The Oasis Church of Rawlins
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There is Freedom in Christ
"Freedom"
You hear a lot about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this church. The true meaning of the Gospel is good news, and that good news is freedom.
Jesus has freed us from the punishment and penalty of sin by a Holy and Just God.
But the freedom that He brought is not just a future event that we will see and be thankful for only on judgment day when we get to the pearly gates of heaven.
That freedom begins right now, or you could say it began on the day you were born again.
I try to teach people week after week both in church and outside of church about the freedom that we have through the grace of Christ. But the gospel of grace is resisted by the spirits of religion, self-performance, pride and works.
Spirits will drive people to come to you and gawk at the liberty you have in Christ and then try to heap their performance on to you to get you to carry the burden of legalism once again.
The Apostle Paul describes such a situation to give us some insight into what defending the gospel of Christ will be like for us:
Galatians 2:1-5 "Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. 3 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you."
These guys did not like the gospel of grace that Paul was preaching. He was saying righteousness was based on the completed works of Christ and not on self effort. (Sound familiar?)
They wanted him to preach circumcision…the ways of the old covenant law. The outward works, "based on what YOU do" form of religion.
You will have people in your life that will be driven and feel compelled to get you to perform for God. The simple gospel of Christ and faith in Him alone will be shunned and you will be told it is just not that simple. "You have to do something."
Jesus said plainly that when you know the truth, the truth will set you free…and that when it is the SON that sets you free, you shall be free indeed!
Jesus did not come to burden your life with a list of do's and don'ts. He came to set you free to live right, to do those things are evidence of your freedom.
The day you put your faith in Him and what He did for you, you became free. And not just free from the penalty of sin, but free from the bondage of sin itself.
The Bible says that "whatsoever is not of faith, is sin." You either walk according to the flesh, according to the do's and don'ts of the old testament laws, or you walk by Faith in Christ…not both.
That means to walk according to the flesh, to walk according to and being governed by the dictates of your flesh is to "miss the mark" or sin.
How can we who are washed clean of our sin live in sin any longer…we shouldn’t want to. We do not want to walk by works, but by and in the Spirit.
Romans 5:21-6:2 "That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. 6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
Knowing that we live in this freedom and are not constantly scrutinized by God allows us to live the way God intended. It does not give us a license to sin, but a license to be free.
To walk by faith, in the Spirit, is to walk and live your life with Jesus Christ and faith in Him being the core of your existence.
That is how you yield yourself, yield your members, as instruments of righteousness, instead of unrighteousness.
Romans 6:11-14 "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
Understand how much God loves you today and understand that His plan was for Him to do the work to set and make you free to love Him and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
To walk in the Spirit is to walk by faith. To walk by faith is how the New Covenant we live under works.
Galatians 5:16-18 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
To be led by the Spirit and to walk by faith is to walk not according to what you can see and do, but according to what you cannot see and do.
We walk by faith and not by sight. It is not about what you can see outwardly, but what you know inwardly that brings about the changes on the outside we associate with true Christianity.
When you are walking by faith you are going to be loving your neighbor. You will be walking in forgiveness. You will be living a life of compassion. You will be living a life of victory and the works of righteousness that began on the inside through a work of God will manifest on the outside through your good works as you are led by God.
Romans 8:1-4 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
There is no guilt and condemnation in the life of the believer who walks in the Spirit, but it is guaranteed for those who try to live out this Christian life according to what they can muster up with their own strength and will power.
I am not against setting goals for yourself, but if you begin to gauge your self- worth, or your worthiness with God on how well you are reaching those goals, you will feel heaviness in your heart…you will feel the weight and burden of sin, guilt and condemnation.
To walk according to the do's and don'ts of the law, to walk by sight, to walk according to your own works being the basis of your righteousness is to miss the mark.
To do that is to walk in the flesh and you will experience feelings of guilt and condemnation. You are still walking in the bondage of the law that Jesus came to set us free from.
That bondage is known as legalism and I have committed my life to seeing people set free from it.
