Westside Church of Christ

Last Tuesday was a day of celebration as America commemorated its freedom. We feasted on barbecue, enjoyed a day with family and friends, watched a little baseball, napped and set off fireworks. It is a great blessing to be liberated from the external controls of other humans. It is an even greater blessing to be delivered from the grip of sin and its consequences.

Sin is a malicious tool of an evil dictator. It presents itself in virtually irresistible ways that appeal to our sensual side. It is dangled in front of us, and we look. It sure has an appealing appearance. We give it a little space in our thinking which soon grows into a dominant obsession that drags us to a place we never expected. The glance turns into a stare, and our hands reach for the forbidden fruit. We think we grab it. Wrong. It grabs us, and slavery results. We never saw that coming.

God warned of it from the beginning. Do not eat of the forbidden fruit. It is fatal. He knows the treachery that the evil one has in mind. He has a world filled with objects that draw the attention of our eyes, stimulate our sensual side, promise pleasure and steal our soul. Yes, God certainly knows.

He sent His Son to liberate us. We were spiritual corpses unable to resurrect ourselves. Only an all-powerful God can do that. We were puppets manipulated by our emotions, desires, peer pressure and the deception of the devil. Jesus came on a bloody mission to break those invisible chains, giving His life in exchange for our freedom. For God so loved the world…

Jesus stepped into the mass of humanity searching for lost souls. He rubbed elbows with the undesirables and confronted the religious hypocrites. He provided hope for the hopeless, direction for the aimless and life for the dead. Those who presumed to be His people had failed in their responsibility to live consistently with their covenant responsibilities. Hearts were hurting. He saw them in their internal pain and offered a healing balm. He still does. True freedom through Jesus is far greater than external circumstances. You shall know the truth…

The devil’s tool is deception. If he exposed the realities of sin no one would ever buy into it. It doesn’t just destroy our eternity (Although, it certainly does that.); it fractures our relationship with God now. Our thinking becomes distorted. Facts are blurry. Our hearts are hardened, and ultimately our soul is lost. Words can’t do justice to the horror of sin.

The cross can. The Son of God came to liberate us. The simple elements of the Lord’s Supper remind us of that. Each week, we remember the price that He paid for the freedom that only He can give. It is a precious blessing that we must never forget.

Call to Praise: James 1:1-4

His word on it: Hebrews 10:36

Sermon: “Life in the Real World”