It has been said that Christianity is crossing the bridge over 2 troubled waters. One being liberty and the other legalism. We are to avoid legalism as an outward religion but also a "catering" to the flesh. In Paul's time the Judaizers wanted to bring converts to the Old Testament laws and ceremonies amidst the lawlessness around them. We too have a tendency of these two dangers to take hold of "traditionalisms" where we live out...but it is NOT in our heart or we avail ourselves of that which is around us to the tune of licentiousness. BOTH need to be avoided and Paul gives us the positive here. By LOVE SERVE one another!

There is a calling here. We have been called to liberty. (The calling is the effectual working of the Holy Spirit in us.) Liberty is the absence of any dominion over us (bondage.) Israel was led out of bondage under Christ into Canaan which was the typical of Heaven (law) and we too are free of the bondage of sin and death which is His wrath and curse upon sin. That is the freedom we have in Christ! Freedom has two parts. 1. Free from the guilt of sin. It is truly finished! 2. Now that we are free what are we now going to do? How are we going to live? Out of "jail" we are not going to live in a way that will put us back into jail are we? Violating the very commandments that put us into jail in the first place? We are free but must still serve? We are free to serve one another in the Lord? We are returned to what we were BEFORE sin and are FREE to be who we are! The image has been restored as Adam (who was not a slave to God but rejoiced in who he was!) We too delight and LOVE the law of God and we now serve Him with delight do we not?!

A very large challenge. Within our flesh there is a desire to be in that bondage. It is a base or army of operations to sin. The flesh and the spirit oppose each other. The old man wants to be the dominant one and subject and still the new man in Christ. When we do this we make the liberty of Christ the very base of operations for the flesh and turn something most beautiful into something very ugly. Often we refuse the new man and liberty to BIND our flesh. To be a new man in Christ is to bind the flesh...crucify it...bind it. Freedom requires RESPONSABILITY and it is difficult!

Christian freedom becomes the very basis for daily conversion and to live a Godly life. We now are like a fish in the water and love that freedom! (Romans 6:17-23. Romans 3:31) We don't ignore the law of God, but we establish the law from the heart and NOT with just an outward keeping of it. This is where Christianity's "rubber meets the road!" In love serve one another. Not enabling, but that love is one of service! That puts us in "gratitude" and loving service and the positive requirement of love! It puts the very commandments of God into a positive light! We can serve even our enemies.