Category Archives: Freedom

Bible, Freedom, Judgment, Legalism, Pharisees, Scripture

HERE COMES THE JUDGE

COLOSSIANS 2:16

“Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day—”

Back when I was growing up, there was a tv show called “Laugh In.” It was very popular, and several stars got their start there. One of the regular skits was done by Flip Wilson who played a comical judge. He would always enter the court room singing, “Here Comes the Judge, Here Comes the Judge.” Then he would proceed to make some ridiculous verdict or something. It was definitely a 60’s and 70’s humor thing.

In today’s verse, Paul is telling the Colossian believers to not let anyone judge them in their Christian walk in regards to Jewish laws and practices. The things he names were all referring to Jewish practices of food and worship. Some Jewish believers wanted to keep practicing all the Jewish laws and force them on Gentile believers. Paul had it out with Peter over this very thing and talked about in Galatians 2. Paul was not going to allow these new believers to be forced into laws and rules which he knew did not fit into their new lives in Christ.

APPLICATION

You may have people in your life who act like judges. You can’t eat that. You can’t drink that. You can’t wear that. You can’t miss a church service. Listen, we have just as many Christian “pharisees” today as there were Jewish pharisees back in the days of Paul. Don’t allow others to tell you what you must do to be “holy.” That’s God’s job.

I love how Albert Barnes explains this verse. “The meaning is, ‘since you have thus been delivered by Christ from the evils which surrounded you: since you have been freed from the observances of the law, let no one sit in judgment on you, or claim the right to decide for you in those matters. You are not responsible to man for your conduct, but to Christ; and no man has a right to impose that on you as a burden from which he has made you free.’”

The Greek word for “judge” literally means to decide or determine. There will be people who want to try to make your decisions for you. Now, there is nothing wrong with godly advice. I seek it all the time. But that advice has to line up with Scripture and should be led by the Spirit. Stay in the Word. Seek His face. He will show Himself to you and lead you in the right way.

Father, I give You praise for leading and guiding me so that I do not have to rely on others to decide for me.

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Bible, Body, Falsehoods, Freedom, Trust, Trustworthy, Truth

STOP THAT LYING

EPHESIANS 4:25

“Therefore, ridding yourselves of falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE OF YOU WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, because we are parts of one another.”

Boy, I remember growing up with three siblings. There were always lies flying around. “Who broke that?” “It was Tim.” “Who didn’t take out the trash?” “Cheryl was supposed to do that.” I could continue, but you get the picture. There was no way I was going to own up to something that I could possibly get away with. Lying was like breathing, lol. Yea, those were small lies, but they were still lies and once caught (and I almost always was), I got the expected consequence, a spanking (yep, my parents believed in that).

The Ephesian believers had been immersed in a pagan culture for years. Now they are new creations in Christ which demanded a different lifestyle. Lying was customary in paganism. Honesty was rare. That bad habit, that lifestyle had to go. The word “falsehood” is pseudos, which literally means a lie, an untruth. Paul is telling them that because they are part of each other now in the body of Christ, truth must be practiced.

APPLICATION

John uses this word pseudos in 1 John 2:21 and 27. “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.” “And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you remain in Him.” Truth is important. Jesus called Himself the truth, didn’t He? Therefore, I can’t imagine Him approving of our lying.

Over in Romans 1:25, Paul talks about the danger of lies. “For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” You see, the opposite of truth is falsehood. If you are not practicing the truth, you are practicing falsehood. We must live in the truth.

The next time you are tempted to lie about something, remember this verse. Remember how Jesus called Himself the truth. Remember what God requires. Remember you are part of the body of Christ. Walk in the truth and then you will be walking with Jesus.

The truth will surely set me free. Thank You, Father, for giving me the truth.

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Bible, Boldness, Confidence, Disciples, Encouragement, Freedom, Heaven, Persuasion, Scripture

BOLD AND CONFIDENT

EPHESIANS 3:12

“in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.”

Often our boldness and confidence can be seen as arrogance or rudeness. There is no doubt that can be the perception IF we are not careful. I have prayed for boldness to witness more. I have prayed for confidence to face life’s challenges. There is nothing wrong with boldness and confidence if it is done through the Lord. We are going to see that in today’s verse.

