Freedom's Road Series II Shame, The Thief of Freedom

Freedom’s Road Series
Installment II
S-H-A-M-E
The First Fruit of Sin
The Thief of Freedom
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Genesis: 2:25
Prior to the fall men and women lived together without shame without condemnation. They were naked but unashamed. Some commentators have tried to explain their lack of shame based on a covering of Glory. This is imaginative but simply not biblical. Adam and Eve simply did not know shame. We see this lack of shame at times in our own lives. I think of the naked new born babe. Life is glorious and shame is not present when on rejoice at the site of a child. Some have been privileged to minister to the infirmed the ill and the week. They carry in them the gift anointing to aid the sick. These individuals, Certified Nursing Assistants, Nurses and others like them cover shame with compassion.
The contrast to the covered shame is exposed shame. Sin when it is present, progressively exposes us. It makes us run from God, hide a personal faults and makes salvation of our souls difficult. I have provided and acronym and scriptures from Genesis 3 that provides an accurate depiction of the process of bondage to sin that shame enforces, but also the life of liberation that Christ grants when he frees us from a life of sin.
Self Hatred: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons: Genesis 3:7
Hidden: And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. Genesis: 3:8
Actively Pursued by God: And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? Genesis 3:9
Meaning brought to your Life: thou shalt bring forth children Genesis 3:16 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread: 3:19
Eternal Life Yours: 2Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. Genesis 3:21
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrews 9: 12-14
Self Hatred and Hiding: The first thing that shame does in our life is cause us to hate ourselves. Prior to sin Adam and Eve did not cover themselves. They were not dissatisfied with who they were. Sin does that to us. It makes us hate the way we look, the way to talk, our race, body type. We can no longer be free to be ourselves. The pleasure that sin brings for a season is often the pleasure of a divergence from ourselves, we get to be someone else for a period time. We “forget about our troubles for a while.” This self hatred and its accompanying forms of hiding take many forms
Forms of Self Hatred
a. Physical Forms lead to Sexual Immorality
b. Dissatisfaction with the way God has made you can lead to eating disorders.
c. Addictions are a form of self hatred. It is often a subtle form of suicide.
d. Risk taking “adrenalin junky” kinds of behavior
e. Self mutilation is an extreme form. When people begin to cut themselves to relieve pain this is a form of self hatred.
Forms of Hiding:
a. Work
b. Addictions
c. Family Obligations
d. Culture
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5: 19-21
All of these are either forms of self hatred or ways that we hide from God.
Sexual immorality and impurity cause us to worship the creation instead of the creator. We become lovers of ourselves verse Lovers of God. Exercise does profit us a little but we have become obsessed with our appearance and our sexual desirability.
Debauchery results in aimless destruction it reflects the character of Satan that comes to kill, steal, and destroy. It is Los Angeles riots following championship wins.
Idolatry and witchcraft seek to replace God with things we make and things that we do. They replace faith and trust that is worthy of God only with lifeless objects and partnership with the devil.
Discord, jealousy, fits of rage, separate us from each other like Adam and Eve were separated. They cause us to assign blame instead of taking on accountability as did. It leads us into a situation in which we avoid or hide from responsibility for our own behavior.
Selfish ambition, dissensions, factions systematize the above works of the flesh. It’s now more than a personal problem it is a family feud, it is a national war, It what happened in the days of Noah when men grew in violence toward each other. They miss
Envy; drunkenness, orgies, are the dregs from the table of the above meal served to the flesh. It is wantonness without direction. It is anarchy. It is often spring break, it is frequently Bourbon St. New Orleans and “What happens is Vegas stays in Vegas” is a reflection of its normalization.
Ways the God Actively Pursues us, Brings Meaning to our Lives and Grants us Eternal Life.
1. Creation: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. Psalm 19 1-2
2. Conscience: (WE) who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) 16This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. Romans 2: 14-16
3. Christ: 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Romans 5: 17 -19
4. Word:
33 Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. [b]
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.
39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.
40 How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness. Psalm 19: 33-40

Freedom's Road Series

Freedom’s Road Series

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die

The understanding of freedom as it relates to our Christian faith has become a central quest in my desire to understand God’s purpose for our lives in a deeper manner. It is my hope that this series will develop in to larger revelation or illumination to the Body of Christ about the importance of understanding God’s will for each of us. It is often said that each of us is dispensable. The purpose of these articles is to prove in fact that each of us is indispensable that God made us for a specific purpose, a specific time and a specific manner, that we may be indispensable in that place.

There are many women who are qualified to raise children but only one is qualified to be my Mom. There are many qualified social workers and ministers but for this time and this place I am called to be the director of Housing First RI and the pastor of Faith Fellowship Church. Knowing these truths helps me to Love the place God has placed me and trust him with the accomplishment of all things that he desires. Contentment brings faith in this regard.

Acts 17:26-28From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.

The Lord put Adam in the Garden. He put him there because that was where he wanted him and he did not want him anyplace else. That was his “determined time and exact place.” He was given a job to do. I would attest to you that true freedom is found in the work we are called to do! He told Adam he was free, but free within limits. Adam was called to take care of the Garden. No man could volitionally jump generation, or choose what family in race he would be born to. Our diligence to finds God’s will, should be the same. Jesus said “I have come to do the will of the Father, He is always working and so I must work too.”

Freedom’s Purpose:

God has made me free,
He has made me free that I might find me
In finding me, I find thee, The only true God and maker of all, the maker of me.

God has made me free
I find in me all that is not thee
I find in me all that can be in thee,
In finding thee I find glee, I find joy
It builds up and does not destroy

God has made me free
He has made me free to work and toil
To work for treasures that do not fade do not spoil.
A thorn a brier I will find along the way,
Yet, The soil is rich, the labor divine,
In you I am free for all of time.

Rev. Don Boucher July 2009

Biblical Freedom is found when our hearts desire and God’s desire for our lives are the same. Psalm 37:4

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Freedom begins where God Places you. Gen 2:15

God Placed Adam in the Garden
He did not place Abraham there. He was called to go to a land he did not know.
He did not place Mosses there. He was called as a shepherd, a deliver, and law giver.
He did not place David. He too was called as a shepherd, a poet a psalmist, a king
He did not even call Jesus there. He was called as a carpenter, and a savior.

Where has God placed you?

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [a] you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Also Reference Psalm 139 and Jeremiah 29

Freedoms 1st Task is Work

Adams work was to work the Garden
Jeremiah’s Work was as a prophet
Mosses as the Law Giver
David the King
Jesus the Savior
What is your Job?

When you truly begin to Live Free you will find your purpose!!!!

Freedom is built by family and Community.
18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam [g] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs [h] and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib [i] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, [j] ' for she was taken out of man."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
There were many distinctive to the Garden that I don’t think that we fully grasp. The nature of Adam’s relationship to the animals is one of those. I will be speaking in a later articles about man’s abuse of freedom that leads to the flood. I mention it now because the Noah narrative tells us that the fear of man did not come upon the animal kingdom until after the flood. In the Garden narrative we see Eve converse with the serpent. Whatever the nature of Adam’s relationship with the animal kingdom was it was insufficient. He could not be free outside the context of human community. Every community begins with family and where there is true freedom there is the absence of shame.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
More on Shame next time, it is the first enemy of Freedom.