Live Free or Die!
Galatians
5:1-15
Introduction: From the days of the American Revolution, it may have been Patrick
Henry [?] who said: “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at
the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what
course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me
death!” That might
sound a little radical at some levels but that isn’t too far from what Paul is
saying in this transitional passage in the letter to the Galatians. The paraphrase The Message puts Galatians
5:1 like this: “Christ has set us free to
live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of
slavery on you…” (Gal 5:1, MSG).
Jesus told his followers “…if the Son makes you free, you shall be free
indeed!” (Jn 8:36). How are we to
understand Christian freedom? And if we are truly free, how then does obedience
fit into the Christian life? This passage, and the rest of this chapter, will
shed some light on that question.
Context: After defending his apostleship in Chapters 1 and 2, and arguing
for the superiority of the Gospel of Grace in 3 and 4, Paul now applies that
doctrine to practical Christian living (5-6).
He emphasizes that right doctrine should result in right living. We’ll
see as we work through this chapter over the next couple of weeks that the “…freedom
for which Christ has made us free…” (v.1) is freedom to live a life
of righteousness in the power of the Holy Spirit. The final 2 chapters of Galatians are a
portrait of the Spirit-filled life, a picture of believers implementing the
life of faith under the control, and in the power, of the Spirit. In this part of the letter, it is clear that
the Spirit-filled life is evidence of and testimony to the power of
justification by faith. Paul is making
his appeal for the Spirit-filled life of freedom, and warning against reverting
to a futile works-bound life of legalistic self-effort. He begins with the
negative, a warning against false doctrine and false teachers and their
potentially deadly influence. The New
Hampshire state motto says “Live free or die!” The Apostle Paul agrees!
The BIG Idea:
Because of Jesus we are free! Let us hold fast to our freedom in Christ, and it
will overflow in Spirit-empowered love to serve others!
I. First, be aware of our freedom in Christ: Stand Fast in the Spirit! (read 5:1-4).
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us
free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that
if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man
who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from
Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Paul affirms that the Gospel is indeed exclusive:
By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone! Any religion that requires “works” contradicts
grace (5:2-4). To accept circumcision as necessary for our justification
implies the atonement of Christ was insufficient. The basic error of every
man-made religious system is the same: thinking that we can make ourselves good
enough to earn God’s favor. The
Scripture is clear that God was never pleased with mere “outward”
obedience: We read in Deuteronomy 30:6, “The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your
descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your
soul, and live.” Divine intervention!
God acting on human hearts. So, the Lord also warned the sinning nation through
his prophet of the need for a new heart, in Jeremiah 9:24-26,
…but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight," declares the LORD. 25 "The days are
coming," declares the LORD, "when I will punish all who are
circumcised only in the flesh-- 26
Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant
places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole
house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."
It is a heart matter.
Likewise, the Psalmist said the sacrifices of God are “a
broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart” (Ps 51:17). Outward acts of
religious piety may impress men, but God looks at the heart. Charles Spurgeon
said that: “One might better try to sail the Atlantic in a paper boat than
to get to heaven by good works.”
Why
then the Law? It shined a light on human inability, exposing our total
depravity. In Galatians 5:3 Paul says, “…every man who
lets himself be circumcised… is obligated to obey the whole law.” In Gal 3:10-11 Paul wrote,
All who rely on observing the law are under a
curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything
written in the Book of the Law." 11
Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous
will live by faith."
Similarly, we
read in James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles
at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Grace is our only hope!
How then can we live a life that is different, a life that honors God? How does
obedience fit in?
Life in the Spirit (5:5-6) Paul
now switches to describing what genuine authentic Christianity looks like. “For
we by the Spirit…” Life in the
Spirit will be a key theme in Gal 5…
God’s Spirit is the means, He empowers us to live in faith, hope, and
love. Look how these terms come together here… First
we believe Him, “…by faith we wait…” (v.5). In
v. 6 he repeats the key word again, “In Christ what matters is faith…” This has been a key theme repeated in this
letter, “The just shall live by faith!” Faith is believing God, taking
Him at His Word, trusting in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross.
