How much liberty do believers have in Christ?
Believers have intense liberty in Christ that few in Christendom understand. They are not under law's condemnation; if they fail, God deals in love and disciplines rather than utterly casting them out. Nothing in all creation can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This liberty is grace-based, not law-based.
Les teaches that Paul, by inspiration, does not lay down a command with an 'or else' threat. In Romans 12, Paul says, 'I beseech you therefore,' which means he is begging or pleading with believers. This illustrates the difference between grace and law. Under law, picking up sticks on the Sabbath brought death by stoning, but believers are not under that system. If a believer sins or fails, God will not utterly chastise or cast them out; instead, He deals with them in love. He will discipline them if they do not respond, moving from one level of discipline to another, but it remains up to the believer. Les explains that believers have such intense liberty that very few people in Christendom understand it. He points to Galatians chapter 5, verse 1, to see this word and how it is used. This follows the background of Romans 8, where Paul is persuaded that neither death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, heights, depths, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God, which is shown in Christ Jesus our Lord.