actually the Christian life is much more wine and which now it is like you are a bondservant of Christ, the sum of people in slavery. The reason they were there in ancient Rome is a Yoda big debt to someone and you couldn't pay often so they just sell themselves. That person for a period of time but promise what you sell yourself to do whatever they say they said website which Jay-Z is US labor.

Santa now uses imager bondservant to righteousness and sky go through this and show you what exams are back up here to verse three Romans six verse three as I do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death and is a similar thing at verse six Romans six verse six we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. I tell you been reflecting on this deeply this weekend and I just am seeing this in a deeper, richer way of thing than I ever have and it's thrilling. My soul to see it like this.

Paul is saying is that when you accept Christ. You become a Christian, you're born anew.

You are you are now a new creature in Christ in your life is seen as in Christ, so you are the image of the New Testament says engrafted and the Christ were speaking of mysteries was the speaking of something as mystical but is very personal, that what happens is that God, in some mysterious way makes your life so united with the life of Jesus that you are united with Jesus in his death on the cross.

What this means is beautiful and momentous because it means Christians that you were in Christ crucified. It means, therefore, that God looks on you, through Christ, as if you also have been on the cross.

It means that your sin has been in a very real way to God absolutely paid for and Jesus was crucified once and never has to go back to that cross as a means that for every Christian. Your sentence crucified with Jesus on the cross. Always. This is so powerful and so important is it, Paul is later going to say to us, you need to count yourselves dead to sin but the secret of power in the Christian life is not contemplating and thinking about all this in your life. The secret power in the Christian life is to come to the glorious revelation that your scent has been thoroughly forgiven is cast as far as the east is from the West from you so that your holy your clean before God and therefore you have full access to the throne of grace, and then he says at Romans 64 that this also applies to Jesus's resurrection.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father we to my walk in newness of life. Likewise, in verse five he says, for if we have been united with him in a death like as we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like it so it is saying is that Ed, a very real sense, you are so united with Jesus, that it is as if you were on the cross and your San was crucified. There, but likewise you are so identified with Jesus that when he was raised from the dead. You also have been raised up spiritually and you have already been raised up in the kingdom life into an exalted place where Paul says elsewhere in Romans. We now reign with Christ but is also same one that your body will be glorified and be resurrected, just like Jesus is what as much as you can count on the fact that your sin has been paid for.

You can also count on the fact that you will one day have a resurrected body.

Just like Jesus because your life is been so united with Jesus. You are so united with them that you have resurrection life and you this is why Paul prays in Ephesians that you would know the hope of your calling your glorious inheritance in the saints, and he prays that you would know the incomparably great power that is at work in you. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Hallelujah.

What this means for us, therefore, is it everything has changed. Paul says in verse nine is saying we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again so death no longer has dominion over him death lost its dominion over Christ and we are in Christ and therefore death lost its dominion over us that we will die a physical death but we will not die. We will live eternally because we are united with Christ.

What this means. Also in verse 10.

Is that what rules anyone in Christ is not death the LIFO. Paul says this for the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God and so what this means, therefore, is that the ruling force in the Christian's life because we are united to Christ is no longer sin and death. That was the old that was the old, but the new has come.

And with life that Jesus is alive and lives under God. This is the life that you have as you live unto God the says further verse 11, so you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God and Christ Jesus. This means beloved that God wants you to see your entire sinful past and every flaw that you have today all the sand that might commit in your life. Tomorrow he wants you to see yourself did that, it still stuff that comes up in crops up as part of an old nature, but he doesn't want you to go around and dwell on that and define your life by sin that's already been crucified.

He doesn't want you thinking all the time about what a sinner you are.

