For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! (Galatians 5:13-15)
People often feel that Christianity is a very resticting faith, but it is the most liberating belief in the world. Christianity releases us from the power of sin, the traditions of men and the customs of our cultural. We explored this in the previous blog post, "Only Two Commandments, Two Rules!" Christianity teaches us that: God is love; He loved us before we loved Him; He wants us to love Him above all others; and He wants us to love each other - love is not a feeling, love is action (I Corinthians 13) The only restrictions we have are to not eat the blood of an animal and to abstain for sexual immorality (Acts 15:18-20)
True freedom is to not be bound by what others expect, but to only live to please God. The religious leaders always accused Jesus of not obeying the Jewish laws and customs, but Jesus always responded by doing what God lead him to do (John 5:19), and not giving into their pressure to conform to customs of the religious sect. (Romans 12:2) We are filled with the Spirit of God, so lets allow Him to manifest the character of God in our lives: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22-26)
Consider listening to Pastor Jeff Schreve teaching: http://www.fromhisheart.org/Listen-Hear-Our-Broadcast.aspx
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