Freedom from Works

Freedom From Works

Galatians 5:1-13 says:

            It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm,      then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by          a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you            that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will         be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every          man who lets himself be circumcised that he is            obligated to obey the whole law. . . . You, my brothers,     were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to   indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in       love.

In Galatians 5:1-13, Paul is telling us that the freedom we have been awarded is not that which mortal man can give nor recognize. It is a supernatural freedom that has been given by Christ to allow us to live for His glory. Once we step out of the God given freedom of Christ and into man-made freedom, we actually give up our freedom. It requires that we fight for the freedom that we surmise that we should have. However, the truth is, God has given us a freedom through His Son that cannot be taken away. It is a freedom that we do not have to fight for. It is a freedom that is eternal if we allow Christ to do the fighting for us.

            In the news a few years ago, atheists took out a billboard ad to combat the Christmas season, in which they do not believe in anyway. Why would they bother if they did not recognize that there truly is another power beside themselves? Ironically, the slogan on the side of the bus said, “Good without God.” Is one not expressing the fact that there truly is God if one can choose to be good without Him?

            The previously stated ad paradoxically is actually saying, “There is ‘a God’ but you can be good without Him.” In other words they are contradicting the very belief in which they are trying to purport. Psalm 53:1 says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’.” The slogan they have placed on buses proves their foolishness.

            Romans 1:18-20 says:

            The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven   against all the godlessness and wickedness of             men     who suppress the truth by their        wickedness, since what may be known about God             is             plain to them, because God has made it plain to     them. For since the     creation of the world God’s             invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine   nature—have been clearly seen, being understood             from what has been made, so that men are             without           excuse.

The slogan of the atheist proves that they know there is God. Truthfully, they are their own god; they refuse to recognize God as their sole provider. It gives them a false sense of freedom. It is a freedom that can only be exercised in this life. Ironically enough, in their denial of Christ they are serving the god of this age, Satan. God has allowed them to have freedom of choice to choose the bondage of the evil one over freedom of the Gospel.

1 Peter 2:16 says, “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” Christians are feared throughout the world because of the freedom they are awarded in Jesus Christ. The freedom given to them by Christ makes it impossible for Christians to be controlled.

A person who has been born again offers hope to those who are in bondage to the “god of this age” who is in every other religion other than Christianity.  Christ sets the sinner free and he or she is free from the bondage of the works of other religions.

Other religions believe that one must do good works to be saved; it is by works of “righteousness” that they believe they will enter into heaven. However, the Bible tells us it is not by works of righteousness that one will be saved. It is by the grace of the gift of God through His Son Jesus Christ one will be saved. There are no works that will make the unworthy sinner worthy to enter into the presence of a holy God.