#79 LICENSE, LEGALISM, AND LIBERTY 9-3-26
There are two ditches on the road of Christianity, and neither one is where God wants us to live. On one side is legalism. On the other side is license. Between them is the road of liberty. We must learn to stay in the middle of the road, following Christ in the freedom of grace without falling into either extreme.
LICENSE
License says, “I am free, so I can do whatever I want.” But Christian liberty is never permission to live in sin. “Do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). Grace does not give us freedom from holiness. Grace gives us freedom to pursue holiness. We are not saved so that we can continue living for ourselves. We are saved so that we can live for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:15).
LEGALISM
Legalism says, “I must do enough to be acceptable to God.” It takes the freedom of the gospel and replaces it with human rules, regulations, traditions, and performance. Jesus warned about honoring human commandments as though they were divine commands (Matthew 15:8-9). We must obey God, but we must never confuse obedience with earning salvation. We are saved by grace through faith, not by the works of the law (Ephesians 2:8-9).
LIBERTY
Liberty says, “I belong to Christ, and because I belong to Him, I am free to follow Him.” Biblical liberty is not the freedom to do whatever the flesh desires. It is the freedom to love God, serve others, pursue holiness, and walk according to the Spirit. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free” (Galatians 5:1).
The road is narrow, and the ditches are real. License takes grace too far. Legalism takes law too far. Liberty keeps us centered on Christ. We do not need to live in fear that we have failed to satisfy every human rule, nor do we need to live carelessly because we think grace makes sin unimportant. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and walk faithfully with Him.
Stay out of the ditch. Do not turn toward license. Do not turn toward legalism. Keep it in the middle of the road with liberty. Let grace be your foundation, truth be your guide, love be your motive, and Christ be your destination.
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Father, keep me from the ditches of license and legalism. Help me to understand and live in the liberty Christ has given me. Let my freedom never become an excuse for sin, and let my obedience never become an attempt to earn Your grace. Keep my eyes on Jesus and my feet on the road of truth. Amen.
BDD
