June 19, 2022 - Freedom to Love
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If you’ve been with us the past couple of weeks - 2 weeks ago we broke into chapter 5 of Galatians...
And we saw that Paul highlighted for the Galatians - the 2 paths of humanity
The path of Freedom
The path of Slavery
That freedom - ultimately, only comes through Jesus Christ...
And that the only other option is Slavery…OR
…a trusting in Self
These 2 paths of life consist of EITHER - Trusting in Jesus .... or… Self
Paul made it crystal clear what happens when we choose to TRY to get to God - by our good deeds...
4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
By this truth here - we see that those who try to get to God by way of the Law...
..are SEVERED from Jesus Christ...
That He becomes of no advantage to you...
AND that you’ve been CUT OFF from Grace....God’s grace
So if you remember - Paul’s been hammering away at the idea that if the Galatians EMBRACE circumcision as a means of salvation…that they would be heading back UNDER THE LAW!!
And BEING under the Law - Now accountable to ALL of it…the whole law
And so he’s been saying - YOU CAN’T GET TO GOD by way of the LAW...
Today - we’ll see an interesting twist on what Paul has been saying this whole time...
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Now if we circle back to the first part of v13, we’ll see (by implication) the 2 paths we’ve been talking about...
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Paul has been highlighting the FORK in the ROAD that the Galatians are standing at...
With FREEDOM on one side - and SLAVERY on the other...
When he says - You’ve been called to FREEDOM...
He’s elevating both FREEDOM and SLAVERY....
Saying - You’ve been called to THIS PATH (Freedom) - NOT this PATH (Slavery)...
NOW - What does Slavery refer to?
Remember?
In context with the Galatians - SLAVERY was tied to CIRCUMCISION...
And Paul had said - If you embrace circumcision as a means of salvation - you are then accountable for the WHOLE - - LAW!
So Paul - - essentially - has been saying this...
SLIDE: The Law of God: Not a Vertical Path to God
The Law of God
The Law of God
back to v13
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
You’ve been called to FREEDOM - not SLAVERY!
Don’t head back under the LAW - as your PATHWAY to God!!
It won’t WORK - Paul says!
We’ve seen this idea - OVER and OVER again from Paul.
He references the LAW - 117 times in all his writings...
51 times in the book of Romans...
28 times in this book of Galatians...
This was THE VITAL issue in the Galatian churches...
And we’ve heard this issue countless times already...
Back in chapter 3 we heard Paul tell the Galatians…that...
BY FAITH (NOT WORKS)
A Godly Life Begins
A Godly Life is Empowered by the Holy Spirit
A Godly Life is Sealed Unto Glorification
Over and Over again - we hear PAUL - CALL the Galatians OUT from UNDER the LAW!
BECAUSE - by WAY of this FALSE teaching in the churches, the Galatians were BEING PERSUADED that it WAS BY THE LAW that...
a godly life begins
a godly life is empowered
a godly life is sealed unto glorification
So PAUL - as we KNOW - has been really GUARDING the Galatians - from - - the LAW as their Savior
OR - another way to put it - Paul was trying to get them to see that the LAW was never meant to be a VERTICAL path to get us to God!
Never meant for that!
NOW - The false teachers would disagree!
And THAT’s why they were - FALSE teachers!
By FAITH ALONE - in Christ ALONE - APART from the LAW - that was Paul’s message!
The LAW - NOT a Vertical path to God!
But then what? What does Paul say next?
Here’s the twist
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Wow - interesting!
Paul goes from saying - NO - NO!!
NOT THE LAW!
Don’t go THAT WAY!!
The LAW can’t GET YOU THERE!!
INSTEAD - LIVE OUT the LAW!
lol
Let’s read it again...
“You were called to freedom (NOT slavery under the law), Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another....
He explains what that means - “For the whole LAW is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself”...
So couple of things...
He’s saying -
LIVE in freedom - not ENSLAVED under the LAW…(trying to EARN your way to God)
Live in freedom - living out the LAW
Not ENSLAVED UNDER it…but walking IN IT
SO DO YOU SEE IT?
The LAW is not a VERTICAL PATH to get us to GOD....but instead...