Paul is continuing a thought from the previous verse in verse 12. “In whom” is referring back to “Christ Jesus our Lord” in verse 11. Look what Christ gives us. He gives us boldness to approach the very throne of grace. The Greek word translated as “boldness” is parrésia. It is defined as “confidence (bold resolve), leaving a witness that something deserves to be remembered (taken seriously).” (HELPS Word studies) Then Paul tells us we also have “confident access.” In the Greek text it is literally “access in confidence.” Pepoithésis is the word translated for “confidence. It means “interactive-access in persuasion.”  (HELPS Word studies)

APPLICATION

You are probably thinking Okay, Carl, I already knew that. I didn’t need a Greek lesson. I get it. But you can’t just read this verse and take it for granted. This boldness and confidence can only be exhibited correctly through Jesus. We have the privilege and honor to be given these in order to talk to our heavenly Father without any fear or trepidation.

In 1 Timothy 3:13, Paul tells Timothy as he talks about deacons, “For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.” As we develop as believers and learn to listen for His voice, our boldness and confidence increases. Leaders in our churches should have this boldness and confidence to lead others towards a deeper relationship with Christ.

The writer of Hebrews says this in Hebrews 10:19-22. “19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, through His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let’s approach God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Don’t shrink back, beloved. Go before the Lord with boldness and confidence. God won’t embarrass you and send you to the back of the line. There is room for everyone at the foot of the cross. Approach Him today and thank Him for giving you this access through His Son, Jesus Christ. You’ll find Him open and receptive every time.

Lord, I praise You for all you have given me, including my access to Your throne.

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Accused, Bible, Captivity, Darkness, Enemies, Fear, Freedom, Innocent, Prison, Scripture, Uncategorized

BEHIND BARS

EPHESIANS 3:1

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—”

Consider this: You wake up behind bars with your best friend. What are the first four words you say? Mine would be “What did you do?” Most of the time when someone is put behind bars, they proclaim their innocence to anyone who will listen. And that is true sometimes. But it’s been said that everyone who is behind bars thinks they are innocent. There are also A LOT of guilty people behind bars today.

Paul proclaims his guilt. He is a prisoner because he preached Jesus. Those in authority in the religious world did not like that, so they screamed his guilt. Now, it is true that what they accused him of was not true. But Paul was definitely guilty of going against the laws they held. Paul preached Jesus as the only way of salvation, not the Mosaic law. And why did he do this? He says so – “for the sake of you Gentiles.”

APPLICATION

If sharing Jesus with someone was a crime (and it is in some parts of the world), would you obey that law or share anyway? Would you risk imprisonment for the cause of Christ? In John 15:18-19, we read these words of Christ. “‘18 If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.’”

We can’t expect the world to like it when we expose their darkness. Have you ever gone into a dark room, flipped on the light and see cockroaches scurry into the nearest crack? They don’t like to be exposed. They prefer the darkness. So, when you let your “little light” shine, the world will probably respond back with force, maybe even threats.

In times like these, I am reminded of Joshua 1:9. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Christ is with you whether you are free or behind bars. Don’t let anyone cause you to tremble. The God of all ages is your strength.

Father, give me the courage to face down any giants that may threaten me.

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Bible, Freedom, Gifts, Grace, Holy Spirit, Scripture, Service

SERVE ONE ANOTHER

GALATIANS 5:13

“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.”

Ministry is all about service. Sometimes that can be a problem, especially when someone takes advantage of it. Having served on several church staffs over my 45 years of ministry, I have encountered a few people who felt like the church staff were their personal errand boys and girls. It would be easy to get into the flesh and get angry and frustrated. It takes humility to serve someone like that.

Paul, once again, emphasizes the Galatians’ freedom in Christ in today’s verse. They were not enslaved any longer to sin, nor were they enslaved to the Mosaic law full of rituals and traditions. However, they were not free to do as they pleased. He says instead to “serve one another through love.” Why do you think he said that? Why would the Holy Spirit inspire Paul to tell them to use their freedom to serve?

APPLICATION

Peter says a similar thing in 1 Peter 4:10, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God.” Ahhh! Now, Paul’s words make more sense. Now, hang on as I lay this out.

When we come to Christ, we are free from all those things I mentioned earlier, but we are also given the gifts of the Spirit. As we use these gifts in the body of Christ (as they are intended), as we serve one another, we think less of ourselves and more of others. When we do that, we are much less likely to use this freedom to indulge our flesh. Our minds are not on pleasing ourselves. It is on pleasing the Father by serving His body.

