Our Liberty is Not for the Flesh

The birth, death and resurrection of Christ redeemed and delivered us from sin. And our liberty is not for the flesh, but live to please God.

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)

When the Galatians trusted Christ, they were freed from the law’s yoke of bondage (performance), in which people try to gain God’s favor by carefully heeding His rules – and could accept Christ’s invitation to rest. 

Matthew 11:28 is one of the most gracious commands in the Bible, Jesus invitation to ‘come to Him,’ speaks to all who are oppressed by routine, monotony overwork, responsibility, and tension.  Those who are heavy laden endure something that is laid on them from an outside source, causing what we would today call “burnout.”  Jesus form of rest is not absence of work but rejuvenation and refreshment.

It seems that our default position is to try to work our way to salvation, expecting reward for being good and doing good.  But no matter how many laws we keep, we will still fall short (Romans 3:23; James 2:10).  In contrast, Christ’s message, which Paul restates here, is that salvation is a gift-by grace alone (Ephesian 2:8-9).  We are saved by grace through faith and we live the Christian life the same way.

The sacrifice of Jesus was perfect and complete, but it cannot benefit (profit) a person who trusts in something else. “Christ will provide unlimited help to those who place their undivided trust in Him, but no help at all to those who bypass His saving work” (F.F Bruce).

But we should never use our freedom as a beachhead or springboard to indulge the flesh and be lured into sin. The grace does not allow us to live our lives anyhow.  If you’re truly born-again, you desire to please God and to live a holy life.

Whenever we try to get access to God through our performance, it becomes a ritual, a law which makes us fall from His grace.  God loves us and wants us to be stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.

Good works are the product of faith, not a substitute for it!

Consider this:

• Have you trusted in the grace of Christ that has set you free?
• Have you tried to find rest in Jesus Christ?

Prayer:  Father, You are awesome and greatly to be praised.  Help me to hind Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.  Amen!

Read: Galatians 5:1-15