Freedom, Part 1

“But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.” –James 1:25

I can honestly say that I have never driven down the interstate and looked at the speed limit sign and said, “Wow, I have the freedom to drive anywhere from 45-65 miles an hour.” I have however complained that our speed limit is not has high as it is in Montana or Missouri. I have never sat down on April 14 to finish my taxes and said, “Praise God that we get to pay so much this year.” Each year I do grumble as I see how much I pay to the US government. The simple truth is that we don’t view laws as a way to set us free, but rather as a way to bind us.

I suppose the same thing can be said when we read Scripture. We have a tendency to view Scripture merely as a list of rules and regulations that help us to be more religious. It seems sometimes that God is merely a great rule maker that we have to follow or pay the consequences. We’re not the only one that sees it that way. If you ask many non-Christians to tell you what they think we are all about, and they will surely mention rules. Even the Jews of the Old Testament had a tendency to be very legalistic. That’s part of why many of the religious leaders of the day did not appreciate Jesus.

But we must understand a few scriptural concepts. One is that Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). What this helps us to see is that the law of the Old Testament was not just a list of rules. But the Old Testament begins with creation, not Leviticus. God’s laws were created to help us to see our need for him, but also so that we would see his character. When Jesus came, he lived out the perfect law, which is rooted in reflecting the character of God.

Secondly, we must also see that the law doesn’t bind us. Instead God’s perfect law gives us freedom. It allows us to live the way that God created us to live. Only in His perfect law—which is perfect through Christ Jesus—can we find peace with God. It is in his grace that we can find life.

May the Word of God never seem to you like a big rule book. Instead may you find the freedom for living that Jesus gives to all who seek him.