A better way to live
1)
A study
of ancient slavery is very interesting and very sad.
2)
Many
became slaves because they were kidnapped.
3)
A person
may have been free, but one day someone came along and snatched
them.
4)
Some who
were captured were placed in shackles (chains).
5)
There
are stories of slaves being grabbed and then forced to march a 1,000 miles.
6)
It is
approximately 3,000 from our east coast to our west coast.
7)
Imagine
being marched across a third of the U.S., in chains, as a
slave.
8)
If we
get sick or are not physically able to march the thousand miles, we are killed
or left to die.
9)
We
finally reach a holding place and soon learn it is an underground
dungeon.
10)
We are
then kept in an underground prison for up to a year and are finally put on a
ship.
11)
The
voyage lasts between 2-4 months. We
are packed into quarters that are too low for us to stand.
12)
There is no room to move,
everyone is pushed together, and there is no place for trash or human
waste.
13)
We
finally get to the destination and the conditions are not much
better.
14)
As a
slave we are treated worse than animals.
15)
We can be bought, sold,
leased, physically punished, cannot own property, and cannot travel without a
pass.
16)
Not one
of us would want to live in the manner just described.
17)
Any part
of what was described is a life we would run from.
18)
God says
there is something much, much worse.
19)
For our
scripture reading we heard Rom. 6:17.
20)
Paul
said before a person becomes a Christian he is a “slave to
sin.”
21)
If we
are not a Christian, we are a slave.
22)
Rather
than being enslaved to some man or a group of men, the captivity is to
sin.
23)
Sin is a
way of life contrary to God’s law.
It is a way of life that leads away from God.
24)
Sin in
essence captures people—all people.
25)
God
invites every single person in the world to leave the slavery of
sin.
26)
This is
what we want to consider today, and we want to affirm God’s invitation is our
best choice.
27)
We were
also asked to hold in readiness Col. 3; this passage has a lot to say about
sin.
28)
Here
Paul reveals many of the sins that enslave people and we want to read them
all.
29)
Col.
3:1-12 – READ
30)
Verse 5
lists several sins several enslaving sins; the list begins with fornication.
31)
Fornication is a very broad word; it
describes every possible sexual sin.
32)
The
Bible affirms that fornication can, has, and will enslave
people.
33)
Those
who pursue this course may be enslaved by a disease such as
aids.
34)
AIDS is a killer syndrome;
there is no cure for it. When a
person gets it, their life takes a new direction.
35)
AIDS
will take hold of and guide a person’s life.
36)
Fornication often alters a person’s self
image; a person may become a slave to guilt and regret.
37)
People
become slaves to emotional scars because of it. What God said is exactly right.
38)
In
conjunction with fornication we find the word
“uncleanness.”
39)
Outside
the New Testament this word described puss that comes from
wounds.
40)
Given
the context of the word, it seems to be directly associated with
fornication.
41)
Anything
that would lead people to sexual sin is in the realm of
uncleanness.
42)
This
could be pornography; studies have shown that pornographic images enslave
people.
43)
There
have been cases where people became so addicted look at images at
work.
44)
This problem is so bad,
employers are now finding it on people’s cell phones. Sin enslaves, Christ
frees.
45)
Speech
is also in the category of uncleanness.
46)
Lewd
jokes are common in just about every aspect of the world.
47)
We find
people who are enslaved to this type of speech.
48)
We are
exposed to those who just can’t wait to tell dirty jokes.
a)
They
can’t wait to find new people to share their old jokes with, or find new jokes
for friends.
b)
Vulgar
speech enslaves whether people recognize it or not.
49)
Sin # 3
is “passion” or “inordinate
affection.”
50)
Perverse
sensuous passion would be a good definition for this term.
51)
My best
illustration for this sin comes from May of 2003.
52)
A report
in that year said 25% of all new AIDS cases were
intentional.
53)
People
wanted the AIDS virus so they could do whatever they wanted without
consequence.
54)
If you
hear this and just shake your head in disbelief, consider again the premise
being argued.
55)
Sin
enslaves people. It takes control
of a person’s life in ways they can never imagine.
56)
In this
example a person is so blinded by sin they are willing to seek out a horrible
disease.
57)
Paul did
not stop with three sins; he listed a fourth: “evil desire.”
58)
Evil
desires is a spirit (mindset) where someone jettisons all
standards.
59)
They
decide to live as they want, do as they want, and be as they want to
be.
60)
While a
person who lives in this manner may feel free, they are actually a
slave.
61)
They are
a slave to whatever lust or desire feels good at the time.
62)
An
existence like this is little more than living like animals.
