The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in payment for our sins sets us free. Truly free. Free from the ultimate penalty of our sin – eternal separation from God in a place created for the devil and the angels who followed him instead of God.
The thing is, freedom FROM sin doesn’t mean freedom TO sin. It’s not some cosmic get-out-of-jail-free card. We who have accepted the gift of grace from God are to walk in that freedom, lifting Jesus high and building the Kingdom of God just like He did.
We are never to participate in sin just because we think it won’t matter since we’re free. N E V E R.
Believers are to use that freedom to live like Christ, showing love for one another through service to one another.
We must shed that old fleshly way of thinking of freedom like an animal set free from its boundary, racing and running to whatever is out there, regardless of the consequences. Just because we’re set free from that eternal penalty doesn’t mean we’re free from the consequences of our actions. We are not. The apostle who wrote this also wrote that we will reap what we sow, meaning all our actions have consequences. Some are good. Others, not so much. Freedom in Christ doesn’t change that. Matter of fact, it makes the consequences more intense.
Unlike earthly parents, God has more than high hopes for His children, He has high expectations for us. He is also the perfect disciplinarian. When we step out of line, choosing sin instead of love and service, He will discipline us. It is the only way to grow us into the mature likeness of His Son.
How can you serve the One Anothers in your life today? Your family, your church, the believers across the street? (Yes, we are to love those outside the family of God, too, but this letter was written to those who are IN the family about loving the others in the family.)
How can we love one another, revealing Christ to others? No shrugging with the “I don’t know” attitude. No walking away from this. Let’s get on it. Let’s use our freedom in Christ the way He died for it to be.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
