2. Freedom Given Man
O Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God
commanded the man, saying, Of every tree
of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
O 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for
in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die.
3. Righteousness & Life
O Prov. 12:28 In the way of righteousness [is]
life; and [in] the pathway [thereof there is]
no death.
O Prov. 14:12 There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof [are]
the ways of death.
4. Sold Into Slavery
O Isa. 52:3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye
have sold yourselves for nought; and ye
shall be redeemed without money.
O John 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth
sin is the servant of sin.
5. Deliverance
O Rom. 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who
shall deliver me from the body of this death?
O Rom. 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. So then with the mind I myself
serve the law of God; but with the flesh the
law of sin.
6. Freedom In Christ
O John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free.
O John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make
you free, ye shall be free indeed.
7. A Call to Obedience
O Obey, obey, for Christ's sake and for your own soul's
sake. Obey that which your conscience tells you is
truth. Accept the grace and righteousness of Christ.
God is tenderly calling you, "Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light" (Matthew 11:28-30). {TDG 153.6}
8. Christ Our Righteousness
O The foundation of Christianity is Christ our
righteousness. Men are individually accountable to
God, and each must act as God moves upon him, not
as he is moved by the mind of another; for if this
manner of labor is pursued, souls cannot be
impressed and directed by the Spirit of the great I am.
They will be kept under a restraint which allows no
freedom of action or of choice. {5T 725.2}
9. Preeminence
O 3John 1:9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes,
who loveth to have the preeminence among them,
receiveth us not.
O Col. 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the
dead; that in all [things] he might have the
preeminence.
10. Mystery of Iniquity
O 2 Thes. 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth
already work: only he who now letteth [will
let], until he be taken out of the way.
O 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming:
12. Peace And Quietness
“And the work of
righteousness shall
be peace; and the effect
of righteousness
quietness and assurance
for ever.” Isa 32:17
13. Christ’s Mission To Earth
O “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. “Of
the increase of [his] government and peace
[there shall be] no end, upon the throne of
David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and
to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the
LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isa 9:6,7
14. Freedom For All Men
O “The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me;
because the LORD hath anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to [them that are]
bound;” Isa 61:1
15. God’s Spirit Brings Liberty
O 2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and
where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty.
16. Jesus Knew That Peter would have denied
Him, yet He left him free to do it.
O Mar 14:30 And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say
unto thee, That this day, [even] in this night,
before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me
thrice.
17. Judas planned to betray Jesus
O Mat 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called
Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
O Mat 26:15 And said [unto them], What will
ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?
And they covenanted with him for thirty
pieces of silver.
O Mat 26:16 And from that time he sought
opportunity to betray him.
18. Jesus knew of his plot, yet He didn’t
try to expose and humiliate him.
O Mat 26:21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say
unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
O Joh 13:27 And after the sop Satan entered into him.
Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do
quickly.
19. Love Never Fails
O 1Co 13:4 Love is always patient, Love is always
kind, Love is never envious Or vaunted up with pride.
Nor is she conceited,
O 1Co 13:5 And never is she rude, Never does she
think of self Or ever get annoyed. She never is
resentful,
O 1Co 13:6 Is never glad with sin, But always glad to
side with truth, Whene'er the truth should win.
O 1Co 13:7 She bears up under everything, Believes
the best in all, There is no limit to her hope, And
never will she fall.
O 1Co 13:8 Love never fails. Now if there are
prophecies, they will be done away with. If there are
tongues, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will
be done away with.
20. Be Immovable in Christ’s Liberty
O Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
21. The role of the leader then is to follow
Christ’s pattern of leadership
O 2Ti 4:1 I charge [thee] therefore before God, and
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and
the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
O 2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out
of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine.
22. The role of the leader then is to follow
Christ’s pattern of leadership
O 2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts
shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears;
O 2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away [their] ears from
the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
23. No controlling power In God’s Work
O 1Pe 5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort,
who am also an elder, and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory
that shall be revealed:
O 1Pe 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you,
taking the oversight [thereof], not by constraint, but
willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
24. No controlling power In God’s Work
O 1Pe 5:3 Neither as being lords over [God's]
heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
O 1Pe 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear,
ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not
away.
25. Spiritual Police in the Work of God.
O Joh 12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three
hundred pence, and given to the poor?
O Joh 12:7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against
the day of my burying hath she kept this.
O Joh 12:8 For the poor always ye have with you; but
me ye have not always
26. Obedience To God Paramount
O Act 4:17 But that it spread no further
among the people, let us straitely threaten
them, that they speak henceforth to no man
in this name.
O Act 4:18 And they called them, and
commanded them not to speak at all nor
teach in the name of Jesus.
O Act 4:19 But Peter and John answered and
said unto them, Whether it be right in the
sight of God to hearken unto you more than
unto God, judge ye.
27. Obedience To God Paramount
O Act 4:20 For we cannot but speak the
things which we have seen and heard.
O Act 4:21 So when they had further
threatened them, they let them go, finding
nothing how they might punish them,
because of the people: for all [men] glorified
God for that which was done.
28. Obedience to God brings
consequences
O Act 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from
these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel
or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
O Act 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow
it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against
God.
O Act 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they
had called the apostles, and beaten [them], they
commanded that they should not speak in the
name of Jesus, and let them go.
