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Living Forgiven . . . Living Free Msg 610 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: In your worship folder today, you will find an outline
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  Speaker 1: which will guide us through our time in God's Word.
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  Speaker 1: Colossians chapter 2. We were in the first part of
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  Speaker 1: the second chapter last time. Today we continue on in
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  Speaker 1: this letter as we cover the last half of the chapter.
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  Speaker 1: I'll be reading for you verses 13 through 23. of
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  Speaker 1: this little letter, Colossians. I hope you are traveling with
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  Speaker 1: me from one week to the next, reading the letter
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  Speaker 1: through each week. You may wish to spread that through
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  Speaker 1: four days of the week. There are four chapters. You
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  Speaker 1: may wish to read it all in one evening or
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  Speaker 1: one setting, whatever. You will find that so much of
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  Speaker 1: God's word will just become clear to you as a
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  Speaker 1: result of repetitive reading. It's such a treasure to have
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  Speaker 1: this God's Word with us, and we always want to
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  Speaker 1: treat it with respect, knowing that there were those whose
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  Speaker 1: lives were given that it might be preserved. I'll be
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  Speaker 1: reading Colossians 2, 13 through 23 from the New Living
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  Speaker 1: Translation as you locate that please stand out of respect
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  Speaker 1: for the word of God. Chapter 2, verse 13 begins,
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  Speaker 1: You were dead because of your sins and because your
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  Speaker 1: sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made
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  Speaker 1: you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.
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  Speaker 1: He canceled the record of the charges against us and
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  Speaker 1: took it away by nailing it to the cross. In
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  Speaker 1: this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He
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  Speaker 1: shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. So,
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  Speaker 1: don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink.
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  Speaker 1: or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon
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  Speaker 1: ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of
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  Speaker 1: the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.
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  Speaker 1: Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial
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  Speaker 1: or the worship of angels. saying they have had visions
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  Speaker 1: about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud,
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  Speaker 1: and they are not connected to Christ, the head of
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  Speaker 1: the body. For he holds the whole body together with
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  Speaker 1: its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.
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  Speaker 1: You have died with Christ. And he has set you
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  Speaker 1: free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why
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  Speaker 1: do you keep on following the rules of the world,
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  Speaker 1: such as don't handle, don't taste, don't touch? Such rules
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  Speaker 1: are mere human teachings about the things that deteriorate as
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  Speaker 1: we use them. These rules may seem wise because they
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  Speaker 1: require strong devotions, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline, but
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  Speaker 1: they provide no help in conquering a person's evil desires.
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  Speaker 1: May the Lord open our eyes and then open our
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  Speaker 1: hearts and ultimately our wills to follow through on the
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  Speaker 1: things he writes in his word for us. It's appropriate,
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  Speaker 1: our Father, that we come before you and none other,
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  Speaker 1: for you are the only true God. You are our creator,
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  Speaker 1: having made this earth and all things pertaining to it,
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  Speaker 1: and the magnificent heavens above us, the seas around us,
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  Speaker 1: and the depths and the heights. we acknowledge you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: as our creator as well. You have given us our temperaments.
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  Speaker 1: You have sovereignly chosen our past. The parents you gave us,
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  Speaker 1: the homes in which we were reared, the siblings, our
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  Speaker 1: brothers and sisters, our families, how grateful we are, our Father,
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  Speaker 1: that you are our creator. And you are our guide.
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  Speaker 1: We're never left to our own devices, but when we
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  Speaker 1: seek your direction, you are there to provide that. As
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  Speaker 1: we sang earlier, on our own we have helplessly lost
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  Speaker 1: our way, but you are there as our guide to
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  Speaker 1: direct our steps forward to lead us in the paths
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  Speaker 1: of righteousness for your name's sake. You are the great
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  Speaker 1: and holy one forgiving us of all our sins because
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  Speaker 1: of your son's death on the cross. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: your grace, dear Father, for demonstrating it again and again
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  Speaker 1: in giving us what we do not deserve can never repay.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Father, for being our creator and our director
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  Speaker 1: and the giver of grace. You are as well a
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  Speaker 1: mighty fortress. You protect us. You care for us. You
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  Speaker 1: watch over us. And we praise your name for that.
