Freedom – Bob Christopher

You Can Say "No" to Sin…

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Bob Christopher

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Learning to say “no” is the by-product of saying “yes” to the Spirit.
It is important to understand this distinction. So many well-intentioned believers spend a life time trying to overcome sin in their lives. They wake up each morning with this prayer on their lips: “Lord, please help me to not sin today.” At the end of the day, they look back only to see their prayer went unanswered.
A better prayer is this: “Lord, teach me to abide in you and to follow the leading of God’s Spirit in my life.” God’s Spirit is never going to lead you into sin. He leads you to trust in the Lord, to live righteous and upright lives. He leads you to love and serve others. In living out the Spirit’s work in your life, you will automatically be saying “no” to sin. Peter put it this way:

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4

Walking in the Spirit is trusting God to complete the work He began in you. You can count on Him to complete this task, even when you do not fully cooperate. This is His promise: “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…”
When we do get off course, and we will, the Holy Spirit merely recalculates our journey and continues His work in conforming us to the image of His Son. He does so without condemnation. Nor does He manipulate us with fear or guilt to get us back on track. He uses our mistakes, reminding us of the forgiveness we have in Christ, and works them together for our good. He comforts our hearts with this amazing promise: “that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
You are not alone on your journey. Jesus is there with you every step of the way. Trust Him, rely upon Him, and live out what He is working in your life. When you do you will be saying “no” to sin and “yes’ to the will of God.

The Star Spangled Banner

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Bob Christopher

Last week I visited Fort McHenry in Baltimore Maryland. This fort is best known for the role it played in the war of 1812. The soldiers who occupied this fort successfully defended the Baltimore Harbor from attack by the British Navy.

flag — the banner yet waves…National Parks

Francis Scott Key was aboard a British ship anchored in the Baltimore Harbor to negotiate the release of prisoners. While on board, he learned of the British Navy’s plan to attack Fort McHenry. He was not allowed to leave the ship until the battle ended. As he penned, he watched “the rockets’ red glare and the bombs bursting in air” throughout the night.
The dawn of September 14, 1814, Key saw the American flag, 30′ by 42′ in size, waving over Fort McHenry. The sight of “old glory” inspired him to write the famous words of The Star-Spangled Banner.
This powerful poem captured the essence of the indomitable American spirit. Some 100 years later, by decree of Pres. Woodrow Wilson, it was adopted as our national anthem. Once adopted, the Star-Spangled Banner was inextricably linked to the American flag as symbols of our freedom.
We cherish these symbols and the American way of life they represent. The very act of singing the national anthem as we fix our eyes on a flag waving in the distance invokes a sense of patriotism and thankfulness in each of us.
We are privileged as American citizens to have freedom of religion, free speech and the right to pursue happiness, just to name a few. These are the qualities of freedom that these wonderful symbols point us to. They also issue a warning that these freedoms could be taken away or lost. We should never take them for granted.
What we have in America speaks of a greater and more enduring freedom, one whose symbols are a wooden cross and an empty. These symbols point us to the newness of life we have in Jesus Christ, a life marked by freedom from sin and death, freedom from legalism and freedom from the fear of death. These are freedoms that Christ purchased for us and they can never be taken away.
When you think of the cross and empty tomb, what aspects of your new life in Christ are you most thankful for? For me, it’s the truth that I’ve crossed over from death to life. What about you? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Faith and Freedom

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Bob Christopher

Our theme for the People to People radio broadcast this month is “Faith and Freedom.” Richard and I introduced the theme last Tuesday. Our staff thought the on-air discussion was worthy enough to be the call of the week.
You can listen to that discussion here.
Here is the main point; faith in Jesus Christ leads to spiritual freedom. In the spirit of this blog, First Life Then Change, Richard coined the phrase, First Faith, Then Freedom.
The quest for freedom is one of the strong themes within the human story. We all long to be free. That longing is satisfied within the Gospel story. Jesus died to set us free. He was raised so that we could experience that freedom in His resurrected life. Walk by faith in Him and you will be free.
Once you listen to the call of the week, join the conversation. Others will be blessed to read your story of freedom.
A note of information. We send the call of the week each Friday to our e-mail list and we post it to our call of the week blog. If you would like it be delivered to your e-mail inbox, visit realanswers.net and click the subscribe to newsletter link. Or you can access the blog by clicking the blog tab on our website. I encourage you to share these real-life calls with your family and friends. It’s a great way to share the message.

Who is in Control?

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Bob Christopher

Are you saying that since you are totally forgiven you can just go out and do anything you want? Anytime the grace of God is discussed, the critics drone away with this ridiculous question. All it does is betray their shallow understanding of salvation.
In Christ, we have received much more than forgiveness. We have been made alive so that we could walk in the newness of life led and guided by God’s Holy Spirit. Is God’s Spirit going to lead you to sin? To the person who believes that salvation is nothing more than the forgiveness of sins, freedom doesn’t make sense. So they ask the question.
The question isn’t new. Paul was hit with it almost everywhere he traveled. He gave an alarming answer to these critics in 1 Corinthians 6:12: “everything is permissible to me.” Yes, he was free to submit to the desires of the flesh. And so are you. But what was more important to Paul was that in Christ he was free to submit to the desires of the Spirit. And guess what? You are too. Both are permissible, but only one is profitable.
Here is the real issue. When we give in to the desires of the flesh we put ourselves under the control of sin. For the child of God, this doesn’t make sense. Paul didn’t want to be mastered by anything. He had had enough of that as a lost person. He wanted to live his life under the control of the Holy Spirit and experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.
We are not independent beings, we are dependent. But God has given us the freedom to choose who or what we will depend upon at any given moment. Who is in control? That is the question we should be asking. When we submit to the desires of the Spirit, we will experience the abundant life Jesus promised. Who is in control of your life?