Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) — 1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Ever since the Garden of Eden humans have been fighting for freedom. The battle is fought on the outside of people. The battle is also fought on the inside of each person. It is a spiritual battle.
We are surrounded by a wall of laws to keep us in line with whatever authority rules over us. In many societies people are kept in check by the laws of those who rule over us. Freedom is limited. Anyone can do anything as long as they are within the scope of the law. In other words, people are imprisoned by those writing the laws.
Christ has come to set us free. Free not to break the laws of the land but freed to be who God has created each person to be.
Galatians 5:13, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” One of the great bonds of sin is self-centeredness. (Just a thought: For some the self-centeredness is thinking everyone else is wrong and I am right.) Many use man’s law to get what they want. The law of man can be manipulated for selfish gain. How many try to use God’s law for selfish gain. The Law of God opens the door for us to love others, even the unlovable.
Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:16–17, “as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” Because we have been set from the bonds of sin we are now free to love others, yes, even the unlovable.
2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Jesus has freed us from the bonds, the dominion of sin. Paul writes in Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you.” The believer in Christ has been set free from the law. Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
So why do so many professing followers of Christ continue in the bondage of sin? In John 8:32 Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”