Freedom in Christ…..Not freedom FROM, but freedom TO exercise wisdom and godly choices. The higher responsibility to which grace calls the faithful is the Spirit of the Law, which is much higher than the Letter of the Law. This is what Christ means by saying He came to fulfill the Law, not eliminate it!! He tells us again and again, “You have heard it said…… BUT I TELL YOU….” He’s not dismissing the Law, He is applying a more stringent and demanding obedience to the Law that incorporates embracing obedience in LOVE and going to a greater heighth and depth and width and breadth of care for our neighbors than even the Law demands. It is a whole-hearted, fully attentive, maximally engaged kind of love for others’ well-being than just the common Law can even begin to define and enforce. It is the love of God lived not by 614 addended limits on freedoms, as the Jewish religious system imposed. It is the Freedom in Christ that brings joyful obedience to God and brings a new level of unrestricted joy and peace and ushers in the Kingdom of God, a righteousness that takes over one’s heart, mind, and will (soul-FILLED) and becomes a place where God is PLEASED to dwell!
“Being selective with what we watch and listen to has nothing to do with legalism; it has everything to do with wisdom. We are to recognize what glorifies Christ and what clearly does not, then choose accordingly. Grace does not relieve us of responsibility. We actually live under a higher standard when grace, not rules, guides our decisions. It’s not about following rules. Let your freedom in Christ and a relationship with Him guide you. We’ve all watched questionable material and have made wrong choices; don’t live with ongoing regret. But don’t justify wrong behavior by thinking God doesn’t care about what you watch or listen to, He does. We serve and love God with our mind.
(See Rom. 7:25.)” Pastor Shane Idleman
#FiftyShadesofDarkerNOT
From “God Is Loved” Facebook/Meta page:
“What does it mean to fear God? And how can one shun evil?
““To fear God” does not mean nameless fright and horror, nor to evade, nor to put at a distance, nor is it idolization or superstition. Rather, it is admiration, esteem, trust, understanding, caring, obedience, consecration, love, as well as unconditional and uncomplaining worship, requital, and submission. ( THIS is the definition of PERFECT LOVE! When we love God perfectly we are freed from fear of anyone or anything else and are freed to love people in the same way that God loves us.) Without genuine knowledge of God, humanity will not have genuine admiration, genuine trust, genuine understanding, genuine caring or obedience, but only dread and unease, only doubt, misunderstanding, evasion, and avoidance; without genuine knowledge of God, humanity will not have genuine consecration and requital; without genuine knowledge of God, humanity will not have genuine worship and submission, only blind idolization and superstition; without genuine knowledge of God, humanity cannot possibly act in accordance with the way of God, or fear God, or shun evil. Conversely, every activity and behavior in which man engages will be filled with rebellion and defiance, with slanderous imputations and maligning judgments about Him, and with evil conduct running contrary to the truth and to the true meaning of God’s words.” #LovingGod