Galatians 5:1
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
We hear a lot of people today talking about their offerings and their tithes, things they bring to a place of so-called worship. These are merely payments for something they want. The reason there is so much emphasis on it is because it is rooted in man's depravity and unbelief, which still holds to the notion that we have to DO something FOR God. This is the 'yoke of bondage' spoken of here.
To stand fast in Liberty is to stand fast in Christ and His finished work. The Gift from God, given freely to His elect, setting them free from this bondage of trying to pay their sin debt with dung, and cover up their sinful flesh with filthy rags.
Our nature is that of the Pharisees, "But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over Judgment and the Love of God..." (Luke 11:42) They thought themselves the judges of their fate, all the while passing over Christ, the True Judge, the Love of God. Instead of dropping at His feet in gratitude and looking to Him for all they could ever want or need, they desired to kill Him for raining on their self-righteous parade.
This goes deep into the roots of idolatry. People in other countries outwardly offer up sacrifices and offerings with the hope that somehow it will pacify that god and give them a better harvest, or more children, or wealth, or health, or whatever they are looking for. The same goes on here, among self-proclaimed 'christians,' it just may be a little bit more polished, a little more hidden, but fundamentally it is still the same idolatry. They believe themselves to be worth something. They think they can buy Heaven with their own treasure and ignore Christ the True Treasure, "Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but Righteousness delivereth from death." (Proverbs 10:2)
Christ IS the Righteousness that delivers from death; our Liberty, our Treasure from God!
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