License, Legalism and Liberty

    As America has fought for her liberty for nearly 200 years with the blood of her sons and daughters, so is the church facing her most dangerous hour in pursuit of liberty and justice for ALL her members. The grace of God is not cheap. It does not give us license to sin. Legalism is never the remedy for sin. Only a true encounter with the cross of the Lord Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit can bring the liberty that will change the generation we live in. 

 

By Chris McDonald

 

TEXT: Galatians 5:1  - Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

 

As far back as 1996, I've had this journal on my heart. Only now has the Lord granted me a release to write it down on paper. It deals with what I believe is the battleground for the entire human race including many Christians. Sadly, this battle is being lost in the church because we don't understand true Christian liberty. The remedy for sin will never be legalism and true liberty does not grant a person license to do wrong.  Some camps want to yoke people with legalism in order to keep them from sinning. Another element of the church preaches a gospel that literally grants people license to sin claiming that any preaching that condemns sin is legalism. You cannot quarantine sin and you cannot let sin go unchecked or unconfronted.  BOTH LEADS TO DEATH.  

 

It is one of the basic strategies of the enemy of our souls to enslave the church through spiritual totalitarianism.. This is done by controlling and oppressing believers through fear and intimidation. Fear is the counter power to faith, and the two are locked in a life and death struggle for every believer. One of the most important battlegrounds for the hearts of men is spiritual slavery versus liberty.

 

Romans 10:10  - For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

    

Fear and intimidation may intimidate men into believing with their minds, and even their emotions, but it will never change men's hearts. Fear and intimidation used against someone will never result in their having a TRUE FAITH. Fear is the power of darkness that enslaves. When fear is able to control us, then fear has, in one sense, become our lord. The degree to which faith in God controls us determines His lordship in our lives. Faith is the power of the kingdom of God which sets men free to worship God in Spirit and truth. Fear rules men through external pressure and intimidation. Faith rules from the heart. A parrot can be taught to say and do the right things, but they will not be in his heart - it is just "parroting." Acceptance which is based on intimidation or pressure will never result in true righteousness or a heart change, regardless of how accurate or true the doctrine is that is being forced upon us. To be true, our faith must come from the heart, not just the mind, because "living waters" can come only from the innermost being, the heart.

 

John 7:37-39
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [38] He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [39] (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
 

    

We can never really live the truth unless we are able to live from our hearts. We will never be able to teach or preach that which imparts true life until we preach from our hearts where the true living waters abide. In order to be faithful to what is in our hearts, there must be LIBERTY. To state it again, liberty is not license and liberty cannot be gained through legalism.

 

Liberty

 

The basic conflict between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God concerns LIBERTY and slavery. Jesus said if HE made you free, then you would be free indeed. In other words, you would experience TRUE liberty.

 

John 8:31-32  - Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; [32] And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

 

His truth will make us free as long as we abide in HIS WORD, but we must abide in HIS word, not the words of our church organizations or even our pastors. Man has always taken great liberty in trying to tell the people under human leadership what to believe and what not to believe about the Bible and the ways of God. Freedom is required to truly comprehend the truth of Jesus from our hearts. Obedience is very important to the Lord, but God is not just after obedience - He wants us to obey for the right reasons - because we have His heart.

 

 A woman may wear a covering to church as a symbol of her submission to authority. Does wearing the covering make her submissive? Wearing the covering is not the submission, but rather a symbol of it. A rebellious woman may also wear a covering; she may ever do it as compensation for her rebellion in an attempt to disguise her lack of submission. The Lord does not ask us to wear symbols of our submission - He is looking for submission from our hearts. Many doctrines in place in our church institutions today place great emphasis on doctrinal "COVERINGS" that seeks to grant the liberty to the people. What we believe is important certainly, but HOW WE BELIEVE determines whether we are truly free or are in bondage.

