Today's Passage - Galatians 5:13-15

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 5:13-15   You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.   For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.   Someone says that if the blood of Christ can wipe away all sins; why can't we commit sins and then asked for forgiveness - why can't we live in this cycle of sin and forgiveness?  In reality, if a person truly repents in Christ, he would never fall into this cycle as he would despise and forsake sins and does not want to fall into its trap even as Jesus' blood can cleanse all sins.  Others may also say since we are no longer under the retrains of the law, we can do anything we wish.  In fact, there are four basic principles to Christian livings: freedom, testimonies, love and the work of the Holy Spirit. Even though we are totally free in Christ, we should not forget about bearing testimonies, and the need for self-examination to see if our actions glorify God.  If they do not, we should refrain from such actions.  For example, can you cheat in your examinations in the name of Jesus?  Of course not, as this is not in tune with His desire. It is important that we examine what we do to see if His name is glorified.   Thirdly, we should have love for those brothers and sisters who are weak in their faith, and refrain from becoming their stumbling block in whatever we do. For this reason Paul specifically talked about eating food offered to idols. Eating sacrificed food, by itself, is "neutral" , but if seen doing so creates an impression of endorsement to idolatry, we should abstain from eating these food without  becoming  scruples to others.  Many years ago when I first became a Pastor,  the mother of a sister who came to U.S.  was bored at home.  I asked if she wanted to watch some video tapes of Taiwan singers.  Her first impression was: "Oh, you even watch these tapes as a Pastor!"  I was rebuked by the Holy Spirit at that time and came to a decision not to watch these tapes anymore for the sake of her faith.  This is not to say that as a pastor, I am restricted from doing a lot of things others can normally do, rather this is a principle of how the Holy Spirit works.  On the other hand, we should follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit out of our love, not because we are being told.  We follow His will because of the move by the Holy Spirit. Following these four principles, we can then lead an active life of victory and glory in His name.                                                                             Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank You for teaching us to behave according to the Bible so that we may glorify Your Holy Name. May Your spirit help us follow you footsteps and lead a life with the strength You have provided to us.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!