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  Speaker 1: Because of these and a thousand other reasons, we are
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  Speaker 1: prompted to give to you the only one deserving of
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  Speaker 1: our worship and our praise. Through Christ our Savior, we
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  Speaker 1: offer up these words and we release to you these gifts.
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  Speaker 1: In the name of Jesus. For his sake alone. Everyone said. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: I pulled a book off my shelf this week that
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  Speaker 1: made me smile. And the deeper I read into it
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  Speaker 1: and came across some rather unpredictable questions. The more it
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  Speaker 1: made me think. I was pushed away from the safe
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  Speaker 1: and the predictable into the realm of. Well, the unexpected.
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  Speaker 1: Here are a few of those questions. Where would we
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  Speaker 1: be today if Abraham had carefully weighed the pros and
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  Speaker 1: cons of God's invitation and decided that he would rather
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  Speaker 1: hang on to his medical benefits, three weeks paid vacation,
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  Speaker 1: and retirement plan in the city of Ur? Here's a second.
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  Speaker 1: What would have happened if Moses had listened to his
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  Speaker 1: mother's advice to never play with matches and lived a careful,
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  Speaker 1: cautious life, steering clear of all burning bushes? And another,
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  Speaker 1: what if Paul had concluded that the life of a Pharisee,
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  Speaker 1: while not everything a man dreams for, was at least
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  Speaker 1: predictable and certainly more stable than following a voice he
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  Speaker 1: heard on the Damascus road? After all, people hear voices
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  Speaker 1: all the time, and who really knows whether it's God's
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  Speaker 1: voice or just one's imagination. And while I met it,
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  Speaker 1: I came up with a couple on my own. What
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  Speaker 1: if Jesus had considered all the sacrifice and the pain
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  Speaker 1: and the mistreatment he would have to endure in coming
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  Speaker 1: to this planet to die for us, and had stayed
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  Speaker 1: where he was saved, and adored by multiple billions of angels,
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  Speaker 1: and not come and died for us. And while we're
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  Speaker 1: at it, what if Mary had responded to, Mary, did
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  Speaker 1: you know? With, yeah, I do know. And it's not
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  Speaker 1: worth it. What would that be like if she had
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  Speaker 1: done so? Rather than responded with, I am the Lord's servant.
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  Speaker 1: Whatever the Lord has planned for me, I am willing
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  Speaker 1: to do. Now that I have you thinking outside the box,
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  Speaker 1: I have a couple of three questions for you personally.
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  Speaker 1: Question number one. Speaking to you who are Christians. do
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  Speaker 1: you really believe that all your sins are forgiven? Past, present,
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  Speaker 1: and all of them yet future. Which means you operate
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  Speaker 1: your life without humiliation or guilt or shame. Do you
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  Speaker 1: really believe you are fully forgiven? Here's the second. Do
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  Speaker 1: you really believe that you are free? Which means that
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  Speaker 1: you do not live up to someone else's expectations of you.
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  Speaker 1: That you really live to please God and not people.
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  Speaker 1: You really believe that you are that free? Here's the clincher.
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  Speaker 1: Are you willing to risk living like that? I mean
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  Speaker 1: living forgiven, living free. You may say you are, but
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  Speaker 1: it's been my observation that most Christians are not. Theoretically,
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  Speaker 1: we think of ourselves as forgiven, but Practically speaking, a
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  Speaker 1: number of God's people live under a cloud of guilt. Theoretically,
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  Speaker 1: we say we are free, certainly free, to please the
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  Speaker 1: Lord God and not others. Yet I've observed that most
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  Speaker 1: of us are more sensitive to what other people think
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  Speaker 1: and say than what God thinks and says. Steve Brown
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  Speaker 1: put it this way, you've heard that Christ has made
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  Speaker 1: you free. You may have told others of your freedom,
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  Speaker 1: and you probably use the concept of freedom in your
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  Speaker 1: own witness to those who don't yet know Christ. Sometimes, however,
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  Speaker 1: I fear that we define freedom in a way that
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  Speaker 1: restricts and binds more than it frees. I think that's
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  Speaker 1: a great comment. He continues, a lot of what we
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  Speaker 1: call freedom isn't real freedom at all. Furthermore, the similarity
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  Speaker 1: between real freedom and the freedom experienced by many Christians
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  Speaker 1: is the difference between a taxidermist and a veterinarian. Think
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  Speaker 1: about it. In both cases, you get your dog back.