He wants you to be thinking about how a lot of you are in Jesus Christ. This is the way to victory same. It's a new domain in. It's a move from law to grace. He says at Romans 614 for San will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace that when San had dominion over you, you were under the law. We means by this is that in a system of law based living, you are rewarded for what is good about you and your punished for what is bad. You are only blast to the extent that you can keep the law and the problem is that nobody except for Jesus is ever capital the law is not one single person who's perfectly righteous is all deserve punishment to what happens when you live under law is either say well I can't do this and you does rebel OR you say do it better than other people, and you become spiritually proud a Pharisee trying to live more righteous than other people, so that you can use that to feel okay about yourself and think that you're going to be blessed in what Paul says is that whole whole era of trying to relate to God has come to a glorious climax is. Jesus fulfilled all the wall and now the key thing is not whether you keep the law are not so you don't have to be afraid of punishment. Whether you Masa and you don't have to be worried that you won't be blessed because you weren't good enough and stand your united with that salad will have more teaching moment from today's important series. This is what the facts I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's times and have compassion on his dwellings. The city will be rebuilt on her remains powerless will stand in its proper place as timeless weights from Jeremiah 30 for the heart of God lends to us the way.

Time cities would often be rebuilt on top of the ruins of the former city, and he said he would stand higher with central walls and a greater perspective pastor. Our night succeeding out of the rulings help document build your life gloriously out of yesterday's disappointments to get to Alan Wright ministry said I will send you Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive CD album with your digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership, six 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor and data work in today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan writing and Jesus lived a perfect life and so God reckons unto you as if you lived that life. And yes I will people get that idea that is going to sin. I propose addressing hearsay no you don't understand what happens in your life is a fundamental change that happens. New fruit begins to happen. This is what he says in verse 21, but what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which are now ashamed while I was just laughing and making fun of sand of bitterness and coveting was the fruit of that misery misery a sameness look at the fruit that came from said no space after the end of those things is death, but now that you've been set free from sin and become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end eternal life.

They say what looks like slavery to God is actually freedom. He says this very distinctly at verse 23 the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord death is the wages it's what you earn destruction and death are earned by sinful living destructive choices, but life abundant and eternal life is not earned it's a gift you see the contrast the wages of sin is death, but the gift. In contrast, is eternal life. It is just given to you. I heard one pastor put it this way, say, imagine that there was a man who was poor but then was smart and hard-working and innovative, entrepreneurial, and he started a business, and it grew and he worked they work 1215 hrs. a day. He worked almost every day of his life any build this business into a multi-multi-million-dollar business and became very wealthy and then he fell in love with a woman and they were married and it was a beautiful and happy marriage and everything they had was held jointly and so whatever was his was hers and in that picture is just a dim dim reflection of what God is saying to us here. The man cats wealthy because of his hard work, but now all of his riches are equally shared with his wife because she is married to him and she received it as a gift. One was worth the other was grace what Paul's want you to see is that all the riches that God is wanted you to have spiritually all of them. He says in Ephesians 1. Every spiritual blessing is yours in Christ all of the spiritual riches. All of the love and joy and peace in all of the power of the Holy Spirit.

All of the hope all of the eternal life. All of the capacity to reign in this kingdom, and forever in a new heaven and a new earth all it's in your inheritance, all of it has come because you been wed to Jesus. He did the work and your wed to him. You didn't do the work.

You would've been able to do the work but now you received it all is again, and so you could say yeah I'm I'm free. I'll do whatever I wanted to get that's not what you think when you have been wed to someone who loves you infinitely and is giving you everything that is precious instead what you want, which is more and more of their fellowship and more and more of that life.

Dammit Gomez and much more is given.

So if you just keep pursuing what is destructive, it just becomes more and more destructive. Some of you have experience that when you experience life tenure in Christ. You just want more and more as a kid, I play the piano. Isaiah played. I took lessons and I hated it.

I'm sorry mom, I hated and I did and and because of that I didn't practice out is what I would do 15 minutes before I would have my piano lesson. My teacher was across the street I run in the piano and I try really hard to work through a little bit of fur Elise and like for Elise. Most modern song ever. There was called Tijuana taxi.

