Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1: 8-9 (NIV)
As long as God is with us, we will have nothing to fear in this life. His Spirit is already indwelt within us but it is through His Word that we walk in that fearless freedom. And that brings us to the third aspect of His Word which is that it is in essence liberty. It is perfect complete and unchangeable. It is the very law we need to govern our lives. But it is also liberating. From what? From the world; its lies and its trappings. The world convinces us that we live in freedom when in reality the freedom it sells is enslavement. Worldly freedom is actually eternal bondage. Take a look at the faces of those you run across every day in this world. The sheer weight of the burdens they carry. Maybe someone never got past an abuse from their childhood. Maybe someone has tied their self-worth to their job only to be outsourced after decades of loyalty. Maybe someone is dealing with uncontrolled anger, bitterness, hate, or emptiness. Sure there are fleeting moments in the world where we can convince ourselves that things are well but ultimately, the lies it sells are always just that lies. The promises are always empty. But not so with the promises of God:
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2Corinthians 1: 20 (NIV)
All of the promises contained in the perfect law of liberty are always yes and amen in Christ Jesus. God is not fickle like man:
God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23: 19 (NIV)
Where the world lies, God never lies. Where the world changes its course constantly, God never changes. Where the world speaks and then fails to act, God always follows through. Where the world routinely breaks promises, God never fails. A 19th Century English priest once said; "There are two freedoms - the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought". Therein lies the apparent contradiction in worldly liberty versus true liberty.
When we are free to do what we like, we end up in bondage to
the world. That is because worldly freedom deals with actions and not
consequences. Godly liberty understands both. Worldly liberty will tell you to
do what feels good but won't tell you about the ramifications of adultery; or
fornication, or drug use.
"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 1Corinthians 10: 23-24 (NIV)