 

 The Pharisees believed in the law of God. They were STRICT adherents to its principles to the point that they would even wear the torah scrolls on their head covering so they would not break one of the commandments. Satan obviously cares very little about what we believe as long as we believe like the Pharisees did - with their mind - and not their heart. Truth becomes an inoculation, we are given just enough to appease our consciences, but not enough to change our hearts and bring forth a true faith and a release of living water. Satan's first strategy is to keep religion intellectual. he will give you as much truth as you want as long as he knows you will use it wrongly and remain in bondage. Once he sees the truth going beyond the intellectual mind and reaching hearts and setting men free he then sends a CONTROL spirit, or legalism, to stop it.  Satan uses truth to BIND MEN and cause them to submit to a control spirit instead of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus paid for our FREEDOM with HIS BLOOD! True Christian faith is rooted in this freedom. Paul, in our text, screamed at the Galatians to STAND FAST IN THE LIBERTY that Christ had given them through His death. The Galatians' problem is the church's problem today. They wanted the operation of the Spirit but they wanted to obtain those things through legalistic means. Paul labeled the entire situation as "witchcraft."

 

Galatians 3:1-5  - O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? [2] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? [3] Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? [4] Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. [5] He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 

 

If we are going to worship in Spirit and truth, then our worship must come from our hearts, not through a mechanical means laid down by a denominational creed or organization. If our typical "worship" services are an indication of the state of our worship, the Lord might have done just as well to have done away with us and let computers praise Him. He can program them with no problem. When we are told to stand, when to sit, what to sing, is any of it coming from our hearts?? We may have order, and it may sound good, but is it touching the heart of God? Typical church worship, be it traditional, Pentecostal, Charismatic or even Third Wave, is usually little more than an attempt to warm up the audience for the main act - the preaching. God help us on Sunday morning if the Holy Spirit starts to move and wants to minister to people through just our psalms and spiritual songs. We will close the doors of the church before we stray from the bulletin inserts we give out at the door. 

 

I'm not just talking to non-Pentecostals here. Most Pentecostal churches who brag about their worship services are so steeped in spiritual ritualism it isn't funny. Unless worship enables our hearts to touch the heart of God, it is not worship at all - it is just noise.  If we touch the heart of God our hearts will be changed - that's SPIRITUAL LIBERTY! Every worship service should be an encounter with the Lord. When we behold the glory of the Lord we will be changed by that glory.

 

Congregations need worship leaders to give order and direction in a service. But our attention must not be on the leader of worship but on the one we are worshipping. Congregations who claim to be totally "led" by the Spirit are being led by the immature and rebellious. Granted, the greater freedom we choose the greater potential for mistakes exists. But, the greater potential for TRUE LIBERTY and heart obedience toward God also exists. When we erect excessive controls, walls and barriers, around our services, our programs or doctrines so that they cannot be disobeyed, then we are only creating spiritual robots who may say and do the right things, but NOT FROM THEIR HEARTS! 

 

        Where the Spirit of the Lord Is There Is Liberty

 

2 Cor. 3:1-8  - Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? [2] Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: [3] Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.  [4] And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: [5] Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; [6] Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. [7] But if the ministration of death, written and engraved in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: [8] How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 

 

      If we are going to walk in the Spirit, there must be liberty! And if we are truly going to be free, we must rely on the Holy Spirit! Jesus Christ lives within us through the person of the Holy Spirit. He illuminates the ministry of Yeshua to us and through us to a hurting world. He will never glorify Himself or His gifts. The purpose of all Holy Ghost ministry is to make us more like CHRIST.

 

    When we erect a system of rules and regulations to force obedience, we are prohibiting our ability to walk by the Spirit. The New Testament was not meant to be just another LAW; it was meant to give us general guidelines while promoting the freedom for us to hear from the Lord ourselves about most issues, even very important ones. The Lord's sheep must KNOW HIS VOICE and the freedom of the New Testament is meant to compel each of us to seek Him and to know Him for ourselves.

 

    Have you ever wandered why the New Testament is so ambiguous on many issues, INCLUDING church government and church structure? This is done on purpose. WHY? This is not so we can do what we want (LICENSE), but so that we must seek HIM and hear from HIS to get HIS instructions. What the church has done is replace this attitude of seeking the Lord with its own set of rules and regulations in the form of denominations. No, denominational structures are not all bad and many men who are involved in there groups are godly men. But in spite of all our efforts not to, we hinder the kingdom by even the best laid plans of man. There are some important general principles that we can find as a pattern in the New Testament about church structure, but they are meant to be general so as to promote the need for His builders to each seek Him and hear Him, because He is the Builder of His house.

 

    The Lord gave us the New Testament to be a witness to the things of the Spirit, not the law. There are general guidelines about life, the church, how we relate to governments, etc. that we must comply with to stay on the path of life. However, these guidelines are general enough to allow for, and promote, LIBERTY. This is not LIBERTY FOR THE SAKE OF LICENSE, but so that we would have to seek HIM and follow the Holy Spirit in order to be led into "all" truth.