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  Speaker 1: While you do get your dog back, one collects dust,
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  Speaker 1: while the other jumps and slobbers and barks. Picture the difference.
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  Speaker 1: The kind of freedom most Christians talk about has the
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  Speaker 1: feel of a stuffed dog, one that winds up as
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  Speaker 1: a hood ornament on your car, not a living, animated,
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  Speaker 1: real dog that slobbers in the back seat of your car.
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  Speaker 1: When Jesus said, You are free because the truth has
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  Speaker 1: made you free. He used a term that means liberation
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  Speaker 1: from bondage. The idea of exemption, liberation from the control
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  Speaker 1: of other persons or some arbitrary power over you. The
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  Speaker 1: reason I bring all of that up is because the
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  Speaker 1: last half of the second chapter of the letter Paul
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  Speaker 1: wrote to the Colossians has to do with both Verses
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  Speaker 1: 13 to 16 have to do, or verses 13 to
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  Speaker 1: 15 have to do with being fully forgiven. Verses 16
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  Speaker 1: through 23 have to do with being truly free. The
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  Speaker 1: first one, if you'll notice from my outline, has to
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  Speaker 1: do with a vertical rescue that God has done for
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  Speaker 1: us The other has to do with a horizontal relief
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  Speaker 1: that God has provided for us. Let's think about both
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  Speaker 1: of them. He begins in this 13th verse by talking
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  Speaker 1: about those days when we were lost. His first three
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  Speaker 1: words tell us this. You were dead, meaning spiritually dead.
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  Speaker 1: You were dead because of your sins and because of
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  Speaker 1: your sinful nature that had not yet been cut away.
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  Speaker 1: He had mentioned earlier this idea of being spiritually circumcised.
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  Speaker 1: And he carries that same thought into verse 13 when
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  Speaker 1: he says, in our lost condition, we were under the
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  Speaker 1: domination of our spiritual nature. It was not yet controlled
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  Speaker 1: by the Spirit of God. And then he continues on
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  Speaker 1: by talking about our conversion. Then he adds, God made
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  Speaker 1: you alive with Christ. for he forgave all our sins.
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  Speaker 1: I want you to note those words in your Bible,
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  Speaker 1: or whatever your version may read. It comes close to
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  Speaker 1: those words. He forgave all our sins. We need to
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  Speaker 1: believe that. He goes further as he explains it. He,
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  Speaker 1: that's Christ, canceled the record of the charges against us,
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  Speaker 1: and he took it away, meaning the records. He took
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  Speaker 1: it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way,
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  Speaker 1: he adds, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He
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  Speaker 1: shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
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  Speaker 1: That's why we frequently refer to the cross. Before we
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  Speaker 1: were saved, we had no ability to restrain the sin
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  Speaker 1: nature within us. We were driven by it. We were
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  Speaker 1: addicted to those actions. We couldn't stop ourselves. We were,
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  Speaker 1: by nature, narcissistic. Everything was about us. We did what
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  Speaker 1: pleased us. We cared little about what pleased God himself.
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  Speaker 1: Then the Lord reached into our heart and forgave us
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  Speaker 1: as we trusted in him, the Lord Jesus, for eternal life.
