Christians fall into many traps during their walk with God. One in particular is forgetting the liberty that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. This is not political liberty like the American colonists fought for. It is spiritual freedom that has two purposes.

The first purpose of spiritual liberty is to free us from the bonds of sin. It is as simple as that. The power of Christ in a believer gives one the ability to say no to rebellion against God. With this newfound power, the Christian has the will to not get drunk, to love impartially, to forgive others when they don’t deserve and many other actions. Having this power does not mean a Christian will not experience the urge to indulge in pleasures of the flesh, such as drunkenness or illicit sex, but we do have the power to absolutely overcome them. And if one falls into the temptation of these things, their soul will not be condemned to hell because of it. God knows our weaknesses, and that’s what the sacrifice of Christ was for – the forgiveness of sins.

We cannot use this liberty under forgiveness as a base of operations to willfully sin. That would be ludicrous in every way. Galatians 5:13 warns against the use of liberty to indulge the flesh, and Romans 6:2 says we shall not abuse God’s grace by living a lifestyle full of sin. Otherwise, we make Jesus a minister of sin.

But spiritual liberty also frees someone from religious laws. Forgetting this gets us caught up in legalism. This is the belief that, though we are forgiven through our faith in Christ, we must still do works to earn favor. It gets us caught up in feeling guilty for not going to church or for not dressing nicely in a place of worship or not observing a holiday. Nowhere in the New Testament does it say we have to work to earn favor in God’s eyes. It simply says we must have faith. Hebrews 11:6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith. I cannot do enough good things or not sin enough to gain favor. It simply takes faith in God’s promises.

Spiritual liberty was something the Jews could not comprehend after Christ died. The Jewish converts were forsaking the idea that faith saves us. They chose to go back to ritualistic things like sacrificing lambs and wearing “holy” dress. But it is foolish to think these things please God.

Liberty does not free the Christian from God’s moral law, nor does it free us from common law of governments. If the church were to make a rule stating it is necessary to volunteer twice a week, or else God will curse you, then that would be false. Drinking alcohol is not a sin, contrary to popular belief. But drunkenness is a sin, and if a Christian thinks drinking in moderation will lead them to temptation, it should be refrained from. It is their choice to decide that, and it is part of the freedom found in Christ.

The just live by faith.