by Jon Jenkins
John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
The greatest day in my life, after I became a Christian, was when I Experienced and Embraced both My Position and My Freedom in Christ. When I fully understood that I was no longer under condemnation and that I was complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10) it was truly a liberating experience. Thank God I Am Free In Christ!
With this glorious truth firmly established in my heart, I have been deeply troubled by a burgeoning movement that is creeping into our churches and Christian homes in recent days that masquerades as Freedom In Christ. I recently heard this doctrinal twist perfectly defined as the Be Free Movement! These Be Free-ers appear to believe what I have just stated, but in fact are the latest victims of cult-like doctrinal winds that are sweeping the land.
The Be Free Movement is causing much confusion (I Cor. 14:33) in contemporary Christianity! It is the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of this subject that is the reason so many of our children turn their back on Historic and Authentic Christianity! This offshoot of Christianity is teaching the false doctrine that the New Testament is only about Grace Based Relationships and that the Old Testament that is all about Law Based Rules.
This offshoot which is actually a contemporary version of hyper-dispensationalism has taken out of context a conversation Jesus had with a lawyer in, Matthew 22:35-40 “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Does this mean that Loving God and Loving My Neighbor is all that Christ Commands? Absolutely not! What Jesus was saying was that all the Commands / Rules of the Bible involve my Relationship With God and my Relationship With My Fellow Man!
The First 4 Of The 10 Commandments Involve My Relationship With God And The Next 6 Involve My Relationship With My Fellow Man! We cannot divorce obedience from love. Jesus established this continuing principle in, John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Listen to the inspired words of John in, I John 5:2 “By this we know that we love the children of God (OUR NEIGHBOR), when we love God (OUR GOD), and keep his commandments.”
Most Be Free-ers have bought into the false teaching that any preaching about living by Biblical convictions and seeking to live a holy life is Legalism. Is it Legalism to try and please God with our obedience? Nothing could be further from the truth! Legalism is simply adding works to grace in an attempt to merit salvation. Living Holy Is Not Legalism! The New Testament standard is spelled out in, I Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
The scripture has so much more to say about our true Liberty In Christ. A small sampling would include:
Romans 6:22 “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
II Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” This is not talking about liberty to do as we please. I am now at liberty to serve God because I have been set free from the bondage of my debilitating sins.
Galatians 5:13 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
I Peter 2:16 “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
Allow To Make A Few Closing Remarks about the true nature of our Freedom In Christ:
1. Salvation In Christ Liberates Me To Serve Christ Fully, Not To Serve My Carnal
Flesh.
2. In Christ, I Am Free From The Flesh To Serve Christ Not Free From Christ To
Serve The Flesh.
3. As A Believer I Am Free For Christ, Not Free From Christ.
4. Freedom In Christ Is Not Freedom From Christ.
5. I Have Found Liberty In The Saviour Not Liberty From The Scriptures.
6. In Christ, I Am Not Free Too Sin, But Free From Sin.
7. I Am Liberated To Serve The Higher Master Of The Saviour & The Scriptures
Rather Than The Lower Master Of Sin & Satan.
8. Freedom In Christ Liberates Me From Sin It Does Not Give Me A License To Sin.
9. You Cannot Serve Two Masters – Its Sin Or The Saviour, It’s The Flesh Or The
Father, Its Self Or The Spirit.
10. Obedience To The Saviour Liberates Me From The Bondage Of Sin.
11. A Relationship With No Boundaries Is Not Liberty It Is Anarchy.
12. Grace Frees A Man From The Power Of Sin So He Can Follow The Precious
Saviour.
13. The Liberated Christian Life Is A Pathway To Righteousness And Holiness Not To
Rebellion And Hedonism.
14. A Liberated Believer Should Not Be Free From Scriptural Convictions But Should
Be Free From Sinful Addictions.
15. The Saviour Has Liberated Me From Harmful Habits Not From Holy Habits.
16. The Spirits Leadership Does Not Free Me From The Restraints Of The Scriptures
But From The Rigors Of Sin.
17. Christ Has Enabled Us To Break Free From The Bondage Of Sin Not The
Boundaries Of Scripture.
Romans 6:1–2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
If your Liberty In Christ causes you to enjoy the sermon Sunday morning while you enjoy the six pack of beer you have in the refrigerator at home on Sunday afternoon, you have totally misunderstood what Freedom In Christ is all about!
The scriptures do not teach that we can obtain sinless perfection, but they do instruct us to endeavor to live for the Savior, not for Sin or for Self. I am a Happy Christian, and the Holier I live the Happier I am. I encourage you, my dear friend, to put Christ first in your life and you will not Abuse The Grace Of God but rather will find yourself
Appreciating The Grace Of God. Titus 2:11–12 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”
by Jon Jenkins
Original article can be found at http://www.jonmjenkins.com/2013/08/be-freemovement-august22th-2013-john.html#links