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  Speaker 1: When he forgave us, he canceled the record of charges
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  Speaker 1: against us. He took it all away, nailing it to
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  Speaker 1: his cross. He disarmed the spiritual rulers, that would be
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  Speaker 1: the demonic forces in the heavenlies, and he announced that
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  Speaker 1: victory over them on the cross. Paul would say, all
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  Speaker 1: you Christians in Colossae have been fully forgiven. I want
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  Speaker 1: to change that and say to all of you who
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  Speaker 1: are in Frisco or Plano or Allen or Prosper, anyone
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  Speaker 1: in North Texas or the great state of Texas or
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  Speaker 1: in any part of the United States or any part
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  Speaker 1: of this entire world, When you have come to Christ,
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  Speaker 1: you are fully and completely forgiven. Now the question is,
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  Speaker 1: do you really believe that? Are you really willing to
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  Speaker 1: live forgiven? And all that goes with it. Stopping all
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  Speaker 1: the man-made guilt and shame that you bring on yourself.
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  Speaker 1: All the pleading for forgiveness. If you're a Roman Catholic,
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  Speaker 1: are you willing to give up going through your beads,
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  Speaker 1: regularly reminding yourselves of the things you do not do
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  Speaker 1: and the things you are not? Are you willing to
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  Speaker 1: trust God for what he says and no longer plead
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  Speaker 1: with him to forgive you of your sins? You do
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  Speaker 1: not have to earn his favor. You do not have
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  Speaker 1: to keep hoping that he will forgive you. It says
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  Speaker 1: he forgave all our sins. Now, admittedly, you and I
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  Speaker 1: are still alive. We still have an old nature, which
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  Speaker 1: means we sometimes bark and jump around and slobber. None
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  Speaker 1: of that will ever change as long as we have
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  Speaker 1: this old nature. And because of God's grace, He continues
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  Speaker 1: to forgive us. Living forgiven opens the door for us
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  Speaker 1: to live our lives free. What the Colossians faced was
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  Speaker 1: a group of legalistic cultists named Gnostics, and they did
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  Speaker 1: not teach them forgiveness. They did not teach them freedom.
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  Speaker 1: And so Paul wrote to them so they would understand
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  Speaker 1: the difference between what they were hearing and from the
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  Speaker 1: others around them and what God has said and written
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  Speaker 1: ultimately in his word. So we move from the subject
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  Speaker 1: of forgiveness to the subject of claiming our freedom. Look
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  Speaker 1: at what he says in the warnings. First, don't let
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  Speaker 1: anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink or
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  Speaker 1: for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies
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  Speaker 1: or Sabbaths. So he starts by saying, don't let anybody
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  Speaker 1: act as your judge. That would be addressed to people
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  Speaker 1: who are legalists. I'll say more about that in a
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  Speaker 1: few minutes. And the next warning is in verse 18.
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  Speaker 1: Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial
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  Speaker 1: or the worship of angels. This would be of the
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  Speaker 1: subject of mysticism. Don't let anyone disqualify you because you
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  Speaker 1: do not have the visions that they say you should
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  Speaker 1: be having. You are not engaged in the kind of
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  Speaker 1: pious self-denial that they are urging you to be engaged in.
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  Speaker 1: That's mysticism. And the third is down in verse 20.
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  Speaker 1: Why do you keep on following the rules of the
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  Speaker 1: world such as don't handle, don't taste, and don't touch.
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  Speaker 1: That would be the teaching of asceticism. And he says,
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  Speaker 1: don't keep on following their rules that will enslave you.
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  Speaker 1: So the first warning is a warning against being judged
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  Speaker 1: by legalists, verse 16. The second warning is against being
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  Speaker 1: disqualified or letting those who would do so condemn you
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  Speaker 1: and disqualify you as they teach their mysticism. And the
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  Speaker 1: third would be don't keep on following the rules of
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  Speaker 1: those who would enslave you by urging asceticism. This is
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  Speaker 1: a great time for me to warn all of us
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  Speaker 1: that there are those who still live today in hopes
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  Speaker 1: of bringing us under this kind of living. There are
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  Speaker 1: those who do not want us to be free. I
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  Speaker 1: love the way Eugene Peterson writes of this in his book,
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  Speaker 1: A Traveling Light. There are people who do not want
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  Speaker 1: us to be free. They don't want us to be
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  Speaker 1: free before God, accepted just as we are by his grace.
