Christian Spiritual Growth

LIBERTY IN CHRIST
Part 2 of 2

Embrace Liberty ~ Be Strengthened

Go to Liberty in Christ, Part 1 of 2.

When we walk in liberty with Christ, He is the only "image" that will change our hearts and ultimately our lives.

Two Greek words are translated as image:

• eikon (from which we get our current-day word icon); and
  
• character (interestingly enough, from which comes our word character).

Eikon is a representation and manifestation, a derived image, and "derived" means that it is taken or received from a specified source. Colossians 1:15 tells us Christ is the image (eikon) of the invisible God—He represents to us created beings the manifestation of all that God is (John 14:9). And from this Master Representation, His image, God carves Godly character, Christ's character, into each of our hearts.

The Greek word character originates from the Greek word charasso which was a tool for engraving.

A MODERN DAY EXAMPLE

As my husband and I were discussing these exciting and liberating thoughts, he reminded me of a tool (similar to a pantograph used for copying large maps into smaller ones) that coin-makers use to produce stamped/engraved coins. Both machines are instruments used to produce the detail of a large original/master onto a smaller scale. Related to coinage, the end result is a stamped coin that bears the image—in great detail—of the original source; and of course, vice versa, the detail of the coin corresponds to or reflects the detail of the master.

THE IMAGE OF CHRIST

The Master image, for the Christian, is derived from a specific Source, and that Source is Christ/God our Master, Head, Source for Life. He wants His character to be impressed upon our hearts, which will affect our whole beings and thus His Christlikeness will be manifested in our actions.

WHOSE IMAGE IS REFLECTED IN YOUR LIFE: Christ’s or man’s?

Our walk of faith in liberty is encumbered (or perhaps halted) by the images we add to the Master image, Christ. Hebrews 12:1 instructs us to lay aside every weight and the sin that encumbers us.

What are these weights, these burdens that encumber? Paul often used the issue of circumcision to illustrate an image/burden/weight that people of his time were adding to Christ (Acts 15:24). This image/burden/weight of circumcision subverted the souls of Christian people whom Christ freed to walk in liberty. The Holy Spirit does not add any greater burdens; man does (Acts 15:28).

Note that there are two different Greek words used for burden:

• baros which places a demand on one's resources, either physically or spiritually; and
  
• phortion which is something carried. This burden (phortion) for the disciple of Christ is light (Matt. 11:30) but can be made heavy by man (Matt 23:4).

DO YOU STAND FAST IN LIBERTY?

In Galatians 5:1, we are instructed to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free (Thank You, Lord!). Do you? When you examine the teachings of others, do you stand fast in liberty? Paul again used the example of circumcision in this passage, because it was an issue of his day, to try to persuade people to reject heavy (and unnecessary) burdens placed on them by man.

MODERN-DAY “CIRCUMCISION” ISSUES

In modern times, man-made images/burdens/weights are many. We can find a multitude of examples of man's teachings that are burdensome and, like Paul said, are of no avail:

• dress codes;
  
• forms of corporate worship (raising hands, not raising hands; no hymns, no praise choruses; only hymns, only praise choruses, no instruments);
  
• order of the individual's spiritual life, replacing Christ with a husband or a pastor/priest;
  
• replacing the Holy Spirit's gentle coming alongside individuals with a hierarchy who tells you how to live;
  
• academic images, which burden moms and perhaps dads as well and which often negatively affect parent-child relationships.

Controlling the externals in people's lives removes personal responsibility from their walks with the Lord; they are not encouraged to think... only to submissively obey, without thoughtful examination, the standards of man or to conform to the image of their social groups.

For example:

• Is a woman's standard for modesty what the church hierarchy dictates, what her husband dictates, or what her social group expects?
• Or is her standard for modesty derived from the Source of Christ, her Head, the Master of her life?

• Does her dress draw attention to the group with whom she identifies; or
• does her conduct and character speak of the imprint of Christ, her Master, upon her heart? If her conduct and character reflect Christ, her group-identity dress is of no avail.

Abiding by an externally imposed dress code, just as with the ancient issue of circumcision, reveals a heart fallen from grace (Gal 5:4) and a heart on which Christ has no effect related to this issue.

How could Christ have effect when the source of her decision about what to wear is made by man?

The Source of a Christian's decisions on how to live is Christ alone. The liberated people of His Church will always point others to Christ, not to man-made images/burdens/weights. When we see a problem or create a problem and then solve it externally, without addressing the heart, we have chosen legalism and are abiding in man-made images.

Using the above paragraph, we can substitute the underlined phrases with other images/burdens/weights such as:

• worship (corporate or personal)
  
• spiritual life
  
• ministry (the people with whom she can associate)
  
• what she reads
  
• using the internet
  
• homeschooling [does the Spirit lead or does a man-made image prevail (either a methodology or a curriculum?)]
• managing her home (For example, is there an externally imposed standard about who does laundry, who manages the money [and how it is managed], who cooks, who gardens, who fixes cars... or is there liberty between the husband and wife to decide the distribution of these domestic duties? Is the husband encouraged to serve his wife in these areas, ministering to her physical needs or is there an image to which he must conform? Is the wife prohibited from earning an income because of some image?)

EFFECTS OF IMAGES: Barriers to growth

When we willingly agree to abide by man-made images, we create a barrier that interferes with His engraving His character on our hearts. Those images are like puffed-up cloth around the coins (metaphorically, our hearts)—a puffed-up pride that keeps the Master's touch from our hearts because we have barred Him (by willing accepting man-made images) from being the Source for everything in our lives.

We stunt our own growth by accepting man-made teachings that keep us away from the Hand (and Heart) of God Who desires that we know Him relationally. When we do not grow in Christ, we are not equipped to carry out His will for a time such as this... but only the will of man.

Man gives us a black-line picture (like from a child's coloring book), and we color it in and think we're walking with God because the picture looks so nice to us. God instead gives us liberating vision for life though which we can grow in character, no page to color in, and His Spirit comes alongside us as we walk by faith.

But many have so many coloring pages before them that they miss God, and consequently, they miss out on the liberty of a faith walk. They end up defending their well-colored-in pages instead of putting them aside so they can walk with liberty by faith in Christ.

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