There is a lot of discussion about freedom of religion. The first amendment of our Constitution declares, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This last week I was struck with the fact that Jesus offers us a religion of freedom.
Sometimes we try and make our religion a list of things we can’t do, or a list of things we have to do. I find that Jesus and his followers were not too concerned with keeping a bunch of rules. They were concerned with building a relationship with God and with those close around them.
Here is an account of Jesus being asked which commandment was the greatest.
Mark 12:28b-31 (NLT)
“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Jesus took the Ten Commandments, and the hundreds of regulations in Law of Moses, and He boiled them down to two important points.
- Love God
- Love others
Simplicity brings freedom. Especially when it comes to law. The Law of Moses became a list of regulations that the Jewish people had to follow in order to be accepted by God. Jesus came to show us a better way. The way of being accepted by God through Faith, not though religious activity.
Romans 4:1-8 (NLT)
Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:
“Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sins are put out of sight.
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”
God is not not looking for us to follow the rules. He is looking for us to believe in Him. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” He rewards us for believing that He exists and seeking to know Him.
Jesus restores us to relationship to God without us having to do anything other than believe that He has made the way. We don’t have to be good enough to earn it. We cannot. Jesus paid the price for our freedom.
2 Corinthians 5:21 – 6:2 (NLT)
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. For God says,
“At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you.”Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
We are free from our past. Free from the hold of the wrong things we have done. We are free to seek a close relationship with God without fear of rejection.