 

    The Lord did not say when He went away He was going to leave us a book to lead us into all truth, but that He was going to give us His Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth.

 

John 16:13  - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. 

 

 

    We should be very thankful for the Bible. But the Lord never intended for it to take the place of the Holy Spirit, or His own place in our life. When it does, it is not just being misused, but the its become an idol! Some of the harshest, cruelest things ever done in church history have been done under the guise of "protecting" the truth when in fact it was an effort to bring man into bondage to human rules. Of all the church planting and building that goes on today in "His" name, I wonder how much is really been directed by the Lord. How much of what we think we've done for Him will be burned at the Judgment Seat of Christ because we have done it without consulting Him first? David said as he walked in LIBERTY, he sought the Lord's precepts.

 

Ps 119:45 - And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

 

    True Christianity is essentially a relationship with Christ. As the Lord Jesus affirmed during His own temptation, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that PROCEEDS out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4).  This word PROCEEDS , present tense, not "proceeded," past tense. It is not enough for us to live by what He said in the past. WE MUST BE HEARING FROM HIM TODAY! And the way the Lord speaks to us today is THROUGH THE HOLY GHOST! This is not to imply that we are to add new doctrines or establish anything contrary to the written word of God. TRUE LIBERTY however only comes from a daily encounter with the proceeding word from God.

 

    This was the lesson of the manna in the wilderness - it had to be gathered fresh everyday. We, too, must hear from Him everyday - we are called to live by proceeding word, which reflects a continuing relationship.

 

    Freedom, or liberty, is a prerequisite for a true relationship. If a man forces relations on his wife he is committing rape, not love. The Lord will not rape His bride, the church, but he woos her, causing her to desire submission out of love. It is the evil one who forces and pressures us into obedience or commitments and such will never bring forth true righteousness which can only come from the heart. Manipulation, intimidation for the purpose of control or domination are NOT FROM THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. These are evil spirits that drive men from the truth and seek to bind them into darkness. It's name is LEGALISM.

 

Legalism - The Religious Spirit of the 21rst Century Church

 

    One of the greatest spiritual battlegrounds of the Reformation was Satan's attempt to keep the Bible out of the hands of common people. The battle rages today in a different way. Most of the conservative evangelical movements in America brag and boast of their zeal to protect the integrity of the scriptures possibly more than any sect of their time. The Pharisees of Jesus' day were the main force of arms by the enemy. In our zeal to protect the scriptures most groups have implemented a system of scriptural interpretation based more on their own tradition than on the actual text.

 

    These traditions causes us to miss, and even persecute, the One who was the personified WORD OF GOD - Jesus.  Our reactionary interpretation of scripture may in fact protect the scriptures from the abuse of many who would misinterpret them, but at the same time it works to prohibit those who would radically obey the truth from receiving it. Everyone who loves the truth wants to have accurate doctrine. However, when we stand before Christ, its not our doctrines that will stand the test of fire, it's our walking in the light He has given us and our obedience to His voice. If the doctrines we are holding to are not changing us into the image of Christ we are holding onto death.

 

    Sound doctrine enables us to better determine the will of God so that we can OBEY HIM. But we can have the Bible memorized yet still not know the TRUTH because TRUTH IS A PERSON! The Pharisees loved the scriptures more than they loved the God of the scriptures and many today fall prey to this same deception. All our rhetoric and quirky statements behind pulpits may sound really spiritual but they will not shield us from the light of the glory of God on that awesome day when the motives of our hearts will be laid to bear. We cannot love God without loving His word but we can elevate the written word above HIM and make an idol out of the scriptures. Many do that trying to supplant our relationship with the Lord and some even remove the HOLY SPIRIT from their church in "defense" of maintaining truth.

 

    Just as the Pharisees, the greatest lovers of the scriptures, were the greatest enemy of the Word Himself, some of those who are most outwardly devoted to the protecting of the integrity of the word are the greatest enemies of the truth today. These modern Pharisees work through fear and intimidation, the arch enemies of truth, just as their spiritual forefathers did. Those who are controlled by fear will be the most threatened by anyone they cannot CONTROL THROUGH INTIMIDATION which is legalism.

