CHRISTIAN LIBERTY

It seems that the closer we get to the Lord's return for His Church, the more desperate the "legalizers" get in their effort to silence those who teach salvation is a gift from God to all who will accept it (Eph. 2:8-9). And while their concern is based upon human logic, their words and deeds betray their ignorance of a couple of important facts: all born again believers still sin, and because God has said His children are His responsibility; He is changing His imperfect kids through the working of the Holy Spirit in those whom He has indwelt (Rom. 7 (all); 8:28-29; 12:1-2; I Jn. 1:8-10). In their understanding (or better misunderstanding), they see sin in others as evidence they are deceived about their salvation, and also see those same people's sin as hindering the acceptance of the Gospel by the lost. It is as though they are totally unaware that they themselves are guilty of sin everyday (Matt. 7:1-5).

The Apostle Paul addressed Christian liberty in his epistle to the Galatians. He wrote: "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:13-25).

Children of God have been freed from the Old Testament laws, all 613 of them. For instance, the early Church met on the first day of the week to honor Christ's Resurrection and the birth of the Church at Pentecost (Mk. 16:9; Acts 2:1; 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). Tithing is another. The only time it is mentioned after Acts 2:1 is in Hebrews 7:1-12, where verse 12 says, "For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law." Christians are told, "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). And perhaps the best example is the law of circumcision. Jews who convert to Christianity are already circumcised; Gentiles do not need to be circumcised (Acts 15:1-29). .However, because the Law was our "school master" to show us our need for a Savior (Gal. 3:24-25), those which have not been superseded by the New Testament, still serve to guide us in a life that is pleasing to our Father.