Freedom or Fear
Unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:13-18
You're either ruled by fear or freedom.
If you need glasses to see properly, you are not freed from the fear of not having the ability to see by not wearing glasses. Freedom is not removing aid or removing rules. Freedom is found by knowing the rules and working with them. Fear is working outside the rules and hoping you won’t get caught or expecting someone else to work outside the rules and cause you harm. Both fear and freedom are based on God’s rules of life. Fear is caused by actions that are outside of God’s rules while freedom is living within the rules of life. If you know the rules of taxes, you are free to use the system in the way that brings you the most benefit from the tax system. If you know the rules but don’t follow them, you live in fear that you will eventually be caught. If you don’t know the rules of taxes, you are not free from them; you will operate in fear that you might break the ones you aren’t aware of. In the rest of life, you either live by fear or by freedom by knowing God’s rules and living by them. If you don’t know God’s rules, you live in fear that you may violate a rule you were unaware of, but God’s rules are easy to learn (Romans 1:20) and once you learn them , you are accountable to them (Luke 12:42-48), and free to live within them.
Living by God's laws gives you freedom.
You can look at God’s laws as either the glasses through which you see the world or the veil that hides the world from you. A tree has not been freed if it is removed from the dirt, and a fish is not free if it is out of the water. God’s laws are like the dirt and the water. God’s laws give you a life-giving context to build your life and actions upon. Freedom is not living without laws; it is knowing the laws and being able to live within them. God’s laws are the dirt and water that you live in.
Murder yourself to live for God.
You are the most free when you are doing what God wants rather than what you want. Thus, putting yourself to death so you can live for God gives you the greatest freedom you can have. As you learn God’s laws, you discover your freedom to live and move and have your being (Acts 17:28). If you know God’s laws, you are free to live within the world He created, which is governed by His laws. If you don’t know God’s laws or choose to live in opposition to God’s laws, you will live in fear rather than freedom.