[Biblemat] A) GOD HAS SPOKEN

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Saturday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article that recently came my way:

GOD HAS SPOKEN

     The liberty that God has made available to mankind is limit-
ed by God.  All liberty that is beneficial is limited by law.  Un-
limited liberty is anarchy.  No reasonable person wants anarc-
hy for himself or for anyone else.  Paul urged Christians to 
"stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made
us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bond-
age" , whether that yoke be the Law of Moses or sinful living
(Gal. 5:1-4; 2 Pet. 2:19; Rom. 6:17-23).  We are not without
law in Christ, but under law to Christ (1 Cor. 9:21).  Paul was
born free (that is, he was a Roman citizen); yet he was sub-
ject to the law of Rome (Acts 22:28).  We live in a free and open society, 
but our liberty is limited by the laws of the United States.  We are also free 
before God to choose to ser-
ve Him or to reject His instruction: yet that liberty is bounded
by His decree of punishment for disobedience and blessed-
ness for obedience (Jos. 24:14-28; Rom. 2:1-11).  So then, our liberty is not 
without consequence or responsibility, but
is liberty under law.

     Licentiousness is the abuse of liberty.  It occurs when peo-
ple exceed the bounds of liberty imposed by law.  It is one of
the works of the flesh, which are outside the bounds of God's
law (Gal. 5:19-21).  Good civil laws protect society from abus-
es by individuals and by government by preventing licentious
behavior.  Civil laws are imperfect in this objective, but the
law of God is complete to resolve the problem of excess and
lawless behavior in the lives of all who properly submit to its
authority.  Exceeding the bounds of morality destroys the
lives of those who practice such and contributes heavily to 
the ruin of society.  The will of individuals in a free society
must be to abide by the laws; and "where a state is most corr-
upt, there the laws are most multiplied" (Tacitus).  "Righteous-
ness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people"
(Prov. 14:34).

     The solution to the woes of a nation and of every individu-
al is that  people receive the law of God and live by it, exercis-
ing their liberty in righteous living, and never allowing it to
become a stumblingblock to others (1 Cor. 8:9; Rom. 14:13),
doing good -- "as free, yet not using your liberty as a cloak 
for vice, but as servants of God" (1 Pet. 2:15,16).  ------------
Gilbert Alexander.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20070224/33537659/attachment-0001.html