Paul gives another warning about this freedom the Galatians now had in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 8:9 he writes, “But take care that this freedom of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” If we are serving one another, the last thing we want to do is be a stumbling block. We want to build them up in Christ. Go be a servant today!

Lord, help me take my eyes off of me and look for ways to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Battles, Bible, Enemies, Enslavement, Freedom, Oppression, Rescue, Salvation, Scripture, Slaves

IT WAS FOR FREEDOM

GALATIANS 5:1

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

Why do people fight wars? Most of the time it is for freedom. One group is trying to force another group to live a certain way, to surrender to their army, to deny their beliefs in favor of another. It’s almost always one group trying to force their will on another. We will see in today’s verse that spelled out so clearly.

Paul is emphatically stating that freedom is ours. That is why Christ died – to set us free. But from what? Well, he states that in the second part of the verse. He says, “do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Here he is referring, of course, to the slavery of the law. The law was forcing these young believers to follow the old Mosaic law, which Christ has set them free from. He was the final, perfect sacrifice for all mankind. They were free.

APPLICATION

All over the world today, Christians are facing the loss of their freedom – freedom to worship, freedom to share Jesus. Check out The Voice of the Martyrs website (www.persecution.com) to read some of the stories they share about these saints. We often think this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the 21st century. How wrong we are.

What else does God’s Word say about our freedom? Jesus explains it so well in the gospel of John. John 8:31-36 says, “31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ 33 They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, “You will become free”?’ 34 Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.’”

There is really nothing else to add to that. Jesus said it all. The Son sets you free. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Aren’t you glad? No longer slaves. We’ve been set free! Sin has no more power over us. The penalty of sin has been removed. Praise His holy name.

Lord, I give You praise for the freedom You have given me in and through Christ. 

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Bible, Different, Freedom, Law, Scripture

NOT LIKE THE OTHER

GALATIANS 4:25

“Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children.”

When my children were small, they loved to watch Sesame Street. One of the little jingles they played along with a teaching moment was “One of these things is not like the other, One of these things is not the same…” I can still hear that tune in my head. It helped the kids recognize like images or pictures and to notice differences. A simple but needed skill.

Unlike Sesame Street, Paul is not pointing out differences in today’s verse. In fact, he is doing just the opposite. He is telling us Hagar represents Mount Sinai (the place the law was given to Moses by God) and that “corresponds to the present Jerusalem.” The Greek word for “corresponds” only occurs here and means to file in rank with, to march together. In other words, they were in lockstep, inseparable.

APPLICATION

In Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, he says this about the name “Hagar.” “…the Arabians according to Paul (who had formerly dwelt among them, Galatians 1:17) called the rocky Mount Sinai by a name similar in sound to הגר ( i.e. rock)…” Here’s a little math formula for you: Hagar = rock = Mount Sinai = Jerusalem = the Law = slavery. That is essentially what Paul is saying here and in Galatians 4:21-31.

We don’t want to be like that, do we? Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.” I love what the author of Hebrews (whom I personally believe was either Paul or Barnabas) says in Hebrews 10:1. “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the form of those things itself, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually every year, make those who approach perfect.”

Praise be to God! We are not like Hagar or like Mount Sinai or like Jerusalem or like the Law. One of these things is not like the other – that’s us in Christ. We are no longer bound to the things of the law. We are no longer required to keep all those rules and offer meaningless sacrifices. We are free in Jesus.

Lord, thank You for making me different than others and declaring me free in Jesus. 

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Allegory, Bible, Chains, Devil, Encouragement, Freedom, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Law, Scripture, Slaves

ALLEGORY PART 1 – HAGAR

GALATIANS 4:24

“This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar.”

I have to admit that I am not a grammatical genius. If you have read many of my blogs, you have probably already figured that out. Right? So, I looked up the definition of allegory. “It is a figurative sentence or discourse, in which the principal object is described by another subject resembling it in its properties and circumstances.” – Webster. Thank you, Mr. Webster! I am sure we all understand it now.

Paul tells us plainly that he is going to be speaking “allegorically.” This Greek word is only used one time in the New Testament. It literally means to speak publicly something other than. Paul is going to be comparing the story of Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac to our slavery to sin and our freedom in Christ. This allegory is not to imply in any way that the Old Testament story is not true. You can use an historical truth allegorically to make a point, which is what Paul has done here.

