That’s a phrase I used a while back when I was explaining what it means to live the Christian life.
There’s a belief out there somewhere that Christianity is all about following a list of rules. And that’s partly right, because the Ten Commandments, found in the Old Testament, are accepted by all Christians as the way God wants us to live.
But interestingly, Jesus seemed more interested in us walking in relationship with Him than he was in us understanding a set of rules. This makes the Christian life more of a matter of the heart, than a matter of law, or the fear of punishment. Jesus, and New Testament writers, talked a lot about freedom from the constriction of rules, namely for them, the Old Testament Levitical law.
Rules can make life easier, because they take difficult decisions out of our hands. When those rules are removed, and we have to make personal choices from the heart, we need to be walking close to God to discern the choices He would have us make.
Freedom doesn’t really mean doing whatever we want whenever we want to. People who live that way don’t tend to feel very free for very long. In living the Christian life, God is looking for people who will allow Him to change their hearts and attitudes. If we allow Him to do this, the choices we make will be good and right and life-giving.