Several months ago, we were blessed to have Dr Mel Blackaby come to serve as Pastor of First Baptist Church of Jonesboro. As part of the Blackaby family, I knew we were in for some insightful Bible teaching, but it didn't take long to figure out that his messages had profound meaning that my friends in the 'blog world' might benefit from too. For that purpose, and a desire of my own to have all my notes in one place, I decided to start a new blog that contained these messages. There will also be a few things from other speakers that I've heard over time, but those will be noted on the sidebar as they are added. I hope you get as much from these messages as I do!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Free in Christ - Part 2

Colossians 2:11-23 - "In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."

***When you are in sin, you are dead

***Stay with Christ - He alone set you free from sin

Romans 6:22 - "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."

***Are we still in bondage to sin or have we been set free by the power of Christ?

1 John 1:5-10 - "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."
***If the light of God is in your life, it dispels the darkness
Ephesians 6:12 - "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
***The kingdom of darkness is all that opposes God
***When you are walking in darkness, you cannot clearly see your spiritual life (!!)
***If you are living in a constant state of sin, you are not living in the presence of God
1 John 1:8 - "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
***We tend to dwell on the ACT of sin rather than the NATURE of sin
***The trouble is not what is coming out of you, but what is already in you
***The secular world cannot help you if sin is your problem
***Romans 3 describes what sin has done in your life...
-we lose our desire to seek God
-we cause pain because our sin hurts everyone we come in contact with
-we do not understand spiritual truth
-we turnt to that which is empty
-we lose our fear of God
-we cause pain to those around us
***We need to repent:
-confess you were wrong and sinned against God
-say you are sorry you have sinned
-ask God to forgive you for your sin
-ask God to cleanse you of your sin
-ask God to empower you to walk in the Spirit
***Is is not a choice to do right, but to make Christ your Lord

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