We all know and have heard that our freedom is found in Christ. What seems to have happened is the enemy has infiltrated and confused where that freedom is found. We do not want to be living in ignorance as many who do not know the truth are, but we want to understand what Jesus Christ has really done for us.
The enemy will use the word of God to confuse, just as he did in the Garden of Eden were he took what God said and twisted it just a little to bring confusion and doubt. This is the same enemy we face today. He still uses the same tricks and techniques he has used for many years. One of goals the enemy has is to take those who are free and bind them. Whether it be sins or by taking what was by faith and making it to be by the law.
Oh, brothers and sisters, what have we done to earn our salvation? What is it we do that can add to the cross? Let us not continue to be bound! Jesus paid our debts and set us free! Let go of the chains that bind you! As a believer in Christ, as one saved and set free by grace, those chains are no longer clasped on, but it is by our own doing that we hold on to them.
In the letter Paul writes to the churches in Galatians, he confronts even Peter who, being a disciple of Christ, one who walked WITH Jesus. Peter had allowed others to put the law back on him. He had separated from the uncircumcised and was practicing the law of Moses and not the law of love. As Paul explains that by putting oneself under one part of the law you will need to obey all aspects of the law. I love what Paul asks the people in Galatians 3:5 – “Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard?” He asks if they received the Spirit because they obeyed the law or because of their faith in Jesus. We know the answer is “by faith.”
There are still to this day those who are trying to bind those who are set free. They want to bind us to the law from which Paul says “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse” (Gal 3:10). The example used was circumcision, but is not limited to only that part of the law. He also talks about observing certain days, months, seasons and years from which we are also set free from (Gal 4:10). If we are feeling obligated to observe one part of the law then we are breaking the law if we do not follow the whole law. The law is not a “pick and choose” deal for by which we obey only what we want, it is a complete package. Paul, one who studied the law in its entirety and one whom claimed to have observed the law, knew that he failed and was not able to complete all the law had. Is not the law of love greater? Did we forget what Jesus commanded?
Let us walk in freedom. Love is our freedom. By love we can fulfill the law, by love we do not harm each other and by love we worship God our Father. Don’t let others burden you with that which you were set free from. It seems that those who are saved by grace find freedom from sin and then are bound by the law later by those who don’t understand the completeness of what Jesus did on the cross.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, be careful of the enemy. He works in ways to bind us. Prayerfully consider things you are taught or when you feel obligated to observe an aspect of the law. Don’t ever be persuaded that you will have to do something to earn your salvation! There is nothing we can do to add to what Jesus Christ has already done. How can we think that we can add to His work? How can we believe that what Jesus did was not good enough, that somehow He couldn’t save us 100 percent? I know I have fought this battle a number of times, believing that somehow a sin has undone what Christ already paid for. No longer will the enemy enjoy a triumph in the area! May Christ have full reign in our lives and may we not be ignorant to the skills of the enemy.
