On this Fourth of July holiday when we celebrate our hard-won American freedom, let Christians also celebrate our freedom in Christ. Having been given the gift of reconciliation to God and new life in Christ by grace through faith in the One who is able to save, we are no longer slaves to sin. We are no longer enslaved by the impossible task of working to convince our Holy God that we are worthy — based on our obedience — to dwell eternally in His presence. Let us celebrate the immeasurable riches of His grace and His inexpressible gift. Let us live with hearts and minds transformed, in profound gratitude toward the incomparable Gift-giver.
The “A-to-Z” of the Christian Life
“The gospel shows us that our spiritual problem lies not only in failing to obey God, but also in relying on our obedience to make us fully acceptable to God, ourselves and others.
Every kind of character flaw comes from this natural impulse to be our own savior through our performance and achievement. On the one hand, proud and disdainful personalities come from basing your identity on your performance and thinking you are succeeding. But on the other hand, discouraged and self-loathing personalities also come from basing your identity on your performance and thinking you are failing.
Belief in the gospel is not just the way to enter the kingdom of God; it is the way to address every obstacle and grow in every aspect. The gospel is not just the “ABCs” but the “A-to-Z” of the Christian life.
The gospel is the way that anything is renewed and transformed by Christ — whether a heart, a relationship, a church, or a community. All our problems come from a lack of orientation to the gospel. Put positively, the gospel transforms our hearts, our thinking and our approach to absolutely everything.” (Timothy Keller, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2003, 2)
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For further reading: Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 3:21-26; Titus 3:1-8
In one of his letters, the Apostle Paul talks about some people sneaking in to the Christian group to “spy out” the freedom we have in Christ. This concept of freedom in Christ is one of the most misunderstood principles of the Christian faith. I think, just to irritate us, nonChristians will say, “Oh, you mean I can do whatever I want and I’ll still be saved?” My answer is “If you’re saved, are you going to do whatever you want?” In his letter to the Romans, Paul addresses the concept of God’s grace. He says “Should we go on sinning so that grace might increase?” The obvious answer is no.
Some Christian groups subscribe to a type of legalism as a means of attempting to gain a level of holiness. It doesn’t work. Why? Because people can’t live up to perfection. Our nature won’t permit it. And pretty soon we attempt to find ways around the rules or the exception to the law. We can, however, improve as we focus on Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us.
Paul says that we shouldn’t allow our freedom in Christ to be mistaken as a libertarian “license” to continue in sin. Freedom means, peace of mind that Jesus paid the price for us……because we are incapable of meeting God’s standards. Paul knew what he was talking about from experience. He talks about it in his letter to the Phillipians. He explains about his efforts under the Jewish law, fullfilling the rites of the religion (jumping through the hoops) and concluding that his efforts were rubbish. Now he knew Chirst. Everything before that was a waste of time because there are no religious “rites” or customs that we can perform that will get us “right” with God.
It’s the blood of Jesus that has secured for us eternal life. Receive it by faith. Be free today.
Amen Falcon, Amen…Happy Independence Day, folks…
Falcon, excellent post as always, my friend. The great thing about this time appropriate thread is that for the believer every day is Independance Day! We will continue to labor that the Mormons will one day experience this freedom in Christ rather than being continually bogged down in the Mormon law/gospel which leads nowhere except to destruction (Proverbs 14:12).
Dear Sharon,
Thank you for this. Before I became a Christian, a friend would often share with me the same blessed hope you have described. I would listen carefully at times, in some way defensive, intrigued, irritated, and surprised all at once. For I believed that I was the one who had the truth, and he ought to realize that and be impressed by what I said.
In later years, I would think back to our conversations. The memory that stood out was his testimony of God’s grace. I did glimpse its grandeur at the time. But whether due to my pride or nature, it would be years until the gift my friend spoke of would no longer be a mystery to me.
Last year I read a devotional that meant a lot:
—Morning by Morning, November 15