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Deutsche Version | Wiki Start | Topics Collection vii
Freedom in Christ ...
Thursday, Jan 15, 2015. I stumbled over a sentence this morning, which is written in Galatians 5, 1: 1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Here, the apostle Paul talks about our freedom as Christians.
What Freedom? …
What is freedom? Freedom is threatened everywhere in the world: the freedom of speech, the freedom to travel, the freedom to talk, freedom to meet, freedom to express one's opinion, freedom of the press …
There is also the freedom of the mind. What is binding our thoughts, the way we look at our life, the way we look at particular challenges or problems. As scientists we have learned from history that the way we look at nature is strongly influenced by the main lines of understanding which we have, as children of our time. Our mind is not completely free, but bound by our history and by our education.
The bible also talks about freedom - the freedom of the mind and the heart. Paul refers to the freedom from particular lines of thinking. His main point here is the Jewish law, which was fulfilled by Jesus, such that access to God is not longer dependent on our justice with respect to this law. In Jesus, every human can come to God, without the law!
Personal Freedom …
But Paul also talks about more than the law. He talks about the freedom we have from selfish goals, from anger, from anxiety, from fear. He talks about the freedom from behavior patterns, which are futile and worldly.
Paul talks about the freedom to live in truth and love. He talks about the freedom to support one another, to live in peace with one another. He talks about the freedom to stay out of personal fights as far as possible. He talks about the freedom which comes from being fully loved and appreciated by the Lord, by the eternal God.
Paul talks about the freedom to live with the Holy Spirit. In Jesus we have access to God, we can come to him and live with him. It makes a real difference, every single day of our life. The invitation of the Gospels is more than some faint ideal. It is a life changing power, since the Lord is there with his spirit. His freedom comes, and in this freedom we are allowed and able to enter his kingdom today, being filled with the spirit. This type of freedom touches the ground of our heart, mind and soul. (RWEP) ... more texts