When your view of God is a monstrous dictator that scrutinizes everything you do or don't do with a critical eye in hopes He'll be able to unleash His angry punishment on you, then you are living with an unnecessary weight and burden on your shoulders.
The law is referred to in the New Testament as the "ministration of death, written and engraved in stones," but Jesus brought the New Testament, which is called the Spirit of life. Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
You are free from that law of sin, that held you in bondage to it.
You can tell if you are still bound up with some spirits of legalism because you will have a tendency to be critical of others. Thoughts about yourself and others will be filled with put downs, negativity and even guilt. You will make people feel bad about their mistakes and want to see them punished and condemned for them.
The ministration of death was all about making sure just payment was made…an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But Jesus Christ came to set us free from that mindset allowing us to love one another without placing conditions upon it. You will no longer forgive someone only if they forgive you. You won't treat people the way they treat you, nice if they are nice to you and mean if they are mean to you, but you will treat them with love and respect…loving them as Christ has loved you…
While you were yet a sinner, with all your faults and failures and sins still fully intact, He was willing to die for you.
So how do you go about living a good life? Live your life being consumed with the freedom from sin Jesus gave you.
I hear songs on the radio sometimes where the people are singing, "Set me free, Lord," or "I just want to be free…." and I just want to tell them to read their Bible!
God wanted you to be free too, so He sent His only begotten Son to set you free!"
Live from the position you are in with Christ Jesus.
When you understand and live in this freedom, then avoiding the wrong and doing the right thing will become easier.
When you are living in the Spirit, living by faith, the Holy Spirit leads, and always, always, into the best for that particular situation you are in.
Galatians 5:18,22-23, 25 "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law… 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law…25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
When you come out from under the law of legalism that is burdened upon people through unbelieving churches your life will begin to manifest more of the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Living your life out as a strong, faith filled, outspoken, lived out message of the gospel of Jesus Christ will become a way of life for you and not feel like such a struggle.
Sincerely,
Pastor Gary Gilbert
You hear a lot about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this church. The true meaning of the Gospel is good news, and that good news is freedom.
Jesus has freed us from the punishment and penalty of sin by a Holy and Just God.
But the freedom that He brought is not just a future event that we will see and be thankful for only on judgment day when we get to the pearly gates of heaven.
That freedom begins right now, or you could say it began on the day you were born again.
I try to teach people week after week both in church and outside of church about the freedom that we have through the grace of Christ. But the gospel of grace is resisted by the spirits of religion, self-performance, pride and works.
Spirits will drive people to come to you and gawk at the liberty you have in Christ and then try to heap their performance on to you to get you to carry the burden of legalism once again.
The Apostle Paul describes such a situation to give us some insight into what defending the gospel of Christ will be like for us:
Galatians 2:1-5 "Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. 3 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you."
These guys did not like the gospel of grace that Paul was preaching. He was saying righteousness was based on the completed works of Christ and not on self effort. (Sound familiar?)
They wanted him to preach circumcision…the ways of the old covenant law. The outward works, "based on what YOU do" form of religion.
You will have people in your life that will be driven and feel compelled to get you to perform for God. The simple gospel of Christ and faith in Him alone will be shunned and you will be told it is just not that simple. "You have to do something."
Jesus said plainly that when you know the truth, the truth will set you free…and that when it is the SON that sets you free, you shall be free indeed!
Jesus did not come to burden your life with a list of do's and don'ts. He came to set you free to live right, to do those things are evidence of your freedom.
The day you put your faith in Him and what He did for you, you became free. And not just free from the penalty of sin, but free from the bondage of sin itself.
The Bible says that "whatsoever is not of faith, is sin." You either walk according to the flesh, according to the do's and don'ts of the old testament laws, or you walk by Faith in Christ…not both.
That means to walk according to the flesh, to walk according to and being governed by the dictates of your flesh is to "miss the mark" or sin.
How can we who are washed clean of our sin live in sin any longer…we shouldn’t want to. We do not want to walk by works, but by and in the Spirit.
