“[Live] as free people, [yet] without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness; but[ live at all times]  as servants of God.” (1 Peter 2:16 AMPC).  

The Apostle Peter is reminding the followers of Christ that Jesus did indeed come to set us free from the bondage of sin (John 8:36).  But with that freedom comes the responsibility of living as Children of God before Him and the world.  Our freedom is not a license to live a sinful lifestyle!  

Some in the Body of Christ think that their freedom means that they can live any way they wish and it doesn’t  matter because the Lord loves them and will forgive them.  That attitude reflects  that they neither value nor appreciate the love of God; nor do they understand His Holiness!

God’s purpose in redemption is to bring into His Family a people that reflect and reveal Him to a darkened world.  The life of Christ is not revealed through “legalism” (rules of do’s and don’ts) but rather through a love relationship that is motivated  by a desire to  to please the Holy One in the way way that we live.  The Good News of the gospel is that the Holy Spirit empowers us to live the very life that He calls us to live.  

It is no longer a matter of struggling and striving but rather a matter of hearing and obeying what He would have us do.  There is great freedom in that!  Let us so walk in our freedom that others may see it and be drawn to that same freedom we have experienced in Him!

Rev. James W. Black