Living in Liberty
Gal. 5:1-14
On March 23, 1775, a group of men met at St. John’s church in Richmond VA. to figure out some way to avoid war. Many were willing to do almost anything for peace—even compromise with tyranny. But one man stood up and boldly spoke these words: “There is a just God who presides over the destines of nations… The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave…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.” *
These bold words were spoken by a 39 year old son of Scottish immigrants named Patrick Henry. His words have ignited a desire for freedom in the hearts of millions from all over the world. Every year we celebrate Independence Day, it’s a good idea to remind ourselves of how precious our freedom truly is, and how many have sacrificed to guarantee this freedom.
But there is more to being free than just being an American. The Bill of Rights guarantees important freedoms, but they cannot free a soul from slavery to sin. Congress may pass good and useful laws every now and then, but they cannot pass a law that frees us from greed, lust, and pride. No president, no matter how powerful or persuasive, has ever found a way to outlaw death. Everybody wants to be free, even those of us who live in the freest nation in the world.
It is this desire for a deeper freedom I want us to talk about tonight. I want to look at a passage which has been called the Bible’s “declaration of independence”---the book of Galatians. In the words of the apostle Paul in Gal. 5:1-15, God invites you and I to experience a freedom which no congress, president, or Supreme Court could ever give, or take away. Paul tells us 3 things we must realize if we want to live in liberty:
I. FREEDOM COMES FROM CHRIST (v. 1-6)
In v. 1 Paul clearly declares the source of our freedom when he writes about …the liberty by which Christ has made us free…Christ bought our freedom by His death on the Cross. It’s a freedom that is like a beautiful many-faceted diamond that shines in so many spectacular ways, according to how you look at it. It’s freedom from the guilt and penalty of sin, a freedom to enjoy peace with God, a freedom to love God and our neighbor as ourselves, a freedom from death and for eternal life.
John 8:34…if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
But in the book of Galatians Paul stresses the Christian’s freedom from having to try to earn God’s grace by our works. You see, in the early church, there were some Jews who believed in Christ as the Messiah, but they also thought that in order to be a child of God,
1) if you were male, you had to be circumcised
2) you were responsible for keeping the Law of Moses.
In other words, faith in Christ was not enough to make you right with God. True enough, you have to believe in Jesus, but in addition you have to do these other things. Basically, they were saying you had to become a Jew before you became a true disciple of Christ.
But Paul says Whoa! This will never do! Salvation is not about what we do—it’s about what Christ has done! All we do is respond by faith to His grace! If you add anything else, you are putting people back in slavery! Jesus came to set us free! The principle behind Paul’s words is this: your relationship to God is based on His grace, and your faith in Jesus Christ. Period.
What this means for you and I is that God’s love for us is not based on our performance. God doesn’t love you more when you’ve been good, nor love you less when you’ve been bad. He does discipline His disobedient children, and if you really want to, you can walk away from Him. But you don’t have to be a slave to fear. You don’t have to worry that He’s through with you because you don’t measure up. He treats us as a loving father does, pleased when we do well, punishing us when we do wrong, but always, always loving us, and willing to forgive.
Psalm 103:8-13 8The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
This is the freedom Christ purchased on the Cross for you—freedom to enjoy a relationship of grace with your Heavenly Father, and not a relationship of rule-keeping and fear. It is the liberty of love—knowing that He loves you, and knowing you can love Him. It is one of the most precious freedoms you and I can enjoy.
Unfortunately, some people don’t enjoy this freedom, nor do they want you and I to enjoy this freedom. This is why Paul also says
II. FREEDOM MUST BE DEFENDED. (v. 7-12)
Paul refuses to compromise with those who try to water down God’s grace. Instead, he goes on the attack.
You were running well. Who got you off on the wrong track? You can be sure it wasn’t the
Lord! Those who oppose grace are way off-base; they are not from the Lord.
A little yeast leavens the whole loaf. Watch out for this kind of teaching! It can infiltrate your thinking quickly, and lead you astray!