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  Speaker 1: That's forgiveness. They don't want us to be free to
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  Speaker 1: express our faith originally and creatively in the world. They
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  Speaker 1: want to control us. They want to use us for
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  Speaker 1: their own purposes. They themselves refuse to live arguably and
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  Speaker 1: openly in faith, but huddle together with a few others
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  Speaker 1: and try to get a sense of approval by insisting
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  Speaker 1: that all look alike and talk alike and act alike,
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  Speaker 1: thus validating one another's worth. And he goes on and
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  Speaker 1: on in that same subject. Paul is teaching against that
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  Speaker 1: kind of living and that kind of teaching. And I
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  Speaker 1: realize when I get on the subject that some of
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  Speaker 1: you have come out of a background like this. I
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  Speaker 1: find that many, I dare say most Christians, were reared
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  Speaker 1: in a legalistic kind of setting, quite likely from your
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  Speaker 1: own parents or from some church that you once attended.
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  Speaker 1: that if not actually handing out a list, at least
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  Speaker 1: you learn the list because of the frequent mentioning of
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  Speaker 1: those things that you're not to do. And those things
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  Speaker 1: are not to take place in your life. And if
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  Speaker 1: they do, you're not as spiritual as you otherwise could
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  Speaker 1: be and should be. Much of that results in what
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  Speaker 1: I often call toxic religion. and I'll speak very candidly
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  Speaker 1: here and say that one of the reasons that I
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  Speaker 1: was so determined years ago to begin a church was
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  Speaker 1: to be able to set a foundation that would be
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  Speaker 1: based on grace and not based on the rules and
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  Speaker 1: regulations of people. It is almost impossible to find a
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  Speaker 1: church that really teaches and really believes in grace and
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  Speaker 1: encourages that kind of living because it's risky. Won't some
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  Speaker 1: take advantage of it? Yes, it's true. Some will. Some do.
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  Speaker 1: Is it worth it? It's still worth it. The apostle
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  Speaker 1: teaches grace in virtually every one of the letters he writes.
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  Speaker 1: and he knows that there's risk in it. But the
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  Speaker 1: risk is greater than for me to try to control
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  Speaker 1: everyone with my list or expecting that kind of lifestyle
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  Speaker 1: based on man-made rules. Doesn't mean there are no lists,
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  Speaker 1: lists found in the Bible or lists that we're to follow,
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  Speaker 1: of course, but lists that we hand out to one
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  Speaker 1: another or not. And so we need to guard against
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  Speaker 1: that kind of thinking and that kind of teaching. That's
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  Speaker 1: why the apostle writes what he does to these people
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  Speaker 1: who are sort of in limbo, wondering what they should believe.
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  Speaker 1: They've heard one thing from their teacher, Epaphras, whom we've
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  Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, and now they're hearing the same thing from Paul,
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  Speaker 1: but they begin to hear much more from those around
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  Speaker 1: them who were promoting legalism and mysticism and asceticism. So
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  Speaker 1: Paul writes these words in the latter half of the
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  Speaker 1: second chapter of Colossians to help them know that they're
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  Speaker 1: truly free. So let's go back and look at them.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 16, don't let anyone condemn you, or the word
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  Speaker 1: suggests the idea of judging you for what you eat
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  Speaker 1: or what you drink or for not celebrating certain days,
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  Speaker 1: new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. In ancient days, the rules
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  Speaker 1: had to do with diet and had to do with days.
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  Speaker 1: Both are mentioned in that 16th verse. Paul nullifies that
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  Speaker 1: kind of teaching. In the ancient days, the Jews lived
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  Speaker 1: their lives according to a certain diet and in keeping
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  Speaker 1: with the responsibility of observing certain days. But when Christ came...
