Sermon on 30 July 2023 by Pastor Justin Chia
John 8:32 - “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” John 14:6 - “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 8:31 - “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” There are many Christians who know the truth by quoting the truth, without walking out the truth. The more they know the truth, the more they don’t walk in the truth. Jesus is the truth. When you know the truth, you will walk in His way and you will know to walk in the Cross. The devil doesn’t want us to know this truth because once we know the truth, we will be set free. We will be set free from sin. Romans 6:18 - “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” John 8:34-36 - “Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” 1 John 5:18 - “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.” If we continue to sin, we are not abiding in the house. If we are not abiding in Jesus, we won’t be set free. When the Son sets you free, you are indeed free. The devil won’t preach a totally wrong doctrine. He will mix the good and bad. You will slowly be in the dark, walking with Satan. A repented Christian will not want to sin. You will want to quickly come back and repent. We can be free from the bondage of sin by living a victorious life through the Cross. If you desire to be a Christian, you need to take up the cross. Romans 6:5-6 - “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Matthew 10:38 - “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Luke 9:23 - “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” The cross simply represents death. When Jesus tells us to carry our cross daily, it means to die daily. If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, your old man needs to die. The devil knows that he cannot stop the blood of Jesus that washes us clean. However, the devil knows that you can go to the cross to be set free. That’s why the devil doesn’t want you to go to the cross. By taking His cross, your old self dies (a one time event), and you will die daily through sanctification which is a lifelong process. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 - “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;” 1 Corinthians 15:31 - “I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” Romans 6:22 - “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” The death of self daily is a choice that Christians must make, that will lead to sanctification and eternal life. If you don’t carry your cross and die, you are not worthy to be called a disciple of Christ. Matthew 10:38 - “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Luke 9:23-24 - “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” Matthew 6:24 - ““No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” If you are not willing to die to self daily (a work of flesh), and live for Christ daily (crucified the flesh), you are lukewarm. You don’t want to die to the flesh. Revelation 3:15-16 - ““I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” Galatians 5:19-21 - “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Works of the flesh refer to impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, spiritism, hatred, fighting, jealousy, anger, constant effort to get the best for yourself, complaints, feeling that everyone else is wrong except those in your group, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild parties and all sorts of things. The devil will make sin look so normal that it seems alright to sin. Galatians 5:24 - “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Romans 6:11 - “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Carrying our Cross is evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the spirit is determined by one principle, which is total death of self. Romans 6:22 - “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” Galatians 5:22 - “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” Walking in the truth of the Cross will set you free from the bondage of sin. Romans 6:7 - “For he who has died has been freed from sin.” Only the cross will bring true disciples of Christ, true repentance, true regeneration and true renewal. John 8:31 - “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” John 8:32 - “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” The world needs the cross. The people need the cross. The church needs the cross. Christians need the cross to have victory over sin. The cross is a symbol of death. Only through helplessness, weakness, fear and trembling that we can bear fruit. This will bring reconciliation to all people of God. John 12:24-25 - “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Romans 6:11-14 - “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” The cross is God’s plan for salvation. It is the point where God and sinful man merge. The power of the cross will set you free from the work of the devil. Hebrews 10:20 - “by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,” 2 Corinthians 4:10-11 - “always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” Luke 9:23 - “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” John 8:32 - “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” John 12:26 - “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” The cross is the love of God. God’s love is expressed in terms of actions. The cross shows us the depth of God’s love and humility. The cross shows us that forgiveness is necessary. Romans 5:8 - “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 1 John 4:8-10 - “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Philippians 2:5-8 - “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” The cross teaches us discipleship. The cross was His ultimate display of servanthood as a disciple. Christianity is not a membership into a feel-good organization. Church is about discipleship. Luke 9:23 - “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” John 12:26 - “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” Matthew 28:19-20 - “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” The truth of the cross will set us free from sin, granting us the power to walk in the spirit. The cross is God’s wisdom and power unto salvation. God is always on your side. Romans 6:5-7 - “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.” What people need is eternal life and victory over sin on earth. John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Luke 9:23 - “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” John 8:32 - “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” The cross we preach to others must first crucify us. Amen.
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