"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." Galatians 5:1
John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
A spiritually minded man will never come to you with the demand - "Believe this and that;" but with the demand that you square your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One Whom the Bible reveals (cf. John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty of conscience, not liberty of view. If we are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty - the liberty of realizing the dominance of Jesus Christ.
Always keep your life measured by the standards of Jesus. Bow your neck to His yoke alone, and to no other yoke whatever; and be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God's view. There is only one liberty, the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.
Don't get impatient, remember how God dealt with you - with patience and with gentleness; but never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, "Go and make disciples," not "make converts to your opinions."
Personal addition:
As I was discussing this with my family I had to strongly state that if there is ever a message we need to let get embedded in our hearts it is this one. That Jesus Christ is life and life can only be found in Him. I do pray that we all seek to let this become so clear, so real, so vibrant in our lives that a filter by the Spirit of God would be in place to provide discernment when ANYTHING outside of that enters in and someone tries to bring us into bondage, no matter how well intended they may be. In thinking about this, it does lead me back to a consideration that I had on edification that I will post up soon. Also makes me think of a message called "The Real Jesus" by Zac Poonen which I listened to just the other day. A critical message for us all to hear in this day.
Be blessed in the Lord Jesus Christ,
David
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2 comments:
Well noted - as continued, Paul writes, "only use not your liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." It appears we live in a world that loves "liberty" but wants it for the wrong reasons (Rom 6:1)... or should I say our churches want the type of liberty that permits reckless abandonment to Biblical authority / accountability. Paul indicates that the true purpose for liberty is to love and serve one another... by God's grace this 21st century church would use this amazing gift of liberty to serve others!
Thanks for the reminder....
Agreed brother. Thanks for bringing that aspect into the meditation. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to get a misconception of things based on the focus of the blog post.
Sadly I believe that most of what you speak of comes out of the misconception of what grace is due to the incorrect and oft taught "unmerited favor of God" when in reality it is the grace of God that teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world (Titus 2:11 - 13).
Certainly desiring to live after our own self focused desires is not liberty it is sin.
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