(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus Question:
What does Christian freedom look like?
Intro:
If you remember nothing else today, remember this: If you never sin, Jesus died for nothing.
Just let that sink in.
Hey all, welcome to ForTheHope, Roger the Shrubber here behind the microphone and because I’m doing all the talking today, I’m going to mess with the format of the show. I trust you’ll be the beneficiary, though, because our focus question — “What does Christian freedom look like?” — is addressed at length in today’s section of 1 Corinthians.
To set this up, let’s review where we’ve been in 1 Corinthians. Paul writes this letter to the church because he’s received report about several things going on — warring factions over who to follow, morality that was still befitting the lascivious culture of the region including even incest. and church members taking each other to court. He then answer some apparent questions he’s received — marriage that we read about yesterday, and then what we get to today concerning liberty.
Unlike the topics addressed earlier, however, you’re going to hear Paul address freedom from several angles and using different arguments. And what I decided was to give you the whole kaboodle in one swell foop — or fell swoop as the case may be, so our NT segment’s going to be long and we’ll forego the OT segment today as a result. What does Christian freedom look like? Buckle up, ‘cause here we go.
New Testament segment:
Passage: 1 Corinthians 8-11:1
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 74
Words: ~1569
There’s but one God of us all, therefore love builds up a brother or sister for whom Christ died. We’ve got the freedom to forego our own freedom, choosing slavery to all as we play the game to win. And along the way we’ve got to be careful to avoid presuming that we’re holier-than-thou and either being legalistic or letting ourselves slide into moral compromise.
And what’s all this add up to? As a former pastor of mine used to say, we’re not free to do what we want; we’re free to do what we ought.
Old Testament segment:
Passage:
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses:
Words:
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Psalm 66, 67, 123
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 20 + 7 + 4
Words: ~328 + 115 + 66
The bottom line:
Again, what does Christian freedom look like? In a culture that celebrates the idea of freedom as being free to do whatever you feel inclined to do, Paul remind us that we’re slaves to sin…until and unless we’re set free by Jesus, in which case we’re still not our own. We’re now free to not demand our rights, not pursue our base desires or desire for reputation, but we’re now free from ourselves to do what we ought…what we’re made for…to be in intimate relationship with Jesus and bring glory to him including, as we’ll see next time, in corporate worship.
Love you!
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
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