Reject their heresy, and leave God to deal with them! Turn away from this false teaching, and let God get them straight, even He has to cut them off! (since Paul is dealing with circumcision here, I’ll leave it to your own imagination to figure out what he means by the phrase I wish they …would even cut themselves off! (v. 12)
Talk about some strong language! Paul leaves no room for compromise. He firmly opposes those who are try to rob believers of their liberty. You and I must be willing to defend our freedom in Christ, too!
One of the jobs of a pastor is to defend his flock from false teaching. Sometimes I might seem to harp on certain areas a little too long, but my goal is to try to help you hold on to what the Bible teaches, instead of falling for doctrine that sounds good, but in reality leads you into spiritual slavery.
You have the same responsibility to your family, your friends, and your brothers and sisters in Christ. Anytime somebody tries to weaken God’s grace, they lead people into bondage. Jesus died to purchase your freedom, but you must hold on to this freedom or you will lose it!
That’s the way it works in our nation isn’t it? Our military men and women are constantly training and working to deal with threats to our freedom.
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. - George Orwell
Freedom must be defended, or it will be lost. This is true in the physical world, and it’s true in the spiritual. Jesus Christ died for you to live in the freedom of God’s grace; don’t allow anybody else or anything else to rob you of this freedom. It cost Him His life; it is too precious.
But there is one more truth you have to understand about this freedom our Lord died for you and I to enjoy:
III. FREEDOM IS NOT BEING ABLE TO DO WHAT YOU WANT, BUT BEING WILLING TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT. (v. 13-15)
Christianity promises to make men free; it never promises to make them independent. - William Ralph Inge
There is one great challenge to living in a free nation such as ours: you hear so many people talking on and on about their “rights” but almost nobody speaking of the responsibilities that come with those rights.
In the same way, it’s easy to focus on the freedoms of being a Christian, while focusing very little on the responsibilities that come with that freedom. This is why Paul stresses that liberty from the law is not license to do as you want, but freedom to do as you ought.
Instead of using our freedom selfishly, Paul calls us to …through love, serve one another. He goes on to say that when you use your freedom as it was intended, you will fulfill the law of God, which is summed up in our human relationships as love your neighbor as yourself.
Do you see the principle here? When you live in the liberty of Christ, you live in the liberty of obedience. God’s grace sets you free to become His obedient child. You enjoy not the freedom to sin, but the freedom to do what pleases Him! This is the deepest, truest freedom you and I can ever enjoy! Warren Wiersbe writes
Freedom does not mean I am able to do whatever I want to do. That’s the worst kind of bondage. Freedom means I have been set free to become all that God wants me to be, to achieve all that God wants me to achieve, to enjoy all that God wants me to enjoy. -
Do you see how marvelous our Lord’s ways are? Unsaved people say, “That’s not freedom! I have to do what He wants me to do” and they miss it. Legalists say, “The only way to get people to do what God wants is to make them keep the rules” and they miss it too! But when you and I enjoy this magnificent freedom of God’s grace, we find the most precious liberty anybody has ever known!
A husband and wife didn’t really love each other. The man was very demanding, so much so that he prepared a list of rules for his wife to follow. He insisted she read them over every day and obey them to the letter. Among his “do’s and don’ts” were such details as what time she got up in the morning, when his breakfast should be served, and how the housework should be done. After several long years, the husband died.
As time passed, the woman fell in love with another man and soon they were married. This husband did everything he could to make his new wife happy. One day as she was cleaning house, she found tucked away in a drawer the list of commands from her first husband. As she looked it over, it dawned on her that even though her present husband hadn’t given her any kind of list, she was doing everything her first husband’s list required anyway. She was so devoted to this man, her deepest desire was to please him out of love, not obligation.
This is the freedom God wants you to have—to obey Him from love, not fear. To do what pleases Him not because you must, but because you want to. This is the greatest freedom of all.
Even Patrick Henry realized the importance of this kind of freedom in our own land. After the American Revolution, he made this statement for posterity:
It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ! - Patrick Henry
Are you enjoying the freedom Christ has provided for you? That is my prayer for you tonight.
