July 4, 2010 Pastor Scott Snowden
Independence Day
Life, Liberty , and the Pursuit of Holiness!
But now that you have been set free from sin
and have becomes slaves to God,
the benefit you reap leads to holiness,
and the result is eternal life.
Romans 6:22
Today is the USA ’s “birthday.” The nation was born out of a desire to be free of tyranny. The Declaration of Independence lists several of the “oppressive” political, economic and social conditions the colonists were subject to. As we remember the Founding Fathers and their vision for a free country, let us also take a moment to remember our heavenly Father, and His vision of what real freedom is.
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Jesus sets me free from the shackles of sin.
But now that you have been set free from sin…
- Sin is a lousy master because it is _DISHONEST_.
For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,
deceived me…
Romans 7:11
“Did God really say,
‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ”…
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
Genesis 3:1, 4
- Sin is a lousy master because it is _DISCOURAGING_.
I do not understand what I do.
For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Romans 7:15
What causes fights and quarrels among you?
Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
You want something but don’t get it.
You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.
You quarrel and fight.
You do not have, because you do not ask God.
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,
that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:1-3
- Sin is a lousy master because it is _DISSATISFYING_.
What benefit did you reap at that time
from the things you are now ashamed of?
Romans 6:21
They (unrepentant sinners) are clouds without rain,
blown along by the wind;
autumn trees without fruit and uprooted- twice dead.
Jude 12
- Sin is a lousy master because it is _DEHUMANIZING_.
… since they (unrepentant sinners) did not think it worthwhile
to retain a knowledge of God,
He gave them over to a depraved mind,
to do what ought not be done.
Romans 1:28
But these men (unrepentant sinners)
blaspheme in matters they do not understand.
They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct…
2 nd Peter 2:12
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Jesus sets me free to pursue holiness.
… the benefit you reap leads to holiness…
- The first step in pursuit of holiness is to accept Jesus as both _SAVIOR_ and _LORD_.
If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 st John 1:9
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,
continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him,
strengthened in the faith as you were taught…
Colossians 2:6, 7
- I cannot pursue holiness until I abandon my old _LIFESTYLE_.
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.
Galatians 5:13
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord,
that you must no longer live as the Gentiles (unbelievers) do,
in the futility of their thinking.
Ephesians 4:17
- I pursue holiness every time I agree to live on _GOD’S_TERMS_.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life,
to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self,
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-
this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-
His good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1, 2
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Jesus sets before me an offer of abundant and eternal life.
… and the result is eternal life.
- With Jesus, my life has _SIGNIFICANCE_.
We are therefore God’s ambassadors,
as though God were making His appeal through us.
2 nd Corinthians 5:20
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
- With Jesus, my life has _JOY_.
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him;
and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him
and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
and are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 st Peter 1:8, 9
They devoted themselves to the Apostle’s teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…
They broke bread in their homes
and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
Acts 2:42 , 46-47
- With Jesus, my life has _HOPE_.
May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father,
who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement
and good hope, encourage your hearts
and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
2 nd Thessalonians 2:16, 17
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-
kept in Heaven for you…
1 st Peter 1:3, 4
- With Jesus, my life has _NO_END_.
And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore, encourage each other with these words.
1 st Thessalonians 4:17, 18
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
John 3:16
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