Just as we defend our personal freedom, the children of God must guard against anyone who wants to steal our spiritual freedom in Christ. The good news of the message of Christ, of the gospel, is that we have been set free to live in the power of Christ, to choose to live for God and drink from the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
We have been set free from the punishment of a law we were unable to keep. We live by grace through faith in our Lord.
Sadly many believers are unaware of the extent of this freedom in Christ. Many allow others to judge them or they judge themselves by legalistic standards instead of enjoying the abundant life that Jesus has freely given us in his grace and mercy.
The Word of God says: Col 2: 16 – 17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Within Christianity there too often lives a judgmental spirit. Far too often we encounter Christian, even a denomination, who acts this way. They are always looking over your shoulder comparing you to some personal preference that they have for you to live up to. Sometimes you sadly hear Christians talking about other people in the most negative way possible; putting them down for something they did or failed to do.
As followers of Christ, we desire to be obedient to him. That is what following Christ is all about –– seeking to hear his voice and to follow where he leads.
There is no doubt that we should be concerned about righteousness and justice and living pure and simple lives. And we want our children to learn Christian values. We never condone sin. If Christians do not stand for what is right and holy, who will?
But when we move from a broken-hearted attitude of love and compassion for a lost world to a hardhearted attitude of self-righteous judgment and condemnation, because other believers have different views about non-salvation issues and ideas about right living, we became, through judgmentalism, unrighteous ourselves.
We’ve been set free to live for Christ. We are free to do anything and everything that we can do in Christ. So, do not let anyone judge you by so-called righteousness that keeps itself busy with the shadows of Christian life instead of being focussed on the essence which is living for Jesus.
We have been set free from the judgmental spirit of legalism. We are free to live for the Lord and to enjoy the gift of true freedom by his grace alone.
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