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TRUE LIBERTY IS ONLY OBTAINED BY OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S LAW THROUGH THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST
Many professed Christians today think that liberty through the gospel of Jesus Christ is liberty from keeping God's holy law. They believe that Christ has set
them free from having to keep God's ten commandments and are now at liberty to continue living in sin and worldliness. But is this true liberty and freedom, to continue being
a slave to sin and the world? Well, let us apply this to a real world scenario. Which of the following two people truly have liberty and is free?
Person 1 is a law abiding citizen and enjoys the freedom to go about their business each day.
Person 2 is a thief and murderer and is on the run from the authorities, because if caught, they will go to prison.
Which of the above two people have true freedom and liberty? Obviously it is the law abiding citizen, person 1. This is because person 1 keeps the law of the land and therefore that law is not "against" that person (Galatians 5:23) and they are free. But person 2 is a continual breaker of the law of the land, therefore they do not enjoy the freedom and liberty, as prison or some form of punishment awaits them. The same applies to professed Christians. The fact that the Son of God had to die because of our transgression of God's law, shows that God's law cannot be changed or done away with. Because if God's law could be simply changed or done away with, then Jesus would never have needed to die. God's law and the laws of the land (in general) are there for a reason - to give us peace, freedom and liberty.
Psalm 119:44-45 ...'So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.'
Why could David say he would 'walk at liberty'? Because he sought after the commandments of God, keeping them before him to guide him. This is the REASON David could say he would have freedom and liberty, through obedience to God's law, just like person 1 above. Person 1 only enjoyed the freedom and liberty that person 2 could not enjoy because they kept the laws of the land. In the same way, professed Christians can only enjoy true peace, freedom and liberty by keeping the commandments of God through the faith of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 119:165 ...'Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.'
Isaiah 51:7 ...'Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.'
Many professed Christians speak of God's moral law summed up in the ten commandments, as a burden. But how could these moral precepts be a burden and yet David could speak of them in such a beautiful, loving manner? No, the burden that the Jews placed themselves under was trying to keep God's law themselves, without faith in Christ (Romans 9:31-32, Romans 10:3). And yet it is repentance of our sins against God's law that is an important part of the gospel message, just as the apostle Paul and Peter confirmed:
Acts 20:20-21 ...'And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.'
Acts 3:19 ...'Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.'
Is this not a vital part of the gospel message above, given by Paul and Peter? Yes. And what is repentance? Is it not being sorry for our sins and turning away from them? And what is sin? Is it not "transgression of the law" of God? (1 John 3:4). So what should we be seeking to do if we are to repent and turn away from sinning against God's law? We should be seeking to keep God's commandments, just as we are told God's final remnant people are doing (Revelation 14:12). THEN we can enjoy true liberty, as James confirmed:
James 1:25 ...'But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.'
James confirmed in James 2:12 that we will be judged by the perfect law of liberty, which verses 10-11 confirm is God's moral law contained in the ten commandments. Person 2 above was judged by the law of the land and will go to prison, because they did not continue in the law and abide by it. Whereas person 1 was judged by the law of the land as a keeper of it and therefore enjoyed liberty, freedom and peace. Thus the same applies to God's professed people. We will be judged by God's holy law and will only be free if we are found to be doers of it through Christ.
John 8:32 ...'And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'
Psalm 119:142 ...'Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.'
Psalm 119:151 ...'Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy commandments are truth.'
John 17:17 ...'Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.'
We can only enjoy true liberty by seeking after and being doers of God's truth, of which God's holy moral law as confirmed above is truth. And that includes 'ALL' of God's ten commandments, not just 9. As James confirmed in James 2, if we do away with just one of God's commandments (like the 7th day Sabbath), then we are guilty of breaking them all, because God is not seeking for us to just be doers of 'some' of His commands, but ALL of his commands. Many professed Christians reject the 4th commandment and in doing so are rejecting ALL of God's commandments, for if we reject even one of God's commandments as not truth, then we are saying that God's Word is not truth, and thus we can never be free by rejecting the truth.