The New Life As Freedom

MEMORY SELECTION: “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” —Romans 8:14

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Romans 7:14; 8:2

IN ROMANS 7:6 the Apostle Paul states, “But now we are delivered from the Law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” It was the requirement that the letter of the Law be fulfilled to the last jot and tittle, which made perfect obedience to it impossible. In the 10th verse of the same chapter the apostle says, “And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.”

The letter of the Law was the measure of a perfect man’s ability to keep it, and therefore no man could keep it except the perfect man Jesus. Those Jews who were under the Law and were sincerely trying to keep it, such as the Apostle Paul, found themselves in a constant state of frustration, for they realized that they were continually failing. And so in the 18th, 24th, and 25th verses we read, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. … O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

It was the Apostle Paul’s grateful conclusion that through Jesus—that is, by the application of the merit of his sacrifice—he had been justified. Because of this, his relationship with God was as if he had kept the letter of the Law perfectly. Thus for the first time he was freed from the bondage of sin and death and was free to serve God with his spirit-begotten mind, God being willing to accept the will or intention of the mind as the deed.

The apostle, in Romans 8:1,2, expresses this new relationship to God in this manner: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

This freedom from the bondage of flesh carries with it certain responsibilities and certain privileges. It means that the true footstep follower of Jesus is able to fulfill the yearnings of his heart and to serve the Heavenly Father without the hindrances and fetters of the flesh. In Galatians 5:13,14 we read, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the Law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

The Apostle Paul gives us an example as to how this freedom in Christ should be used. In the apostle’s day there was considerable controversy among the brethren as to whether or not it was proper to eat meat that had been offered to idols. The apostle explains, “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. … To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to them that are weak.”—I Cor. 8:4,6-9

In other words, the apostle is telling the true Christian that he has been blessed with enlightenment of mind and released from the bondage of superstition and darkness. But those so freed are to exercise this freedom with love and consideration, being sensitive to the condition of others; because others who are not blessed with this freedom could be offended or stumbled.

The apostle continues emphasizing the need for a sense of responsibility in exercising Christian freedom, “But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”—I Cor. 8:12,13

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