We are, by faith, eagerly waiting for “…the hope
of righteousness…” Because we are justified, declared righteous in
Christ, God’s Spirit in us enables us to look ahead in hope, with
confidence about the future, to the day when this corruptible will put on
incorruption, the day when we see Him and are like Him! We wait with a sure
hope. That hope fuels our living. The Spirit also empowers us for godly living…
“…faith working through love…”
(v.6). James said faith without works is dead, being by itself. What he means, I think, is that genuine,
authentic faith… works! Ephesians 2:8-10
similarly says we are saved by grace through faith, “…for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Faith, hope, and love these three…
So, because of Jesus, we are free, a freedom which overflows in
Spirit-empowered love to serve others.
So, we are set free by the Son, we must stand firm, and…
II. Beware of false teachers who would compromise the Gospel of
Grace (5:7-12).
7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from
Him who calls you. 9 A little
leaven leavens the whole lump. 10
I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he
who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11 And I, brethren, if I still
preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the
cross has ceased. 12 I could
wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!
Paul addresses the false teachers and
the danger of their doctrine in harsh language. First, They hinder the truth
(5:7). “You were running well…” Paul uses the imagery of a race: “…who
hindered you and kept you from obeying the truth…” The question is
rhetorical, he knows who hindered them! He is pointing at the false teachers
that were undermining the Gospel message and even denying the Scriptures they
claimed to revere. They were corrupting the Gospel of Grace.
Secondly, They are not of God (5:8)
Legalism doesn’t come from God: “This
persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.” God does not contradict
himself - If someone is preaching another message it comes from the father of
lies.
They contaminate the church
(5:9). “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” I am not a baker, but I know it doesn’t take a lot of yeast to
make a loaf of bread rise. A little works through the loaf. Paul is saying false teaching can be like that, if you
let it in, it can work its way through the body quickly. Like an infection, they can start small,
but if unattended they can spread rapidly to deadly effect.
They will be judged (5:10). “I have
confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who
troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.” False teachers will give an account. We are
responsible to be diligent, searching Scripture. His Word is truth! A
side-point here: make no mistake, Believers are secure in Christ.
Paul said, “I have confidence in you…”
Jesus said in John 10:27-29, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow
me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch
them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all;
no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand…”
Know this: Genuine believers won’t lose
their salvation. Eternal life is forever. But we can become so compromised in our
witness, that our testimony is ruined, and the gospel is obscured. Keep
your eyes on Jesus, because of Him we are free! Hold fast to our freedom
in Christ, and it will overflow in Spirit-empowered love to serve others!
III. We are
free to serve others through love (13-15).
This is what Paul meant in Eph 2:10 when he said we were “…created in Christ
Jesus unto good works…” It is the idea he expressed to the Philippians when
he said, “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is
God who works in you…” (Phil 2:12-13). We are saved by grace alone through
faith alone, and a changed life is the result.
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.
These verses pick up the theme of
love from 5:6 and press it home with a command in verse 13: "Through
love be servants of one another." Rather than a license to sin, our
liberty in Christ is an opportunity to serve: because God has loved us, we are
free to love God, and our brothers. Ray Pritchard said: [Our] “…freedom is freedom from sin, not
freedom to sin. As Martin Luther put it, freedom is not the right to do
what you want but rather the power to do what you ought.” Piper got the
point, Paul is not talking about…
“…two different optional
ways to live in freedom. When you live according to the flesh, you are in
slavery. But when you serve each other in love, you are in freedom. Why? Because love is
motivated by the joy of sharing our fullness, but the works of the
flesh are motivated by the desire to fill our emptiness.”
The “Unshackled!” radio program always
invites a response, “If your life is empty, it can be filled to overflowing!” People
look for meaning and fulfillment in life in all kinds of places. Only Jesus
can satisfy the deepest longing of our soul, and as we grow closer to Him, we
are transformed from the inside out. We are set free by the Son! What does
that freedom look like? Paul gives some insights, first stating the negative…
We are free to oppose the flesh (v.13a). “…For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do
not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh…” First Paul states a negative, he points out what our
liberty should not do- The NIV translates the word “flesh” here as
“sinful nature,” and it seems that is the idea Paul wants communicate. Our freedom should not be an “opportunity”
for the flesh. The word translated “opportunity” in classical
Greek meant “starting point, or base of operations, esp. in military
campaigns.” Think about it: In his subtlety, Satan looks for any opportunity,
that is, a “base of operations” for his spiritual warfare with us—and even our
freedom in Christ can be so attacked: He whispers, “Don’t you have a right to
be happy? Just do it!”
