2 Corinthian 3:17
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Oftentimes you will hear that God has given the Christian liberty. That is true, but God doesn’t just give the Christian the liberty to do what they want to do. You will notice that God says, “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” In other words, the liberty God gives the Christian is found beside the Spirit of the Lord. There are several principles we must learn about having liberty beside the Spirit of the Lord.
First, liberty is not a license to do what I want, but to do what the Spirit wants. Just because God has given you liberty does not mean that you have a license to live any way you desire. When I was a child, my parents gave me liberties because I was doing right. The very moment that I stopped doing right I lost those liberties. Likewise, God has given us liberty when we are beside the Spirit because He trusts us as long as we dwell there; however, when you leave where He dwells then you lose the liberty you acquired. You can’t quench the Spirit with sin and expect God to continue to give you liberty.
Second, liberty is not where I want to go, but liberty is found where the Spirit dwells. It says that liberty is “where the Spirit of the Lord is.” In other words, I don’t get to go where I want to go and have liberty, but I have liberty when I allow the Holy Spirit to lead me. If I followed my parents instructions, then I had liberty; likewise, if you follow the commands of God’s Word then you will have liberty.
Third, liberty demands that I be responsible with it. With liberty comes responsibility. Just because you have liberties does not mean you can abuse them. Privilege always has a responsibility to not abuse what you have. God expects the Christian to live responsibly with their liberty, and the only way you will live responsibly is to continually yield yourself to God’s Holy Spirit.
Fourth, liberty is not mine, but it is the result of being by the presence of the Spirit. Liberty is not yours, but it is God’s. For instance, Americans have liberties as long as they dwell inside of their country, but the very moment they leave the shores of their country they lose those liberties. Because liberty is found beside the Spirit of the Lord, then when we quench Him and leave His presence we lose the liberties we had.
Fifth, bondage is outside the doors of liberty. Life always has its opposites, and the opposite of liberty is bondage. That means when I leave the presence of the Holy Spirit I enter the bondage of sin. Christian, God did not mean for you to live in the bondage of sin. He saved you so you could enjoy the liberty of living by His Spirit. Don’t take your liberty for granted. Live right understanding that outside of the very doors of liberty is bondage. You may think there is liberty outside of the commands of God’s Word, but you will quickly find that what you perceived as liberty is truly bondage.
Friend, the liberty God gives is found beside the Spirit of the Lord. God’s Spirit will not lead you to live like the world. You will find that the liberty beside the Spirit of the Lord is something the world desires, but they will never find it living their life. The world does not give liberty, it gives bondage. I encourage you to be very careful with your liberty and beg God to keep you from the moment that would lure you from the presence of His Spirit. Continually yield to the Spirit of God, for you will have liberty as long as you dwell beside Him.