Sunday's Message - The Book of Galatians: Set Free. Live Free (Living Our Freedom - Galatians 5:13-26)

During most of the Summer, the congregation of Sligo Presbyterian Church will explore the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Galatians and consider how we might claim the freedom we have in Jesus Christ. During our time together, we'll explore the following:

• May 26 - One Gospel (Galatians 1:1-10)
• June 2 - Grace Changes Everything! (Galatians 1:10-24)
• June 9 - Getting the Gospel Right (Galatians 2:1-21)
• June 16 - Don't Be Stupid! (Galatians 3:1-14)
• June 23 - Children, Not Slaves (Galatians 3:15–4:7)
• July 7 - Don't Look Back (Galatians 4:8-20)
• July 14 - Effort Vs. Grace (Galatians 4:21-31)
• July 21 - Set Free! (Galatians 5:1-12)
• July 28 - Living Our Freedom (Galatians 5:13-26)
• August 4 - Sowing and Reaping (Galatians 6:1-18)

On Sunday, we continued the series by looking at Galatians 5:13-26 and by discussing how we can live as men and women who've been set free. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT) You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page. 

Although I know we’re just now coming to the end of July; therefore we have the entire month of August and most of September to go before we can say good-bye to summer, yesterday it hit me that, at least around here, well, we’re really at a transition point. Let me explain what I’m talking about. You see, since the Blood Drive and the Day Camp are now in the books, I wanted to change the sign out in front of the church. And so, as Coco and I were coming over to do our Saturday work, which included writing this sermon, I was considering what I should put on the sign after removing the two events that had already occurred. And as I was thinking about this, it hit me that our next big community-related event will be “Trunk or Treat.” You see, we’ve already had our picnic and we’ve already had our block party (this year we called it Sunday Fun Day) and we’ve already had our day camp. And so, around here, man, the summer stuff is pretty much over. Which means our next stop is Halloween. How time flies when you’re having fun. And so, in a real sense, we’re kind of transitioning from one time of year to another. 

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s what the Apostle Paul was doing in the passage we’re looking at this morning. Of course, during the last couple of months, we’ve been discussing Paul’s letter to the Galatians, a church that had become convinced that, in addition to faith, they needed to do something else to be acceptable to God. And as we’ve already seen, according to what he wrote in the first four chapters, this idea was absolutely wrong, because the grace given to us by God was, is and will always be undeserved and our faith is simply the acknowledgment that it was given. Now that’s just the way it is. And if we add something to this, you know, like some kind of law, we change the nature of both God’s gift and our response. As a matter of fact, for Paul, this gift of undeserved grace actually sets us free, and I’m talking about free from having to do certain things in order to earn some salvation. As he wrote, “Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the Law again.” [Galatians 5:1, CEV] Now, as we move through the fifth chapter of this letter, that’s what Paul has already established.

And you know, as significant as that is, there are still a few extremely important questions that really need to be answered. For example, since we’re now free, does that mean we can do anything that we want? In other words, can I just run amok, indulging myself without any regard for you or anyone else? I mean, am I now allowed to be as immoral or unethical as I want, because I trust that God’s grace is undeserved and that righteousness is unearned? Man, is that what Christian freedom is all about, being really self-absorbed and self-centered? I’ll tell you, if Paul ended this letter with the words “I wish everyone who is upsetting you would not only get circumcised, but would cut off much more!” [Galatians 5:12, CEV], I think those would be some very reasonable questions.

But of course, Paul didn’t stop there. Instead he sort of transitioned from the “what” to the “how.” In other words, he moved from what he wanted them to believe, you know, like grace and faith and freedom, to how we wanted them to live. And that’s going to be our focus this morning. You see, we’re going to look at Galatians 5:13-21, and we’re going to talk about how we can respond to the love that’s been freely given and the grace that can never be deserved and the freedom that we now have. Specifically, we’re going to look at three points that I think Paul made in this passage that can give us real direction as we try to figure out how we can live with the freedom that God has freely given. 

For example, first, according to Paul, although we’re most definitely free, God has freed us for a reason. In other words, what God has done wasn’t just some kind of random act without any rhyme or reason. Instead, our freedom has a motivation and a goal and a purpose and that purpose is within the mind of God himself. Just listen to what Paul wrote to the Galatians:

My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. All the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves. [Galatians 5:13-15, CEV]

You see, according to Paul, we weren’t freed from the law so that we could run around and do whatever we please, you know, just satisfying our senses and our wants and our desires. And I’ll tell you, it sure wasn’t given so that we can get away with murder and just play “undeserved grace” like some kind of “Get Out of Jail” card. No sir, instead God chose to free us so that we can actually do what we were called and created to do, namely “to love others as much as [we] love [ourselves].” [Galatian 5:14b, CEV] Now that’s why we were set free, which ironically was actually God’s intention from the very beginning. I mean, when you get right down to it, that one command is actually the summation of all the rest. And what does this love look like? Well, just listen to what Paul wrote to the Romans:

Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself. Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying. Take care of God’s needy people and welcome strangers into your home. [Romans 12:9-13, CEV]

Simply put, God wants us to see our freedom as an opportunity to love those around us, in other words, to treat them with the same patience and the same kindness and the same respect that we’d like them to treat us. You see, God has freed us for a reason; so that we might love others as much as we love ourselves. And that’s the first point I think Paul made to the Galatians and makes to us.

