“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.” – Galatians 5:13
What is Public Affairs and Religious Liberty About?
Here’s an extract from the Religious Liberty Manual of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
“Christ not only paid the penalty for sin and provided the power to overcome sin, but in so doing He also purchased for humanity a free will. While humanity in Eden had a free will, when sin entered, humanity became slaves. Slaves have no freedom of choice. Before Christ there was only slavery. After Christ’s sacrifice humankind could choose to accept or reject the sacrifice. Christ’s sacrifice provides every inducement to choose Him. The cross of Christ provides incontrovertible evidence that God is love. Love motivated the Father to give His Son. Love motivated the Son to assume human form forever and to endure the cross and the separation from the Father in order to pay the penalty for our sin. Christ’s love for unworthy humanity infuses us with infinite value and worth. But in spite of all of the wooing and drawing of the Holy Spirit, humans can still say no. We have the freedom to choose. This freedom is the result, the effect, the fruit of the gospel. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galations 5:1, NIV). Put simply: Our pardon earned at Gethsemane, Calvary, and Joseph’s tomb + the power of Christ’s abiding presence = freedom.”