Our country revolves around liberty. The Liberty Bell is a symbol of the chiming of the bells at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA on July 8, 1776 summoning the citizens to come and hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty commemorates the alliance between the United States and France during the American Revolution. It was given to the United States by France on July 4, 1884 as a symbol of freedom. Liberty is literally the state of being free. Freedom is what we value and hold onto. It is what America has come to stand for and nobody wants it taken away. More important that any liberty that we have in our country is the liberty that we have in Christ (Gal. 5:1).
Liberty in Christ involves freedom from sin (John 8:32; Rom. 6:18). We are free from the guilt of sin because of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf and our obedience to the “perfect law of liberty” (the Gospel; James 1:25). We are free from spiritual death as “the law of the Spirit in life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). We are not free to live a lifestyle of sin (Rom. 6:1) and no one can be free in any other church other than the Lord’s church (Acts 4:12; Col. 1:18; Eph. 5:25).
It is interesting that some are threatening our liberty now, even as they were the churches of Galatia. That is why Paul said to “stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1). The yoke of bondage is a symbol of the heavy burden of the Old Testament Law (cf. Acts 15:10). There were some who thought it best to bind certain commandments of the Old Testament (like circumcision) on the Gentile Christians. It was a dangerous situation going from liberty to slavery causing some to fall from grace (Gal. 5:4). Even today, there are some who say that we are obligated to keep the Ten Commandments and bind the Sabbath Day on Christians as a day of worship rather than Sunday. Paul would say, “Don’t take away my liberty.” This was never in God’s commands for Christians. The early church met every Sunday to worship and remember the Lord’s death in the memorial of the Lord’s Supper which He instituted (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:26). Not only that, but Paul clearly stated that no man could judge Christians for not observing sabbath days (Col. 2:16). The reason is because we have liberty in Christ and He released everyone from the Old Testament Law when He died on the cross (Rom. 7:1-6). That is when freedom came in full to all the world and the Old Law with all its regulations and ordinances was replaced with the Law of Christ (Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14; Heb. 7:12). We have a “better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Heb. 8:6).
So, our liberty in Christ is what promises a future of eternal life (Gal. 1:8,9). As men in our country have fought and died for our liberty, Jesus died for our spiritual liberty (Heb. 9:15). We have an obligation to Him to stand firm in that liberty and not let anyone take it away. If we fall into Satan’s trap all liberty is gone and we will stand condemned (Rom. 8:1). Remember, we are “not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ . . . for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal. 2:16).
~Derrick Coble
Liberty in Christ involves freedom from sin (John 8:32; Rom. 6:18). We are free from the guilt of sin because of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf and our obedience to the “perfect law of liberty” (the Gospel; James 1:25). We are free from spiritual death as “the law of the Spirit in life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). We are not free to live a lifestyle of sin (Rom. 6:1) and no one can be free in any other church other than the Lord’s church (Acts 4:12; Col. 1:18; Eph. 5:25).
It is interesting that some are threatening our liberty now, even as they were the churches of Galatia. That is why Paul said to “stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1). The yoke of bondage is a symbol of the heavy burden of the Old Testament Law (cf. Acts 15:10). There were some who thought it best to bind certain commandments of the Old Testament (like circumcision) on the Gentile Christians. It was a dangerous situation going from liberty to slavery causing some to fall from grace (Gal. 5:4). Even today, there are some who say that we are obligated to keep the Ten Commandments and bind the Sabbath Day on Christians as a day of worship rather than Sunday. Paul would say, “Don’t take away my liberty.” This was never in God’s commands for Christians. The early church met every Sunday to worship and remember the Lord’s death in the memorial of the Lord’s Supper which He instituted (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:26). Not only that, but Paul clearly stated that no man could judge Christians for not observing sabbath days (Col. 2:16). The reason is because we have liberty in Christ and He released everyone from the Old Testament Law when He died on the cross (Rom. 7:1-6). That is when freedom came in full to all the world and the Old Law with all its regulations and ordinances was replaced with the Law of Christ (Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14; Heb. 7:12). We have a “better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Heb. 8:6).
So, our liberty in Christ is what promises a future of eternal life (Gal. 1:8,9). As men in our country have fought and died for our liberty, Jesus died for our spiritual liberty (Heb. 9:15). We have an obligation to Him to stand firm in that liberty and not let anyone take it away. If we fall into Satan’s trap all liberty is gone and we will stand condemned (Rom. 8:1). Remember, we are “not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ . . . for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal. 2:16).
~Derrick Coble