Rest for Those Who Value Their Freedom
"Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves." 1 Peter 2:16
Freedom is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” In our modern society, we value freedom—sometimes even above other rights—but can we ever really be completely free? Without subjecting ourselves to the restraints of professionalism, we might lose our job. Without subjecting ourselves to the restraints of traffic laws, we could end up crashing our vehicle. Without subjecting ourselves to the restraints of a healthy diet and exercise, we harm our bodies. Rather than Oxford’s definition, real freedom is more like the ability to choose which restraints you subject yourself to.
The early Christians in Galatia had been set free by the good news. They’d been taught by Paul that Christ’s life and death in their place made them perfect in God’s sight and heirs of his kingdom
(Galatians 3:26-29). But when they tried to figure out what this meant for their lives now, they moved to the extremes. Some insisted that they must keep obeying the Old Testament law, including being circumcised, while others argued that Christ freed them to do whatever they wanted, good or bad.
But God gave them rest.
Through Paul’s letter, God reiterated the freedom that we have from the law. Jesus fulfilled it all for our sakes and in our place. He is our substitute, and anyone who tries to rely on their own works instead of Jesus’ is certain to fail. (Galatians 3:10) We can rest, knowing God has freed us from sin.
But God also gave direction on what exactly to do with this freedom. Using this freedom to sin would only make us slaves of sin again; it would place us back into the dog-eat-dog world of hostility and suspicion (Galatians 5:15) and separate us from God (Romans 6:16-18).
Because we no longer have to worry about earning our place in God’s kingdom, we’re free to choose how we reflect God’s love to others. We can look at the many varied opportunities the Spirit provides us to serve the people in our lives and use our freedom to live in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) We are free to truly live.
Further Reading:
Read Galatians 5 for the text this devotion was based on.
Read Psalm 118, a song of praise recounting how God has rescued us so we can praise Him freely
Read Acts 16:16-40 for an account of when God rescued Paul and Silas from prison and what they chose to do with that freedom
Read Romans 6:15-23 for Paul’s encouragement regarding what we will want to do with our newfound freedom
Restful Reflections:
What misuses of freedom have you witnessed in this world? What does God want us to do with the freedom He’s given us?
Words in the Word:
“Sanctification”
from the Latin sanctus, “holy”
In the Bible, this word is used to describe how God has set us apart and made us holy: perfect and righteous in His sight, and able to do works that please Him.
In Christ Alone,
Pastor Paul Krueger