Brandon Baptist Tabernacle

Praying the Promises # 006

Where the Spirit of the Lord is There is Liberty

It is no secret that our civil liberties are in jeopardy.  With every stroke of Washington’s pen we seem to be experiencing less and less freedom and liberty.  Who knows what liberties the next presidential administration will target.  The uncertainty is almost too much to bear.

However, the Bible offers a different kind of liberty – soul liberty.  This liberty was not a reality in the Old Testament.  It was not until the giving of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament that this liberty was realized.  In the New Testament, we receive the Holy Spirit when we are born again.  This new experience eliminates the need for the restrictions and oversight that was exercised in the Old Testament.  There are no suffocating observers watching over us.

Why are we trusted with such soul liberty?  The answer is simple – we have the indwelling Holy Spirit as a chaperone, a commentator, a counselor and a controlling reality in the New Testament.  In the Old Testament they had the actual hard copies of the law.  This law was stone and was not readily available to everyone.  They would, therefore, write it as a reminder everywhere they went; on the door-posts of their homes and even on their garments.  In short, they needed the actual physical presence of the law to behave wisely.  This was an inferior way to live.  As you can imagine, if they found themselves outside of the presence of a copy of the law, they might be motivated to misbehave, and they often did.  This is why the behavior of some Old Testament saints boggles the mind.

In the New Testament, the law, and much more, is dictated to us internally by the Holy Spirit.  What is the advantage?  He indwells us, so we are exposed to His leadership wherever we may find ourselves.  This creates liberty for us to explore our faith and move around in God’s world because we are accompanied by the third member of the Trinity.  All believers who have lived on this side of Pentecost (Acts 2) have experienced this liberating presence of the Holy Spirit and it is creating a sanctified body of believers.

We can expect the Holy Spirit to instruct.  We can expect the Holy Spirit to intercede.  We can expect the Holy Spirit to influence.  We can expect the Holy Spirit to inhibit.  We can expect the Holy Spirit to invigorate.  These are all part of the liberty He has promised.

Pray and claim this promise this week!  “Lord, thank you for the Holy Spirit and the liberty He institutes, generates and organizes into my life.”