APPLICATION

Now that I have bored you to tears with the English lesson on allegories, how do we use today’s verse in our lives? Well, let’s focus on the topic of this first part of the allegory – Hagar. Who was she? She was a servant girl of Sarah’s. But she was more than a servant. She had been given to Abraham by Sarah to try to conceive a child which would satisfy God’s promise to give then a child. God never instructed them to do this. They just decided to “help God along.”

This first part of the allegory isn’t very encouraging. Hagar and Ishmael represent slavery to sin. Even after Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, she was still a servant. Nothing had changed. You and I are slaves to sin until we come to Jesus. We have no power to resist. We have no way to escape the devil’s schemes. There is no hope. We can’t “perform” our way out of sin. We have to have the chains broken.

Praise be to God we have a “chain-breaker.” He is Jesus, the Righteous One. He is the One to whom we run for freedom. Paul is so aware of this. He now sees how bound to sin he was while he was under the law, which is also represented by Hagar. Paul wants these Galatians to be free in Christ, not bound to the law. In the same way, God wants us to be free in Jesus. Are you free today?

Lord, I am thankful You gifted men like Paul to write under the inspiration of the Spirit to give us these truths.

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Bible, Bondslaves, Freedom, Satan, Scripture, Slaves

A TALE OF TWO SONS

GALATIANS 4:22

“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman.” 

This verse reminds me of the Charles Dickens’ classic, A Tale of Two Cities. It begins with this quote:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”

Do you see the analogies there? The opposites? Paul, in his own way is going to compare two opposites in the next several verses. One was Isaac, the son of Sarah, who was born free. The other was Ishmael, the son of Hagar, who was a slave of Abraham. Thus, Ishmael was born into slavery. This is the comparison we will see played out over the next several days.

APPLICATION

Now, hold it a minute, Carl. I am not a slave to anyone. Really? If you are not walking in the Spirit, you are slave to sin. Romans 6:16 says this, “Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”

Slavery isn’t just chains and cells. Slavery is bowing to the will of the flesh. Paul is going to compare freedom in Christ and slavery under the law. Believe me, he understood the slavery of the law because he had personally bound people with it as a Pharisee. He knew the hopelessness of it. And we can put ourselves under legalistic rules and regulations and lose our freedom in Christ.

But let me encourage you today to be “free indeed.” Free yourself from the lure of sin. Free yourself for self-inflicted laws. Let Christ lead you into true freedom in Him. Shake off the shackles that the evil one wants to tie you down with. He has no power over you. But through Jesus, you have power over him. Hallelujah!

O God, my Father, I am so thankful I have been born into freedom through Your Son.

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Abiding, Bible, Confidence, Doubts, Freedom, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Salvation, Scripture

PERPLEXING BEHAVIOR

GALATIANS 4:20

“but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for I am at a loss about you!”

We have all seen new believers who get saved and on fire for Jesus only to revert back to their old behaviors as soon as they move away or start hanging with their old crowd. Compare it to a drug addict who gets all cleaned up in rehab, makes vows or promises and then goes right back to the drugs as soon as they are out of rehab. That kind of behavior can make you raise some doubts as to their sobriety in the first place.

Perhaps I need to remind you that when Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians, he was not with them. He had invested much in them and now, since he has been gone, their behavior is perplexing to him. He is confused as to why they would have deserted the teachings he had given them on the Christ life just because he was no longer there. The phrase “to change my tone of voice” means Paul had much rather speak about them with confidence than doubting.

APPLICATION

The Greek word used for “I am at a loss” is aporeo. It means to be perplexed or in doubt. It is used over in 2 Corinthians 4:8. “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;”Now, let me quickly say that I don’t think Paul was doubting their salvation. He had seen the Holy Spirit work in their lives. Unlike during the Old Testament days when the Holy Spirit would enter and leave someone, in Christ, once the Holy Spirit has come into our lives through salvation, it remains.

However, we can refuse to submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit and get into some awful pickles. In John 16:13-14 Jesus tells us why surrendering our will to the Spirit is so important. “13 ‘But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you.’”

Don’t you want to know what Jesus is trying to tell you? I sure do. Then we have to stop all this perplexing behavior and surrender to the Spirit. Before you make a decision or do anything, ask the Father in heaven. He will direct the Spirit to inform you. I believe that. Stop acting on your own whims. They usually fail us. He never will.

Father, I do not want to live a perplexing life. I want my life to be centered in Your will.

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