Preserving Freedom
Galatians • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsBecause Christ has set us free, we are to preserve that freedom by standing firm in truth, maintaining our mission, and denying division among us.
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It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.
You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?
This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.
A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.
I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.
But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.
I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves.
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
INTRO: What is freedom? What does it mean to be free?
While many people offer up different definitions, the most succinct definition seems to be “Not indebted to or in bondage to another”
America is said to be the “land of the free”- we have freedoms - speech, religion, etc. In America, our founders fought to be free. If we look back in our own history, we see that before the American Revolution, the colonies were indebted to England. They were forced to pay taxes, obey rulers, etc. yet had no voice in the governing of themselves. The values of the colonists and those of ruling class in England were different, which led men and women to put their very lives on the line in order to be free. As American citizens, you and I are heirs to the freedom earned by our ancestors. Our military men and women, through many generations, have served and fought to preserve this freedom. (Thank you Vets!) But this is cultural or civil freedom.
As Christ-followers, we have been set free by Christ in a way that no group or government could ever match. What Christ has accomplished, no regime can destroy! The freedom we have in Him is eternal, and friends, Jesus isn’t up for re-election, He is the sovereign King whose Kingdom never ends! What kind of freedom is that?
We have been set free from the debt of sin. Jesus paid our sin debt. You and I, by grace through faith, having repented of our sins and trusted in the finished work Christ to redeem us, enjoy freedom from our guilt and shame. It has been nailed to the cross of our Lord! No longer do we hold that debt. No longer do we deserve the wages of our sin. We are free from the penalty that we earned and deserve!
We have also been set free from bondage to the Law. - That is, we do not have the weight of trying to earn what we cannot earn. We have looked at this in detail over the past few weeks. The Law points to God’s perfect character and standard. Though we long to reflect God’s goodness in our lives, we are free from the chains and impossible pressure of trying to achieve what only Christ could achieve.
Paul spends a great deal of time and space in chapter 4 describing this freedom.
We were once slaves, but now we are heirs of Christ… sons and daughters of God, given the ability and cry out “Father” to the most high God!
We did not know God and His goodness, but through Christ, we are unified with Him! No longer do we stand at a distance, but now can approach His throne in boldness!
Through pleas and allegory, Paul shines more light on the freedom we enjoy through God’s promise, NOT our own effort.
As we get into chapter 5 of Galatians, Paul tells us that Christ set us free so that we could enjoy that freedom! This is His will, that we would not be slaves any longer, but that we would be free! And we are free in Christ because we are born again. Now having the Holy Spirit living in us, guiding us, our values align with God’s values. Thus, we have a desire to live according to His purposes and to glorify Him.
Yet, this freedom is under attack. It was under attack in Galatia, and it is under attack in our world today. In our time together this morning, I want to walk us through Paul’s directive to preserve freedom. (READ v.1)
This, friends, is not about patriotism, though I’m confident you will see parallels for we are a nation founded upon Christian values. Rather this is a message that is of much greater consequence- this is what some Biblical scholars call the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
How do we preserve the freedom that Christ has given us? Let’s find out together. If you have a bulletin, I invite you to use the sermon guide to follow along this morning. And don’t let the discussion questions pass you by! I’ve given them in order to help spur you along in your Christian walk.
Our message is entitled “Preserving Freedom”. The first directive Paul gives the Galatians in order to preserve freedom is:
Identify the Threats (2-6)
Identify the Threats (2-6)
The immediate threat the Galatians were facing were the false teachers known as Judaizers. These folks were going around declaring that salvation was only possible by keeping all of the Jewish laws and traditions. In other words, they believed it was ok to throw in the name Jesus every now and again, but the equation was Jesus + Law & tradition = salvation.
The problem is, that’s not God’s math… that’s worse than the common core stuff they are trying to teach these days!
ILL: We see this in religion today. People, even those who claim to be Christian, seek to change God’s equation for salvation. They say, well it’s Jesus + attendance in church. Jesus + mission trips. Jesus + your money… etc.
And, look those things are not bad, but they are not part of salvation. Here’s the problem: Too often people take the fruit of the Spirit, that is the outward result of our surrender to Christ, and move it up in the equation to make salvation into an effort of God and man instead of salvation by grace alone.
Faith in Jesus = Salvation resulting in works/ obedience
NOT Faith in Jesus + works/ obedience = Salvation
The threat for the Galatians was a false teaching on salvation. Church, let me just pause and say that there is absolutely zero room in Scripture for you or I to add conditions upon God’s gift of grace. God can save the homosexual and through His Holy Spirit and through teaching, these will have to confront that sin. The same is true for the alcoholic or the abuser. Friends, people who are in bondage to their sin need to be set free by Christ so that they can walk in righteousness!
Verse 5-6 hammer this point home (READ)
Salvation is by faith in Christ alone… righteousness comes through the outworking of the Holy Spirit by faith. (5) Folks, hear this: it is really easy to become so focused on another’s outward performance that we can bypass the necessary inward transformation. Don’t lose the Gospel message by being caught up in the deeds of the flesh that sinners portray.
