The Balance of Freedom: Liberty, License, and Love | Galatians 5:13

Do you rightly understand the freedom you have in Christ?Show more

Today, our call-out goes to David Fortney from Sidney, OH. Thanks for your support!

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. — Galatians 5:13

This potent verse by Paul outlines three key ideas: liberty, license, and love. These concepts are crucial to understanding the spiritual life and the potential pitfalls that can lead us astray.

Liberty
Believers have incredible spiritual liberty. Christ has set us free from slavery to sin. However, our freedom is threatened by the call of legalism. Legalism exchanges those old rusty shackles of sin for the new shiny shackles of our works. While we have incredible liberty, we walk a fine line every day between the call of our old life driven by self-centered sin and the call of our new life driven by our self-centered works. In both cases, the voice of our self-centeredness persuades us. One is the call of disobedience, and the other is the call of obedience by my works.

License
Liberty is not a license to do anything we want. Think of it like being a newly licensed driver: you have the freedom to drive, but it comes with responsibilities. Just as we have rules of the road to keep us safe, there are boundaries to our freedom in Christ. On one side, there's the danger of indulging in lawless lusts of the flesh. Conversely, there's the temptation of legalism, trying to earn our standing with God through our efforts.

Love
Then there is love. Love is the driving motivation for enjoying our liberty and the license. When aligned with God's love, love drives us to mind the boundaries. But we cannot love without knowing God's love. We must accept his love and then, by his love, serve others from his love. We are merely a conduit for this incredible resource. And note: It's how we love that exposes what we know about our liberty and how we mind the boundaries of our license.

If this has convicted you in any way today, consider one of these steps today:

Evaluate your motives and avoid abusing liberty through selfish sin or works-based effort.
Set boundaries for yourself and steer clear of legalism and licentiousness.
Allow yourself to be loved by God and then share this love with others.
#FreedomInChrist, #LibertyVsLicense, #LoveDrivenLife

ASK THIS:

Reflect on a recent situation where you may have struggled to balance your freedom in Christ with the temptation to indulge in sinful desires or rely on your own efforts. What steps can you take to align your actions more closely with God's principles of love and righteousness?
Consider how your understanding of God's love has influenced the way you interact with others. Are there areas in your life where you can more effectively demonstrate God's love by serving others selflessly and without reservation?
DO THIS: Live in freedom and love.

PRAY THIS: Father, grant me the wisdom to discern between true freedom in Christ and the deceptive allure of legalism and license. Fill me with Your love, Lord, so that I may serve others with humility and grace, reflecting Your selfless love in all I do. Amen.

PLAY THIS: Freedom.