“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:25
“So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. James 2:12
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8:5-6
God has provided for those who believe in Him the ability to look (habitually, a sustained intense look in the original) into the perfect law of liberty. With the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, those who set their minds on the Spirit are rewarded with a holy life and corresponding peace. Christians need to be in daily prayer and in the Word of God (practicing what they read) and resolve to continually set their minds on spiritual precepts to be rewarded with life and peace.
Law normally seems to imply restraint and therefore a lack of freedom. However, God’s Law when lived out through the power of the Spirit, provides true freedom. Christ said to “Continue in My Word” and you will then “know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-22). Christians are no longer enslaved by our “old man” and the body of sin has been done away with that we should no longer be slaves of sin but rather freed from sin (Romans 6:6-7). Christ accomplished this for Believers by His death on the cross. Not just salvation from Hell but also a release to be free from our sins here and now as we walk in the Spirit. Walking in the flesh and walking contrary to God’s perfect law can still bring temporary periods of bondage to certain sins but a Christian does not have to live this way. We now have the liberty to do what is right.
I am reminded of a scene from C. S. Lewis’s “Great Divorce” which involved fictional persons who were in Hell but were given a holiday in Heaven to get a final chance to give up their sins and enter Heaven. While in Hell they had become ghost like figures to which even the blades of grass in Heaven hurt their feet as they were so insubstantial. One ghost had the sin of lust. A little lizard perched on his shoulder and whispered lustful things in his ear keeping him entrapped in his lusts. The ghost badly wanted to be rid of the lizard who promised him sweet delights but only made him miserable. An Angel came to the ghost and offered to kill the lizard releasing the ghost from his lust. The ghost resisted, as although he wanted to be rid of the lust, he found it hard to give it up as he had become addicted to it. All the ghost had to do was give the Angel permission to kill the lizard and be free. Finally, the ghost gave permission and the Angel killed the lizard. The ghost gradually turned into the magnificent, substantial man he was created to be.
The story of the ghost and lizard is illustrative of so many of us Christians who, even after receiving Christ, resist giving up certain sins and the corresponding enslavement, even though we can by simply choosing to. We know if we resist Satan he will flee (James 4:7). The Bible teaches Christians can do the same with our sins and enjoy freedom, life and peace.
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