REGULATED  OR  FREE?

Take a few moments to think about your life and the way you live it.  Do you live under a strict regime of rules and regulations that can make life a real chore, or do you live in the freedom that comes from KNOWING CHRIST, the Saviour of the world?  Are the movements of your life regulated by the fine print in your “contract”, or are you trusting in the One True God who made heaven and earth?

According to the Holy Scriptures, men and women have the greatest level of freedom when the Lord Jesus is truly loved and honoured in their personal life.

Jesus said, “If you continue (abide, remain) in My Word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).

“Therefore, if the Son (Jesus Christ) shall make you free, you shall be free indeed”  (John 8:36).

In saying that, Jesus does not mean that we are free to do anything!  He certainly does not mean that we are free to do evil deeds!  But he does mean that inwardly we are free because when we accept Him into our heart, He washes us clean on the inside, and it is that inner cleanliness that sets us free - free from guilt; free from dead religion; free from all the things that would seek to bring us into bondage – “IF WE CONTINUE IN HIS WORD.”

There are millions of residents in this world who think they are free yet live under such a strict set of religious rules that true freedom is relatively unknown to them; true freedom is a thousand kilometres away. 

• Obeying rules and regulations does not guarantee us a place in heaven.

• But abiding in God’s Word brings us into direct fellowship with the One who is the Author and Creator of real freedom.  And heaven will then be our new address when we pass from this world into eternity.

There are times when we need to sit down and think seriously about the reasons why we do certain things the way we do.  Is it because we think it’s the right way to do them - that’s what we’ve been taught?  So often we mix tradition and habits into our walk with the Lord, mistakingly clinging to them because we think this is part of serving, but is it the way God really wants us to live?

Regulated or free?  It’s worth thinking about, isn’t it?

Who was it that said, “I have come so you might have life; and that you might have it more abundantly”  - that means life in all its fullness (John 10:10)?  Yes, it was the Lord Jesus Himself who made that statement.  But the first part of that verse talks about being robbed – “The thief only comes to steal, kill and destroy.”

Are we being robbed of our freedom in Christ?

Have we been “strangled” (killed) of our joy?

Has the simplicity of knowing Jesus been destroyed in our life because of man’s restrictive regulations?

Just remember . . . it’s not the rules and regulations that give us a heart-to-heart walk with the Lord.  It’s knowing Him and walking in the abundant life that only He can give.

~ Joan Emery