Notes
We often carry things that slowly destroy who God created us to be. Sin, guilt, shame, bitterness - these weigh us down, even though Jesus came to set us free from them. God’s work has the power to change any life, but it requires a heart that is willing to receive it.
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
John 10:10
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 3:23
Jesus came to give life, not just forgiveness. Forgiveness removes the penalty of sin. But Jesus also gives us power over sin so we don’t have to stay stuck in it.
Sin is a picture word that means missing the bullseye of God’s glorious standard. Because of sin, we all have a tendency to follow the wrong voice, drift from God’s purpose, and carry things we were never meant to carry. The enemy uses sin to attach weight to our lives–guilt, shame, fear, bitterness–and keeps us stuck under it.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
Sin leads to death, but God offers life as a free gift. Not just eternal life later, but a new life that begins right now. Jesus didn’t come and give His life on the cross because He wanted to leave behind good teachings or advice. He came to set us free from the penalty of sin so that He could begin to change us from the inside out.
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Colossians 2:13-15
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
Isaiah 53:5-6
Through the cross, Jesus forgave our past, present, and future sins. He cancels the debt we couldn’t pay and removes the power the enemy had over us. What the enemy tries to use to weigh us down, Jesus already took upon Himself. You have to have personal faith that He came to the world to die for your sin. Instead of listening to the voice of the enemy trying to nail things to your life, listen to the voice of truth and the nails He endured.
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
John 20:26-29
Blessed are those who hear this Good News two thousand years after His resurrection and believe. Those who put their belief in what Jesus has done are empowered to live a life under His authority, no longer weighed down by what the enemy tells us but standing firm in the faith that we are forgiven, no longer carrying the nails of guilt and shame but knowing that Jesus already took them on our behalf. We won’t be perfect, but we will be free.
Group Questions
- What is something people often carry (guilt, shame, fear, etc.) that Jesus came to set us free from?
- Why do you think it’s hard to let go of things Jesus has already paid for?
- What’s the difference between being forgiven and actually living in freedom?
- What is one thing you need to lay down and trust God with this week?
Prayer
Thank you for paying the price for our sin and offering us true freedom. Help us lay down anything we’re still carrying and trust in what you’ve already done. Teach us to live in the freedom and new life you’ve given us.