"The Privilege of Choice"

One of the greatest gifts we have is that of choice. Americans take for granted the privilege of choice. Half of the people on this planet don’t have that privilege.

Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

As a Presbyterian, I believe that God alone is Lord of the conscience. Laws that bind the conscience must be distinguished from civil and ecclesiastical regulations. The Christian conscience is bound to God. God alone determines what is necessary for salvation.

In Christ, the Christian is set free from the concept that perfect obedience to the law is necessary for salvation. The forgiveness established at Calvary really means we are set free by the grace of God from the penalty of sin. Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is a fact!

Christian freedom means that we do not live under the burden of the law, rather we freely choose to live according to the will of God. We can obey the law without living in fear that our salvation is determined by perfect obedience to the law. We need not live frightened lives before God. However, a Christian must not exercise freedom if it is an offense to another person.  Our freedom is always subordinate to the love of Christ.

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Blessings!