Free To Be

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

E.T.S. Paul said that because of God’s mercies in Christ

we’re free to be God’s people.

P.S. Be what Christ set you free to be.

M.O. Consecrative

S.O. To urge Christians to express the freedom they have

in Christ.

OUTLINE

Introduction. Illus. Bob Biehl chatting with a man who trains animals for Hollywood movies. APPL. We all tend to live restricted lives, rather than in the freedom we have in Christ. Most of our restrictions are self-imposed. E.T.S. What type of life do those in Christ

1. Free not to live selfishly, but to be a living sacrifice. Jesus was free to be a living sacrifice. He expressed His own freedom every time he sacrificed Himself for someone else. We express the freedom we have in Christ every time we let go of our selfish desires and offer our lives sacrificially as an act of worship.

2. Free not to conform to the present world order, and free to be changed. We cannot be God’s people when we conform to the world. We humans are like the elephants Bob Biehl trains: we can’t free ourselves from the stake we’ve driven into our minds. How can we remove these stakes?

(a) Learn to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

(b) Let meditation on scripture create in you a clean heart and the right spirit-attitude for every situation.

(c) Ask God to help you say only what pleases Him and reflects true spiritual wisdom.

(d) Never be satisfied with a surface knowledge of God’s Word.

(e) Ask God to help you be a multiplier of His truth.

3. Free to be obedient. Jesus was free to obey God, even when He knew to obey God was to die. Jesus was free to be what God created him to be because He was a living sacrifice.

Conclusion