Adam
and Eve were morally free people, able to choose good or evil. They were free not to sin, yet Satan deceived
them into believing that true freedom would only be found in asserting their
autonomy and disobeying God- Their “freedom” become a “base of operations” from
which Satan could attack. Satan is an expert on human beings and our weaknesses
and he will look for any opportunity, any foothold he can get, and this is one
of his favorites. Peter warned,
For when they speak great swelling words of
emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the
ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them
liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is
overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. (2 Pet 2:18,19).
In Christ we are free from that kind of bondage. We
are free to serve others (v.13b). “…rather [BUT… strong
contrast] serve one another through love…”
Notice there is no compulsion, it is service that is motivated by
love. The word “serve” here is the
verbal form of the word for slave, “serve as a slave…” Why be a slave to the flesh and the devil? Be
a slave to the law of Love! The disciples were a bit slow in learning this
lesson that Jesus both taught and modeled (cf. Lk 22:24-27). In Jn
13:5-15 As Jesus prepared His disciples for what was about to unfold the last
few days of his life on earth, He, their teacher and Master, stooped down and
washed their feet. He served them in
humility and gave them an example of selfless service: “As I have done for
you, do so for one another.” Paul
urged in Phil 2:5-7, “have this mind in
you which was also in Christ Jesus…” The Law gave an example of service
motived by love in Exod 21:2-6,
…if the servant plainly says, 'I love my
master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' 6 "then his master shall
bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the… doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear
with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.”
So, God has called us to the freedom of fullness which overflows in love,
not to the slavery of emptiness which is never satisfied. Because of Jesus we are free, a
freedom which overflows in Spirit-empowered love to serve others.
We are free to fulfill God’s Moral Law
(v.14). “…For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall
love your neighbor as yourself." This is the way life should be, and because
we are no longer slaves, because Jesus has set us free, we are free to love one
another, sincerely, unselfishly. True Christian liberty produces self-control,
service to others, and obedience to God—these attributes are the result
of being in a relationship with God, not the means of our justification.
We are saved “…unto good works, which God before ordained that we should
walk in them.”
And so, we are free to build others up rather than tear them
down (v.15). “…But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you
be consumed by one another!” The
Christian life is lived in community. We are part of a family. We are a members of His body. Our liberty in Christ
is not intended to be something that would cause us to harm one another, to
tear one another down. The phrase “…bite and devour…” evokes wild
animals engaged in the fury of a deadly struggle. If we are still operating as
legalistic slaves we are operating in our own strength, trying to fill our
emptiness instead of rejoicing in the fulness of Christ. That’s the flesh, not
the Spirit!
Remember:
It is when you live according to the flesh, you are in slavery. But when you
serve each other in love, you are in freedom... Because love is
motivated by the joy of sharing our fullness, but the works of the flesh are
motivated by the desire to fill our emptiness. We’ll see later in the chapter that the “flesh”
is enslaved to one futile desire after another in its effort to fill an
emptiness which only Christ can fill. When Paul says in
That gets to the heart of it: the
works of the flesh are selfish, motivated by a desire to fill our own emptiness.
But love is motivated by the joy of sharing out of our fullness, what
God has done for us in Christ. Paul said,
"Love does not seek its own" (1 Cor 13:5). When we
love, we are not enslaved to use things or people to fill our emptiness. God
fills us, and love is the overflow. We love, because He first loved us.
When God frees us from guilt and fear and greed and fills us with His
all-satisfying presence, we are motivated to share that with others. When God
fills our empty heart with hope and forgiveness, he frees us from the bondage
to the world, the flesh and the devil. We don’t live to accumulate things and
manipulate people. We love because God first loved us. We are
constrained by the love of Christ, free to serve one another through love.
What is God saying to me in this passage?
The BIG Idea: Let’s hold fast to our freedom
in Christ, and it will overflow in Spirit-empowered love to serve others!
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
If you have trusted Christ that means He has redeemed you, you are no longer
a slave to sin and to Satan—you are free! If the Son has set you free, you
are free indeed! As you allow his Spirit to fill you and control you, as you fill
yourself with the Word and begin to think God’s thoughts after him, you will
discover a freedom to think of others, and to serve them because you love God,
and, you might be surprised to find, you love others! “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never
again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you…” How is that possible?
God Himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit, abides in you! We’ll focus on
that next week. Now, let’s trust God, and live free! AMEN.
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