63)
A final
sin in verse 5 is “covetousness.”
64)
A
covetous person cannot get enough; there is a desire for more and
more.
65)
When
someone is motivated by covetousness, they are enslaved.
66)
A person
may be enslaved to their job—they want more and more hours for more and more
money.
67)
Covetousness may take the form of
possessions.
68)
People
want a boat, a house, a car, an airplane, a second home, or something
else.
69)
They,
therefore, allow the object of desire to control them and they become a
slave.
70)
Hard
work is find and right. Being a
slave to money and possessions has never been right.
71)
Leaving
verse 5, let’s look at verse 7 once again.
72)
Some of
us have heard it said that people cannot “live in sin.”
73)
Paul
says people can live in sin.
74)
People
cannot only live in sin, some have actually lived in it (there are real
examples).
75)
Even
today people can “live in sin.”
76)
Normally
this expression is applied to people who live together but are not
married.
77)
Living
in sin involves this, but it extends to other areas as
well.
78)
If a
person lies, he is living in sin.
If someone steals, he is living in sin.
79)
Other
sins someone can live in are in verse 8 – READ
80)
We find
“anger” at the beginning of verse 8.
81)
Anger
may be defined as “smoldering hatred.”
82)
At one
time or another most of us see a person who hates someone.
83)
Not only
do we see hate, we see it smoldering.
84)
Day
after day, month after month, year after year the anger is like smoke from a
fire.
85)
It
continues to fume and burn.
86)
Anger
can and will control people.
Thousands are slaves to anger.
87)
Paul
also spoke about “wrath.” Wrath is
a little different than anger.
88)
Anger lingers whereas wrath explodes; imagine a person
who gets angry and “blows up.”
89)
In our
world there are personalities that have a dynamite temper.
90)
Say the wrong thing, do the
wrong thing, give someone the wrong look at they shoot off like
fireworks.
91)
This is
a different type of anger, but it will also enslave a person.
92)
Related
to these two sins is “malice.”
93)
Malice
is always a good theme for a television show or a movie.
94)
It
describes a desire to injure someone or show ill-will.
95)
Stated
another way, such a person is “out to get” another person or a group of
people.
96)
The
desire to bring someone down is just another one of Satan’s
enslavements.
97)
All the devil needs is just
one tool to enslave people, but many let him use several of his weapons on
them.
98)
Malice
is a resource that has work from him since the days of Cain and Abel.
99)
In the
final two sins we have railing (blasphemy) and evil
speaking.
100)
Abusive
speech comes in all types of forms and ways. We know that bad speech
enslaves.
101)
Maybe we
grew up in a home where what was spoken was not the type described in the
Bible.
102)
In our
formative years we may have heard swearing in all its various
forms.
103)
From the very mild to the
very strongest, we were exposed to bad language for 5, 10, 15, or 20
years.
104)
The
speech we hear in our early years has an effect on us.
105)
Those
who become accustomed to bad language in the home have that imprinted on their
psyche.
106)
That
imprint can be broken and changed, but it takes work.
107)
It
requires effort because bad speech is learned.
108)
If we are a parent with
children in the home or grandparents, let me offer this
thought:
109)
Make
your home a place where swear words are not allowed.
110)
Create
an environment where curse words are not spoken or
tolerated.
111)
It will
help us and pay huge dividends for our children when they leave
home.
112)
In
addition to cursing, bad speech can take some other forms.
113)
There is
abusive speech. It is possible to
verbally assault people.
114)
Insulting speech can often wound just as much
as someone stabbing us with a knife.
115)
In our
world there are persons who are enslaved to injurious
speech.
116)
They never have a kind word;
they can never uplift; their tongue is like a rattlesnake just waiting to
strike.
117)
Many
things can enslave us, but God wants us to be free.
118)
Looking
at these sins allows us to understand why Paul said what he did in.
6:17.
119)
Paul
said, “Ye WERE” servants of sin.
Paul also said brethren at Rome had been
“delivered.”
120)
Paul
said God was to be thanked for freeing these brethren from sin.
121)
What if those slaves
referenced earlier had the chance to be freed from the ships that carried
them?
122)
What if
they were offered freedom while on the 1,000 mile trip?
123)
Every
single one of them would have taken it; they would not have needed any
prodding.
124)
There is
a freedom far greater than physical slavery and everyone needs
it.
125)
Have we
taken advantage of it? Have we been
made free from the slavery of sin?
126)
The
process is so simple. God requires that we become a Christian with a few simple
steps.
127)
If we
have taken these steps, we continue to say yes to the Lord and no to sin and its
enslaving power.