Freedom!

Freedom!

Galatians 5:1

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness!”

250 years of American freedom… one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all! A noble pledge… and lofty ambition, no doubt… if it were ever fully realized!

Don’t misunderstand. I think the United States is the greatest experiment in freedom the world has ever known. A republic, of the people, by the people, and for the people…IF, as Benjamin Franklin famously said, “If we can keep it!”

Of course, our representative democracy is still an experiment. It’s still under observation and refinement… as we’re still working out what it even means to be a “self governing” people! In fact, not even a year after the ratification of the Constitution, it became evident that it didn't provide adequate protections… so James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights. We’ve had 27 amendments, the last one being ratified, finally, in 1992! We’re still working on Liberty… and we’re not perfect… but at least we get to choose the scoundrels who lead us! Right?

When we were children, who didn’t dream of the freedom of being an adult? It appeared that adults had the freedom to do whatever we want! How’d that work out? In retrospect: How many of us would trade at least some of our adult “freedom” for the worry free freedom of childhood?

What I’m trying to say is... The world demands a “freedom” that it does not know and cannot offer – freedom from rules, freedom from authority, freedom to pursue any and every desire. Have you ever known such liberty? Of course not! Because no such liberty exists!

But then “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what is a heaven for!” (Robert Browning)

Paul wrote to the church at Galatia to address a problem - an error in theology and practice. False teachers were insisting that followers of Christ must first be circumcised and keep the Mosaic law to be truly accepted by God.

Paul’s conclusion: “it is for freedom Christ has set us free!” In other words: Christ has already set us free. Not free to do as we please, but free from the yoke of slavery – free from the curse of the law, free from the condemnation of sin, and free to live our lives as sons and daughters of the living God.

Salvation is, and always will be, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It’s the heart of who we are as Christians. Anything added to the finished work of Christ is another gospel.

And the Source of our freedom is Christ! Not our efforts, not our obedience, not our church, not our government. I love the US Constitution and it’s my custom to re-read it every July 4th... but the Constitution is NOT what makes me free. Christ, by His life, death, and resurrection, has liberated us. He took the curse of the law upon Himself (Galatians 3:13) so that we might receive the blessing of Abraham by faith.

And listen: we’re not talking about some vague spiritual aspiration, that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy! We’re talking about the objective reality of the Gospel! As believers, we are justified in Christ and declared righteous before God! Our debt is paid. The chains are broken. The yoke of slavery has been removed… All because of Jesus!

So, “Stand firm (Paul says), and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

We stand not in our own righteousness but in the imputed righteousness of Christ. This is the most liberating reality the world has ever known! It’s Good News for a world that’s weary of self-centeredness, burdened by guilt, and exhausting from the pursuit of self-righteousness.

Paul says “stand firm” in your freedom – a military command to hold your ground against assault. The Galatians were being assaulted... pressured to add circumcision and legalism to faith. But Paul insisted, you are free from such, in Christ!

Of course, we face similar temptations today. Some still turn to legalism – adding rules and requirements and traditions, as if the work of Christ is insufficient. Still, others swing to the opposite extreme, mutating grace into a license to sin. Both are yokes of slavery.

Puritan Reformer Thomas Watson, warned, “Take heed of abusing the mercy of God. To sin because mercy abounds, is the Devil's logic.”

I think we’d do well to remember: the Law certainly has its place: as it drives us to Christ, it reveals God’s character, and it guides us, as believers, in gratitude. But it never justifies. To submit again to the yoke of the law is to deny the sufficiency of Christ. Stand firm in the gospel! Cling to the promises of God’s Word. Rest in union with Christ by faith. The Holy Spirit who dwells within you will enable you to stand.

“Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Liberty is not license. Our faith emphasizes that actual freedom is not the ability to do whatever your heart desires, but the grace-enabled ability to do what God created us to do. In Christ, we are set free, liberated, to love God and neighbor.

The fact is... as God Word says... True freedom expresses itself in love – as love is the fulfillment of the law (v. 14). We are set free from bondage so that we might be set free for service. “Through love serve one another” – the word for “serve” is the language of a slave. One of the great paradoxes of faith, is that by being “yoked” to Christ, or becoming a servant of Jesus, we find that we’re truly free! Free to love. Free to share joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Because there’s no Law or restrictions on such things. And these are the fruit of a life set free by Christ!

As believers, and followers of Christ, may we live the freedom Christ has given us. Stand firm. Reject every teaching that adds to the finished work of Christ. And may we live out our freedom in love. Serving Christ by serving one another.

May the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead empower us to walk in this freedom – to the glory of God alone.

Amen.