Island Christian Church Discusses Christian Freedom in Honor of 4th of July

EAST NORTHPORT, N.Y., Jul. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- As our great nation prepares to celebrate its 239th birthday this Independence Day, Reverend Joseph Garofalo of Island Christian Church, discusses what God's idea of freedom is as found in the pages of Scripture.

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"Just an opening thought: Our salvation does not require obedience to the law— it is by the Spirit, made possible only through Christ; and this is accomplished by faith, not by working for it. In short, for Christians, the standard is not how well they can follow a list of rules, but rather about following a person.

The apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wanted to make that clear when he wrote a letter to the churches in the region of Galatia, who were being told that, in order to be a Christian, you had to follow all these procedures and practices. The Book of Galatians was written to counter false teachers who were undermining the central New Testament doctrine that we are saved solely by Christ's work on the cross.

Paul wrote this letter to combat this false teaching and reiterate that we are saved by faith alone—and warned these churches of the dire consequences of abandoning that central doctrine. That Christians were free of having to hold to a bunch of laws and rules in order to become Christians— and then having to continue in them. In fact, The Book of Galatians has been called the Christian's Declaration of Independence.

What Paul was aiming to show is that the believer is no longer under Jewish law—which they were teaching—but is saved by God's grace through faith alone. That in Christ, there is freedom from the law! The impact of the truth concerning freedom is staggering.

Paul was saying that trying to keep the law and have Christ was not possible.

You can't have both legality and grace—they are two contrary principles.

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love." (Gal 5:1-6.)

The apostle's intent was to show the futility and the consequences of believing the Gospel, plus their human effort, that any attempt to keep the whole law is indeed a futile one—it just cannot be done! They had everything to lose and nothing to gain, because it nullifies the cross.

A right standing with God comes by grace through faith—and not by following the law—which we could never keep anyway.

The Bible says that our human works or religious ceremonies count for nothing in saving our souls or, for that matter, keeping us in God's good graces. The only thing that accomplishes is that it keeps us in bondage to them by giving us a sense of false security. But Christians have been set free from that. Like a prisoner who, after a long incarceration may have a hard time adjusting back to regular life. Christians need to know, they are free from having to keep to a bunch of rules to be in right-standing with Almighty God. That's what Paul was telling the Galatians— that they've been made free, not be enslaved again in bondage of their former lives!

As I said earlier: first, our salvation does not require obedience to the law— it is by the Spirit; and second, it is not by works, it is by faith. Any works we do, counts for nothing regarding our salvation. So the question is, when does it count then? When do good works count? Well, the apostle Paul makes a statement, "…faith working through love." (Gal 5:6.) That is to say, that saving faith is a working faith.

As we walk in fellowship with the Lord Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, as our hearts are taken up with Him, as faith makes Christ real—then we are free to express that love through our words and actions. In this instance, love is portrayed as godly action.

The apostle goes on to say, "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." (Gal 5:13.) This is not freedom to do as you like. That would be sin. The freedom Paul is talking about is not freedom to sin, but freedom not to sin. We shouldn't say, "I'm saved by grace, therefore, I'm free to do as I like. So, we cannot be saved by obeying the law and we can't really obey the law anyway, but as we allow our faith to work through love, the love of Christ, we fulfill the law! That's the real purpose of the law—to fulfill it through love by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the ruling principle of Christian freedom. Faith working through love fulfills the law! Paul says to the Galatians, "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Gal 5:14.)

The community at Island Christian Church is pursuing the kind of Church life set forth in Scripture. The foundations of this church are Spirit-led worship, relevant teaching, authentic relationships, unceasing prayer and compassionate provision for the needy.

Media Contact: Rev. Joseph Garofalo, Island Christian Church, (631) 822-3000, [email protected]

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SOURCE Island Christian Church