The Kingdom Perspective

Transcript:

Hello this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective.”

God designed us for love and only to the degree we obey that commandment are we actually free.

But this requires work. Loving God and others does not come naturally to our selfish hearts. To become a loving person will mean perseverance, discipline and training.

Think of it in terms of a musical instrument. For example, playing the cello does not come naturally. And so, if I want the freedom to effortlessly play the cello, then I must restrict my freedom in other areas, so that I can discipline myself to practice the cello.

The same is true spiritually. If my purpose is to love God with my whole being and love my neighbor as myself, this will require great discipline and sacrifice. The freedom to love God and others is not something that is developed overnight.

This is why there are dozens of “one another” commands in Scripture. All of these are aspects of what it means to love, and all of them must be mastered in order to love freely. Like the cello, you cannot just whimsically pick up the “love command” and expect to obey it perfectly the first time. Practice is required.

Likewise, the Bible suggests we must work on this in the context of a local church—with one another. Love is faithful and doesn’t just bail out as soon as the going gets tough.

Love bears all things. Love believes all things. Love hopes all things. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13).

However, we do fail…and most miserably we fail to love.

And so, for us to live into this commandment will require work and discipline.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

~ Hebrews 12:11 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective.”

What is freedom?

Biblically speaking, freedom is defined by our ability to fulfill our design. In other words, we were made for a specific purpose and to the degree that we are fulfilling that purpose, to that degree we are free. A fish is designed for water and to the degree that it remains in water, it is free to be a fish. However, remove it from the water, and it not only ceases to fulfill its design, but also eventually dies.

You could speak of this as the “law of the fish”. If I were to say to a fish: “Thou shalt remain in the water,” I am only commanding the fish to live according to its design.

So, it is with God’s commandments. They are not just dictates of God’s raw authority, but rather statements of our design. After all, the same God who made us is the same God who gave us His law. It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul calls God’s law “holy, righteous and good” (Romans 7)—for it fits with His design for us and our world. If we refuse to swim in the ocean of that law, we cease to be fully human—and to the degree we don’t, to that degree we begin to die, our lives fall apart.

Is it any surprise, then, that Jesus sums up the law of God with two essential commandments: 1) Love God and 2) Love others? Why? Because without love we are not free to be truly human; our lives shrivel and die. We were made for obedience to God’s law, which is love.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”

~ Romans 7:12-13 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective.”

As modern Americans we tend to think of freedom in what the philosophers call “negative” terms. By that they mean, we define freedom by our ability to do what we want without interference from others, especially from some authority (e.g. governmental, parental, etc.).

However, this is not the most basic way the Bible speaks of freedom. The Bible speaks of freedom more so in what the philosophers would call “positive freedom.” Not merely, what are we free from, but what are we free to. The Bible assumes that as human beings, we have a design/purpose. We were made to do something in particular—to fulfill some purpose. And so, we are free to the degree that we are fulfilling that purpose. A train is designed to run on tracks, and only to the degree that it is confined to those tracks is it free.

Now, what tracks were we as human beings designed to run on? We were designed to run on the twin tracks of 1) Loving God with our whole being and 2) Loving our neighbor as ourselves. We were designed for love. And only to the degree that our souls are confined to these twin tracks of loving God and loving our neighbor are we actually free.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

~ Romans 8:1-4 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective.”

Philosophers speak of two different kinds of freedom. The famed thinker Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) put it this way: 1) Negative Liberty/Freedom FROM and 2) Positive Liberty/Freedom TO.

“Negative Liberty” or “Freedom From” can perhaps best be seen in the political freedom we enjoy in the U.S. We have the Constitutional freedom from governmental or societal coercion in certain areas of our lives. For example, I have the freedom of religion, speech, etc. without the fear of governmental or societal repercussions. In “negative freedom”, I am free to the degree that I do not experience interference from forces outside of my personal will or desire. This “negative freedom” is the bedrock of our civil rights and individual liberties in our modern Western democracies.

The second kind of freedom is “Positive Liberty” or the “Freedom To.” Such freedom is the ability to do what I am supposed to do, or to be who I am supposed to be. This kind of freedom implies design. It assumes that a thing is free only to the degree that it is operating according to its designed purpose. So, for the sake of illustration, a train is free to the degree that it stays on its track. The moment a train goes off the track its ceases to function according to its design and therefore is no longer free.

Now, although, “Negative Liberty” is a helpful political concept, biblically speaking, “Positive Liberty”—the freedom to be who I was designed to be—is the true and highest freedom.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?”

~ Micah 6:8 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective.

What should we do in the face of the coronavirus epidemic?

We must be careful to humble ourselves before the cross of Christ, so that we can experience the exaltation of His grace.

You see, Jesus is a god who by His very nature shows us both the seriousness of our crimes against God and the certainty of His compassion toward us. And He does this in one fell swoop—at the cross. At the cross, Jesus swallowed the fullness of the judgment against our sin and, by that, demonstrated the fullness of His love in kindness toward us. Therefore, approaching God through the cross, both humbles us (it shows us our guilt) and lifts us up (it shows us His grace).

The great French thinker and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) put it this way:

“Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.”

The good news of Jesus attacks both our arrogance and our insecurity.

This is of great help when we are facing crises like the pandemic. We can know that whatever God may send our way is not meant to punish us but to purify us.

This is why the writers of Scripture say things like this: “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble….. [Therefore,] Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

~ James 4:6-10 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective.

What should we do in the face of the coronavirus epidemic?

We must be vigilant to live not in judgment of others, but in service of others.

