Another freedom we experience as a result of our new birth is the freedom to obey; the freedom to choose a new master (Rom 6:14). James writes in the New Testament, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the prefect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25).
The law of liberty is an interesting description. I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually think of the words “law” and “liberty” as going together. I think of them as opposites. I think of law as a restriction of my liberty. So what is the law of liberty?
I believe it is God’s Word, His law, “written on our hearts” as it were (Heb 8:10). The liberty part is the freedom and power to obey. Prior to our salvation, there was no liberty in the law, only condemnation. In Romans chapter 7, Paul describes the weight of that condemnation that results from trying to obey the law without the new resurrection power of Christ. He concludes than only Christ – no amount of willpower or effort – can set us free from this condemnation. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).
We have been set free from trying to obey the law by willpower to escape condemnation (something we were unable to accomplish, even if we wanted to). Instead, we now obey God’s moral law by the power of our new nature; God’s resurrection power literally living through us by the indwelling of God’s Spirit.
James calls this indwelling receiving the word implanted. “Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). We put aside sin – filthiness and wickedness – by receiving the implanted word which has the power to deliver us from sin. With the power to obey now firmly planted in our new nature, we have a freedom the world knows nothing of; the freedom to obey.