Freedom pt.3

GUYS I'M BAAAAAAAACCCKKK!!!!!
Hi all, I am so sorry for not posting anything for so long! Exams were nearing and I just didn't have time to post something. Especially something so long and deep as the Freedom series.

This is the second session of day two. Ready? Let's go!
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Session #3 - Free gift for a freed people
Passage: Romans 6:15-23

So our speaker opened up with a story of how he dropped off his four kids at two different camps. Not that he doesn't love his four children, but it's easy to imagine that his family takes up most of his time. He described the moment right when they dropped off their last kids at Camp Mini-Yo-We (we were at camp mini yo we lol), there was this sense of freedom that came over him and his wife.

It is freeing and relaxing to have their responsibilities away from us. In this case, to have the kids away from their parents.

The sermon was broken down into three parts, where we compared our own situation with the Israelites and Slaves in America.

The Israelites were trapped in Egypt for 400 years, they were made slaves and their children were killed because the Pharaoh was afraid the Israelites would overtake the Egyptians. But after 400 years, they were set free. Our speaker then came up with two key questions: Free to do what? Wander in the desert? (which they did for 40 years) Go to the promised land?

The slaves in America were set free after 200+ years in slavery by an emancipation proclamation. Yet what were they free to do? Where would they go? Who would they be now? 100 years later they were free at last, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Free at last, free at last."

Freedom is nothing if we are not securely free.

We were given freedom from sin through Jesus. But we are slaves to sin before knowing Him, and to be chained to sin only leads to death.

If we serve sin, our very spirits are enslaved. However, we have been set free, we are slaves to righteousness, servants of God.

The word Doulos has its roots in Greek, the word "deo", which means to bind or to tie up. Doulos is used in this session's passage, and it is used to describe how we are tied to sin vs untied and unbound to sin.

An example would be marriage, where two people are bound in unity by love and in God. Not that the two parties would be slaves to each other, but they are bound to each other.

It's the same thing with God, to be a "slave" to Him is to be bound to Him. And to be a "slave" of Godly righteousness is to be tied to it.

As a slave, you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve both sin and righteousness, you must let go of one to be able to hold on tight to the other. You must let go completely to be free.

You and I have been set free by Jesus after a lifetime of slavery to sin. Galatians 5:1 it states explicitly this feat of freedom, yet we are free to do what? Are we free simply to be slaves to someone else?

The gift of eternal life is what we are all free to receive.

Our speaker quoted one of his favorite all-time quotes, and frankly, I quite like it as well. It says, "To be bound to (tied to) Jesus is to be bound (headed for) for Heaven." It's simply poetic and the wordplay is pretty good.

Our gift of freedom is a true gift because it is freely given; and our freedom always links back to the cost that Jesus paid, in His death.
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Small group questions!!!!

1. Is there a difference between being free and being secure?
- We all agreed there was a difference. The most prominent example I remember is the difference between a mom who lets her child be free to do whatever, but doesn't love the child or protects the child, and a mom who gives her child less freedom yet loves the child and protects them over everything else. I don't really remember the other things but this is what we concluded at.

2. How can Paul call us free, but then call us slaves to righteousness?
We didn't get to this one, but feel free to reflect on this on your own!

Self-reflection:
What is your identity in this world? What are you bound to? Whom do you serve?



And that's all. Stay tuned and
BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE


p.s. I'm not gonna have a break post because I've dragged long enough on this series. Once again I am so sorry for not posting anything.
~bye for now.