A DIFFERENT KIND OF FREEDOM
2 CORINTHIANS 5:14-15, 17
2 CORINTHIANS 5:14-15, 17 NKJ
14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
OBSERVATION:
Happy birthday, America! Regardless of all its troubles, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I thank God for this country. And I thank God I was born in the U.S.A.
In this passage, Paul, writing by inspiration, is talking about truths that pertain to us who have been born again in Christ.
Our new birth comes with a different kind of freedom. Now we are free to live a new kind of life.
The first thing that changes is who we are living for. Before Christ, we were totally about ourselves. We may have endorsed a cause, but pretty much, it was our world. Everything revolved around us and our needs and wants.
But the love of Christ intervened. He died for us, and our old spiritual nature died with Him. But He was raised from the dead, and now we live with Him. But we no longer are living to just please ourselves. Now, we live for Him, the One who died for us and rose again. Free from living a small self-focused life, we can live bigger with a kingdom mindset and purpose.
The second kind of freedom we see from this passage is freedom from the past. If anyone is in Christ, has a relationship with Him, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, and all things have become new.
This 2 Corinthians 5:17 may be the most quoted verse at The Ark Church. The reality of the new birth is a truth I hope we never get over. We have been made new in Christ. Our sins and mistakes have been wiped out. Now we can stand before God without a sense of guilt or fear.
If we can stand upright before God, then we can stand upright before any person. If God has made us and accepts up, then what people think is not nearly as important. That is a different and better kind of freedom.
APPLICATION:
How can we develop in living for the One who died for us? How can we live our lives as the new creation we are spiritually speaking?
These are important questions we can ask ourselves. And more importantly, we can ask the Lord.
PRAYER:
Thank You, Lord, for my country, and thank You even more for Your kingdom that I belong to.