Don’t be fooled by pretenders either. Rather, recognize that we are bearers of Good News - We are messengers of FREEDOM and liberation.
God, not man, gives believers a new heart and He works through His Spirit, through His Word, and through the love of His church to bring about Spiritual growth in our lives.
In order for us to preserve Christian Freedom, we must identify the threats to it in our own lives. The next directive, which flows from the first, is to:
Discuss: What is Christian Freedom? What threats exist to Christian Freedom?
Stay the Course (7-12)
Stay the Course (7-12)
In verse 7, Paul begins using the metaphor of running a race. (READ v.7) Now, In the Greek Games that were so popular in the 1st century, in order to compete, you had to be a citizen. Paul is not talking about a race for salvation. We become citizens of heaven through faith in Christ, then we are put on the course to “run” and win the prize (Phil. 3:12-21). He uses this metaphor in other letters and it’s always to describe how a believer ‘runs’ because they are fulfilling God’s will and call upon their lives.
So, in this metaphor, Paul says that the Galatians were doing fine in their race until someone cut in on them and caused them to stumble.
This is a vivid picture. If you watch the Olympics, you’ve likely seen this scenario play out. It happened in Tokyo this year when a runner from Botswana accidentally tripped and American in the 800 meter race. Neither of them went on to win.
But, what Paul is describing is far from accidental. Rather, he is describing an intentional, malicious undermining of the truth.
Now, here is the thing: This attack, though intentional malicious, was subtle. It was calculated so that it would be difficult to notice until the damage was done. Paul switches metaphors from racing to baking to describe this. (READ v.9)
I know we have a few bakers in here… maybe more bakers than runners, so this might be the thing that really resonates with you.
It takes just a little leaven or yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise. In other words, the trappings of the Judaizers were subtle as they entered the church. Their teachings were a little different, but it largely went unnoticed. But, just like yeast added to dough, this false teaching infected the whole church and changed their identity, causing them to lose sight of their purpose.
ILL: I remember hearing about how accurate NASA had to be in their launches. Just 1 degree off and they would miss their target entirely. This is an all-too-real description of many churches today… many Christians have stumbled over false teachings and strayed from their course. Some have been sucked into the prosperity teachings, others into legalistic teachings, while still a good number have lost their identity in Christ because they have not grasped the unique power and grace of Jesus Christ. This all did not happen overnight, but in a slow drift because they were no longer aimed at the finish line.
For the Judaizer, the cross of Jesus was a stumbling block, so they countered it with their own teachings. The cross is still difficult for many in America as well… they just can’t make sense of it. But what Paul is telling the Galatians, is that the cross of Christ is not the problem, it is the solution. Stay the course. Run the race that God has set you on.
In order to preserve the freedom that we have in Christ, Paul calls us to identify the threats, and to maintain our course. Finally, Paul warns the Galatians:
Discuss: Have you stumbled in your race and gotten off-course? Describe God’s purpose for your life and how you are running that race.
Do Not Abuse Liberty (13-15)
Do Not Abuse Liberty (13-15)
When it comes to freedom, we often become very selfish. Take one look at the news and you will see groups who assert that their ‘freedom’ is license to override the freedoms of another group. This group wants freedom of speech, unless it goes against what they think. Another group wants freedom to protest, unless it’s for a cause they don’t approve of. The examples are a plenty - Yet again, these are examples of civil freedoms being perverted.
When it comes to Christian liberty, we have to go back to the values of our Liberator. We are set free in Christ, who is righteous, holy, just, and loving. Our freedom in Christ does not mean that we are ‘free’ to go around hurting people, oppressing people, taking what is not ours, cheating, lying, etc. No, these things are not in line with God’s values.
Remember, as believers in Christ, we are a new creation- we’ve been crucified with Christ, and now we live in Him. Thus, we live in the power and direction of His Holy Spirit, not in the sinful lusts of our flesh.
The Judaizers, through their teaching of works-based salvation, leveraged the observable actions of the Galatians against one another. This basically sewed division in the church. These Judaizers were instigators, pitting those who were circumcised against those who were not. No longer was the Gospel the center of unity in the church. Instead, they had replaced unity with backbiting, fighting, etc.
Paul warns the Galatians of their demise if this continues. A house divided will not stand (Mark 3:25).
Instead, they are instructed to love and serve one another. Jesus, responding to the question of the greatest commandment, said this:
And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
“This is the great and foremost commandment.
“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
When we serve one another in love, we display the generous spirit of God who set us free.
ILL: At the close of WWII, Nazi concentration camps were liberated by Allied forces. The soldiers who were there recount horrifying pictures of death and abuse. These were not people whom the soldiers knew- they weren’t neighbors, cousins, or co-workers. Yet, there was a motivation of the US and other Allied forces to bring these Jews into the freedom to which they knew. Thousands gave their lives for the cause, and many more knew the risk as they took on this task.
If you know freedom in Christ this morning, say amen. The question then for us this morning is “Will we preserve that freedom? Will the next generation get to experience this freedom? Will we take this message of freedom to those who are in desperate need of the Good News?”
Discuss: What does your freedom in Christ mean for others in LRBC? What about those in our community?