"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do
not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I
still being persecuted?
In that case the offense of the cross has been
abolished."
Galatians 5:1;11
If I were to be real honest with you (which I'm about to be), I would make a harsh synopsis of the American Church today:
we are not living in freedom. We are still striving, still attempting to do things rightly. We are still operating under law. The Gospel is such a simple message that we stumble over it and dismiss it.
God has done it all for you, past, present and future! You are not under law. You don't have to do anything. Rest in faith, my friend, as Christ has done the righteous life and He will manifest Himself through you if you but believe in His Life. I find myself so resistant to any law mentality that I immediately drain out the subtlest message that counteracts with faith in Christ. Read the Bible more, drained out; pray more, not listening; do this and this and look like this, no. Like Paul's admonition, I stand firm in my freedom. Freedom from law
requires demands
intense faith in Christ.
And then, we often wonder, as American Christians, why we seem to be exempt from persecution. We use our country's freedoms as an excuse for the awkward lack of resistance. The cross has, at its source, an offensive nature. Christ's death for us means that we failed, we cannot fulfill the law, we have no hope without the Savior. That is offensive, especially to the self righteous, comfortable, and successful. Why aren't you experiencing persecution? Ask yourself, are you preaching law or
freedom? Are you preaching right behavior or that
Jesus lives rightly. Spiritual passion and discipline or that
Jesus lives and works in and through us. Obedience or
faith in the Spirit.
The cross' message will be persecuted greatly, whether in North Korea, Colombia, or the United States. National boundaries have nothing to do with unseen spiritual forces. Do you want to see more persecution in your own life? Start talking about how powerful God is and how hopelessly weak you are. The bigger you make God out to be, the more you will be hated. And trust me, I've experienced intense persecution at the "largest Christian university in the world." I have seen dear friends and campus pastors turn against me in a heart beat. I have gone from beloved spiritual leader to outcast in a matter of hours because of the message that Jesus Christ has done it all. To be very candid with you, I'm most afraid to preach the true Gospel of freedom around other Christians than I am around the lost. Because in the end, it is the self righteous and self victorious that hate the Gospel the most. In the end, Jesus avoided Jerusalem until the time had come for His crucifixion.
