Freedom 1: True Spirituality

• The real Orthodox Christian faith has great freedom, not freedom to sin but freedom to live like Christ in creative ways.
• However, God is often seen in the West as a harsh medieval Judge Who wants to make our lives miserable.
• The West is full of guilt because it has reduced Christianity mostly to a set of rules lived in fear of an angry God.
• This Western image is really a pagan idea, like Zeus the Greek god who sends lightning bolts. Most Christians in practice think of God like this :-(
• Jesus confronted the legalism of His day and said "You shall know the Truth*, and the Truth shall set you free." (*speaking of Himself)  John 8:32.
• An example of this is fasting. If you fast out of fear that God will punish you if you don't this is a wrong attitude and will not help you at all; in fact it creates a bitter spirit. Instead, fast *as much as you can* because you love God and want to learn how to grow in self-control so you sin less.
• Learn John 3:16 "For God so LOVED the world that He sent His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." 
• Here is the wrong image of God!