It’s the 4th of July! Of course everyone’s mind is on freedom and liberty, and the gift of a freedom-loving form of government God gave us through our forefather’s wisdom, sacrifice, and passion. But the desire for freedom has much deeper and personal spiritual roots in us all than political. You might be surprised how often this need and quality of life is addressed in the Bible.
The phase, “For freedom you have been set free,” came to me early this morning as I began to listen and ponder in my meditation and quiet time.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1 NIV).
Judged Already
I just received a message from a good friend of mine, Dwayne Russell, in the river valley that was related to what I was reading, hearing, and thinking. He quoted John 3:17- 20, the verses after the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, and then went on to his missive entitled, “Judged Already.”
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved hrough Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (John 3:17-20 NASB1995 Emphasis Added).
“Judged already! The light has come but sadly we love darkness, because we can’t hide our stuff in the light. It is exposed. But when we see the light and embrace it, the exposure brings forgiveness, love, and strength we didn’t know we had, because it’s Him in us (Col 1:27).
Jesus will stand at the end of time and have the final say to those who love darkness. The light will win and one day there will be no more darkness except in hell itself.”
Walk In the Light and Live Free
Love light! Walk in light! Confess sin, and let the light shine upon it and in your hearts. Then it’s easier to repent and win over sin experiencing God’s forgiveness (washing) and power for living free—His Spirit! “…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32).
That’s a summary, the over-arching truth, and the key to freedom and joy for all who will call upon the Lord. That is also the substance and summary of our pastor’s message Sunday from Galatians five. Dr. Ben Wilson said the apostle Paul gave us in Galatians 5 two distortions about freedom and a path forward.
The two distortions:
(1)Moralism or legalism leads to slavery (v1-12).
(2)License (everything that feels good, do it) leads to death (v13-20).
The path forward:
(3) Walk in the Spirit and fulfill the law of love (v 13-26).
Avoid “the trap of sin and shame” as Martin Luther called it in, The Freedom of the Christian and the Bondage of the World.
Ben entitled his sermon, “Fully Convinced! Following Christ with Conviction in a World of Confusion.” Before ending with two verses from Galatians 5, here are some of his salient quotes:
“We must understand our freedom in Christ, which is true freedom.”
“God’s law gives you an excellent picture of righteousness, but it can’t make you righteous.” “It can’t set you free from sin and shame.”
“There is a Latin phrase from the reformation that can be translated ‘not able, not to sin.’ License does not equal liberty. Do not use your liberty to cast off restraint.”
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25)
