One Way for Liberty

It is a vital fact that the Holy Spirit is a person. Not only is He a person, but He is Lord, just as much as God the Father is Lord and God the Son is Lord. He is coequal with the other two members of the Godhead. This means that we must have the same attitude of reverence toward the Holy Spirit that we have toward the Father and the Son.

In 2 Corinthians 3:17, Paul made this simple statement:

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

In this passage, we see the contrast between bondage to the law, or a legal system, and liberty. There is only one way to have liberty. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is liberty.

Many Christians have the strangest ideas about liberty. They say, “If we aren’t dancing on the platform by 6:45 p.m. on Sunday evening, we are not having liberty.” Or, “If we don’t all clap our hands, we don’t have liberty.” Some preachers think that if they don’t stomp on the platform and shout, they don’t have liberty.

Liberty is not following a certain program in church. It is not going through certain motions, such as lifting up your hands. That can be liberty, but it can just as easily be bondage. It depends on whether the Holy Spirit is prompting it, or if you are doing it out of a religious tradition. Religious tradition produces bondage; the Holy Spirit produces liberty.