Freedom from Yourself and Others

Posted by anointedplace on May 12, 2010 · 5 Comments 

Galatians 5:1 do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery

There are people within our churches who do this type of things to new members, new converts or people that they seek to control for their own gain.  I call these people Pharisees and I use to be one of them but God sent a minister my way and introduced me to the doctrine of grace.  At that moment and after hours of studying as well as me seeking God I was set free from myself.   After coming to know God’s grace and understand the doctrine of election; my faith became true and it rested in Christ.  I know a an assurance of salvation that is strong and believe me the devil has tested it over and over again.  See, once you have assurance of salvation, man can’t manipulate you anymore for his own gain.  Man can’t make you feel guilty or that you have to pay in order to get your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Once you are freed from the grip of these carnal Christians, you can rest in God’s Grace and you can find contentment in the all sufficient Savior at which point the Book of Hebrews take on a new meaning in your life.  Once you are freed you can see the “matrix’s code” just like Neo in the movie.  The Holy Spirit will break away your self reliance and rule following.  The Holy Spirit will show you the truth and it will reveal the lie and its father Satan.

Galatians 5

¹It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

²Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

⁷You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?⁸That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” ¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.¹¹Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹²As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

¹³You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature^[a]; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[b] 15}If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Life by the Spirit

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

So how do we go about living by the power of the Holy Spirit?  Because if we are honest with ourselves, we already know that bearing the fruits of the Spirit is not an easy thing at all.  But by the power of the Holy Spirit, all things are possible through Christ Jesus.  First thing is that we have to go back to what Jesus said of anyone who wants to follow Him: Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

Keep in mind that Christ said to deny thy self:

Romans 12

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[a] act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. ⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his^[b]faith. ⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[c] Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[d]says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”^{[e] 21}Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew Henry Commentary; on renewing the mind: “Conversion and sanctification are the renewing of the mind; a change, not of the substance, but of the qualities of the soul. The progress of sanctification, dying to sin more and more, and living to righteousness more and more, is the carrying on this renewing work, till it is perfected in glory. The great enemy to this renewal is, conformity to this world. Take heed of forming plans for happiness, as though it lay in the things of this world, which soon pass away. Do not fall in with the customs of those who walk in the lusts of the flesh, and mind earthly things. The work of the Holy Ghost first begins in the understanding, and is carried on to the will, affections, and conversation, till there is a change of the whole man into the likeness of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. Thus, to be godly, is to give up ourselves to God. (Ro 12:3-8)”

Through prayer, studying of the scripture and fellowship with like minded believers we can all renew our minds and thus bear the fruits of the Spirit and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The following is from: © New Testament Christian

To be filled with the Holy Spirit and to have Christ’s Word dwell in you mean the same thing. God’s Spirit always works in and through His Word.

Cooperating with the Holy Spirit means the disciplined use of His divine resources. Change occurs as you learn to put off the old ways of thinking and responding and put on God’s new ways of thinking and responding. This begins by daily renewing your mind with the life-changing truth of God’s Word (Ephesians 4:22-24; See verses 25-32 for some specific examples). As you learn to practice the truth, you gradually become more and more godly–like Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 4:7).

The word ”train” in 1 Timothy 4:7 is an athletic term. It means: daily sustained effort. Just as it takes practice to be skilled in a particular sport, so it takes practice to be skilled in living the Christian life. God does not expect you to be perfect; He expects you to be growing. Your part in growing is exerting daily sustained effort to apply His Word to your life.

Life Application

Read Ephesians 3:16-17. It is a model for how you should pray daily for yourself: Study God’s Word. (See passages below). Depend on the Holy Spirit to help you obey, and begin to obey. This is what it means to be filled with the Spirit. His power will be displayed in your life as you trust Him and begin to obey His Word.

Study Ephesians 4:25-6:9. It is an extended discussion of how to put off old habits and replace them with godly habits in obedience to God’s Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Below are a list of put offs and put ons from this passage:

Passage Ephesians	Old Habit To Put Off	New Habit To Put On
4:25	Lying	Speaking Truth
4:26-27	Not taking care of my sin against others	Confessing my sin as soon as possible
4:28	Stealing	Working and sharing
4:29-30	Attacking with my words	Building up others with my words
4:31-32	Reacting sinfully to the sin of others	Acting with kindness–regardless of how I am treated
5:1-4	World’s kind of love: Getting for me	God’s kind of love: Giving to others
5:18-6:9	Using others for my own ends	Serving others for God’s glory

Note an area from above where you need to change.

List some steps that would begin to move you toward that goal.

© New Testament Christian

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© New Testament Christian. Website: new-testament-christian.com.
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