The Independence of the Saved Individual
Introduction
A few weeks ago we celebrated the 233rd anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from the British Empire. Embodied in that declaration was the firm belief that all men had certain inalienable rights; among them being the right to live as free men, without fear of a tyrannical government.
These beliefs, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, were not mere ideologies, for the patriots of old bled and died that this nation might be given birth. Our national freedom has come at a high price. Please consider the following:
Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their conviction resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forest and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion.1
There is however, a freedom that anyone, regardless of national heritage, can experience and enjoy. I am speaking of the freedom and independence that comes from knowing Christ as Savior. Jesus Himself said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8: 36). Just as our national freedom has cost the blood of thousands of America’s sons, spiritual freedom from the bondage of sin and death has cost the blood of God’s Son. Though salvation is free to all who believe, it was not cheap.
Every child of God enjoys independence today, both physical and spiritual, because of God’s grace and mercy. I want to speak briefly today concerning the spiritual independence we as believers possess because of faith in Christ.
The Christian has impendence from…
I. The Penalty Of Sin
A. Jesus Is Our Propitiation For Sin
1. Sin Carries A Stiff Penalty
Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…” Ezekiel 18:4b “…the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
2. All Are Sinful Perpetrators
Romans 3:19, 23 “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
3. Jesus Paid The Price
John 4:10, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Romans 5:6, 8 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
When John says that Jesus was the “propitiation for our sins,” he means that Jesus was “…that sacrifice which fully satisfies the demands of the broken law.”2 The law of God demanded death for sin. Jesus satisfied that demand.
Paul, in Romans chapter 5 says that we were “without strength” when Jesus died for us. That simply means that we were without any power or ability for good. We were helplessly devoid of any merit by which we could ever hope to approach God on our own.
Christ, by His death in our place, proved and exhibited His great love toward us. That is the meaning of the word “commendeth.”
B. Faith In Jesus Is God’s Plan For The Sinner’s Salvatio
1. Salvation Is Not By Man’s Goodness
Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
2. Salvation Is Strictly The Work Of God
John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
II. The Power Of Sin
A. Sin Cannot Claim The Believer
Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
The reason the law of sin and death cannot claim the believer is because he is no longer under its jurisdiction. According to Romans 6: 14b, we are no longer “…under the law, but under grace.”
B. Sin Cannot Condemn The Believer
1, Judgment Cannot Be Passed On The Christian
Romans 8:1a-2 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…” 2. Our sins have already been judged in Christ.
2. Our Sins Have Already Been Judged In Christ
Corinthians 5:21, “For he (God the Father) hath made him (Jesus, God the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
The idea here is illustrated by this true story: As mayor of New York, Fiorello La Guardia liked to keep in touch with all the various departments under him. Often he would fill in for the department heads or officeholders as a way of accomplishing this. One time he chose to preside over Night Court. It was a cold winter night and a trembling man was brought before him charged with stealing a loaf of bread. His family, he said, was starving.
“I have to punish you,” declared La Guardia. “There can be no exceptions to the law. I fine you ten dollars.” As he said this, however, The Little Flower was reaching into his own pocket for the money. He tossed the bill into his famous sombrero. “Here’s the ten dollars to pay your fine—which I now remit,” he said. “Furthermore,” he declared, “I’m going to fine everybody in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a city where a man has to steal bread in order to eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant!” The hat was passed and the incredulous man, with a smile on his face, left the courtroom with a stake of $47.50.3
C. Sin Cannot Control The Believer
Romans .6:6-7, 11, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
III. The Presence Of Sin
A. One Day Our Bodies Will Be Completely Changed
1 Corinthians 15:51-53, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trump shall sound, and the dead shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
1 John 3:2b, “…when he (Jesus) shall appear, we shall be like him…”
B. One Day All Believers Will Be Caught Up With Christ
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
Folks, are you ready to meet Jesus, if He should come today? He’s coming back, ready or not. “There’s a man in yonder glory I have loved for many years,
He has cleared my guilty conscience and has banished all my fears. He is coming in a moment in the twinkling of an eye,And no time will be allotted for you to utter one good bye. No time to kiss the husband or embrace the loving wife, If they are but united in the bonds of holy life.
Are you ready, Christian, ready, for shout and trump and voice? Will His coming make you tremble or cause you to rejoice? Are you walking, talking with Him daily, taking Him your care, Do you live so close to heaven that a breath would waft you there?”4
C. No Sin Baggage Will Be Carried Into The Celestial City
Revelation 21:27, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
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1 Kenneth L. Dodge, Resource, Sept./ Oct., 1992, p. 5.
2 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies: published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Volume II, In The Last Days, pg. 164.
3 Bits & Pieces, August 20, 1992, pp. 19-20.
4 Quoted in Fairest of All, Herbert Lockyer, Eerdmans, 1936, p. 71.