 

    The Real False Brethren Today

 

Gal 2:4 - And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: (KJV)

 

        Whenever you use the term false brethren in church circles today the conversation quickly jumps to those who have fell in sin. Hear me good. Jesus was TOLERANT OF SINNERS but had LITTLE TOLERANCE for the PHARISEES and doctors or interpreters of the law. The Pharisees were not entering the kingdom and would not allow others to enter either. Modern Pharisees perceive those who have deviated from their interpretation of doctrines as enemies, false teachers, or false prophets. There are of course, some false teachers and apostles without question. However, Paul's interpretation of those who are really false is quite different than what is now accepted as "false" today. Those who use fear and intimidation to control others to conform to their beliefs should more often be categorized as false teachers than those they so vehemently attack. It was not the hookers, the druggies or the drunks who nailed Christ to the tree. Just remember that. 

 

         In the not too distant past, a well-known evangelist engaged war against a well-known pornographer. It was national news every day for more than a month or two. The evangelist feeling he had been slandered in one of the pornographer's magazines threatened lawsuits and went on the air pushing for his donors to come to his rescue and help him fight the evil of this world. A few weeks back I saw a news story on the pornographer and what had happened to him over the past few years. He had lost his wife to a disease and he had come perilously close to bankruptcy. He needs Jesus. But the question I'm posing here is this. In all of our efforts to "fight the evil of this world" through lawsuits and campaigns to rid the world of pornography have we changed society? What would have happened a decade ago if that same evangelist would have shown forgiveness and showed that pornographer that despite being wronged by him, the evangelist would send forth grace? Maybe nothing would have come of it. That's quite possible and more than likely probable. But what on the whim of a chance that through the evangelist showing Jesus instead of threatening lawsuits that pornographer would have had a true born again experience? (NOT THE LARRY FLINT KIND, thank you) I guarantee you this - there would have been one less leading smut magazine in America! The evangelist talked tough and held him own camp up as a bastion of righteousness. 

 

    Folks, I'm not trying to tell you this pornographer was right. The issue in liberty and bondage is never right or wrong. It's whether or not the SON HAS SET YOU FREE! And the only way the world will be set free from its darkness is when the church pulls itself out of the bondage ditch she has found herself in. That will only be accomplished through the power of the Holy Ghost!

 

    Liberty of the Spirit Is Liberty To Worship

 

    Liberty of the Spirit is essential in order to worship "in Spirit and truth." The same battle to infringe on the believer's spiritual liberty which raged in the early church is still raging today. Legalism is not the answer to false doctrine or sin. If we are going to worship in Spirit and truth, we cannot compromise a believer's freedom to have differences in the nonessential doctrines and beliefs. Those who infringe upon this liberty are the greatest enemies of the truth, even if their stated intent is to protect the truth.

 

    To declare something is not scriptural because it is not found in scripture is WRONG application of the scriptures. The scriptures were given to us to FREE US to do whatsoever is not specifically banned, not to keep us from doing anything that is not mentioned in them. We must give believers the FREEDOM to do what is not specifically banned in the New Testament, and then judge their fruit as to whether it was of God or not. This freedom does not mean that everything we do is right.; it simply means in those matters we must seek the LORD individually for His will and His judgment.

 

    The first century apostolic teams were not lead around by the hand - they were SENT BY GOD. They used their own mind and judgment most of the time because they had His mind. When the Lord needed to give them special direction, or to change their direction, He gave them a vision, a dream, or prophetic word; but by the testimony of the scriptures - that was rare.

 

    The reason our people are in such bondage to day to sin and religion is the protectors of truth have cut off the source of the church's freedom - THE HOLY GHOST. If we don't understand something the Holy Ghost does - we automatically label it unscriptural. I wander how much of the early church's activities would have been halted by most of our modern mainline denominations? You cannot become so addicted to certain spiritual experiences you lose sight of the one giving the experience. NO camps - Pentecostal, Charismatic, Baptist or Methodist are immune from this. We're fighting the power that will set us free.

 

    Prophets are not meant to be gurus. Neither are the scriptures meant to be used as a horoscope. Even so, for there to be the freedom for believers to know the Lord for themselves, to develop their own relationship to Him, and to know His voice, there must be the freedom for them to also make their mistakes along the way. It would not be hard for God to make us all believe the same thing. But true unity of heart will never be attained unless there is a choice not to be unified. Spiritual unity is not based on like doctrines; it is based on love - first for God and then for each other.

