You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:13-14 NIV)
The freedom God gives us is freedom from spiritual oppression and from the law of sin and death. Temptation no longer has power over us. Sin no longer has power over us. Death no longer has power over us. We are set free indeed.
When we recognize this freedom and start looking around at the people in our lives, though, we will immediately see the places where they are not set free. We will see them fear. We will see them angry. We will see them in lust, greed, and selfishness. Serving them in love can be difficult because it's hard to see the people we love still in captivity.
If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:15 NIV)
Our first reaction may be to try and convince them of their sin. Maybe we will try to fight them to see God's perspective on the situation. Yet another option is our own fear. We don't say anything because we are afraid to speak up. Of course, none of these are what God calls us to do. God calls us to help one another walk together with God. We all need help in that journey.
This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed--an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey--an animal without speech--who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for "people are slaves to whatever has mastered them." If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud." (2 Peter 2:10-22 NIV)
So how about you? Do you experience freedom in Christ? Have you exercised that freedom to get rid of temptation, sin, and the fear of death in your own life? Do you use that freedom to serve others in love?
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