Freedom from the Law

03/08/2009 by John Marsden.

The Reality of Christ 

“These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” – Colossians 2:17 

1. Defined by Life

“…through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” – Romans 8:2

 ·        Thankfully, the “shadow of religion” is what we would have without Jesus, but He came to set us free from the law and establish something new and awesome.·        Whereas we used to be marked by death in serving the Law, now we’re defined by life.·        Where the “shadow of religion” brings death, depression, and sorrow, the “law of the Spirit of life” brings true joy, freedom, and peace in God.·        Jesus said that “the Spirit gives life” in John 6:63.·        Jesus came to bring life, not death, to us!  He Himself is the “Bread of Life” (John 6:48).·        Any “religion” that is a drudgery is not really experiencing the reality of Christ and His life!  Instead of begrudgingly obeying rules, you find life and joy in obedient submission to Jesus. 

2. Centered in God

“I am the vine; you are the branches.” – John 15:5a

 ·        Where do the branches, growing out from the vine, get their life and stability from?·        The branches get all their life, strength, stability, and purpose from the vine they’re attached to.·        True faith in God is centered in God.  All of life moves outward from the centrality of Jesus living in your life.·        Colossians 2:7 talks about being “rooted and built up in him,” where God is your root and all else comes from that fact.·        True life in the Spirit, true religion, is freed from self-focus and is rooted in and focused on God. 

3. Proven by Growth

“If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5b

 ·        What happens when you’re connected to Jesus and have Him as the center of your life?·        You bear fruit!  True faith in God, as opposed to simply following religious mandates, is marked by growth.·        A mark of truly living for Jesus is that you will grow.  You’ll grow in character, in serving others, in reaching out, in wisdom, in holiness, etc.·        Even Jesus grew “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).·        While simply trying to follow good rules will eventually cause you to stop growing, living for God will bring continuous growth, in yourself and in others around you. 

4. Rooted in Humility

“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.” – 1 Peter 5:5b

 ·        What happens when your whole concept of God and religion is based in following rules and measuring up to somebody’s standards of “righteousness”?·        One of the things that happens when you give in to the “shadow of religion” is that you give in to pride.  You try to measure up to others, so you don’t let them see the mistakes you make.  Your whole concept of godliness is based on outer appearances, so you feel like you have to constantly put on a show of being holy.·        True life in Christ is rooted in humility.  When your righteousness is based in what Jesus did and not in what you’re doing (Philippians 3:9), you can afford to let people see that you aren’t perfect.·        It’s so important to be humble as a Christian.  When you’re humble, God will grow you and exalt you, but if you let pride run your life, He’ll work against you. 

5. Leading to True Holiness

“For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” – Romans 6:14

 ·        People have used Romans 6:14 as an excuse to allow sin to master over them, claiming, “I’m not under law but under grace,” but Paul said it to mean that we should be truly holy if we are living in the reality of Christ.·        We tend to think that if we focus on following a list of rules, we’ll become holy, and if we ignore the lists of rules and focus on God, we’ll be ruled by sin, but the opposite is true.·        When you focus on the rules, you rely on your own strength more than God’s and look at your own works more than Jesus’.  You can never become holy with that mindset.·        Ephesians 4:24 talks about putting on “the new self” which was created in holiness.  You can’t create a “new self” – only God can do that.·        Holiness is vital as Christians – without it, we won’t be able to come into God’s presence (Hebrews 12:14).

·        Following rules and regulations, the “shadow of religion” will never make you holy – it’s only by giving yourself to the “reality of Christ” that you can become truly holy.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” – Romans 8:1-4 

·        We are set free from condemnation and from the law of sin and death!·        God met the requirements of the law by sending Jesus as a sin offering!

·        Now we don’t live according to the law of sin but according to the Spirit!

Havea great day

John

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