We shall be judged “by the Law of liberty.” Why does James (1:25) use this title for God’s Law?
When we obey God’s Law, it frees us from sin and enables us to walk in liberty (Psalm 119:45).
Liberty does not mean license. License (doing whatever I want to do) is the worst kind of
bondage. Liberty means the freedom to be all that I can be in Jesus Christ. License is
confinement; liberty is fulfillment.
The Word is also called “the Law of liberty” because God sees our hearts and knows what we
would have done had we been free to do so. The Christian student who obeys only because the
school has rules is not really maturing.
What will he do when he leaves the school? God’s Word can change our hearts and give us the
desires to do God’s will, so that we obey from inward compulsion and not outward constraint.
There is one obvious message here: our beliefs should control our behavior. If we really believe
that Jesus is the Son of God, and that God is gracious, His Word is true, and one day He will
judge us, then our conduct will reveal our convictions.
Verse for today: “One who looks intently at the perfect Law, the Law of liberty, and abides by it,
not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he
does” (James 1:25, NASB).
Also read: James 2:12; Galatians 2:4; 6:2; John 8:32; 13:7;Romans 8:2; 1 Peter 2:16.
Action assignment: Patrick Henry cried, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Jot down what you
think he meant. Write out your thoughts of how “liberty and death” apply to your Christian life.
Ask God to give you a clear understanding of what it means to have liberty in Christ.
WARREN W. WIERSBE
www.backtothebible.in