And then, second, he wrote that, because we’re free, we now have a choice. I mean, since we now know that God had a motive and a goal and a purpose for freeing us from all the “shoulds” and “oughts” and “have tos,” you know, stuff that can really get in the way of us showing genuine love, since we are free, right now we have a decision to make, at least we do according to Paul. You see, after telling the Galatians that God had a reason for freeing them, just listen to what he wrote:

If you are guided by the Spirit, you won’t obey your selfish desires. The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should. But if you obey the Spirit, the Law of Moses has no control over you. [Galatians 5:16-18, CEV]

Now that’s what Paul wrote, and I think it points directly to the choice that we have. You see, as we try to figure out how to use the freedom we now have, we can certainly choose to be guided solely by ourselves, you know, by what we expect and assume, and by what we want and demand, and by what we value and desire. You see, we can be the sole arbiters of what is right and wrong and the ultimate authority over what love actually is and how it should be shown. And then we can fight and scrap with one another over different definitions and opinions we’ll probably have. On one hand, that’s what we can decide to do. On the other hand, though, we can choose to take an entirely different route and to be guided by the Spirit, and I’m talking about the Spirit that comes from God, you know, the Holy Spirit who’s constantly speaking through scripture. You see, right here and now, we can decide to move to the back burner what we think and what we want and what we value and then open our minds and our hearts to the Spirit. I’ll tell you, this we can choose to do. And if we do, trust me, I don’t think we’ll be disappointed. As a matter of fact, it’s like what Paul wrote to the Corinthians when we said this:

God’s Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God. You are the only one who knows what is in your own mind, and God’s Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God’s mind. But God has given us his Spirit. This is why we don’t think the same way that the people of this world think. This is also why we can recognize the blessings God has given us.

Every word we speak was taught to us by God’s Spirit, not by human wisdom. And this same Spirit helps us teach spiritual things to spiritual people. [1 Corinthians 2:10-13, CEV]

You see, right here and now, we have a decision to make. I mean, since we know that we’ve been freed for a reason, we have to decide what we’re going to rely on for guidance. I mean, will we be led by our assumptions and demands and desires? Or will we seek direction from the one who literally knows the mind of God? I’m telling you, because we’re free, we now have a choice; are we going to be guided by self or Spirit. And I think that’s the second point Paul made in this passage. 

And third, since we know we’ve been freed for a reason and since we know that we can choose what we’ll use as our guide, I believe Paul wrote that our choice will determine the life we live. In other words, what we choose to trust for direction will shape what we do and how we act. And I’ll tell you, for Paul, this connection was crystal clear. For example, if we choose to trust ourselves, and I’m talking about our assumptions and demands and desires, according to what he wrote, this is going to be the result:

People’s desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God’s kingdom. [Galatians 5:19-21, CEV]

Now that’s what Paul wrote. And sadly, I think this just makes sense. I mean, if I see myself as the sole arbiter of what is right and wrong and the ultimate authority over what love actually is and how it should be shown, how can my actions and attitudes not be centered on myself, including all those assumptions that are just plain wrong and all those prejudices I try to keep hidden?  

But, of course, this doesn’t have to define my life, because that’s not the only choice that I have or that we have. You see, we can decide that, despite what the world might say, we’re going to focus our attention on God. And we’re going to trust in his word. And we’re going to be guided by his Spirit. And if we do, it’s going to change us. I mean, if we claim the freedom God has given us and decide to look past all those expectations and wants and values that we either produce within ourselves or accept from others, not only will we see our lives change, so will those around us. It’s like Paul wrote to the Galatians, 

God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. God’s Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit. But don’t be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are. [Galatians 5:22-26, CEV]

You see, when we accept that we’ve been set free for a reason and we choose to follow the guidance from the Spirit, we’ll be better able to do exactly what God has freed us to do, namely “to love others as much as [we] love [ourselves].” [Galatian 5:14b, CEV] I’m telling you, our choice will determine the life we live. And I believe that’s the third point Paul made to the Galatians. 

Now, y’all may have noticed that, this morning, on one side of the sign, there are two blank lines. Now that’s where the announcements for the Blood Drive and the Day Camp were. And even though I don’t know of anything significant that’s happening around here for the next month or so, frankly, I think it’s a little early to put up stuff related to Halloween and Christmas. In other words, although I think we’re sort of in a little bit of a transition around here, I don’t know about y’all, but I’m really not ready to fully embrace it right now. 

But I’ll tell you, I don’t think that should be the case as we think about this transition Paul made in the passage we looked at this morning. I mean, as he moved from the “what” to the “how,” from what he wanted the Galatians to believe, you know, like grace and faith and freedom, to how we wanted them to live, I believe we can both hear and claim what he had to say. In other words, we can recognize that God has freed us for a reason. And we can accept that, because we’re free, we now have a choice. And finally, we can trust that our choice will determine the lives we live. You see, for Paul, this is how we can live our freedom.