Gal 5:13-15[1] Rolling Hills Church
22 Aug 2010
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.
Paul has been, to this point in the book of Galatians, tearing down the notion that being circumcised would bring a measure of righteousness to the believers in Christ. He adamantly taught, warned, illustrated, and allegorized the truth that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Justification is only by faith in Christ Jesus! He put forth the 'what not to believe' and the 'what to believe'; he has 'swept out the house and put it in order', like in Matt 12:45. So what would fill the void of seeking to gain righteousness through the law? In other words, this might be the thought Paul is addressing: "OK, so if we don't have to gain righteousness through living the law, then; how DO we live? Here in this little three verses in chapter five Paul puts forth a model for the church; through love serve one another. And what did he tell them this would do? Fulfill the law.
So let's pray, and let's spend these brief minutes considering the message of this text: I believe it can be worded like this: Gospel freedom is not freedom to gratify the flesh; it is freedom to love and serve one another. Let's pray, shall we?
Called to Freedom: This call is the gospel call, church; not just a call to the church to be good; this is the call to repentance and faith in Christ. Called to follow Christ – that is freedom. What all were we freed from when we were called to believe in and follow Christ?
We were enslaved in it, hopelessly bound to do what sin dictated, pawns of our own fleshly lusts, the devil, and the lies of this world. But Christ has set us free! When He died on that cross, He paid the debt that all of us owed God 'in Adam'. He satisfied the wrath of God, and He rose from the dead to purchase new life, freedom for all who would repent of their sins and believe in Him. What kind of freedom did He purchase us, and call us to?
We are free from our bondage to sin. It's power no longer owns us, for a greater power, the Holy Spirit of God, has taken over our lives, and in Christ, we are free!
We are free from the penalty of sin. Scripture says the wages of sin is death. When we were lost, apart from Christ, we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and we were slated to die and be cast into hell forever for our offense against Holy God. God is just; there is no escaping His right judgment! But when we are called to Christ and we respond in faith, we are freed from this wrath of God!
We are free from works and earnings. Folks, as Paul so unwaveringly teaches in this book, Christ alone can make a man or woman right with God! Our striving for self-improvement or merit-earning is over, and we're freely MADE RIGHT with God.
We are free from death. We will never die; our call is complete and eternal in Christ! So we celebrate this joy, and we are set free from slavery to fleshly temptation.
With freedom comes responsibility. Because the doctrine of total depravity is true, and because indwelling sin fights us even when we're redeemed, the only way to avoid anarchy in a family, church, or a society is to keep freedom and responsibility connected. We are cautioned not to use our freedom to gratify our selfish desires. 'Opportunity for the flesh means "opportunity to follow your fallen, sinful desires and act contrary to God's moral laws[2]."' When freedom is divorced from responsibility, bad things happen. There is a statement repeated throughout the sad narrative of Judges: In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges17:6). If you know that story, you know they went from bondage to freedom, to self-gratification, back to bondage time and time again. It is a miserable read. A King would bring order, purpose, and responsibility for the nation; otherwise, we saw what happened.
Paul teaches in Romans 6:11-14 that when we are free, when we receive grace, we are to submit the members of our body for moral service to Christ.
With freedom in Christ comes love and service. Peter's mother in law was sick; her affliction, her bondage was physical. The Lord walked in to the house and He promptly set her free from this sickness. How did she respond? Matt 8:14-15 And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. Our Lord did not set us free to set about blessing ourselves. He did not free us from the law so that we could live lawless and immoral – by no means! We are free from being justified by keeping the law; but we are free to fulfill the moral law for God's glory! When we're free in Christ, we're free to serve.
Freed to receive love. After all, love starts with God! 1 Jn 4:19 We love because he first loved us. Let me trail along a few verses from John's gospel and his first letter that show this thought line…
Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 Jn 3:16-18 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Jn 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
1 Jn 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God loved, God gave and served. We have God's love in us, it will result super-naturally in giving and serving! So in essence, we are freed by the gospel to serve one another. Paul called himself in Gal 1:10, Rom 1:1, and Phil 1:1 a bond-servant of Christ, a willing servant. He willingly signed up to serve Christ, which meant to serve Christ's people.
Service is the life; love is the motive, and the means. Love being in us, shed abroad in our hearts, works its way out in service to one another. Love led Jesus to serve us, folks:
Mat 20:28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Serving for serving sake wears out; serving the body for Christ through Christ's power fulfills us, rejuvenates us, blesses us, and brings us joy! One of the most fulfilling things I do as a pastor is to go to nursing homes and sing and preach the gospel for the otherwise forgotten few. JeriAnn takes her boys there often to minister to those precious older folks, and it is humbling how much you receive by giving there.
Paul wants this outfit to know this; "If you want to turn back to circumcision and thus the law, then hear this; you can fulfill the law if you do this; love your neighbor as yourself."
Church, what are we doing with our freedom?
How are we serving one another?
Or is it possible that our freedom is being misused on ourselves? If that is the case, then here is the warning from Paul about what will happen among us…
Biting and devouring. In this conversation we have to remember that Paul is teaching the Galatians not to listen to, not to give in to those Judaizers who lie and say circumcision is mandatory for righteousness before God. So when he says 'bite and devour one another', there is a thought from Philippians 3:2 that comes up… "2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh." Bite and devour one another like dogs – just made me chuckle.
When a pack of wolves is starving and begin to endanger a human being, there is a way to escape them; shoot one of them, and when they see and smell the blood of their own, they often turn on the wounded one. The enemy of our souls loves shoot one of us to see if we will serve, heal, and bless that member, or begin to bite and devour that member. I have seen too much of this in churches! Walking wounded who have been bitten by those who are supposed to love them, or even teach and shepherd them. God help us! When we turn on ourselves, who will be there for us, church?
Seriously, will we fight over carpet color, buildings, names on a nursery list, or a perceived snub? I've seen it. Bites of gossip, anger, division, and even hatred IN THE CHURCH. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be.
Is that the love of Christ in us?
I think not.
The love of Christ looks like selflessness, humility, service, and joy. Love is the means to our service, and love is the motive for our service. Sin is the means and motive for our biting and devouring; that is misused freedom, church.
So… Freedom. Responsibility. Love. Service. Biting and devouring. What sounds better? What reflects Christ better to a lost and dying, biting and devouring community!?
Here's the simple message from this text today: Gospel freedom is not freedom to gratify the flesh; it is freedom to love and serve one another.
I want to close with some words of Christ for us to consider…
Matt 7:12 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matt 22:37-40 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 first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
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