Greetings from your favorite District Dweller! And happy 234th birthday, USA!
Hope y'all had a great Fourth of July. My gal pals I and made a last-minute dash to the National Mall and arrived just in time to watch the fireworks from a picture-perfect spot under a tree, right next to the Washington Monument. You must join us next time!!
Not surprisingly, there's lots of talk about independence and freedom in the capital this time of year, and it got me thinking about a verse that I came across a few weeks ago:
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." ~ Galatians 5:1
I love this Truth. We are free by His mercy, free in His grace. Free from the bonding slavery of sin, from the burden to work out our own salvation.
In Galatians 3, Paul explains the law and the promise:
"19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come... 22 the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law."
John MacArthur puts it this way in his Bible commentary:
"...deliverance from the curse that the law pronounces on the sinner who has been striving unsuccessfully to achieve his own righteousness, but who has now embraced Christ and the salvation granted to him by grace."
Paul again:
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.' He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit" (Galatians 3:13-14)
Jesus Christ hung on a tree so that YOU would be FREE from the penalty of death...the eternal slavery of sin...the work of carrying this world's burdens on your own...
Have you embraced Christ and accepted His free gift of freedom?
It's something to celebrate!
~
Thinking on these things this week:
"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." ~ Galatians 5:13
"As a prisoner of the LORD, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." ~ Ephesians 4:1
~
Love y'all,
MLH
2 comments:
Thanks for your thoughts, Friend. I especially agree with the phrase about being free "from the burden to work out our own salvation." what a burden that is, too!
I also like your Galatians 5:13 verse at the end. It's good to be reminded not to get carried away with ourselves and the freedom we have in Christ. Just started a Bible study on Esther and Beth Moore points out that even with all of Xerxes belongings (see Esther 1), it's better to be a servant in the kingdom of God than to sit on our own little throne.
Amen, Friend! Similar to your comment about being a servant in the kingdom, someone once pointed out that we are given freedom to worship...to love...to serve. As Paul writes, "everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." (1 Corinthians 10:23-24)
Oh, that God's gift of freedom would humble us to serve Him, to pursue that which is beneficial and constructive and glorifying to the LORD.
Love you!
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