Liberty of the Law

In his epistle to the Galatians the apostle Paul teaches something that is so misunderstood. He talks about liberty and bondage in terms of the law. Too many times we get a notion in our heads that the commandments are a bondage, a burden placed upon us that keeps us from doing what we want to do.

But Paul points out that the law is only bondage when we try to live only by the law. In other words, the Galatians had the 613 laws of Moses and they are trying to faithfully live by those laws as if that's all that mattered for salvation. To do that they had to have all 613 memorized and then act only within those laws. That is bondage because every time they went to make a move they had to stop and figure out if the move was in obedience to those 613 laws.

But Paul explains that the law of Moses has been fulfilled and that the purpose of law is to bring us to Christ and then Christ gives the Spirit to us and the Spirit guides us as to what we are to do. That is liberty! Instead of having to constantly refer to memorized laws and try to determine if our intended action is within the law, we rely on the Spirit to tell us whether what we want to do is right or wrong. That is freedom! It is the freedom to enjoy the peace, comfort, guidance, joy, and love the Spirit brings, and to shake off the shackles of worrying about whether everything we eat or drink or do fits within the law.