 

    By God's design we presently "see through a glass darkly." Each is able to see but a part of the whole picture, and we will never see the whole picture until we learn to put our parts together. God's unity is not a unity of conformity but a unity of many diverse parts. True heart faith is evidenced by tolerance for those who are different, which is required if there is going to be a true unity of the heart.

 

    Each One Must Gather His Own Manna

 

    When the children of Israel were given manna from heaven, each household had to gather its own. The same holds true for heavenly manna. We cannot rely solely upon the leaders among us for our spiritual food. This is not to belittle the importance of leaders and teachers who give themselves to the ministry of the word. Just as the Levites were essential for ministering to the congregation of Israel, our leaders are essential today. 

 

    The question is always raised when these statements are made, "then how can an untrained person go the Bible for a fresh word from heaven without falling into error or false teaching?" One of Christianity's greatest struggles has been for the freedom of ordinary people to have access to and interpret the Scriptures for themselves. Even the most devoted movements to restoration and renewal almost eventually develop such tight doctrinal statements that prohibit any departure from "the party line." In our effort to protect the truth, we erect barriers that prohibit further spiritual progress or growth.

 

    We cannot yoke people with fear and not faith. We need a fresh revelation from the Lord every day. There is nothing new under the sun. People who hinder this type ministry are usually people who believe they already know all that there is to know. We only see in part folks. NO CAMP HAS A MARKET ON ALL THE TRUTH. If one camp did, then that camp would have more pride than Satan himself and more than likely wind up abusing its power. Sadly, that's the way we act most of the time in the church. We parade our banners HIGH to promote our own ministries and outreaches and snub others who don't see things the way we see them. That's not liberty, that's legalism!

 

    God Didn't Want to Put Israel Under the Law

 

    The thing we must realize also here is that it was never God's intention to place Israel under the restraints of the LAW. The law of God, Paul said, was already written on man's consciences LONG BEFORE Sinai. The problem was that man had become so corrupt he could no longer trust himself to do what was right. When offered a choice between intimacy with God and a set of rules, Israel CHOSE RULES. They looked at Sinai and saw the smoke, the darkness, the trumpet and basically said to Moses, "GO TELL US WHAT HE IS SAYING TO DO and WE WILL DO IT." They did not want intimacy. (See our journal Israel And The Mountain Of Darkness for more on this)

 

    When you as a believer or a church organization chooses LAWS to govern itself or its people instead of allowing their people to become intimate with God - YOU HAVE LEGALISM!

 

    The church is steeped in legalism today. That's why the world is increasingly becoming repulsed by religion. However, when JESUS is lifted up, ALL MEN WILL BE DRAWN TO HIM. Because we were created with a Jesus-size hole in our soul, NOTHING ELSE WILL SATISFY. You can't replace the hunger and thirst of a thirsty soul with a sheet of paper with tenants of faith or requirements on it. The more we break free of these religious traps - the more living water will begin to flow - not only from us - but from our churches. 

 

    The Warning Signs of A Religious Spirit

 

    In Rick Joyner's book, Epic Battles of the Last Days, he lists 25 things that are tell-tale signs of a religious spirit. Let's look at a few of these. For space sake we will only list a few but we will deal with these in detail in an upcoming journal, The Whore Upon Mny Waters. A person with a religious spirit:

 

  • Will often see as his primary mission the tearing down of what he believes is wrong

  • Will be unable to accept a rebuke, especially from those he may judge to be less spiritual than himself

  • Will have a philosophy that will not listen to "men," but only to God. This is not a great philosophy because God usually speaks THROUGH MEN.

  • Will always be inclined to see more of what is wrong with other people, other churches, etc. other than themselves

  • Will be subject to an overwhelming guilt that he can never measure up to the Lord's standards.

  • Will keep score on his spiritual life

  • Will have a leadership style that is bossy, overbearing, and intolerant of weakness or failure of others

  • Will have a sense that he is closer to God than other people or that his life or ministry is more pleasing to Him.

  • Will believe he is on the "cutting edge" of what God is doing.

  • Will have a mechanical prayer life

  • Will do things in order to be noticed by men

  • Will be overly repulsed by emotionalism

  • Will use emotionalism as a substitute for the work of the Holy Spirit

  • Will be encouraged when his ministry looks better than others

  • Will glory more in what God has done in the past that in what He is doing in the present

  • Will have the tendency to be suspicious of, or to oppose new movements, churches. etc.