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  Speaker 1: And as Christ died, he set us free from that
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  Speaker 1: law which he fulfilled. And in light of that, we
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  Speaker 1: no longer concern ourselves with what is being eaten or
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  Speaker 1: drunk or what is being celebrated by way of days.
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  Speaker 1: He says in verse 17, these rules are only shadows
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  Speaker 1: of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is
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  Speaker 1: the reality. So living under the leadership of Christ and
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  Speaker 1: the influence of the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection, we
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  Speaker 1: are freed from the restriction on diet and the restriction
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  Speaker 1: of certain days. Interestingly, as a result of his resurrection,
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  Speaker 1: which was on the first day of the week, the
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  Speaker 1: day of worship was moved from the Shabbat, which is Saturday,
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  Speaker 1: to the first day of the week, which is Sunday.
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  Speaker 1: And as a result, we meet to worship and to
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  Speaker 1: celebrate the faith on the first day of the week,
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  Speaker 1: not the seventh day as the Jews for all those
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  Speaker 1: years did so under the law. Christ came to fulfill
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  Speaker 1: all of the law, and in him we have a
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  Speaker 1: new day of worship, which we observe and we worship
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  Speaker 1: We hardly think how it once was because of the
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  Speaker 1: change that he has brought. I observe among my friends
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  Speaker 1: who are living legalistic lives that there is often a
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  Speaker 1: kind of a joylessness about it. There is a lot
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  Speaker 1: of fear connected to it. I like the way one
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  Speaker 1: man referred to it when he talked about the diet.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: He said, now, I need to warn you, you eat
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  Speaker 1: too many Twinkies and you'll no longer be Twinkle Toes.
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  Speaker 1: He says, too many Snickers are not a laughing matter.
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  Speaker 1: So you've got to use your mind, you've got to
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  Speaker 1: use your brain when you think about dietary discipline, but
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  Speaker 1: you don't address your diet based on what is written
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  Speaker 1: in ancient days. You base your diet, what is written today,
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  Speaker 1: in the days following the resurrection, ascension of Christ. And
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  Speaker 1: now that we are under grace, we don't live our
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  Speaker 1: lives according to what is being eaten, what we drink,
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  Speaker 1: or the celebration of certain days. So much for legalism.
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  Speaker 1: Then he turns to mysticism. Look at verse 18. By
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  Speaker 1: the way, I shouldn't miss this. 17, these rules are
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  Speaker 1: only shadows of the reality yet to come, and Christ
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  Speaker 1: himself is the reality. Now look at the next warning.
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  Speaker 1: Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial
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  Speaker 1: or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions
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  Speaker 1: about these things. One of the common teaching among the
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: mystics is the whole idea of visions. And you get
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  Speaker 1: these visions in very unique ways. often late at night
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: or in the hours when you are alone. And these
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: people were urged to seek that out and to follow
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: that kind of teaching. The result, of course, is a
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: self-made pride. See how he ends verse 18. Their sinful
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: minds have made them proud and they are not connected
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  Speaker 1: to Christ. the head of the body, for he holds
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  Speaker 1: the whole body together with its joints and ligaments and
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: it grows as God nourishes it. You have died with
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: Christ and he has set you free from the spiritual
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  Speaker 1: powers of this world. I love that. I love the
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  Speaker 1: freedom in those words. Just as he said earlier, he
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  Speaker 1: forgave all our sins, end of verse 13. So he
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  Speaker 1: says in this 20th verse, He has set you free.
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  Speaker 1: Paul returns to that great theme of Christ. Remember we
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  Speaker 1: mentioned in a previous message in Colossians that anything that
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  Speaker 1: draws you away from Christ is spurious. It's to be questioned.
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  Speaker 1: Anything that diminishes the person of Christ, anything that would
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: place all of that under wraps, or make less of it,
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: trivialize it is the word, is to be looked at
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  Speaker 1: with a jaundiced eye. Christ has come. Christ is the head.
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  Speaker 1: Christ is our guide. Christ is the one whom we follow.
