It Starts Small

I got the chance for a few weeks to run the mail route with my husband. There was a house this beautiful pyrenees lived at. Every day she would come up to the fence and say hello. The sad part, she would get in trouble with her owner for being friendly. It was heartbreaking. I think a lot about her. She just wanted to say hello and get a pat on the head. I felt like her for so long. I know animals do not have feelings, but her situation was my situation for so long. I felt trapped inside myself. I felt like there were walls I was never going to get passed. I could see beyond them and desperately wanted escape, freedom, and for someone to liberate me. I wanted to be rescued. I wasn’t looking for a new life, rather I was desperate to be free of myself. To experience love, joy, and peace.

There are three amazing and wonderful truths (among so many) that I discovered over this last year.

5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

God wants us to live a liberated life! He sent his son to set captives free. Satan wants to capture and enslave people to make them a servant of sin. Satan is not looking for the casualties, he looking for converts that he can enslave. I live in the United States of America. Americans love to boast and shout about their freedoms, but for being “free” people, we know so little about freedom. As Christians, we know even less about the liberty of Christ.

I found myself asking this questions: what are the dimensions of this liberated life? In other words, what am I liberated from?

⁶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: ⁷ Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Galatians 1:6-7

Paul speaks about two types of people and two very real problems that were going on. First, people were falling away from the gospel, and they were falling away because of the people perverting the gospel. Satan is a master at his craft. He has not had to change his ways because they work. He has no original methods. Satan takes that which is good, holy, pure, and righteous and perverts it.

Why does Satan pervert it rather than deny it? Because we are human. If Satan can get us to believe a corrupted gospel you will be satisfied with a substitute and be a synthetic Christian. YOu can imitate a Christian life, but you can never full be liberated. Our nature, the very sin nature that we have appeals to works. We all have a little Martha in us. (Luke 10:38-42) Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha. Martha was running about preparing dinner and attending to the guests. She got very frustrated that Martha was at the feet of Jesus and not helping her. She rebukes Mary to Jesus.

We all want and desire to be able to do something to earn our place in heaven. It makes sense. We live in a society that is merit based. You work hard, you gain much. Back up to Galatians 1:7, Paul says it is not another gospel, but a substitute gospel that perverted the only true gospel. It was this idea that based on merit we can get to heaven.

Paul give a great warning in verse 8, let him be damned. Anyone who perverts the gospel is damned, cursed, or condemned. They are worthy of God’s greatest judgement, which is eternal damnation. When we speak about false gospel, false religion, we are not talking about denominational differences or preference, we are talking about eternity.

⁹ As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:9

Paul tells us it is not the messenger that validates the message. Anyone who preaches a new gospel is to be accursed according to God’s Word. Paul says an angel full of light and glory could come before you and say I have a revelation, a new gospel to share, and he will be accursed. The messanger is not our validation. In our society, there are many famous preachers who preach a gospel, but how do you know it is the one true gospel?

There is no new gospel! A gospel that seeks to please men is a false gospel. The gospel is not meant to please the feelings of men or tickle their ears. Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Not all roads lead to heaven. How do we validate the gospel or teaching? Paul gives us three tests!

¹¹ But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. Galatians 1:11

#1 Source: Man or Jesus through the revelation of God and the Holy Spirit. There’s man made religion and God made truth. If the source of salvation or teaching is something that is done by the merit of man, it is false. If the source is revelation through God and the Holy Spirit, it is absolute truth.

⁶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Galatians 1:6

#2 Salvation: Any gospel that os not the gospel of grace is not the gospel of Christ. You can not beg, buy, borrow, steal, learn, or earn salvation! The grace of God was by Christ on the cross. It was accomplished and finished. You can not deplete it or add to it.

#3 Subject: Salvation comes from the grace of Christ. It is about Jesus. It is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15 is a chapter devoted to explaining the grace of Christ. A gospel that speaks ABOUT Christ or eludes Christ is false. It is Christ.

Christianity and the gospel is the gospel of Christ.

Salvation is NOT a creed: I believe…..

You can believe all you want and still go straight to hell. You are not saved by believing the plan of salvation or knowing it. You are saved by receiving Christ himself as your Savior.

Salvation is not a code: I believe if I live right…..

Believing a right living will open the gates of heaven is false. If salvation came by righteous living, then Christ is dead in vain. If you could be saved by living right, then calvary is history’s biggest blunder.

Salvation is not a cause: I just believe in love….

Jesus is not a cause. You can not just simply love people and expect the gates of heaven to be opened to you.

Salvation is not a church: I’m a member of xyz church…

Just because you are a member of a fundamental bible believing church you will nto go to heaven. Jesus is not a Costco membership. You can not be apart of a “special” people with a paid membership and expect the gates of heaven to open.

Salvation is Christ!

The world’s religious turmoil is the result of people meeting a creed but never having met Christ. They enter into codes of living but never meet Christ. They join churches but never meet Christ. Salvation is not believing is SOMETHING, it is RECEIVING someone! Creeds, codes, and churches do not save.

The Source: GOD
The Salvation: GRACE
The Subject: CHRIST

SO what does all this have to do with liberated living? I”m glad you asked. at first I did not understand what any of this meant, but take a look at Galatians 4:7

⁷ Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Galatians 4:7

If you do not understand that you are saved by the grace of God, you will always be in bondage to legalism. Legalism is the modern day term we replaced pharisees with. The Pharisees only believed in the law of Moses. Leaglist today preach a works based salvation and a merit based salvation. Notice that creed, code and church are all about “I”. I believe. I live. I belong. It eliminates the true gospel of grace and enslaves people.

Christ liberates us from the bondage of legalism and self effort. We are made free from the toils and flaws of self effort. We are given freedom and the confidence to know that we know. Our confidence is not in ourselves but in Christ. We are the sons and daughters of Gid, not slaves to God.

Trying to be saved by religion practice makes yourself a slave to it. Grace makes you a son and daughter.

A servant is accepted on the base of what he does. A son is accepted by who he is.

A servant is anxious that he please his master to be accepted. A son is resting in his father’s love and knows he is accepted.

A servant is acepted by his workmanship. A son is accepted because of his relationship.

A servant is accepted in his own eyes because of his own productivity. A son is accepted because of his position. If a servant fails, he can lose his position. A son knows that he will fail, but through loving correction he is still his father’s son.

Grace is God’s love shown to us where there is no merit on our behalf. God’s love is not dependant on what we do. GOd does not say:

I love you because…..
I love you if…….
I love you when…….
I love you after……

These are all conditional and God’s love is not conditional. Many false teachings say that only by doing XYZ will God love us. God will love us no matter what. You can not earn more or receive less. God’s love is an action towards us, NOT a reaction. His love comes out of HId perfect nature and is not based on who we are, but who he is. We can not strategically put ourselves into a position to be loved. Instead we need to react to the love of God that is here before us. God does not change us to be loved, he loves us so he can change us.

There’s nothing on this earth that can change us like the grace of God!

Our liberation is from our own self effort. We are free from ever having to try and earn our way to heaven or earn God’s love. We do not have to try and be good enough, faithful enough, or righteous enough to earn God’s love.