SLIDE: The Law of God: A Horizontal Path to Display Christ to the World
The Law of God
The Law of God
If we were to look at the Law…and just at the 10 commandments...
SLIDE:
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall make no idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.
We see that the first 4 commandments deal with our relationship with God...
And the last 6 deal with our relationship with man...
We’ll all probably heard that before - maybe even have heard a SERMON on that fact...
I’ve PREACHED that sermon before...
BUT - in light of what Paul said in our text today - to the Galatians...
In light of the Law NOT BEING a vertical path to get us to God...
AND in light of the fact that Paul CALLS the Galatians to LIVE OUT the Law in LOVING SERVICE...
…I would contend that while those first 4 Laws DO pertain to our relationship with God...
I would contend that they are LIVED OUT - in the context of our Horizontal Relationship with Mankind…!
That when we DISCUSS the Law - we SHOULD NOT break the laws into 2 categories...
First 4 Laws - VERTICAL - our relationship with God
Last 6 Laws - HORIZONTAL - our relationship with man...
…and then just STOP THERE...
Based on what Paul said today...
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
As Christians - we fulfill the Law - in LOVING neighbor as self...
We fulfill:
You shall have no other gods before me…by LOVING neighbor as self...
How is that true?
It’s true because the LOVE with with we’re called to LOVE one another with...
Is the love of CHRIST...
And if we LOVE our fellow MAN - with the LOVE of Jesus - they’ll see IN US...
…that we DON’T have any other gods in our LIVES besides the True and Living God!
We will FULFILL ...
no idols
not taking the name of the Lord in vain
we will fulfill these things...
As we LOVE the world with the LOVE of Christ!
We’ll actually display Jesus to the world - as we WALK in the Law of God…in loving service TO the world
Let’s walk through the Law now - to see how living a SERVANT-like lifestyle will display Jesus...
SLIDE: Law 1: You shall have no other gods before Me
Law 1
Law 1
When we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ...
where those around us KNOW WE’RE THERE - LIVING this way BECAUSE of Jesus...
We display that there is one - true and living God - the one we SERVE and the one who CLAIMED to be the ONE - TRUE and Living God...
SLIDE: Law 2: You shall make no idols
Law 2
Law 2
When we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ...
We display that the idols of this world - Money, fame, prestige...
We display that all of these IDOLS are not worth the surpassing VALUE of Christ
As we FORSAKE those things in order to SERVE and LOVE those around us!
SLIDE: Law 3: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
Law 3
Law 3
When we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ…
We display to the world that we - love Jesus ENOUGH - to live LIKE Him...
Our actions and our WORDS display a LOVE for Christ..
Not CONTEMPT for Him!
*Ray Comfort - asks people if they would ever use their Mother name as a cus word…**
SLIDE: Law 4: Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Law 4
Law 4
Question - How could it be - that when we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ…
We can fulfill keeping the Sabbath day holy?
Many people would say - DO NOTHING on the Sabbath…and you’ll keep it holy!
Well - the Jewish Leaders (Pharisees) said the same thing...
How did Jesus respond to them?
1 On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.
2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
3 And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?”
5 And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus continues...
9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?”
Jesus was constantly - - doing GOOD on the Sabbath!
Jesus TORE DOWN all the religiosity attached to the Sabbath…by showing HE RULED over it!
When we serve the world sacrificially - even on the Sabbath...
We display to the world the One who RULES OVER the Sabbath…and by doing so - WE KEEP it HOLY!!
SLIDE: Law 5: Honor you father and mother.
Law 5
Law 5
When we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ…
We bring HONOR to our parents....listen - REGARDLESS of how they were as parents!
How many times have you seen a young man or woman - DO SOMETHING nice for someone...
And the response is - Wow, your parents did a great job of raising you!
Our parents will be honored as we live LIKE Jesus… in a fallen world.
SLIDE: Law 6: You shall not murder.
Law 6
Law 6
When we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ…
It will be kind of hard to - AT THE SAME TIME - have hatred in our hearts for those we’re serving!
Instead of HATING people - we’ll be SERVING them - self-sacrificially!
Can anyone claim that Jesus hated people?
