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Romans 6:5-11

Bewildered Freedom

Worry is a symptom of captivity. Jesus said “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:34

How are your shoe laces?

What you love, long for and worry about has captured your heart and your life. How else are beauty products sold if not by making men and women treasure being outwardly attractive? How else do gym and health food shops prosper unless they make us treasure our health? How else do dating services, pornography and romance novels ensure their market if not by preying on our loneliness and desire for intimacy?

When you get upset or angry is it not because reality has not conformed to your will? We like to feel we are in control of our lives and we achieve this by being good at something. It may be getting good marks at school, having an important role at work, having friends that like and respect you, winning at sport, escaping in a movie or video game.

Missing the bus, getting bullied, burning dinner, being bossed around, not sleeping, feeling lonely remind us that we are not in control. Our will is rarely done. Perhaps that’s why we feel rarely happy. When was the last time you had a good laugh or felt really joyful?

It’s hard to be happy when you are slave to so many masters. Everything you worry about points to a master which is ruling your life. Christ came to set us free but at a bewildering cost. When Christ becomes your treasure that is when you are free. Turning away from what you thought made your life worth living is impossible without a complete change of heart.

We will be explore just how we have died in Christ and how this has set us free from sin’s dominion over our lives. We will be encouraged to live not for ourselves but for God. Where going to try and put all this in concrete terms. In summary it will mean that we will stop trying to achieve, earn or make something of our lives by seeking Christ’s kingdom first.

This means evidencing that Christ is active in our lives through us taking on his character; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control.

It is shocking to think that Christ came to save us and set us free from that which we desire the most. What we want is what Christ came to free us from and this explains something of our bewildered freedom. the Rev

Romans 6:5-11 Live under Grace Part 3

Bible Reading: Romans 6:1-14

Exercises

• Describe and share something of your struggle with your ‘old man’ (Rom 6:6).

• Describe and Share something of your freedom from sins dominion (Rom 6:9).

• Describe and share something of your plan to live for Christ (Rom 6:11).

• Describe and share something of your plan to help someone live for Christ.

Prayer: Heavenly Father forgive me for loving so much other than you, for seeking comfort, fulfilment, vindication, success and enjoyment in the world, the flesh and sin. Help me to live in the freedom that Christ has won for me by bearing his fruit.