June 2025 – The Law of Liberty

The Law of Liberty

Dear Friend in Christ:

Usually, we don’t associate the words “law” and “liberty” together. This is due to many factors:

• We tend to look at life through the lens of the flesh.
• We do not yet fully understand the nature of salvation and deliverance.
• We view law as an external force holding us back rather than an internal force that opens our eyes and directs our steps.

 

It strikes me that the more a person has the law of God written in their hearts by Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit, the less that person needs external man-made laws to keep him on the right path. Conversely, the less a person has the law of God written on their hearts, the more that person requires increasing external laws to keep him in line. And even then, laws do not have within them the power to enable a person to keep those laws. A law can provide necessary boundaries and enforcement mechanisms, but it cannot change hearts.

The reason we need certain laws in our society today is because not everyone is governed by the law of God in their hearts and minds. “His law is love and His Gospel is peace,” as we sing each year at Christmas in “O Holy Night.” But all too often, even Christians are not always obedient to the Spirit of God.

The law is not inherently bad, but it is inherently weak. The weakness of the law is not with its intent, but it is in the people who are charged with following it. The purpose of law is good: to bring order. Without law, civil society cannot function.

However, human law can never be an adequate substitute for a right relationship with God. A right relationship to God in Christ sets us free from the death payment for our past sins. The curses of death and hell are broken over our lives. We have been ransomed. In right relationship, walking with Jesus, we are delivered from the chains of old desires and habits. Our hearts, minds, and behaviors are changed by the Spirit of God. This is where we find liberty.  Paul the Apostle said this to the Christians living in the city of Corinth:

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

Throughout 2 Corinthians 3, Paul makes an interesting comparison between the old law, which was a shadow, versus an actual relationship with God that brings transformation and liberty. Moses brought forth the old law, which showed us where we were going wrong. Jesus brought forth a new law, sealed with His holy blood, which not only brings forgiveness, but the power to walk in liberty.

Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Galatians: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1 NKJ). Jesus did not set us free so that we would live as though we were still in bondage: old patterns and lifestyles, old rules, old shame, old judgment, old cycle of failure.

He set us free so that we could live in freedom, which comes to us in the Spirit and manifests itself throughout our lives, on earth as it is in heaven. We are being changed “from glory to glory.” In Luke 4, Jesus Himself said that this is His mission, when He quotes Isaiah 61 and says that He is the fulfillment of that prophecy:

“And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Luke 4:17-19).

Jesus first says that He has come to proclaim liberty, but then He says He will actively set us free … “Set at liberty the oppressed.” Oppression comes through the tyranny of the enemy of our souls. Our enemy uses our own sins, weaknesses, and mistakes as well as the sins and mistakes of others. Jesus has come to deal with all of it. Look at John 8 …

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free?’” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:31-36).

Romans 6 is a powerful passage on law and grace. Paul writes that we have been delivered out of slavery to sin, self, and death. He says we are now “slaves” of righteousness and holiness; we are enslaved by blessings … prisoners of hope!

Instead of the wages of sin (death), we can receive the gift of God, which is eternal life; not simply when we die and go to heaven, but here, now, on earth, in His Kingdom.

We could not deliver ourselves. We were enslaved … our minds, hearts, and hands were bound; sin had us in its death grip. The old law judged us and found us guilty. We were powerless to keep it or overturn it. There was none righteous; no, not one. No one could deliver us … except Jesus!

• He was fully God and fully man
• Lived among us, as one of us, but was without sin
• His death satisfied the law of God
• Paid the price for our sin once and for all

 

Continuing in his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that we were in a hopeless downward death spiral. However, by putting our faith in Jesus Christ – His Word, life, death, and Resurrection – we could receive His life and liberty. Instead of sin, shame, and death, we receive His righteousness, power, and life. Romans 8 says:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”(Romans 8:1-6).

Sin is a serious issue! It cannot be dealt with cheaply or swept under the rug. The wages of sin is death. Look at the price Jesus paid for our sin. We no longer live under its curse–not now or for eternity! That’s why this news is so good to us; we can now live according to the law of liberty

THE LAW OF CHRIST BRINGS FREEDOM

How is it that this new law–this law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus–can set me free from the law of sin and death? Paul says in Galatians 5 that love fulfills the law; as we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the destructive desires of our “flesh.” Romans 13 and James 2 also speak of the law of God being love. Romans 14 seems, at first glance, to be a discussion about eating and drinking, but it’s about the laws of liberty and love, which are deeply connected.

The love of Christ compels–moves and motivates–us (2 Corinthians 5). We are no longer living for ourselves, but for Him. His love working in us frees us from selfishness and all the bad things that result from selfishness.

Remember, the more we walk in the Spirit, the less we need external law. This does not excuse us from keeping laws, and it does not ever give license to rebellion against righteous law or godly authority. Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft. We are not called to do whatever is right in our own eyes. Liberty is not license to “do your own thing”–liberty is not anarchy. Liberty is walking in the Holy Spirit, in life-giving obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. Be free!

Thanks for reading this. It’s a blessing to serve you and others around the world. We are especially focused on restoring the generational bridge, which means reaching out in ways we never have before in order to reach those who have not yet received the Gospel.

Would you please consider being part of this ministry outreach? First, pray for us. Then, let us know how we can pray for you or serve you. Share our ministry resources with your friends and family. And, finally, pray about giving a special financial gift this month to empower us to continue in our mission.

In Jesus,

Stephen Simpson, President