12 Characteristics of People Who Are Free, Part 2

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Tim Keller wrote, Modern people like to see freedom as the complete absence of any constraints. But think of a fish. Because a fish absorbs oxygen from water, not air, it is free only if it is restricted to water. Freedom does not mean we have no boundaries. We are free within God's loving boundaries.

They are for our good because God is good. The element in which a fish thrives is water. The Christian's element is in Christ. If you shatter the fish bowl so that everything is possible, the poor fish won't have freedom, only paralysis.

If you shatter this fish bowl so that everything is possible, you decrease satisfaction. 1 Peter 2 16 calls us to live as people who are free. Today is the second part of this sermon titled Freedom Through Submission, which was first preached on September 25, 2022. Ed Blum says no government, and if there's any government official that might ever listen to this or might be listening to this now, I'm putting you on notice. No government that consistently rewards evil and punishes good can long survive because evil is ultimately self-destructive.

Ed Blum. But here's the point that Peter is making. A proper Christian response to civil authority reflects positively on Jesus Christ.

Here's the point. Your disposition toward authority—I was talking about attitude, okay? We're free in our attitude. Your disposition toward authority reflects your submission to God.

It is true. It is a biblical principle and mandate. So if you have the disposition of you can't tell me what to do, you are guilty of casting a shadow on the gospel. We have to remember the context in which Peter is writing this. To a people in the Roman Empire, many of them probably have fled Rome because Rome has just burned not too long ago. 70 percent of the residents of Rome have now lost their homes, and the Christians have been blamed by the emperor himself. He's pointing the finger at Christians, and because of that, throughout the Roman Empire, throughout the Roman Empire, Christians are being maligned and reviled.

Let's remember that context. It is in that context that Peter is writing these things, that we are called to be a people subject to governing authorities. And so in that, while he's writing that, we are called to be countercultural and countercultural with a respectful disposition that points people to Christ. We're going to talk about what that looks like here in a moment.

In fact, the rest of 1 Peter is talking about that. But the attitude is this. When we are flourishing in freedom, it begins with the attitude, and the attitude is this. We are all under authority.

I am, you are everyone. We are all under authority, and I am most free within God's loving boundaries. That's the attitude of freedom. Now, we're also flourishing in freedom, in activity. By doing good, he says, that you put to silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. Having said that, having written that, it becomes very clear that we as a people living in a culture, and now remember the context, the people in the ancient Roman Empire, Christians, reviled, maligned, many of them displaced, we are not called to passivity, nor are we called to being reactive.

We're called to be proactive. That by doing good, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. So we are called to be good citizens. A good citizen is one that is a benefit to the human community. Living out the freedom within the loving boundaries of God. The freedom that I have in Christ to be Christ-like. Titus 3.8, as Paul is writing to Titus, he says, this saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that as those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.

These things are excellent and profitable for people. That's a Christian mandate. It is a biblical mandate for Christians. Paul says that, Peter says that, John says that, right?

It's consistent throughout the scriptures. In other words, we are called to be a blessing to Fran. What do I mean by friend? Fran, F-R-A-N, say it with me. Friends, relatives, associates, neighbors. It's kind of something you need to get to know when you come to grace. We keep talking about who's this Fran person, right? Everybody has Fran.

Friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors. As a Christian, I am called to be a blessing to my Fran, as are you. To devote ourselves to good works.

It is a proactive mandate. Remember the context that Peter is writing, in which Peter is writing here. Again, Ed Clowney says, here's the reality of the day for the Christians. Christians were often charged with subversion of the established order. They were accused of spreading disloyalty against the government, of disrupting trade, and of all manner of shocking practices, including cannibalism and incest. Why cannibalism? Jesus said, unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you cannot be my disciple. Well, that's cannibalism. And we partake of the Lord's table, His blood and His body.

That's cannibalism. You see, the unbelieving world doesn't understand that. Incest. Why incest? Well, because we call each other brother and sister, and we talk in a love language to each other, I love you as my brother in Christ.

I love you as my sister in Christ. And the world hears that, and they, of course, think the worst of it. That's what the Christians were charged with in this day.

You see, they're making those charges out of ignorance, though, aren't they? And that is why, he says, by doing good, you put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. You see, when you do that, for those who will malign you and revile you, we are called to respond with kindness and service. Again, we're not called to be passive. We're not called to isolate ourselves. We're not called to be reactive, where if somebody maligns me, I lash out at them and give them a piece of my mind. You can't afford to lose a piece of your mind anyway.

So don't think about giving it to them. Respond. Don't run away. Don't react.

Respond. Spirit-led response. Do you see, Christians, in Christ, we have the freedom and the resources to do this. This is not just ideal speak in the Scriptures.

You with me on this? This is the command of God. So let's not just take this out and categorize this as, yeah, the Scriptures are pretty ideal.

No, I'm called to do this. This is to be brought to bear upon my life. That's why I must know the freedom that is mine in Christ. I must know the goodness of God.

And so, when I respond to that injustice with kindness and service, I am very countercultural. And for the detractors, they have an unexpected encounter with the mind of Christ and the love of Christ. And what does it say about the mind of Christ? Well, it says that the mind of Christ is the mind of Christ and the love of Christ. And what does it say it will do to them?

What does the text say? For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may what? Put to silence when you respond with kindness and service, and they will be in stunned silence when they encounter the mind of Christ in the followers of Christ, because they have encountered something radically different that they just don't understand. They can't wrap their brains around it.

You know why? Paul says so. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14, the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are mutually discerned. The ignorance of foolish people. The Bible's not trying to be unkind there, it's stating a fact. When you are alienated from God, you will act in ignorance in the passion of your flesh.

And what is the ignorance of foolish people? We are called to live as people who are free. There it is, verse 16, live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Not living by the lies and the bondage of those alienated from God, but as those reconciled to God. You see, the ignorance of foolish people, the reason why the Bible uses that terminology is because they are enslaved to the passions of self-preservation and self-gratification. That's what the natural self-preeminent person does. Christ rescues us from that. From the passions of self-preservation and self-gratification. They don't understand it, but we are called to live as people who are free.

You see, there's the difference, there's a huge contrast there. Not living by the lies and the bondage of those who are alienated from God, the branch that you choose to break itself off from the tree is not a free branch. It thinks it is, but it's not free.

It's dying. And God brings dead people back to life. And only when you have life are you free. Only when you are vitally connected to that source of life are you free. As you draw life from Him, then you flourish, then you will know the freedom for which you were designed. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace. Thank you so much for joining us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's Word the very purpose for seven words that can change your life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace weekdays at 10 a.m.