{"id":4117,"date":"2019-11-06T19:34:11","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T19:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpmu.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/?p=4117"},"modified":"2021-12-08T09:21:26","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T09:21:26","slug":"true-freedom-in-the-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/2019\/11\/06\/true-freedom-in-the-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"True Freedom in the Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>&#8220;So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don\u2019t get tied up again in slavery to the law. Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.&nbsp;I\u2019ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses.&nbsp;For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God\u2019s grace.&#8221; Galatians 5:1-4, NLT<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/11\/WayfindingBible3-e1573068498954-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4118\" width=\"302\" height=\"403\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/11\/WayfindingBible3-e1573068498954-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/11\/WayfindingBible3-e1573068498954-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/11\/WayfindingBible3-e1573068498954-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/11\/WayfindingBible3-e1573068498954-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/11\/WayfindingBible3-e1573068498954-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 302px) 100vw, 302px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tyndale.com\/p\/the-wayfinding-bible-nlt\/9781414398556\">Taken from the <\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tyndale.com\/p\/the-wayfinding-bible-nlt\/9781414398556\">Wayfinding Bible<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Paul continues his letter, he explains to the churches what it really means to live in Christ, free from the law. The burden of following the Jewish law has been lifted by Christ, who fulfilled the law entirely. This is the joy of Christianity. Paul writes that we are free to live out the love of God through the power of the Spirit, experiencing joy and peace as we trust in Christ completely for our salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OBSERVATION POINT<br>The Galatians thought they would please God more if they followed the law while believing in Christ. They had it all wrong. Christ had freed them from the obligations of the law. By his grace, his free gift, they were saved. Salvation is free. God gives it to us out of love for us, not because of what he gets out of us in return. In response to his generosity, we live a life of gratitude and thanksgiving to glorify him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/08\/CrossSmall-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3866\" width=\"369\" height=\"275\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>EXPLORATION POINT<br>Christians are free from the law, but we do not have a license to keep on sinning. We have a choice, either to rely on the Holy Spirit or to yield to our sinful nature. The power of the Spirit within us will guide us to a life filled with peace, love, and joy. If we allow our sinful nature to dominate us, we will live in chaos, strife, and bitterness. We don\u2019t have to battle sin on our own. We have the Spirit\u2019s power to fight our sinful desires and to change our hearts to follow God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paperturn-view.com\/?pid=MzE31281&amp;v=1.4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paperturn-view.com\/?pid=MzE31281&amp;v=1.4&amp;get_=cover&amp;h=300\" alt=\"Wayfinding Bible \" \/><\/a><figcaption>Look Inside the <br><em>Wayfinding Bible<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don\u2019t get tied up again in slavery to the law. Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.&nbsp;I\u2019ll say it again. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,44,45,56],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5752,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions\/5752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- LIVE: wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com/nlt//wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4117 -->