Even those who killed Him?
SLIDE: Law 7: You shall not commit adultery.
Law 7
Law 7
When we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ…
It will be hard for us - at the same time - to have lust in our hearts for them.
I can’t love someone - with the love of Jesus - and AT THE SAME TIME - be lusting after them.
Which means - serving one another - in love - will help fulfill this command
SLIDE: Law 8: You shall not steal.
Law 8
Law 8
When we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ…
Not only are we not TAKING what is NOT ours...
but we’re GIVING what IS ours...
We’re giving our...
time
money
resources
energy
SLIDE: Law 9: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Law 9
Law 9
When we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ…
Not only are we NOT bearing false witness against our neighbor...
but we’re bringing a true witness of the most important NEWS in the world TO THEM.
We’re displaying - absolute reality of the HIGHEST and PUREST nature!
We’re speaking TRUTH (God’s truth) - in love
And finally -
SLIDE: Law 10: You shall not covet.
Law 10
Law 10
What does it mean to COVET?
It means to - desire things in a way that we should not desire them
When we serve others with a SELF-Sacrificial love - IN THE NAME of Christ…
We’re displaying the absence of covetousness as we LAY DOWN our lives for the sake of others...
We put on display that we’re willing to LAY DOWN our...
possessions
time
money
For the SAKE of those around us!
We desire MOST - that those around us come to know Jesus!
We’d RATHER they know JESUS - than us have an ABUNDANCE of THINGS
And so when we look at all of these LAWS - and we couple them with what Paul said today...
We see that our CALL as men and women....
…is...
“As believers - we’re now FREE (not to work), but to LOVE”
And it goes back to that analogy of the [Obstacle Course] and the [Playground].
Paul knows the Galatians were THINKING ABOUT going back to the obstacle course...
And he says - NO, no - the Law of God is a PLAYGROUND - for those who TRULY BELIEVE that JESUS completed the Obstacle Course!
SUMMARY
The Law...
Not a Vertical Path to God
A Horizontal Path to Display Christ to the World
And BECAUSE this is true...
We close with this warning that Paul laid out before the Galatians...
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Do not use your FREEDOM as an opportunity for the flesh!
See Paul knows that he’s dealing with Mankind...
Paul knows how we as humans respond to - freedom (of any kind)
We - - take it for granted!
Tell your kids that they can play outside and have FREE REIGN to do whatever they want....where will they end up?
probably the street
Tell your kids they have FREE REIGN to eat whatever they want tonight for dinner…what will they choose?
veggies?
If you knew you could eat whatever you wanted for the next month - and it WOULD NOT impact your health in any way, I think we all know how that would go...
Here Paul is saying - YES, you’re eternity has been taken care of - SIN no longer has an eternal impact on you...
BUT - don’t USE your FREEDOM in Christ - to dabble in SIN...
“as an opportunity for the flesh”
It’s no different than what Paul said in Romans 6
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
Answer?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Yes - we are FREE from the ETERNAL consequences of SIN...
BUT - even so - the Bible tells us...
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Paul is speaking to the CHURCH....
Verse 4 shows Paul believing that these people WILL be in heaven one day...
YET - even so -
v5 says...
Put to death what is earthly in you....
WAR against the FLESH!
And so - Our freedom is not a license to - SIN...
Quite the opposite - Our freedom is actually - now - a chance to FIGHT SIN
And so - again - SUMMARY...
THE LAW...
Not a Vertical Path to God
A Horizontal Path to Display Christ to the World
And so may we - embrace these truths...
May we examine ourselves...
LORD’s TABLE
May we examine ourselves in light of our walks of faith...
First - have we bowed the knee to Jesus?
have we surrendered our lives to Him....trusting in HIM for his work on the cross?
GOSPEL
Bad news
Good news
If we have surrendered ourselves....Have we been treating the Freedom we have in Christ like a license to sin...
Take those things to the Lord
Ask that we come to KNOW that the Law of God is a Horizontal path to Display Jesus to the world!
The Bible says not to take this lightly. Scripture says – “ whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
Take time now and examine yourself before the Lord.
22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
“do this…in remembrance of me.”