187. Liberty
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Christ has made us free; stand firmly in the liberty. We have this promise; hold on to it and live accordingly. Christ has made us free from the works of the Law: we are no longer under the bondage of having to live perfectly according to all the laws of God.
We cannot, and we don’t need to, justify ourselves by excusing our behavior, trying to explain why we do the bad things we do and why we fail to do the good things; confessing and repenting works much better, anyway. We cannot justify ourselves by relying on our good works for acceptance by God, by others, and by ourselves for that matter; we could never do enough anyway, and just getting a “A” for effort doesn’t count; only perfect righteousness counts. We cannot justify ourselves by comparing ourselves with others, showing that we are better than a lot of other people; the general behavior of others is not the standard by we judge ourselves; the rigid and unyielding Law of God is the only standard. Since we cannot justify ourselves we are free to give up trying. God justifies perfectly by faith in Christ. Nothing additional on our part is required. We are free from self-justification.
In Christ we are free from guilt and shame, for all guilt has been taken away forever by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are unconditionally, totally and forever forgiven of all sin and guilt. Being free from the stress and anxiety of guilt is a worthwhile liberty. In Christ we are free from the penalty and punishment of sin. Stand in that liberty. God promised. However, we not free from the presence of sin, for it will remain with us until we die. One Day we will be free even from the temptation to sin forever. Neither are we free from the consequences of sin. These we still suffer, and we will suffer consequences as long as we live. But the sin does not condemn us: there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. We are free from Death and from eternal destruction in hell. Death does not even have the last word: Resurrection has the last word, and it is a sure word. We are free from the fear of death; we are no longer subject to fear of death. We do not try to die, and we do not want to die, but we are not afraid to look Death in the face. If we are free from fear of death we are also free from all the “little deaths” that accompany us on the journey, like sicknesses, pains, diseases, troubles and trials. Instead, we overcome by faith in Christ. Being free from fear of death also includes being free from worry about what we shall eat or drink or wear, because worry is just a small bite of the fear of death. We do worry, but we don’t have to. For the believer worry becomes a reminder to pray; carry it to God in prayer; then go on your way rejoicing. Yes, liberty is a big promise, a big deal.