Salem Conference 2012 - Pastor Joseph P. Sugrue Friday PM Part 2

2. Free:

 

Everyone has a desire to be free-man.

 

GAL 5:1

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

 

JOH 8:36 "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.

 

As a believer you are free but not from Christ, rather you are free in Christ.

 

In our society, freedom generally means independence from everything.

 

In fact you would never want to buy your freedom from slavery to Christ, even if you could, for where would you or could you exercise your independence? To strip yourself free from Christ you would have to return or lose everything that He gave you; righteousness, EL, justification, priesthood, etc. Fortunately, this is never, ever and option for the believer.

 

Those who falsely teach that you can lose your salvation are in essence teaching that you can gain your freedom “from” Christ or that He can sell you to another.

 

The only true freedom for us is in slavery to Christ and positional truth means that you can never be sold again.

 

Chattel = moveable property. In Christ, the believer is never a chattel. He permanently belongs to Christ and can never be sold.

 

This was originally on old French word from the 13^th century referring to possessions, wealth, property, or profit. The word evolved to cattle and was used of slaves in the 17^th century. It’s nuance is a slave that is moveable because he is sellable, but Christ will never sell.

 

Our freedom in Christ has a calling attached to it. Freedom in Christ is in no way an independence from Him.

 

GAL 5:13

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

 

1PE 2:16-17

Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

 

1. Slaves: privileged servers under grace

2. Free: privileged self determination to exploit grace

 

As a slave I’m still under my Master’s policy, but my Master’s policy is grace therefore I am free to exploit His policy of grace. This is the true foundation of my freedom in Christ.

 

If I don’t have this Master then I have to figure it our for myself or rely on some path that another creature has figured out.

 

 

HEB 4:1

 Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.

 

The unregenerate cannot exploit grace. You must possess the righteousness of God to exploit His grace so only the regenerate believer has this freedom.

 

3. Friend:

 

Everyone needs a friend.

 

 JOH 15:14 "You are My friends, if you do what I command you.

 

JOH 15:15 "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

The friendship with Christ is conditional to application of doctrine. The third class condition in verse 14 reveals that not all believers qualify as doers of the word.

 

JAM 1:25

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.

 

God’s not in the pity business. True friendship is true friendship.

 

JOH 15:15 further describes this friendship as a slave that knows what the master is doing. Though there have been a few extremely unique circumstances where slaves were befriended by their masters, it was most uncommon. This shows the limitation to the slave imagery in the scripture as there are limitations to all Biblical imageries. Imagery is given to emphasize certain truths and not everything about the imagery is applicable. There is not one imagery that fully portrays the reality of the unique relationship between Christ and the Church. Much harm to the truth would have been avoided if interpreters of scripture would apply that rule.

 

This is not to suggest that disobedient believers are slaves and obedient believers are friends and so there should be some type of class warfare.

 

Rather, his point is that a slave obeys his master’s orders without understanding his master’s motives and plans; he has no intimate knowledge of his master’s purposes.

 

So then, because Jesus has disclosed to his disciples a full knowledge of His Father’s secret counsels (John 8:38), they cannot any longer be “called” slaves. A friend has the intimate knowledge that is denied a slave.

 

JOH 8:38

"I speak the things which I have seen with My Father;

 

This has become the revelation of the mystery of which every believer should fully know just as he is fully known by his Master.

 

True friendship is based upon a great understanding of the other person’s priorities, motivations, and personality. Knowing Christ motivates submission to Him.

 

 1JO 2:3

And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

 

JOH 15:10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love;

 

JOH 15:14 "You are My friends, if you do what I command you.

 

JOH 15:15 "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

However, notice that He didn’t say that you are no longer slaves. He said that He no longer calls us slaves. The truth is that all believers are slaves of Christ, but there are certain ones that He calls friend due to their intimate knowledge of His purpose and plan. He still addresses Himself as Master.

 

Also notice that we are not calling Him friend. He doesn’t ask us to do so. Instead:

 

JOH 13:13 "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.

 

Would ya please call Me friend? [too relaxed around friends]

 

This is not to say that the Father or the Son is unfriendly, or that when you reach friendship status that the friendship is not in both directions to you and from you, but that each remains a Lord to be obeyed, not a colleague to be befriended. Let Him call you friend and you call Him Teacher and Lord.

 

1. Slaves: privileged servers under grace

2. Free: privileged self determination to exploit grace

3. Friends: privileged learners under grace