Gods law and the Christian
God calls Christians to accept Jesus Christ as personal Saviour.
We are also called to a life of obedience to God's commandments. Law-keeping does not earn a person salvation, which is a gift from God (Romans 6:23); the keeping of His laws is our grateful response to God (1 John 5:2-3; John 14:15, 21).
When called to repentance, people invariably find themselves living in some degree of disobedience to the commandments of God. God calls us to repent of this former way of living. "You had time enough in the past to do all the things that men want to do in the pagan world.
Then you lived in license and debauchery, drunkenness, revelry and tippling, and the forbidden worship of idols" (1 Peter 4:3, NEB).
The law stands as our guide to repentance. It identifies our sin and shows us how we should live. As Paul put it, "Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law" (Romans 7:7, New International Version).
Our new life is a life of freedom. Far from being a blueprint for slavery, the commandments of God illuminate the pathway of a free life-a life free from the debilitating and destructive consequences of sin.
Real freedom is found only in obedience to God. Lawlessness, or disobedience to God, is sin (1 John 3:4), and it is a form of bondage. Jesus said that "whoever commits sin is a slave of sin ... Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:34, 36).
This true freedom is found through Jesus Christ. We receive forgiveness of sins through His sacrifice. Both the law and Christ's personal instruction and example tell us, for instance, that a Christian should observe the Passover as a reminder of the wonderful freedom gained through His sacrifice (1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
We are also told to keep the Days of Unleavened Bread as a reminder that we are to live a sinless (unleavened) life, forsaking the transgressions of former days (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).
This is not bondage. It is true freedom. It is the path to happiness and joy and the way to eternal life. GN