Most of the time, what keeps us tight and does not allow us to enjoy life to its fullest is inside us. Our mind is often a box where we feel locked in and without the option of getting out. It blinds us in such a way that we are not able to see that the exit is in front of us. And there is no obstacle stopping us since the door is open.
So, how can we be free? Welcome to Mountain View Church. My name is Herbert. And if you are watching this video and you are Canadian, happy Canada Day. In the past two months, we have learned from our Rebirth and Redeem series that God has a plan of salvation for humanity. In the Rebirth series, we learned that a new spiritual birth is necessary to begin a new stage in our lives. That of being a follower of Jesus.
With the Redeemed series, we learned that in Christ, we have everything we need to be redeemed, renewed, and ready to reach others. Today, we are going to learn what freedom means, especially the freedom that Christ provides for us so that we can live an abundant life full of joy, even in trials, for the rest of our lives. But before we start with our content... feel free to connect with us at mountainview.church slash connect or texting connect to the number on the screen. Or if you are in-house, complete a connect card and handle it into the welcome desk. If you have children, we offer a kids program every Sunday morning at 9.30 or 11am. And at home, you can also download the lessons and activities for your children at mountainview.church slash base camp, which is the name of our children's program.
If you are a teenager, or you have teenagers, we offer a youth program every Sunday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. Visit mountainview.church slash youth for more information. Now, let's jump into our scripture reading. Galatians 5 verse 1. Christ has set us free to enjoy our freedom, so remain strong in the faith. Don't let the change of slavery hold you again.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, freedom is the condition of right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, whatever you want, without being controlled or limited. Freedom gives power of action to people, and the way in which it is used will determine what you do in your life, decisions to make, things to say, and the way you see life itself. It is the people who decide to make good use of it or not. The letter to the Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul.
And its main purpose is to show how legalism can hinder our relationship with God. But what is legalism about? The theological definition of legalism is dependence on moral law rather than personal faith. This according to the Oxford Dictionary. That is, if what really matters is only to obey and not to live through faith. Then legalism occurs.
But returning to the context of the letter, we have on the one hand, the Jewish who thought that Gentile believers, referring to people who are not Hebrew, had to obey the Jewish love in order to be saved by their own effort due to personal merits. And in the other hand, the new Christians, to whom Paul calls to live through faith and freedom in Christ, and to understand that they are free, not to live sinning, but free to live for God. And what about now? How can we understand these verse in our days? So, the question is whether this legalistic thinking is still present in our time. Some examples of the legalism we see still now in many churches are specific dress clothes, where women and men must wear very specific types of clothing, putting emphasis on works over faith. In other words, teaching that salvation is earned through good works.
exerting control over personal choices, prohibiting certain forms of entertainment, or restricting social interactions. This is just to name a few. These examples illustrate how legalism can manifest in various aspects of church life. Often, shifting the focus from grace and faith to rule-keeping and external conformity because they are often used to single out and judge people on issues such as sin, when everything is categorized as sin. feeling of guilt, which does not allow them to live happily, and fear to the point of not believing they deserve God's mercy. This forces them to carry the heavy burden of sin and comply with rules of life with very high standards. Paul compares this to a very heavy yoke that is difficult to carry on our own.
The good news is that there is an option, a way out of this hard burden, and that is Jesus and his saving grace, in which his yoke is easy and light to bear. According to Matthew 11, verse 30, we still have something to carry, but Jesus says that it's easy and light. Let's get started with Galatians 5, verse 1. Christ has set us free to enjoy our freedom. So, remain strong in the faith. Don't let the chains of slavery hold you again. Paul makes two recommendations in the first verse of Galatians chapter 5. One, that we must persevere. And two, that we stop believing that it is by ourselves or our merits that we are able to achieve the freedom of salvation that Christ offers us. Let's see point one. Why persevere?
When we read this letter, we see that these new believers are being pushed to go back to their tradition to find salvation. And Paul is saying to them, Christ has set us free and we are saved by grace. So don't forget this. Keep going. Remain in this faith.
And if you are new to Christianity and don't know much about this concept of being saved by grace, let's look at what Colossians chapter 1 verses 21 to 22 teaches us about this. Verse 21. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death. talking to Jesus, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, before God. So verse 21 shows us that people by nature are sinners. In our minds, we are capable of creating evil thoughts, even if we do not carry them out. So no one is good enough to say themselves. With these kind of thoughts, we reject God, and we make our own idea what God's action should be like.