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  Speaker 1: And we do not wait on God for visions. We
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  Speaker 1: have all the directions we need right here in this book.
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  Speaker 1: We don't... Rely on him to give us a middle
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  Speaker 1: of the night directions through dreams or visions. Such teaching
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: will lead you astray. And I warn you of that.
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: So the focus is on Christ, who is the head.
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: And all of us are joined together with him, his
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: being the head. And then the third subject would be asceticism.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Here he warns against that which will enslave you by
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: trying to live in the deep and extreme disciplines of life.
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  Speaker 1: So why do you keep on following the rules of
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: the world, such as don't handle this, don't taste that,
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: don't touch these things? Such rules are mere human teachings
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: about things that deteriorate as we use them. These who
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: were ascetics and encouraged such were strong on the rules
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: of personal discipline. They are rules, according to verse 23,
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: that seem wise but they require strong devotion and pious
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: self-denial and severe bodily discipline. Look at that list right here.
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: It's a series of things that he uses to analyze asceticism.
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: They are man-made rules, not from God. They seem wise,
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  Speaker 1: but they accomplish nothing deep within us. They only create pride,
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: or what he calls pious self-denial. And then third, they
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: fail to produce wisdom. Purity and victory. They provide no
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: help in conquering a person's evil desires. We want that
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: which will help us. That which will deal with our
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: old nature. That which is able to lead us into victory.
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: And those are not the things that we are able
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: to produce in and of ourselves. So that leaves us
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: now with the question, how? How? We know that we're
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: to live forgiven. We know that we're to live free.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: But how do we do that? How does that work
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: its way out in the Christian's life, now living in
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: the dispensation of the church, now living under grace and
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: not under the law? How do we conduct ourselves in
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: a way that pleases the Lord Jesus Christ? Let me
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: suggest three very practical examples. suggestions. Number one, be strong
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  Speaker 1: in the word of God and keep worshiping Christ. Be
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: strong in the word of God and keep worshiping Christ.
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: If there's one thing that you can count on in
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: the realm of that which will lead you astray, It
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: will always include those two things. It'll move you away
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: from a careful, faithful, personal study of the scriptures and
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: also the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: of God will be diminished in emphasis and the person
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: of Christ will be demoted. So that's why I say
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: to begin to live forgiven and free, you need to
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: know what the Word of God is teaching, and then
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: you need to remember that our worship focuses on Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Here's the second suggestion. Refuse and resist all other substitutes.
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: Refuse and resist all other substitutes. Keep choosing Christ. There
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: is no substitute for the Word of God, and there
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: certainly is no substitute for the Son of God. Refuse
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: and resist all other substitutes. I have been eminently blessed
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: in my life in so many ways, not the least
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: of which has been the joy and the privilege of
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: serving under mentors and being influenced by those who helped
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: shape my thinking. Every one of my mentors, everyone has
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: been strong in the word of God and a worshiper
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: of the Lord Jesus Christ. I thought about that while
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: preparing these thoughts for you today. I've been blessed to
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: have those around me and those teach me, especially in
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: the formative years as I was learning my way Each
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: one of those men knew the scriptures and was a
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: continued student of the scriptures. And second, they were strong
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: in their faith in Christ. How grateful I am for that.
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: Learn to refuse and resist all other substitutes. Here's the third.
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: Don't be afraid to risk living your life unshackled. Don't
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: be afraid to risk living your life unshackled, remembering that
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: your best master is Christ. We are a bond slave
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: to him and to no other. I love the way
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: Paul wrote of this in Galatians. Am I one who
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: lives to please people or do I live to please God?
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: Let me show you the verse. Galatians is just before
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: the letter to the Ephesians. Look at chapter 1 of
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: Galatians and verse 10. Galatians 1.10. Obviously, he writes, I
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: am not trying to win the approval of people, but
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: not be Christ's. Let me read that last sentence again.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: Christ's servant. You know what I would be? I would
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: be a doormat to people. Furthermore, I would never know
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: what it's like because you can never please them all.
