WHAT IS LIBERTY?
Free in Christ ! ! ! A statement of liberty . . . “I won’t be bound by ANYTHING”, some young Christians declare. Good idea??? I think NOT ! !
Yes we are free in Christ, but free to do WHAT? What should we be BOUND by, and what should we NOT be bound by??
When I was younger, a Christian friend of mine stated that since he was “free in Christ” he was no longer bound by ANY laws (let the mature reader understand) and he was free to experience ALL of the sensual pleasures of life !
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KEY SCRIPTURE #1
Gal 5:1 (KJV)
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
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1). What we are NOT free to do: SIN ! ! !
Rom 6:22-23 (NIV)
22 But now that you have been SET FREE FROM SIN and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
23 FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2). What we ARE free to do:
a). Serve GOD and PEOPLE . . .
Eph 2:8-10 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
b). Enjoy life . . . (as long as it does not violate the Word OR your God given conscience)
1 Tim 6:17-19 (NIV)
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
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KEY SCRIPTURE #2
Rom 6:18 (NIV)
18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
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3). What we should NOT be bound by: MAN’S LAWS ! ! !
Mark 7:13 (NIV)
13 Thus YOU NULLIFY THE WORD OF GOD BY YOUR TRADITION that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."
There are MANY folks who were attracted to this Church because we did NOT have a set of MAN MADE rules to follow (no playing cards, no watching movies, no wearing shorts, etc.). We encourage people to FIND GOD’S LAWS in the BIBLE and obey THEM ! ! :)
4). What we SHOULD be bound by: GOD’S LAWS ,
i.e. the 10 Commandments were not subtitled, “The 10 Suggestions”. We are NOT free to pick and choose which commandments to obey and which to ignore ! (Let the New Testament Christian understand that Jesus did not come to DESTROY the law, but to FULFILL IT ! ! The 10 commandments come “through the cross” and are STILL VALID CONTROLLERS OF OUR MORALITY both as individuals AND as a community ! ! !
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS:
Exod 20:1-17 (NIV)
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 "YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.
4 "YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF AN IDOL IN THE FORM OF ANYTHING in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
6 but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 "YOU SHALL NOT MISUSE THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY BY KEEPING IT HOLY.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "YOU SHALL NOT MURDER.
14 "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.
15 "YOU SHALL NOT STEAL.
16 "YOU SHALL NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR.
17 "YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOR'S (ANYTHING) house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
As the kids are all wearing on their wrists, ‘W.W.J.D.” (What Would Jesus Do?)