“You,
my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to
indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”
Galatians 5:13
Some believers are either taught or fall
under the odd assumption that once you are free in Christ through His blood you
are able to do anything you want. Are we
free to sin again; not at all. Paul
dealt with this same topic in his first letter to the Corinthian church. They had become arrogant in their
spirituality and believed there was nothing they could not do. Paul’s response is direct and to the point: "I have the right to do anything," you say--but
not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"--but
not everything is constructive. (I Corinthians 10:23)
Jesus called us to love one another
in John’s gospel; John 13:34-35 & 15:12.
God’s definition of love is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 where Paul
says “Love is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others,
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” We are to keep from falling into sinful
practices of the flesh. That is not what
our freedom is for. Christian liberty is
freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.
Living like that is like having an enormous credit card debt expunged,
then going out and racking up a new debt.
Is that all Christ’s death on the cross means to you, that you have a
clean slate to sin again? We must take
seriously the words of Christ. We must
know what is expected of us by reading God’s word.
Unity in the church involves all
members of a congregation. Divisiveness
and pride have no place in God’s place of worship. As difficult as it may sometimes seem, we are called to love all members, even the less
than gracious, gossip mongers who see fault in everything that takes place at
your church. Pray for them and love
them, just as Christ loves them and died for them as well. Until Christ’s Return, walk with the King and
be a blessing!
Resource:
The Reformation Study Bible.
