We have just celebrated Independence Day. Everybody wants independence. I believe it is real closely related to freedom, because without it there would be no freedom.
What is freedom?
I went to the dictionary to look up the definition of freedom. It told me to look under liberty. Here is what it said: LIBERTY (Freedom) is the opposite of servitude or bondage, whether physical, moral, or spiritual. I believe there isn't anybody that doesn't want this for themselves.
We have more freedom in this country then any other country in the world. There are many soldiers that fought for our freedom and paid for it with their blood. If you watch television or listen to the news on the radio, you will notice that even today there are still soldiers fighting to secure our freedom.
Just like for our physical freedom somebody had to pay for our spiritual freedom. The person that did this is Jesus Christ. You might ask yourself what I mean?
Back before Jesus paid the price for our freedom, God's law was given to Moses for the people to follow. This law was impossible to keep and made everyone slaves to the law, because this is what people where trying to live by. God knew we could not live by his law and used it to show us how bad we needed a savior, someone to set us free.
If you look at Religions, it does not matter which one, you will find out that they all put rules and regulations on their people and you are not anywhere near free.
We have more freedom in Christ than any other religion. How does that happen? Please read the following Bible verse:
GAL 5:1 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.
According to this Jesus Christ set us free, but if you read in the book of Acts you will notice that right away someone wanted to take that freedom away.
This is from a discussion that Paul and Barnabas had with some of the Apostles after someone tried to put requirements on salvation:
Ac 15:10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
They where trying to add rules and regulations. The above verse says that we are saved by grace not by what we do. So if we are not saved by what we do, can we do anything we want? No, just read the following scripture:
GAL 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
So what does this mean? It means that you should not use this freedom to do whatever you want. It means that if you follow this commandment you will be free and at the same time you are making sure that the people around you will keep there freedom.
Anytime we do not treat our neighbor as ourselves, we wind up infringing on his freedom. So for everyone to enjoy equal freedom we have to live by this commandment.
Most people mistake freedom's meaning. They think it means they can do anything they want. But when you do whatever you want you will interfere with someone else's freedom.
Does this mean God doesn't have any guidelines for us to live by? Yes he has guidelines, but if you look at what he asks of us it is for our own benefit. A lot of these guidelines may not be something you have to do, you have the freedom not to; but just like when a parent puts restrictions on a child, it is not to take away his or her freedom, it is to protect them from harm.
Please enjoy the freedom God has given you.
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