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The Life You Were Made For (Mat 28:1-10)

2012.04.08Rev. Eddie Byun

Christ died and rose to give us true liberty, true love, and true life. Only by receiving him as our Master, the Son of God, do we find the freedom, love, and life we were made for.

Freedom is found in surrendering to Christ, not in doing whatever we want

Jesus died and rose to set us free from sin. The world defines freedom as doing whatever we want, whenever we want, but that is false freedom. A survey of young Koreans found that the top answer to that kind of freedom was playing video games all day, and the results were tragic, including a mother who gave birth in an internet cafe and abandoned her baby. Every heart is looking for a master, and a pleasure becomes a poison when we do not know who our master is. Only when we are slaves to God, with God as our master, does he give us ultimate freedom. Only Jesus is stronger than our sin, and only he can set us free from its power.

True love is God's unconditional love shown on the cross

Feelings change and are never faithful, so a love based on feelings will not last, which is why so many marriages fall apart. God's love is not based on feelings but on a covenant, and it is unconditional and everlasting. Sin draws God's wrath, but on the cross Jesus became the propitiation for our sins and absorbed all the wrath and punishment that should have fallen on us. Through that, the great exchange took place: he received what we deserved, and we received what he has. This is the love that the cross shows us, a love that loved a people who hated him and would even reject him.

Perfect love casts out fear, and love changes hearts

Perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. If you still live in fear, you have not yet received God's perfect love. The message God has for you is not simply that you are a sinner, but that he loves you and gave his Son to die your death. The story of Darren, a troubled young car thief in Sydney, shows this. When four-year-old Sammy welcomed him with unconditional grace and gave him his favorite toy car, Darren gave Sammy the fifteen car keys he had collected, and later refused to go out stealing again. It is God's kindness that leads us to repentance. Only the love of God can meet the deepest needs of our hearts.

Jesus came to give us abundant life, both now and forever

Jesus said that he came that we may have life and have it abundantly. This life includes eternity in heaven with him, but it also includes a fuller life here on earth than we can have apart from him. There is a heaven and there is a hell, and only a relationship with Jesus Christ gives access to eternal life with him. Life is most exciting and rewarding when we live it for the Lord, and radical obedience leads to radical joy. The empty grave shows that sin's power has been destroyed and death's grip has been broken, so that in Christ there is new life forevermore.

Whoever has the Son has everything

A rich man's son befriended a homeless beggar and showed him great kindness, and after the son died, the beggar drew a portrait of him and gave it to the father. At the auction of the father's property, the portrait was offered first and was bought by the beggar, and the master's will stated that whoever wins the portrait of his son wins the whole art gallery. In the same way, when you get the Son, you get everything: the way, the truth, and the life. Whoever has the Son has life, and whoever does not have the Son does not have life. The question that matters most is whether you know Jesus Christ himself.

Apply to Life

  • Let us surrender our lives to Christ as our true Master rather than chasing whatever pleasure or freedom the world offers.
  • Let us rest in God's unconditional, covenant love rather than in feelings that change and fade.
  • Let us set aside our fear, for perfect love casts out fear, and let us receive God's grace with confidence.
  • Let us receive the gift of eternal life by admitting we are sinners, believing in Jesus Christ's saving work, and centering our lives on him as Lord and Savior.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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