Christian Liberty - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Galatians 5:13

Christian Liberty
Liberty and love go together. There is no such thing as true liberty if it does not give occasion to the spontaneous outflow of love. Liberty is the very sphere into which the Christian is introduced—liberty from the bondage of sin, of law, of self-will; liberty, in fact, to honor God. The exercise of self-will is bondage rather than liberty. The devil, of course, seeks to turn our liberty to corruption, making it a license for the indulgence of the flesh. We have no excuse for being deceived by him. The very essence of Christianity is the liberty that brings us into utter dependence upon and subjection to God. This is the liberty of the Spirit. How dishonorable it would be, then, to use this liberty as an occasion for the flesh! How despicable it would be to take ungodly advantage of the kindness of God!

"Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Rom. 10:4). The true character of the child of God is simple and straightforward. There are no great, involved schemes of practice pressed upon him and no legal forms or ceremonies, as contained in the Old Testament. In fact, as Romans 13:9 tells us, the law itself is actually fulfilled in that one searching expression, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." This surely goes to the root of the matter. It absolutely cuts off selfishness, which is the unvarying motive of the legalist. The more legal-minded one is, the more thoroughly he is ignoring the claims of the law! Knowing Christ alone gives true liberty of love. "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16, 18, 25).

L. M. Grant