Cause and effect is a law of Physics that cannot
be denied. In fact, the whole of science is founded on this principle.
Liberty is an effect and, as such, it has a cause. This article
will examine the effect (Liberty) and its cause.|
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Cause and effect is a law of Physics that cannot
be denied. In fact, the whole of science is founded on this principle.
Liberty is an effect and, as such, it has a cause. This article
will examine the effect (Liberty) and its cause.
First of all, everything that promises liberty
does not deliver liberty. Peter expressed it this way: "While
they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption;
for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into
bondage." (2 Peter 2.19). Slavery is not liberty; it is its
opposite. The spiritual scam artists that Peter speaks of are
the blight of humanity and are, wittingly or unwittingly, agents
of Satan. If one believes Peter, it is apparent that everything
that promotes itself as liberty is not liberty.
Since it is the case that destruction awaits those
who are deceived into believing the lies of pseudo-liberty, it
is imperative that we know true liberty; the stakes are simply
too high to take anything for granted in this quest. Hear Paul
on the matter: "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians
3.17). God's Spirit is present where liberty is, and by implication,
liberty is only present where the Spirit of the Lord is. The effect
(liberty) and the cause (God's Spirit) are integrally connected
in the scriptures.
The liberty anticipated in the New Testament,
like liberty in the civil affairs of men, is not freedom
from law or restraints imposed by another. In fact there are two
specific references in the scriptures to the "law of liberty"
(see James 1.25 and 2.12). In the first occurrence, James affirms
that the law of liberty is something that Christians ought obey,
and in the second instance he makes note of the fact that we will
ultimately be judged by that same law. Therefore, it is patently
obvious that the liberty that is offered to Christians is a condition
circumscribed in its entirety by law.
Since liberty is where God's Spirit is, and liberty
is present in the "law of liberty" it also becomes obvious
that God's Spirit is present in the law of liberty. Spirit and
law are not opposites; they are not even in conflict! God's Spirit
delivers liberty through Law! The law through which Christian
Liberty comes is not the Mosaic Covenant because Paul makes it
absolutely clear in the Roman epistle that the Law of Moses could
not produce liberty. Rather, the law that produces liberty is
Christ's law, the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Sin's grip on the throat on humanity had not abated
in the history of Israel; in fact, if anything, its grip had only
strengthened. The more Israel tried to seek freedom from sin under
the Law of Moses, the more entrenched she became in sin. The simple
truth was this: No flesh could be justified by the law (Romans
3.20; Galatians 2.16). However, the escape from the curse of the
law was not an escape from law. God provided liberty through the
gospel of Christ. It was there and there alone that man's quest
for liberty could find success. The eternal escape from sin provided
by the gospel was the escape for which man had longed and of which
the prophets spoke. However, the liberty of the Gospel resulted
in a voluntary sentence of servitude by its recipients. It is
interesting that the very epistle which many misuse in an attempt
to prove that we are under no law today is an epistle in which
Paul refers to himself as the "bondservant of Jesus Christ"
(see Romans 1.1).
"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). If liberty were
the absence of law, then the prohibition in the preceding verse
could not exist! However, as noted previously, liberty
does not imply the absence of law; law is freedom's greatest friend!
The liberty of the Gospel is the liberty to serve (literally to
become slaves to) one another. The paradox in this verse is striking!
Jesus came to "proclaim liberty to the captives" (Luke
4.18) but at the same time He challenged His disciples that they
should become servants of all (see Mark 9.35). The "opportunity
for the flesh" in Galatians 5.13 is a ruse to self service
of any sort. Our obligations as Christians are never to self in
as much as denial of self is the first prerequisite to serving
the Risen Lord (see Luke 9.23). Any use of our liberties as a
disciple that is self-centered and self-serving is, by definition,
contrary to the spirit of service that Christ demonstrated in
His own life and enjoined on all His followers. So whatever liberty
is granted by the gospel, it is not granted for the purpose of
serving self (the flesh). Peter stated the principle this way:
"...yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants
of God." (1 Peter 2.16).
Freedom from sin (and by implication, all the
false systems that enslave humanity) is available only through
Jesus Christ. He made that perfectly clear when He said, "I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me." (John 14.6). Any system of religion that
finds its origins or mandates outside the Bible is simply a charlatan's
system! This would include any religion based on subjective experiences,
modern revelations, extra-biblical authority systems, and every
other man-made brand of religion. Liberty is a precious commodity
in the physical as well as in the spiritual realm. Those who willfully
adulterate the law of liberty are lower that the low; they make
merchandise of men while promising to deliver them to celestial
shores of paradise.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty;
every other spirit is but wind! Try every spirit and accept only
that which stands the tests of truth and fidelity revealed in
the Holy Scriptures! Use this liberty to glorify God and none
other!
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