Read Galatians 1-3
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20, NIV
Where do you find yourself in your walk with Christ between liberty and legalism? You may have recently accepted Jesus as your personal Lord & Savior or perhaps you have been a believer for many years. You love the Lord and strive to serve Him in your daily life, but the question remains. Are you serving our Lord like the Judaizers that Paul is referring to in Galatians, who were trying to combine Jewish law with God’s grace? Paul starts his letter in verse 3 of the first chapter with the word “grace”. “Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins…” When you realized that you were a sinner and the only way to a relationship with God and the opportunity to spend eternity with Him was through Jesus, it was faith that brought you to salvation. The Holy Spirit working in you and your willingness to accept the free gift of salvation has given you the liberty and the freedom to be a part of the family of God. You were bound by your sin, but now you are free.
So often we accept that free gift and then as we walk through life we forget that we truly are free. We are not bound by the laws of Moses, the rituals of the past, the ceremonies required to have a relationship with Jesus. When we experience true liberty, it is the Holy Spirit living in us that causes us to follow the will of God and not the laws given to man in the Old Testament. You live in New Testament times covered by grace and free to live for Jesus with eternal hope of heaven. Don’t waste your energy trying to be a legalistic Christian. God doesn’t require a specific type of prayer or a certain number of hours spent reading His word before He answers prayer. You are free to have a relationship with Him without strings. It is because of these liberties that we strive to serve Him in love, not out of a sense of obligation.
Ask yourself, “Am I living a life of liberty in Jesus or am I bound by legalism?”
- Renee Flores serves as the Principal at Adventure Christian School