  • Will have the tendency to reject spiritual manifestations that he does not understand

  • Will overreact to carnality in the church

  • Will overreact to immaturity in the church

  • Will be overly prone to base evidence of God's approval on spiritual or supernatural manifestations

  • Will be unable to join anything that he does not deem as being perfect or near perfect

  • Will be overly paranoid of the religious spirit

  • Will have the tendency to glory in anything but the cross of Christ, what He has accomplished and Who He is.  (Some of this material take directly from Rick's book and from Jack Deere's outstanding tape series Exposing The Religious Spirit.)

 

    If we are building our lives, ministries or churches on anything but these, we are building on a shaky foundation that will not stand. If we are putting a yoke around people's neck that does not glorify the fact that Jesus has paid it all - WE ARE SLIPPING INTO LEGALISM!

 

    We Are Abraham's Seed

 

John 8:33 - They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 

Rom 8:15 - For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

    The Pharisees who were the most religious people in the world bragged to Jesus that they were not in bondage to any man. The church does the same thing to today. We promise liberty but are people are bound up by our programs and rules. When the son sets you free, you're free indeed!


License - Liberty without the Holy Spirit

1 Cor 8:9 - But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. (KJV)

1 Cor 10:29 - Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?

Gal 5:1 - Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 

Gal 5:13 - For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 

James 1:25 -  But whosoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

James 2:12 - So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

1 Pet 2:16 - As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

2 Pet 2:19 - While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. (KJV)


    These scriptures don't need much explanation. The message is clear. Liberty of the Spirit is NOT LICENSE. Our liberty is not to be used as a cloak of maliciousness or a green light to sin and do what we want. The person who does that is deluded and in desperate need of a touch from God. Once we know the truth and fail to walk in the truth, we only bring judgment upon ourselves.

 

    Paul warned the church of Galatia that if he rebuilt the things he had torn down he would make himself a transgressor again. THIS IS POSSIBLE - even under the New Covenant. Many who once knew the Lord and His love have backslidden into a life of sin proclaiming their liberty in Christ. Others will say and do anything under the guise of Christian liberty. Liberty is granted to us as a means to LOVE EACH OTHER and serve one another, not to devour and bite one another. We are to stand in this liberty and NOT BE ENTANGLED again with the yokes of bondage. The only way not to have this happen in our lives is keep a simple devotion and pure love for Jesus. Legalism will not substitute for a real true-blue relationship.

 

 

Galatians 5:1  - Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 

    

    We cannot mix law with grace. Paul asked the Galatians a simple question. He said if after you have tasted grace, why would you want to use the liberty grace provides and sink back into the weak and beggarly elements of the world. He said when we were children we were in BONDAGE to the elements of this world. Now we are sons of God, we should be free. He ask them "after you have known God," how can you even dream of sinking back into legalism? He used the two allegories of Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion to illustrate the two systems - LAW AND GRACE. Law genders to bondage as does SIN. Grace sets us free, law puts us in chains. But freedom under grace does not provide us the license to sin and live our lives to ourselves.

 

Gal 4:3 - Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: (KJV)

Gal 4:9 - But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? (KJV)

Gal 4:24-25 - Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendered to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answered to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

 

Galatians 5:2-7 -  Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. [3] For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. [4] Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. [5] For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. [6] For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. [7] Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

 

    You cannot want liberty and desire to live under the law. Then how do you live without sinning you may ask if our liberty is not a license to do those things which are wrong? Walk in the SPIRIT!

 

Galatians 5:13-25 - For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. [14] For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. [15] But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. [16] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. [17] For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. [18] But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, [20] Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, [21] Envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. [24] And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. [25] If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. [26] Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. 

    The LAW is fulfilled in one word - LOVE. Love your neighbor as thyself and love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind. Most of the times we have arguments and fights among us in our churches stems from us abusing the liberty the Lord has given us. Paul gives us the key in verse 16 of this text - WALK IN THE SPIRIT and you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh which basically is the vehicle for our license. When you're walking in the Spirit, you're walking in the realm of liberty. You will not want to look for an out to sin because the SPIRIT will be in control of your mind and body.

