Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. Galatians 3:25
God knew when he gave Moses the ten commandments that his people wouldn’t be able to keep them by their own efforts. God gave the law so everyone would recognise their shortcomings and their need of a Saviour (verse 21).
We cannot meet God’s standards by our own efforts. So the purpose of the law was to lead us to Christ so that we would be justified by faith (verse 24). The freedom God has given us is expansive and many have struggled with it. I was talking to a friend and they commented, “I think Galatians is one of the most dangerous books in the Bible. Paul is advocating so much freedom. A freedom like we don’t really want other people to have, ‘it’s too much responsibility’, we figure, so we try to take it away.”
Paul explains freedom this way, “so, then, if with Christ you’ve put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? ‘Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this!’ do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?” (Colossians 2:20 The Message).
Paul also tells the Corinthians, “Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial” (1 Corinthians 10:23). St. Augustine puts it very simply, “Love God and do whatever you want.” Augustine knew that if we really love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength then we will only want to do what pleases our heavenly Father.
God gives us the great privilege, but also the enormous responsibility, of making decisions based on pleasing the Father rather than a set of rules.
Amen and Amen
Thanks Susan
hey, thanks. it is humbling to know i have been quoted halfway around the world.
and thank you for advocating the first half of paul to the corinthians! too often we strees the second half with allowing people to understand the truth of the first half. as if they can’t handle it. or perhaps, rather, we couldn’t handle it if they indeed did take their liberty in our services. people might start sharing. or running. or talking. or rebuking. or dancing. or serving. or singing. spontaneously. the possibilities are endless…
hjrmfi
i agree that god gave us the law to make us recognize our need for a savior, and to shut us all up under sin so that he might be gracious to all. what i have been questioning lately is our inability.
God knew when He gave the ten commandments that we would never be able to keep them by our own efforts.
there is a verse i ran across a few years ago that kind of threw a monkey wrench into my thoughts on inability. it is:
Dt 30:11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
in reading this, it seems to me that we ARE indeed able. if only we would. either god is lying here, or we are far more rebellious than we think. in reading this verse, it seems as if the great big CAN’T that gets preached so often is actually a big fat WON’T, which, to me, is much more offensive. THAT makes sense to me as to why god would be so upset over sin and rebellion. if we FULLY have it within our power to obey, but we just flat out REFUSE, then, i understand. for him to be upset with us for not accomplishing something that we have no ability to accomplish, well… that just doesn’t make sense. it doesn’t produce an image of a father who knows how to give good gifts over and above earthly fathers who are evil. if i actually began to berate zaavan for not walking over to me when i call him (when he can’t because of his brain damage), anyone witnessing this scene would be horrified. and upset. what if i went even farther if he still did not come and disowned him and put him in a place of eternal torment for not complying with a command he had no ability to meet?
do people actually believe in a god like that? and if so, why in the world would they want to worship him? this picture DOES make me think of a certain spirit being however. the evil one.
and that’s all i have to say about that.
azmkug