Freedom In The Perfect Law Of Liberty
James 1: 22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But 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. (ESV)
The perfect law of liberty. What a description for the gift that we have in the Word of Almighty God. In our country we like to talk about freedom but we really do not grasp the concept very well from an eternal standpoint. There is no true freedom in this world. The Bible says that the world is bondage and darkness. The world takes a concept such as freedom and turns it into issues such as reproductive rights and marriage equality. The freedom to do what you want with your body despite the life growing within it. The freedom to marry whom you please, regardless of the design of God. These are just a microcosm however of the type of freedom the world believes in every day. Like anything else outside of God, it becomes distorted. It will appear logical and sane to the non-believer because as the Bible explains; they simply do not understand God:
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1Corinthians 2: 12-14 (NIV)
It never ceases to amaze me though when Christians act
surprised when the world behaves like the world. This week
First it is perfect. The dictionary defines perfect as; "complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement." The Word of God is complete beloved. There is nothing missing from it. Nothing will change it. Nothing needs to be added to it. The world changes with each shifting of the sand and blowing of the wind but God's Word has remained complete and intact for centuries despite being written by over 40 different authors spanning 1400-1800 years. Quite frankly, man couldn't pull this feat off without divine intervention. We simply are not smart enough in the temporal and certainly do not see time as God does; from above.
The world however changes its views all the time. Today's "science" is tomorrow's old wives tales. What I grew up being taught has changed today. Experts in the world will tell us that they are constantly looking to "improve" upon existing science. God's Word does not need improvement. It is complete already. There are no grey areas only black and white. The absolute truth of God. The world believes it is a positive thing to be able to practically or theoretically improve. That is because they are not looking at it through eternal eyes. The reality is that if something needs practical or theoretical improvement then of what use is it now? It is either incomplete, insufficient or inaccurate. The same Word of God that we read today was read by the 17th century monk and the 4th century Roman soldier. When we read the Old Testament today it is the same from when Ezra read it aloud to the people of Judah. God's Word is transcendent beloved. It transcends time, culture, generations, societies and kingdoms. The world reacts and changes to suit the culture it finds itself in, as determined by the people. But the Word of God defines how we should live and THAT never changes. So first of all, it is perfect. It is complete. Nothing can be improved on it; either theoretically or practically.
Second however, is that it is the law! The dictionary
defines law as; "the principles and regulations
established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people." Amongst
the community of human beings, the Bible is the operational manual. The
authority is God, the creator of the community. No one drives a car without
understanding how to operate it. We don't buy the latest technology and not
bother to read the instructional manual. Yet we can continue to try and
navigate this life without bothering to read the guidelines God has set out for
us in His Word. The freedom the world offers is a freedom to do what we want;
based upon our values. The problem is that the world values do not line up with
God. We have economic freedom in this country yet see every day corrupt
business people stealing money. We have political freedom in this country yet
every day we see corrupt politicians seeking more and more power through
illicit means. While no system of man is ever perfect and we still live in the
best country the world has to offer, it still pales in comparison to the
liberty God wants to provide for us. To enjoy true prosperity and success, we
must know His Word, remember His Word, speak His Word, and believe His Word.
When Joshua was given the reigns to rule