29. Obedience to God brings
consequences
O Act 5:41 And they departed from the
presence of the council, rejoicing that they
were counted worthy to suffer shame for his
name.
O Act 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in
every house, they ceased not to teach and
preach Jesus Christ.
30. Misunderstanding God’s Ways
O Joh 16:1 These things have I spoken unto
you, that ye should not be offended.
O Joh 16:2 They shall put you out of the
synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that
whosoever killeth you will think that he
doeth God service.
O Joh 16:3 And these things will they do unto
you, because they have not known the
Father, nor me.
31. Seeking Praise From Men
O Joh 12:42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers
also many believed on him; but because of the
Pharisees they did not confess [him], lest they
should be put out of the synagogue:
O Joh 12:43 For they loved the praise of men more
than the praise of God.
32. Free Moral Agents
O “The Holy Spirit will not compel men to
take a certain course of action. We are
free moral agents; and when sufficient
evidence has been given us as to our duty,
it is left with us to decide our
course.” {FE 124.1}
33. Satan’s Charge – God is Arbitrary
O “God might have created man
without the power to transgress His
law; He might have withheld the hand of
Adam from touching the forbidden fruit; but
in that case man would have been, not a
free moral agent, but a mere automation.
Without freedom of choice, his obedience
would not have been voluntary, but forced.
There could have been no development of
character. . . . It would have been unworthy
of man as an intelligent being, and would
have sustained Satan's charge of
God's arbitrary rule.” {CC 13.3}
34. Satan’s other Charge – God is unjust to let Man Sin
O “To stir up rebellion in the fallen race, he
[Satan] now represented God as unjust
in having permitted man to transgress
His law. "Why," said the artful tempter, "when
God knew what would be the result, did He
permit man to be placed on trial, to sin, and
bring in misery and death?" ... There are
thousands today echoing the same rebellious
complaint against God. They do not see
that to deprive man of the freedom of
choice would be to rob him of his
prerogative as an intelligent being and
make him a mere automaton. (PP 331,
332)
35. Satan’s other Charge – God is unjust to let Man Sin
O “It is not God's purpose to coerce the will.
Man was created a free moral agent. Like
the inhabitants of all other worlds, he must
be subjected to the test of obedience; but he
is never brought into such a position that
yielding to evil becomes a matter of
necessity. No temptation or trial is permitted
to come to him which he is unable to resist.
God made such ample provision that man
need never have been defeated in the
conflict with Satan.--PP 331, 332 (1890).
{2MCP 421.1}
36. The Human Heart Wants Liberty
Not Give
O “It was the desire for liberty of conscience
that inspired the Pilgrims to brave the perils
of the long journey across the sea, to endure
the hardships and dangers of the
wilderness, and with God's blessing to lay,
on the shores of America, the foundation of
a mighty nation. Yet honest and God-fearing
as they were, the Pilgrims did not yet
comprehend the great principle of
religious toleration.
37. The Human Heart Wants Liberty Not
Give
O “The freedom which they sacrificed so much
to secure for themselves, they were not
equally ready to grant to others.…A kind of
State church was formed, all the people being
required to contribute to the support of the clergy,
and the magistrates being authorized to suppress
heresy. Thus the secular power was in the hands of
the church. It was not long before these measures
led to the inevitable result-- persecution.”
{GC88 292,293
38. No Compelling force in God’s
Kingdom
O “It is no part of Christ's mission to compel men to receive Him.
It is Satan, and men actuated by his spirit, that seek to compel
the conscience. Under a pretense of zeal for righteousness,
men who are confederate with evil angels bring suffering upon
their fellow men, in order to convert them to their ideas of
religion; but Christ is ever showing mercy, ever seeking to win
by the revealing of His love. He can admit no rival in the soul,
nor accept of partial service; but He desires only voluntary
service, the willing surrender of the heart under the constraint
of love. There can be no more conclusive evidence that we
possess the spirit of Satan than the disposition to hurt and
destroy those who do not appreciate our work, or who act
contrary to our ideas.” {DA 487.3}
39. Freedom For All Men In Christ
O The Rights Of The People (A.T. Jones) - “Jesus Christ
came into the world to set men free, and to plant in
their souls the genuine principle of liberty, - Liberty
actuated by love, - liberty too honorable to allow itself
to be used as an occasion to the flesh, or for a cloak
of maliciousness, - liberty in which man may be free
from all men, yet made so gentle by love that he
would willingly become the servant of all, in order to
bring them to the enjoyment of this same liberty.
40. Freedom For All Men In Christ
O This is freedom indeed. This is the freedom which
Christ gave to man; for whom the Son makes free,
is free indeed. In giving to men this freedom, such
an infinite gift could have no other result than that
which Christ intended, namely, to bind them in
everlasting, unquestioning, unswerving allegiance
to him as the royal benefactor of the race.
41. Freedom For All Men In Christ
O “He thus reveals himself to men as the highest
good, and to obedience to his will as the perfection
of conduct. Jesus Christ was God manifest in the
flesh. Thus God was in Christ reconciling the world
to himself, that they might know him, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom he sent. He gathered
to himself disciples, instructed them in his
heavenly doctrine, endued them with power from
on high, sent them forth into all the world to preach
this gospel of freedom to every creature, and to
teach them to observe all things whatsoever he
had commanded them.” The Rights Of The People
(A.T. Jones)