I like Tijuana taxi I like rock 'n' roll. No and I had play all the scales and courts.

I did know why and I go and sit MLSs it with your stance on human scaled records that stumble through for Elise and so eventually I quit after playing guitar like guitar, what, when I was in college that was down in the common room of my dormitory. The oldest worst be beat up upright piano you everything your life.

It was half the notes didn't work and want to bid were granted and for some reason I went by that panel one day and I now been playing guitar for years and I thought well water. If in any manner on the guitar sound like a minor on a piano is a very basic music theory here that I was into and I went down and that's it. We know that's kinda neat. You can play the same court here and I started tinkering around with some of the same songs that I strummed my guitar to for our inter-varsity fellowship meetings and next thing you know I found myself dropping by that old piano in the dormitory several times a week and it got to be more and I started tinkering, I thought you know piano is pretty fun and then later I got one of his little electronic keyboard things and old toys you can buy Walmart and I have one of those not play with it and I like that I was there I turned 40 years old, life is that when I want for my 40th I said on specialist I want to get a piano. I said I know we we came for going about 9 PM and I said that I just would get a cheap clunker some Mike was in my dormitory be fine with stick it up against the wall and she said there's no such thing as a cheap clunker to be found, and we don't have room for decay get a pan and half their well wrapped and the day that I turn 40.

Hewitt meant more to say come downstairs. He said there's a people here to see answer.

What is a surprise breakfast party on my birthday and that I went down there some friends there gather there. I said that we got your birthday present.

Look out in the driveway and there was a truck mitt brought Anna beautiful baby Graham piano my house I am. If I don't play it every day for the last 16 years. It's as cold as downtown.

If I feel like praising Jesus sit down at piano and if I'm feeling sad. I sit down and nobody ever says now you better get on impacts at the end of your scales because it's a gift, and 11. The difference between law and grace is a transfer of allegiance is not to move out of allegiance to sin and to just do whatever you want because there's no restraint on your life.

It is a move into higher beautiful glorious version of restraint which is love of the Lord Jesus and the warrior within the more you just want to be with him and serve him and enjoy him. Dylan was right. You gotta serve somebody. And that's the gospel. Alan Wright in today's teaching freedom through slavery to righteousness, and I was quoting this song lyric because you quoted Alan a little while ago and I think we can talk about that here in a moment in our porting good news thought for the day. Stick with us. This is what the facts I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's times and have compassion on his dwellings.

The city will be rebuilt on Hulu and Harris will stand in its proper place as timeless wakes up in Jeremiah 30 for the heart of God loves to restore way time cities would often be rebuilt on top of the ruins of the former city city withstand higher with social walls and a greater perspective pastor. Our night since the lab out of the ruins how God can build your life gloriously out of yesterday's disappointments to get to Alan Wright Ministries to listen to Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive city album through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor and data work blessing your life God's grace filled vision for your signing rights, free daily address, your hiring grace and encouragement. Alan writes a daily blessing. It's free.

Just a click away. Pastor I got away Ellen were in the series, at least in today's teaching freedom through slavery to righteousness in the years that could you gotta serve somebody might as well follow the principles in the Bible and say you know what I'm doing for the right reasons.

At that point out everybody.

Everybody serving somebody else in it might be that the only thing you're serving as your own selfish ambitions, but still serving right you line up your life to something and were just saying over and over. Daniel don't be duped by the culture's version of freedom. Freedom is not unlimited expense of choice. It is when you come to realize that there is one narrow gate and truth leads to real freedom. Well, if you gotta serve somebody.

Give yourself to the one and become subservient to the one the only one who gave himself to die for you. You give yourself to the one who loves you infinitely. There is no other idol that would ever do that successor claim.

Nothing else would ever be utterly for you and die for you is so call to submit to Christ is a call not to submit, in a way this going to take away your freedom, but to give you freedom good is the gospel. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online@pastor.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 if you only caught part of today's teaching.

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