And when he does not do what we want, we blame him because we are not happy. This is what makes us, in the words of Paul, alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. So, if we have found that Jesus is our mediator, the one who changed us from alienated and hostile to being children of God, Isn't it worth it standing firm by embracing the freedom that comes from Christ? Let's see what we find in point two. Why let Jesus save us? Because sin separates us from God, and nothing impure can enter his presence. There is no personal merit that allows us to access God. That is why the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, carrying my sins and yours, was necessary to give us access to the Father.
The only way to be free from sin is to trust that Christ takes it away from us and only then present ourselves holy and blameless before the holiness of God. The following image helps us better understand this concept of redemption, forgiveness of sin, and access to the Father. The bright light represents the holiness of God, and we know that sin is not allowed to be in His presence. The cross represents the sacrifice that Jesus did by bearing the guilt of our sins. So, Jesus can be in the presence of God because he is free from the stain of sin. And the person, a person by their own merits, cannot enter the presence of God. It is Jesus, by the forgiving of our sins, who gives us the freedom to worship God without fear of perishing.
Jesus is the mediator who allows us to be in the presence of the holiness of God. Let's summarize what we learned today. One, let's remember that it's not by following rules that we are saved, but through the sacrifice of Christ. Two, Paul's message to the Galatians and to us is that, as believers, we can find everything we need in Christ. Three, that we must persevere embracing the freedom that comes from God. And four, that Jesus is the mediator who allows us to enter the presence of God. To close, my invitation today is for each of us to reflect on the sacrifice of Christ, that our chains of sin in him, Jesus, are broken.
that there should no longer be fear in our hearts. And if you are watching this video and your heart is broken and you cannot find peace and joy, a good practice to heal our hearts is to ask God to help us forgive those who have hurt us or ask for forgiveness if we are the ones who have failed. And in that way, be free to receive the salvation that comes from Christ. Let's pray. If you feel that you are ready to be free, I would like to invite you to pray with me for your salvation like this. Dear God, I know I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is your son. I believe that he died for my sin and that you raised him to life. I want to trust him as my savior and follow him as Lord.
From this day forward, guide my life and help me to do your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thank you for being with us today, and I would like to share with you these important updates. Hello, everyone. I wanted to give you all a heads up regarding an interesting community group option beginning in a couple weeks. Starting July 18th and running Thursday nights until late fall, we will be doing a deep dive into the C.S. Lewis classic, Mere Christianity.
Lewis was a gifted writer who prioritized explaining what Christians believe in a way that reaches people from all sorts of backgrounds and makes the difficult more accessible, more easy to understand. If you struggled to answer the question, what do Christians believe? This would be a valuable investment of your time. Starting on July 18th, we'll be meeting here at Mountain View Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. We'd love for you to join us. If you have any questions, email me, erin at mountainview.church. And again, July 18th, come join us for Mere Christianity. Thanks.
Back in February, our pastoral apprentice, Elijah Eschenko, brought us a fantastic month-long preaching series on the book of Job. His teaching was incredibly insightful and left a lasting impact on many of us. Now it's time for our second pastoral apprentice, Aaron Monas, to share his series. Starting next week and running throughout July, Pastor Aaron will guide us through a series titled The Story of the Gospel. This series will focus on the core theological truths that our Christian faith is built on, all centered around the person and power of Jesus Christ, the gospel. Aaron has been working hard on this series, creating every bit of the content himself.
it serves as a final project of sorts, putting into practice much of what he's been learning over the past three years. We're really excited to see what he's prepared for us. Join us next week and each Sunday throughout July as we support Aaron in this significant step in his pastoral dream. Thank you for joining us today and have a happy Canada Day. We'll see you next week.
The Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you. Be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face towards you. Be gracious to your family and your children and their children and their children. May his presence go before you and behind you.
Beside you. All around you. Within you. He's with you. He's with you. The wilderness. Blessed be your name. Every blessing you pour out all. Turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in Lord. Still I will say. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name. Blessed be your name. When the sun shines all as it should be. Blessed be your name. Blessed be your name. Mark is suffering. Though there's pain in the offering. Blessed be your name. Every blessing you pour out, I'll turn back to bring.
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name. You give and take away. Give and take away. My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name. You give and take away.
If you pray to receive Jesus today or would like to connect with our church community, visit mountainview.church and click the connect link. If this podcast and radio ministry has been a blessing to you, please consider partnering with us or making a tax-deductible donation at mountainview.church.
Thanks for listening to Mountain View Church Audio. Join us next week for more Christ-centric teaching from the Wilderness City Whitehorse Seat Farm.