Galatians 2:16 – nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus…….
We Christians sometime spend our time trying to obey the Ten Commandments when in actuality we do not need to be trying to keep the law at all.
We will go to church every time the door is open, tithe our ten percent, we do not smoke, drink, dance, go to movies, we look down on and condemn those who do not do what we feel the Bible commands. We feel guilty every time we mess up and think God is going punish us if we do not do everything we have been told is ‘right’ to do as Christians.
What happened to grace? What happened to being saved through faith in Christ and Him alone. It is not Jesus and baptism, not Jesus and church attendance, not Jesus and tithing, we are saved through faith in Christ and his grace. It is Jesus plus nothing. We have been restored to fellowship with God through Christ by his death and resurrection. That does not mean we just live our lives doing whatever we want, but we live out of love and in the freedom we have through grace. We do things because we love God and love others and no longer out of obligation or trying to follow the law.
Let’s stop laying all the rules and regulations on ourselves and others thinking that will make us better people. Let’s live in the power of His grace through the Holy Spirit, loving God and loving others, letting God lead us in the way He wants us to go and enjoying the right standing we have with our Father.
“…we look down on and condemn those who do not do what we feel the Bible commands” – and this is a sure sign that we are not living from Grace but from Law.
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I so agree! As Christians, we do what we do NOT because we have to, but because we WANT to serve God and please Him.
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That’s the freedom of grace, living for God because of love not obligation. Thank you Kathleen.
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Until I learned the truth about all the man made religious rules and misinterpreted scriptures, I was miserable. I felt good about the tithe because I was paying the tithe and somewhat looking down on those who didn’t. I was told I would be cursed and frightened into paying it. Personally, it became a burden for me to attend what is called “church.”
I am free now like a calf that kicked its way out of a stall. Holy Spirit is teaching me. Being on the outside of the church walls has brought be great transformation. It’s a whole new life and I am enjoying it immensely.
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Thanks Carol. That is great. My wife and I feel the same way and it is always good to find out there are many more people who feel the same way. Thanks for the comment.
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I love this blog because despite not being ‘in’ Church for about fifteen years, and being set free from al lthe rules etc. that you guys have found is so liberating, I have gone back to Church a) because I felt God calling me back there, and b) to show those still ‘inside’ the way of freedom and Grace. It’s a bit odd but I feel sometimes as if I’m ‘in the Church, but not of it’! My freedom allows me to go to a Church and be part of it but without having to adhere to all its rules. A loose attachment, if you like; I am there fore the relationships, not the dogma. Any slight behaviour modifications I might exhibit because I am in Church are limited only to those required to prevent my brother from stumbling (Rom 14:1) – and I do this through choice, not compulsion.
Freedom indeed!
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Thank you Tony for your comment. I completely understand. You are among brothers and sisters in Christ inside and outside the walls of the traditional church. Thanks for reading my articles.
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