
THE USE AND MISUSE OF LIBERTY
Brother Neff’s Collections
Originally Published September 4, 2014
September 23, 2023
Ga 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Christians are free from the law’s curse, its penalty and the guilt it produces. Fear, anxiety, and guilt are replaced by peace, forgiveness and liberty.
This new found freedom is not gained as a result of what we have done for God; but it is found in what God has done for us.
When God sent His Son into this world to live that perfect, sinless life that we could not live, and to die in our place on the cross of Calvary, our sin debt was paid. When Jesus arose from the dead, the door of salvation was opened to every sinner.
Who could be more free than one who has been set free from the penalty and power of sin?
But here is where many fail in their thinking. It is possible to misuse freedom to live selfishly, and even to live sinfully. Those who go down this path have the mindset, that now that I have been set free, I can do what I want, live how I want, and do not have to give an account to anyone. That kind of thinking leads to tragedy in this life and sorrow at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Christian liberty is not a license to sin; it is being free to serve the Lord. It is being free to overcome the flesh and the bidding of Satan. It is freedom to serve the Lord and be a blessing to our fellow man.
The believer does not walk in sin, for he loves God and loves his neighbor. The believer walks and lives under the greatest of laws—the law of love.
CONSIDER: Liberty does not give us the freedom to do what we please, but to do what pleases God.