Romans 5:21-6:2 "That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. 6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
Knowing that we live in this freedom and are not constantly scrutinized by God allows us to live the way God intended. It does not give us a license to sin, but a license to be free.
To walk by faith, in the Spirit, is to walk and live your life with Jesus Christ and faith in Him being the core of your existence.
That is how you yield yourself, yield your members, as instruments of righteousness, instead of unrighteousness.
Romans 6:11-14 "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
Understand how much God loves you today and understand that His plan was for Him to do the work to set and make you free to love Him and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
To walk in the Spirit is to walk by faith. To walk by faith is how the New Covenant we live under works.
Galatians 5:16-18 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
To be led by the Spirit and to walk by faith is to walk not according to what you can see and do, but according to what you cannot see and do.
We walk by faith and not by sight. It is not about what you can see outwardly, but what you know inwardly that brings about the changes on the outside we associate with true Christianity.
When you are walking by faith you are going to be loving your neighbor. You will be walking in forgiveness. You will be living a life of compassion. You will be living a life of victory and the works of righteousness that began on the inside through a work of God will manifest on the outside through your good works as you are led by God.
Romans 8:1-4 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
There is no guilt and condemnation in the life of the believer who walks in the Spirit, but it is guaranteed for those who try to live out this Christian life according to what they can muster up with their own strength and will power.
I am not against setting goals for yourself, but if you begin to gauge your self- worth, or your worthiness with God on how well you are reaching those goals, you will feel heaviness in your heart…you will feel the weight and burden of sin, guilt and condemnation.
To walk according to the do's and don'ts of the law, to walk by sight, to walk according to your own works being the basis of your righteousness is to miss the mark.
To do that is to walk in the flesh and you will experience feelings of guilt and condemnation. You are still walking in the bondage of the law that Jesus came to set us free from.
That bondage is known as legalism and I have committed my life to seeing people set free from it.
When your view of God is a monstrous dictator that scrutinizes everything you do or don't do with a critical eye in hopes He'll be able to unleash His angry punishment on you, then you are living with an unnecessary weight and burden on your shoulders.
The law is referred to in the New Testament as the "ministration of death, written and engraved in stones," but Jesus brought the New Testament, which is called the Spirit of life. Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
You are free from that law of sin, that held you in bondage to it.
You can tell if you are still bound up with some spirits of legalism because you will have a tendency to be critical of others. Thoughts about yourself and others will be filled with put downs, negativity and even guilt. You will make people feel bad about their mistakes and want to see them punished and condemned for them.
The ministration of death was all about making sure just payment was made…an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But Jesus Christ came to set us free from that mindset allowing us to love one another without placing conditions upon it. You will no longer forgive someone only if they forgive you. You won't treat people the way they treat you, nice if they are nice to you and mean if they are mean to you, but you will treat them with love and respect…loving them as Christ has loved you…
While you were yet a sinner, with all your faults and failures and sins still fully intact, He was willing to die for you.
So how do you go about living a good life? Live your life being consumed with the freedom from sin Jesus gave you.
I hear songs on the radio sometimes where the people are singing, "Set me free, Lord," or "I just want to be free…." and I just want to tell them to read their Bible!
God wanted you to be free too, so He sent His only begotten Son to set you free!"
Live from the position you are in with Christ Jesus.
When you understand and live in this freedom, then avoiding the wrong and doing the right thing will become easier.
When you are living in the Spirit, living by faith, the Holy Spirit leads, and always, always, into the best for that particular situation you are in.
Galatians 5:18,22-23, 25 "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law… 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law…25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
When you come out from under the law of legalism that is burdened upon people through unbelieving churches your life will begin to manifest more of the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Living your life out as a strong, faith filled, outspoken, lived out message of the gospel of Jesus Christ will become a way of life for you and not feel like such a struggle.
Sincerely,
Pastor Gary Gilbert
Contact Us:
Services:Sunday 10:30am
Wednesday 7:00pm |
TelephoneOffice:
(307) 328-5500 Pastor Gary Cell: (307) 321-0475 |
EmailOasischurchofrawlins@gmail.com
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