Glorious Freedom

Scripture

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

~Galatians 5:1, NLT

Quote

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.’

~Ronald W. Reagan

Being set free is one thing; staying free is another. In the US criminal justice system, 67.8 % of inmates set free with commit crimes again. The prosecution rate is not as high as it once was but you can say that over half of those in prison have been there before. After being set free, they were incarcerated a second time. They were free but they didn’t stay free. Paul upbraids the Galatians for slipping back in to the bondage of Judaism and legalism. False teachers came in preaching another gospel and it was not the gospel of grace. They were teaching Christ plus circumcision–Christ plus obedience to the law of Moses. These false teachers had destroyed the integrity of the gospel by teaching works. Judaism was a bastion for arrogance, pride, conceit and condemnation of others and the Galatians were leaving Christ and going back to Judaism. Paul is pleading, “What are you doing? Have you lost your mind? Are you going to trade freedom for slavery?”

In Galatian one, Paul states clearly, “There is no other gospel.” The gospel of Jesus Christ which is the gospel of Grace is the only true gospel. If salvation is not of grace, there is no good news! William Temple said, “The only thing I contributed to my salvation was my sin of which I needed redemption.” Any gospel that is not pure grace is a distorted gospel. There is no place for works of any kind in the true gospel. If you have to work to get or work to keep it, it is not the true gospel. This is the distinct difference between religion and Christianity. All religions teach and preach a works salvation. A works salvation is more appealing to the flesh: it fosters our ego and nourishes our pride. Nothing is more harmful to ministry and evangelism than a Pharisee. Hey, they don’t miss and they will even go out on church visitation but they talk more about themselves more than they do Jesus and they have a condescending spirit that is offensive. They will do more harm than good. They can ruin a Sunday school class, a prayer group, a visitation and they are pure murder at a testimony service for they cannot speak without exalting themselves.

Paul, while on this subject, warns us about slipping back into the bondage of the flesh from the stand point of indulgence; of giving in to the carnal nature and appetite. Paul said in chapter five, For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself. So there are two extremes to avoid: legalism and licentiousness. Remember the Israelites: God liberated them from Pharaoh but they slipped right back into the bondage of idolatry. The devil is not particular as to what enslaves you so long as it not your love for Christ. If you draw a check from the federal government every month and that is what you depend on: or you not an economic slave to the federal government? They are many types of slavery and we should avoid them all.

Extra

It is amazing what a few snow flakes can do or in some cases, the forecast of snow flakes. It is also amazing how a few miles can make a difference in the weather. I have never seen such large snow flakes that fell during our outside service. We are down in the valley and at the foot of a mountain. One of church members lives on the mountain and drives less than a mile to get to church. It was three degrees colder on the mountain and of course that got an accumulation. By the time June and I got to Hartselle, the snow stopped and there was nothing. Those on the eastern side of the county got a lot more. We got nothing here at 1120 except a few flakes. I just talked to Kip by text, they got a little but not a problem. They were starting home at 7:00 this morning.

Have a great day and week. Thanks for reading the blog.

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