The Law that Gives Freedom

Dear friend,

One of my students at the high school where I taught was stopped by officials for driving recklessly. It was the culmination of several weeks in which he set aside as many rules as he could. He was not obedient to his teachers, his parents, or his Lord. Apparently he had decided he wanted to be free from authority and felt that a world of opportunity would open up before him if he cast off the restraints of his youth. The opposite happened, however, and he found himself less free - without a car, without the freedom to see his friends at school, and in deep trouble at home. It took this young man (who is now a dear Christian) some time to learn that the rules in his life were for his own good.

Likewise, when our Father in heaven gives rules, they are for our good. There are many people in the world who mistakenly think they will have a limited life if they submit to the commandments of God. They think the path to freedom means throwing off all Divine restraints. But this is not the reality of our world nor is it what God himself says. In the Bible, the Lord tells us that His laws are for our good and they help us live a free life:

“But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25).

So, if you want to live a full life, then do what God says! Most importantly of course is to obey the gospel by believing in Christ. Did you know God commanded us to believe? This is the perfect and greatest example of how obeying God sets us free!

Your servant,

Stephen

Rev. Stephen St. John
Pastor/Elder