“Walking at Liberty”

Monday, June 22, 2020

Walking at Liberty

Ps 119:41-48, NKJV

41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord — Your salvation according to Your word.
42 So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I have hoped in Your ordinances.

44 So shall I keep Your law continually, Forever and ever.
45 And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.

46 I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed.
47 And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love.

48 My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes.

The history of our country is steeped in the idea that man possesses certain rights granted by God, among which is liberty. At a very early age, many Americans learn to recite a pledge of allegiance to our nation’s flag. That pledge says the flag stands for “one nation, under God, indivisible, and with liberty and justice for all.” The founders of our republic developed our laws around the concept of freedom from government tyranny, moral restraints and even religious doctrines. Given this type of liberty, particularly as it pertains to morals and religion, many Americans find the word of God unappealing.

Consider this: Although it may seem contradictory, Christians can have liberty while, at the same time, we are bound to obey God’s laws. James 1:25 says, “the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” In this section of Psalm 119 the psalmist approached liberty from the same perspective as did James. They both connected liberty to God’s law. We “walk at liberty” when we “seek (God’s) precepts.” As Jesus taught in the temple, claiming to be The Light of the World, many Jews believed in Him. He told them, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the Son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill Me because My word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have heard from your father” (John 8:31-38, ESV). Likewise, Peter wrote, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16).

When comparing the freedoms Christians enjoy in serving God to freedoms provided by human institutions (such as government), we see a few similarities and some glaring differences. For instance, the constitution of the United States of America frees us from the obligation to conform to religious creeds, and it protects us from requirements to engage in religious observances instituted by man. God’s laws do the same. Paul wrote, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things that all perish as they are used)— according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col 2:16-23). Also, people who serve God are not enslaved by the morals of society. The wise man wrote, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law” (Prov 29:18). Obedience to God even frees us from the requirement of obeying man’s laws when they contradict God’s. After doing signs and wonders, and preaching in the temple, Peter and the apostles were arrested by the Jewish Sanhedrin (the Jewish high court). When the high priest (representing the Sanhedrin) charged the apostles not to teach in Jesus’ name, Peter and the apostles responded, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Furthermore, man’s laws can never provide the type of liberty God’s law does—liberty from the bondage of sin (see Rom 6:15-22).

What does it mean to walk at liberty? It means we submit entirely and only to our God. When we walk at liberty, we speak in accord with God’s will. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for I have hoped in Your ordinances (Ps 119:43). As a Christian, I must be ready to speak. I must be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks me the reason for my hope in Christ, and I must speak as the oracles of God guide me (1 Pet 2:15; 4:11). When we walk at liberty, we also must be determined to obey God’s laws. So shall I keep Your law continually, forever and ever (Ps 119:43). That means our obedience is done all day, every day. It also means we do not obey for awhile, then quit when we are tired of the demands. God expects us to be faithful unto death and we then can expect a crown of life (Rev 2:10).

Americans value their freedom immensely. Men and women have died to protect our freedoms. However, the liberty provided by the laws of our land pale in comparison to the spiritual freedom we have in Jesus Christ. The source of our salvation (liberty) is the powerful word of God (Psa 119:41; Rom 1: 16,17). Our obedience and dependence upon His word enables us to walk at liberty.

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