as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God.
and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness: Living as free people may cause some to regard liberty as license to do what a person wants to (John 8:33). We are free from idolatry and sin, but we are not out of the bounds of the law. We are free, but we are obligated; free, but responsible; free, but bondservants (Romans 1:1). The law of liberty (James 2:12) is indeed the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). But, the law of Christ must never become a veil for wickedness or ungodliness. Thayer comments that "maliciousness" is "wickedness that is not ashamed to break the laws" (320-1-2549). There is no such thing as absolute personal freedom. He who recognizes no restraint is the greatest slave of all.