In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul details a conflict in the early church over differing opinions on types of food to be eaten and other matters of personal conscience. Paul basically says that in Christ we have a tremendous level of freedom on such matters of conscience. If the Bible doesn’t mandate it, we are free, and, therefore, we should be careful not to force our personal opinion on others.

However, Paul likewise warns that just because you have the freedom, doesn’t mean that you can use that freedom to trample the weaker conscience of another.

The mark of your spirituality, biblically speaking, is not your ability to judge others nor your freedom to keep others from telling you what to do. Rather, it is marked by your sacrificial service of others. Going out of your way, yielding your rights, flexing, for the sake of others, and especially for the sake of the unity of the body of Christ.

We are to be like Jesus, not pleasing ourselves, but God.

Listen to the Apostle Paul:

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please Himself… Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. (Romans 15:1-7)

Indeed, Jesus came and bore your weakness. He yielded his rights to take your sin upon Himself. And so, those who follow Him are glad to do the same for the sake of others.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.”

~ Romans 15:1-7 (NLT)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective.

What should we do in the face of the coronavirus pandemic?

We should lean into the freedom of the “obligation of love”.

Now, putting “obligation” and “freedom” together may sound strange, but not if you are thinking in a truly Christian manner.

In Romans 13 Paul is explaining our responsibility as Christians to others, particularly to our nonbelieving neighbors and the government. He says, we are to “submit to the governing authorities” and “render to all what is due them,” etc.

Then, he commands:

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Now, as a general rule, barring disobedience to God, this means that we should do everything we can to flex ourselves into the perspective and needs of others, even the perspective of our unbelieving neighbors. Not because we are fearful of what they think of us, as if your identity was bound up in their approval. Good heavens, no!!!

Rather, Paul is saying that true freedom is love. And the obligation of love is to put others above one’s self.

Sadly, in the hardness of our hearts we don’t want our comforts to be inconvenienced for the well-being of others. We don’t want to feel obligated to love. However, this is precisely what the Law demands, and we are slaves of our selfish desires until we enter the liberty of living for the good of others.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

~ Romans 13:8-14 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective.

What should we do in the face of the coronavirus pandemic?

We need to lean into the paradox of Christian freedom.

The great Martin Luther in one of his most famous works, “The Freedom of a Christian” (1520), begins his piece with two seemingly contradictory statements:

· A Christian is an utterly free man, lord of all, subject to none.
· A Christian is an utterly dutiful man, servant of all, subject to all.

Now, how in the world can a person be both subject to none, and subject to all? This can only be understood through the paradox of the gospel.

Biblically speaking (and Luther totally got this), a Christian is not someone who merely follows religious rules. No. A Christian is someone who is “in Christ”—they find their true and full identity in Jesus and what He has done for them.

And who is Jesus? Two central truths:

· First: He is… the sovereign and free Lord of all creation. Jesus is under no obligation to anyone. He’s the judge; we’re the sinners. He could take us out of existence this very second and He’d be no less Lord of all. But also…
· Second: this same sovereign and free Lord became for us… Servant of all by freely choosing to die for our sin.

You see, although Jesus is lord of all, subject to none, yet, out of love, He gladly became our servant that He might win us to Himself.

So it is for those in Christ. We are subject to none but Christ. Yet, for Christ’s sake we gladly make ourselves servants to all that we might win them for Him.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

~ 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective.

What should we do in the face of the coronavirus pandemic?

We should be very cautious in how we use our freedom.

True freedom is not defined by “rights” (i.e. me getting what I want without interference from others) but by obeying God’s command to sacrificially serve my neighbor.

Listen to Galatians 5: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1)

In the context, St. Paul is commanding us to fight for the full freedom that Christ has won.

But what exactly does that full freedom look like?

Well, Galatians 5:13 explains it:

“For you were called to freedom…; only do not use your freedom to satisfy yourself, but through love serve one another.”

Do you want to assert your freedom? Then, you need only to sacrificially love and serve your neighbor. Put their interests, their perspective, above your own. Sacrifice your “rights” and “concerns” for their good. Be more concerned for maintaining unity with them, than maintaining your comfort or convenience.

When we are driven merely by our “concerns” or our demand for “rights”, we tend to stand in judgment of one another. And if we stand in judgment of one another, then we stand in judgment of God and His commandment. This is a bitter and dangerous place to be. As Paul reminds us in the very next verse: the opposite of loving your neighbor is judging and verbally attacking them. In such a case, “if you bite and devour one another, watch out lest you be destroyed by one another.” (Galatians 5:15).

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”

~ Galatians 5:1, 13-15

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective.

What should we do in the face of the coronavirus pandemic?

We must determine not to be driven by a selfish understanding of freedom, but by how the Bible defines freedom—which is, loving obedience to God’s commandments, especially the command to love one’s neighbor.

Biblically speaking, freedom is not defined by rights (i.e. me getting what I want without the inference of others), but by obedience to God’s commandments. Freedom as defined by individual rights may be helpful political ideology. Indeed, as a red-blooded American I certainly think so. However, this is not the most basic biblical understanding of freedom.

Listen to Psalm 119

I will always obey your law,
for ever and ever.
I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.

Freedom is obedience to God’s commandments. Remember, God commanded Pharaoh to set the Children of Israel free, in order that they might serve the Lord. Submission to God is freedom. And it was after the nation was delivered from slavery in Egypt that God gave them commandments. Why? So that they might fully realize the benefits of that freedom. Freedom is defined not by rights but by obedience to God’s commandments.

Now, if obedience to God’s commandments is true liberty, then what is the essence of what God commands? Love. The New Testament repeatedly reminds us that the law of God is summed up (or fulfilled) in one commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

And that is true freedom.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.