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: It's impossible to please everyone else. So my goal is
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: to please the Lord Jesus Christ, and in doing so,
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: he teaches me to be kind, to be gracious, to
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: be loving, to be understanding, not to be harsh in
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: my freedom, not to be proud of the fact that
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: I am free, but to walk in humility and not
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: use it as a tool to take advantage of others.
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: So that verse has stood out for years in my life,
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: for reasons I'll not get into. Now, back to my
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: original question for you. Are you really and truly forgiven?
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: Are you really and truly free? The answer to both
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: is absolutely. Because of Christ, what he has done for
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: you and what he is willing to do within you.
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: I came across a wonderful story that illustrates this. beautifully.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: It took place back when Abraham Lincoln was still a lawyer,
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: had not yet gotten into politics and had not been
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: involved in the presidency. He was a young attorney and
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: he visited a slave market in his community. back in
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: the days when there were slaves. He saw a lovely
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: African-American woman being auctioned off to the highest bidder. His
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: heart went out to her. He noted the anger in
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: her eyes and could imagine what she was thinking. And
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: then she looked in his direction, and she must have
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: been thinking, there's another white man who will buy me
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: and use me and then discard me. His happened to
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: be the highest bid that day. As he walked away
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: with his newly purchased, quote, property, he waited until they
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: were some distance away from the slave market, and then
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: he turned to the woman and he said to her,
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: you were free. You were free. Yeah, she said, well,
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: what does that mean? It means you're really free. Well,
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: does that mean I can say what I want to say?
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: He replied, smiling. You can say whatever you want to say. Well,
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: does that mean that I can be whatever I want
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: to be? Yes, whatever you want to be. You're free.
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: Does it mean, the young woman said hesitatingly, I can
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: go wherever I want to go. Yes, you're free. You're
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: really free. You can say and be and go. Go
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: wherever you want to go. Well then, she replied with
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: tears welling up in her eyes, then I think I'll
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: go with you. I love the story, not only because
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: of the surprise ending, but because has she realized here
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: is one worth being with. Here is one who won't
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: take advantage of me. Here is one who wants me
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: to be truly free. I never want you to trust
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: in Christ because you're afraid of what would happen if
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: you don't. I don't want fear to be your motive.
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: I want the attraction of Christ to be his person.
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: His death, his sacrifice for you. Which is why we
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: observe the Lord's table regularly. It is a reminder of
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: the sacrifice he paid for us. That he has completely
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: freed us. And that explains why we want to be
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: with him. With that in mind, I want you to
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: bow your heads as we prepare ourselves for this time
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: around the table. Just sit quietly there and think about
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: what you have heard. The reason you were forgiven is
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: because of the death of Christ on the cross. The
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: reason you were free is because of his grace that
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: has set you free. You may be in this room
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: today and honestly have to say, I have never trusted
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: in this Master. I've never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: I urge you at this moment to do so now.
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: Don't put it off. Another moment. Believe on the Lord
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. You will be saved. You will be able
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: to begin your life In Christ by enjoying. These elements
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: with other believers today. Remind you who know Christ. How
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: valuable it is that you bring your life before the
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: Lord Jesus. And you claim the forgiveness that is yours.
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: You walk in the light. As he is in the light.
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: You will have fellowship with him. And you partake of
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: the bread. And the cup with one another. Thank you
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: our father for the Lord. Our savior your son. Thank
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: you for what he has done on our behalf. Thank
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: you for his forgiveness. And for the freedom that he provides.
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: We worship you in a very special way. As we
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: remember his death. And as we do so till the
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: end of our days. or until he returns for his own.
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: Thank you for his body given for us and for
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: his blood. May these elements remind us of both as
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: we eat and drink in remembrance of him. In the
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: name of Christ we pray. Amen.
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: The preceding message, Living Forgiven, Living Free. was copyrighted in
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: 2014 and 2022 and the sound recording was copyrighted in
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: 2022 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 45:33
  Speaker 2: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.