 

    When the Spirit is in control you will walk in the FRUIT of the Spirit's indwelling presence - Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such of these things - there is no law against. In other words, God does not frown upon these things. When we start using our liberty as license however we usually wind up committing the sins of our flesh - adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings and SUCH LIKE.  They they do these things - even under the cloke of liberty  - will not inherit the Kingdom. In South Georgia terms - you will miss heaven.

 

    Our liberty in Christ does not grant us license. Our liberty in Christ grants us the grace to walk in the Spirit of God and produce the works of the Holy Ghost. That's true liberty. That's what the Lord Jesus wants to produce in us so we can be set free.

    False Religion Produces False Ministers Who Promise False Liberty

 

2 Pet 2:19 - While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

 

    Peter writes in his epistle that while many promise others liberty, they themselves are servants of corruption. Of what we are overcome by the same thing brings us into bondage. Whether it is sex, drugs, alcohol, nicotine or anger, if we don't strive to overcome sin, sin will overcome us. No matter how much we proclaim our liberty in Christ, if we are harboring secret sin in our hearts, we are in bondage. In this day and hour with the onslaught of the demonic forces against the church we have to fight the good fight of faith. Once we stop striving we will sink into bondage. This is an awesome hour for the church. A lot hangs in the balance. We don't have the time to go off on our tangents like we did in the past. Jesus is coming. The hour of harvest is upon us NOW. It's not in the future.

 

The Creation Groans For Liberty


Rom 8:21 - Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

 

    The world cries out for liberation from the curse placed on it by Adam's original fall. The answer to this is not legalism but the glorious liberty of the children of God. Sadly, we as a church offer the world a poor substitute - religion. Like most of the enemy's strongholds, the religious spirit builds its work on two basic foundations - fear and pride. The religious spirit seeks to have us serve the Lord in order to gain His approval, rather than from a position of having received our approval through the cross of Jesus. Therefore the religious spirit bases relationship to God on personal discipline rather than the free sacrifice of Christ. The first comes from a motivation of fear - the second - PASSION. Fear and pride keep us from the liberty we are all groaning for. Deliverance from this usually takes a long process.

 

    As we celebrate our freedom this fourth of July, let us not forget the freedom the cross of Christ has brought us. His death destroyed the power of death that Satan had held over God's fallen race. To those who put their trust in HIM, that freedom is a reality.

 

Hebrews 2:14  - Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 
 

    Since the enemy knows his defeat is founded in Calvary, he sends a spirit of fear and religion to put God's people in chains and keep them from the true freedom that Jesus paid for us at Calvary. We must shake our self and allow the Lord Jesus to set us free from our bondage. The one the Son sets free, is free indeed. Only true liberty will change this society. You can't quarantine sin.

 

    As I close I'm reminded of a dear friend of ours whose teenage son is bound right now by pornography. This individual, whom my family loves supremely, has basically made the son's life a prison by keeping him in his room without any privileges whatsoever and not allowing him to hardly breath. She has stated that this is the only way she can keep pornography out of his hands. While I admire her efforts to keep her son off of pornography I cannot help but feel that no matter how hard she quarantines him, he will not be set free from this demon by locking his doors at night and putting locks on the door. His deliverance  will come through Calvary. Even if she keeps him from looking at a magazine or dirty video all the rest of his teenage days that will NOT BREAK THE BONDAGE in his life. The minute he gets free from the parameters in the home he is going to take off looking for pornography. His deliverance is not bound up in the legalism of a locked house or isolated room. His deliverance is through the power of a changed heart by the Holy Spirit.

 

    The church sits at the same crossroads. We can list a million things that the people in our denominations can and cannot do. And no matter how hard they may try to obey those things - unless there is a passion for Jesus in their hearts - it's just legalism and it will not set men free. It's like a dog who humps legs and you put a nozzle on him to keep him from humping legs. All you have is the same dog with a nozzle on his nose. That 's what you have among us when you don't have true freedom - you have sinners with nozzles on them trying to make them Christians. Before a change occurs, you must change the nature of that person - an encounter with Jesus.

 

    License, liberty and legalism - these three are the crux of all Christianity. You are operating on one or the other. Let's celebrate LIBERTY this holiday season - not only for our country's sake, but because Jesus has come to set us free! Happy Fourth of July from the McDonalds!

 

Luke 4:18-20  - The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, [19] To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. [20] And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 

 

Leviticus 25:10  - And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.  [11] A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which growth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. [12] For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. [13] In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. 
 

Hit Counter