FREEDOMS DESIRED BY REBELS
1st Samuel 12:14-15
By Mike Walls
Introduction: I don't like to use the term,
"religion," very much, because it too often is associated with the
works of men who are trying to be saved by their own efforts. However, if I may
use the term to describe a believer's worship and service to God, I will say
that it appears that the founders of our country came to
This quest for freedom from religion has
cause the ruin of many lives. They
want to be a rebel. What has the
Bible have to say about a rebel?
1st
Samuel 15:23
“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he
hath also rejected thee from being king.”
Proverbs
17:11
“An evil man seeketh only rebellion:
therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.”
Rebellion is seen in the music of today, the movies that we watch and motives of those around us. James Dean, an actor of my youth was called Rebel without a Cause. Billy Graham’s son wrote a book about himself called: Rebel with a cause. I don’t want to be known as a rebel especially since we know what the Bible says about the subject.
Rebellion is not just a youth thing. A preacher was in a grocery store one
day. This old man was coming to the
express lane, which was 10 items, or less with a shopping cart of 25-30
items. The young cashier reminded
him gently that this was the express lane.
He stated cussing and carrying on saying “I won’t have anybody
telling me what to do.”
Schoolteachers tell us there is a chain
of fear in the public education system. School boards fear the voters.
Administrators fear the school boards. Faculty fears the administrators.
Administrators fear the parents. Parents fear the kids. But the kids fear no
one!
Today, let’s look at some things
that these rebels want freedom from.
I. FREEDOM FROM RULES 1st
Thessalonians 5:14
“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that
are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all
men.”
Titus
1:10
“For there are many unruly and vain talkers and
deceivers, specially they of the circumcision”
James
3:8
“But
the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
What is the word
that describes a rebel here in these three verses? It is the word
“unruly”. It means in
the Bible disorderly, out of ranks (often so of soldiers); irregular,
unreasonable pleasures; deviating from the prescribed order or rule. It was used in Greek society of those
who did not show up for work. It
also means not made subject and that cannot be subjected to control,
disobedient, unruly and noncompliant.
Last of all it means that cannot be restrained. Does this sound like something that we
see regularly?
Let me give you
three thoughts on this line of thought in regards to freedom desired by rebels
that includes the rules.
A. Rebels don't like direction. That is why the phrase No Fear has so popular with teens
today. They don’t want
direction in their lives. Why? They may have to obey some rules. They prefer to be unruly. They think it is cool. But God condemns it and lumps it in with
sin of witchcraft. What was the
Bible penalty for witchcraft?
Exodus
22:18
“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to
live.”
In fact, rebellious children
were taken out of the city and stoned if found guilty of rebellion. Aren’t you glad that we live under
the period of grace where folks can get saved?
B. Rebels don't like demands. Since a rebel likes to do his or her own
thing, they don’t like demands on their time, talents or treasures. In a family, there is always some kind
of demand.
C. Rebels don't like duties. Teen pregnancy is at an all time
high. Since we live in an enlighten
age and condoms are given by the school, why is this? Boys want their cake but don’t
want to the responsibility or the duty of caring for those children.
For
some girls, being pregnant is a status symbol. But they don’t the duty of raising
that child. So they have the
grandmother raise the baby. Thank
God for grandmothers who try to raise the grandchildren for the glory of God.
II. FREEDOM FROM RIGHTEOUSNESS
Romans
6:20
“For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free
from righteousness.”
A. Rebels don't like the preaching of righteousness. In fact, that is why some families leave good sound churches because they don’t want to live righteously and don’t want to sit under the sound of preaching of righteousness.
1. We are supposed to live righteously
Titus
2:12
“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world”
Why
should live righteously? It
identifies us as real Christians.
1st
Peter 2:9
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light”
2. We are supposed to talk righteously.
Colossians
4:6
“Let your speech be alway with grace,
seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
What
is talking righteously? It is words
that are clean without a hint of vulgarity. 3. We
are supposed to walk righteously.
Ephesians
5:15
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools,
but as wise”
B. Rebels don't like the promotion of
righteousness.
Proverbs
14:34
“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a
reproach to any people.”
1. Abortions should illegal not the protesting of
them.
2. Sodomy should be illegal not the protesting of
it being a hate crime.
3. Liquor should be illegal.
In
the average church in
What
is being considered the norm?
Divorced parents and single parent home are considered normal. Sodomy is considered normal. Living together without the benefit of a
marriage license is considered normal.
(We used to call that shacking up but now we call it living together.)
C. Rebels
don't like the presence of righteousness
1. It bothers them to even see others do right.
2.
A godly man doesn't even have to
"preach" at them to make rebels angry. All he has to do is be in
their presence.
III. FREEDOM FROM REGRETS Proverbs
14:13
“Even
in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is
heaviness.”
Proverbs
13:15
“Good understanding giveth favour: but the
way of transgressors is hard.”
A. They want freedom from the regrets of the
pain to themselves.
B. They want freedom from the regrets of the
power of sin over them.
C. They want freedom from the regrets of the
people they have hurt.
No regrets maybe today but
tomorrow may be another story. (Pay
day some day- Ahab and Jezebel had no regrets when they stole the vineyard from
Naboth. But they both regretted
their sin. They both died violent
deaths.)
If
you get to get old, you will live with the regrets of not serving God, not loving the Bible and thousands of
other regrets.
IV. FREEDOM FROM RESPONSIBILITY
Romans
14:12
“So then every one of us shall give account of
himself to God.”
A. They want freedom from the outcomes they
experienced.
Sin will always take you
farther than you wanted to go; it will always keeper longer than you wanted to
stay and it will cost you more than you wanted to pay.
B. They want freedom from the others they
defiled.
Defiling
others with your ideals.
Defiling
others with your idols.
Defiling
others with your insubordination.
Defiling
others with your indignation.
Defiling
others with your iniquity.
C. They
want freedom from the opportunities they forsook.
It may be opportunity to lead
others to Christ. It may be
opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. It may be opportunity to know Christ in
an intimate way.
Conclusion: Do you really want to be known as
a rebel? Rejecting the clear
teaching of the Word of God is rebellion.
Refusing to listen to the clear teaching of the Word of God is nothing
less than rebellion.
If you are being rebellious, then you
need to confess your rebellion as sin to the Lord Jesus.
1st
John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”