True Independence
July 2, 2023

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True Independence


independence is found on our dependence on God

Galatians 5:1,13 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law… for you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. (NLT)

Our freedom in our country and as a believer came at a

We all have a

responsibility

2 Corinthians 5:11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. (NLT)

2 Corinthians 5:9-10 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. (NLT)

We are compelled to tell others about Him and about His

and

2 Corinthians 5:12-15 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. (NLT)

How can I truly

for Christ?

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)

I view people through the

of Christ

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. (NLT)

The message of reconciliation is the

to every Christian receives as a result of being a new creation. You cannot separate the two.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (NLT)

As His ambassador my

is not my own, but belongs to him!

You have experienced freedom in Christ, so bring hope and freedom to someone you know and love!