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Freedom through Grace ...

Friday, Mar 7, 2014. What is our life built on? Of course, we are in need of many things to live. We are in need of food. We need a job. We need friends. We need to have a purpose for our life - work and some goal we work towards! All this IS important. But it is not the starting point, it cannot be the fundament we stand on and the source we live from.

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The source …

In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul writes:

1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Galatians 5, 1-6)

There is a lot in this little text. My main point today is the freedom in Christ. It is the grace which is establishing everything else. It is the faith, which is driving our life, the faith which counts. Nothing else than faith can set our life on a sound fundament.

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Freedom …

What do we call freedom? We think we are free when are not kept in some particular prison or in some area which we are not allowed to leave. Freedom is the freedom to move. But there is also the freedom to say particular things. Freedom of the press. Freedom of thought. Freedom of speech. There is freedom to live in a particular way. Freedom to make choices, for example to choose to study, or to choose not to study. To choose a particular job. To choose an employer. To choose a partner. Freedom is the freedom of choice.

In the bible, freedom often also means the freedom from particular influences, which keep us as in a prison. When we are under the influence of “the world”, we cannot be free in it. We are driven to think and behave in a particular way. But when the spirit of God comes into our life, we are freed to act differently. We are freed to be truthful, to be forgiving, to love, to be pure, to be humble.

The freedom Jesus talks about in the gospels is also the freedom to trust God. Our life needs provision of many things. And we need to trust the power of God to give to us what we need. Then, we are no longer dependent on particular people or circumstances. It is HIM who controls our life, not other powers or people or a particular system. Freedom here is the freedom to live with the Lord and with his surpassing friendliness. Freedom is the freedom to be with him and live with him! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts

jn_en_2014_03_07.txt · Last modified: 2017/06/18 16:48 by 127.0.0.1