PROCLAIM by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC
Introduction: Growing up, we did not have all the Christmas shopping and gift giving as we do in America. At the most, we would get a new set of clothes, a new shirt and a new pair of pants. That’s it. Imagine my shock when I was invited to a friend’s house for Christmas. They had boxes and boxes of gifts all around the tree and a couple of them had my name on it. Just when I thought that it was all done, the mom said, “Ok, now y’all can open your stockings!” Wait! There’s more?” They took down the socks from the fireplace, and they had more gifts in them! So also, when it comes to the gospel, just when you think this is it, there’s more. For the next 2 weekends, in light of Christmas, I want to PROCLAIM the “more” that came to us through Jesus Christ. Main point: The good news of salvation is that Jesus not only came to take the penalty of our sins, but he also came to free us from the repercussions of sin. Shame and blame, anger and fear, stubbornness and bitterness, little white lies and big fat lies, selfishness and self-worship are all coming from the Garden. The gospel also helps us overcome them.
Luke 4 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
Context: It was not coincidental that Jesus stood up to read the Old Testament in the synagogue in Nazareth and this passage from Isaiah was handed to him. It was quite intentional. This was an ancient prophecy regarding the mission of the Messiah. There is so much packed in there that we don’t have the time to get into this morning. For our message, I want to focus only on the statement – “to proclaim liberty to the captives.” The word for liberty in Hebrew is “derur.” It hints back to the book of Leviticus where slaves and debtors were to be set free every six years, the Year of Jubilee. The use of the same word here was about more than just physical slavery or financial debt. The idea was also about social, emotional, mental, and spiritual enslavement. In other words, the Messiah was coming to set people free from the bondage of sin. Listen to Paul in Titus 2 11 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” The Greek word for “redeem” is “lutrow,” which refers to the payment for the release of slaves. Same idea here as in Isaiah. But, what were we slaves to? Titus 3 3 “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Jesus came to take us from the life of a “doulos” (slave) to the life of a “kleronomos” (heir).
Principle: There are 2 kinds of lives. The life of slavery to sin and the heir life. The first is marked by foolishness, disobedience, deception, lust, self-serving, malice, envy, hateful and hating one another. The heir life comes from the cross, and it is lived face-to-face with Christ so that one becomes more like him emotionally, mentally, attitudinally, behaviorally, and relationally. It is possible to be saved and still live the life of slavery.
Application: Which life are you living? Are you still a slave to sin? Are you an heir/beneficiary according to the hope of eternal life?
To make the shift, you cannot do it the world’s way. Typically, the world’s answer to the sins is in 3 popular approaches (Ernie Baker):
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy (Change your thinking, change your behavior)
- Biomedical (Pharmacological treatment)
- Maslow’s Need Theory (Basic needs are not being met – Physiological, Safety, Love and Belonging, Esteem, Self-Actualization)
Ultimately, they blame either our Nature or Nurture for our bad behavior. Nature (Physiology) is our Body, our Brain Chemistry, our Neurotransmitters, and our Chemical Levels. Nurture (Environment) is our Family Upbringing, our Social Situation, and our Past Experiences. There is a lot of truth here, but there is still so much that they fail to answer. The true answer is found in the Garden of Eden. It all began there. Prior to the coming of sin, everything was “very good.” The relationship of human beings with each other, the relationship of human beings with nature, and the relationship of human beings with God was beautiful, pleasant, orderly, efficient, and morally good. By choosing to listen to the serpent/Satan, they chose to disobey God. They thought that God was holding out on them. They thought that he was keeping them from becoming all they could be. Suddenly, a false god had come in that promised more than the Living True God had promised. Ultimately, it was a problem with their worship. Ernie Baker, professor of biblical counselling, said, “Humans do not just have personality disorders, they have worship disorders.” Because of that all the other problems followed: Desire problems; Food Problem; Social Pressure Problem; Pain and suffering Problem; Relationship Problem; Sexual Temptation Problem; Blame Problem; Anger Problem; Unforgiveness Problem; Materialism problem; Selfishness Problem; etc.
How can we overcome these repercussions of sins? We must return to a life of true worship. This is why Jesus came. As we return our worship to where it belongs, then we will see a reversal of the repercussions of sin. Here are the 3 steps:
- Reorient your life towards the gospel.
- Seek to magnify God and obey his Word in everything.
- Surround yourself with those who seek the same.
Here are some passages that give the assurance of the new worship that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings:
Titus 3 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
1 John 3:8 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
Colossians 1 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Colossians 3 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
Romans 15 4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Invitation: Are you still struggling with the repercussions of the sins in the Garden? How is your worship? Do you know the Gospel? Have you received the Gospel? Are you surrounding yourself with those who seek to worship God?
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