For this sermon series there is a temporary change in the public reading of scripture. I am appreciative of our worship leaders who read the main sermon text each week. (Even when they have those hard to pronounce Old Testament words in them!)
(Slide 1) The reason for this change is that we are going to spend this month looking at four chapters that contain what I am calling ‘Four resolutions for 2008’ and I believe that reading the scripture as part of the sermon will be more effective for this series. But prior to doing that, and we will be examining Galatians chapter 5 this morning, there are some interesting things about New Year’s Resolutions that I share:
At USA.gov are listed 13 popular New Year’s Resolutions with informational links to each one. They are, in the order listed on the website:
• Lose Weight
• Pay Off Debt
• Save Money
• Get a Better Job
• Get Fit
• Eat Right
• Get a Better Education
• Drink Less Alcohol
• Quit Smoking Now
• Reduce Stress Overall
• Reduce Stress at Work
• Take a Trip
• Volunteer to Help Others
Notice how many deal with overcoming a habit such as smoking or something do with personal growth and development such as getting a better (or more) education and reducing stress.
Over at the website, about.com, there was a top ten list that included many of the same things as the usa.gov site but also added, ‘spend more time with family,’ ‘enjoy life more,’ and ‘get organized.’ Again, there are some very important resolutions listed here.
But what about a New Year’s resolution dealing with spiritual growth? What about growth in our relationship with Christ? What about seeking God’s power in our life to change us and the habits which cause us problems? What about true repentance and faith?
At Christianity Today.com an article appeared this past week that really moved me. It was entitled, ‘Young, Restless, and Ready for Revival’ and it is a documenting of college age students who are seeking to be pure and holy in their life and that thousands, at both Christian and state schools, are responding to the call for ‘personal holiness.’ How many of us, have ‘personal holiness’ at the top of our New Year’s resolution list?
With these thoughts in mind, let us hear Galatians chapter 5:
‘So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
‘Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ cannot help you. I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey all of the regulations in the whole law of Moses. For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive everything promised to us who are right with God through faith. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, it makes no difference to God whether we are circumcised or not circumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
You were getting along so well. Who has interfered with you to hold you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. But it takes only one wrong person among you to infect all the others—a little yeast spreads quickly through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to bring you back to believing as I do about these things. God will judge that person, whoever it is, who has been troubling and confusing you.
Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why would the Jews persecute me? The fact that I am still being persecuted proves that I am still preaching salvation through the cross of Christ alone. I only wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.
For you have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another.’
(Slide 2) Now before we address the question, ‘How can we resolve to live free in Christ?’ a couple of background notes are in order to help us understand the context of this chapter.
First, we need to remember that Paul, who wrote this chapter, was once a very devout Jew who made the decision to persecute Christians because he thought that they were mistaken and needed to be dealt with and dealt with very harshly. But as we read in Acts 9, Paul encounters Jesus in an intense experience while on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians there. So from that point on, Paul because a missionary who spread the Christian message of salvation and faith, through Christ alone, across the known world of that day.
But, he was not unopposed and everywhere he went there were those of the Jewish faith and tradition who accused him of the same things that he had once accused other Christians of doing and believing. But he also had disagreements with other Christians who believed that it was still necessary to follow the ancient ways and traditions of the Jewish religious law.
Second we need to note that our chapter begins with the word, ‘so.’ ‘So’ is a summarization to a point made previous to what we now read. I believe the point is made in chapter 4 and verse 21, ‘Listen to me, you who want to live under the law. Do you know what the law really says?’
From there to the end of chapter four, Paul, using the lives of Hagar and Sarah, makes a contrasting point between the old covenant of the law and the new covenant of grace. In doing so, he points out that true spiritual freedom comes from through faith not through works and adherence to the Law of Moses which God had given centuries before.
This brings us to verse 1 of chapter 5, ‘So Christ has really set us free!’ How then can we ‘resolve to live free in Christ?’ Our chapter tells us how this is possible!
(Slide 3a) First, constantly remember that our source of freedom is not performance based but grace based.
In verse 2 Paul simply says ‘If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ cannot help you.’ Now I think that we all know what circumcision is and it is done to new born boys for as much health as a religious ceremony.
The basis for circumcision goes all the way back to Genesis 17 where we read in verses 9 through 14: “Your part of the agreement,” God told Abraham, “is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised; the flesh of his foreskin must be cut off. This will be a sign that you and they have accepted this covenant. Every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family, but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. All must be circumcised. Your bodies will thus bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. Anyone who refuses to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for violating the covenant.”
Circumcision was a requirement early on for the ancient Israelites to adhere to the covenant that God was making with them even before they became a nation. In our passage it symbolizes a core practice of the old way to God. And Paul, once a great Jewish leader and teacher who believed in it, now says (incredibly to some) it does not now make you right with God. It cannot help you.
Our source of freedom, spiritual freedom, inner freedom, freedom from guilt and shame, is therefore not based on earning our salvation but on allow the saving grace of Christ, made possible by His death and resurrection. It is based on grace not on what we do.
What we do should be a sign of what we have allowed God to do within us, by saving faith. Church attendance, giving of our finances and time, coming to worship are very important and good things to do. But they cannot make us right with God. They can help us to deepen and maintain our saving faith but they are not the means to our saving faith. The means to our saving faith is, as Paul says in verse 6, ‘when we place our faith in Christ Jesus.’
If then we resolve to live free in Christ this coming year, and for the rest of our time on earth, we need to constantly remember that our source of freedom, spiritual freedom, is based on God’s grace through Christ and not our religious performance.
In one of my sources for this sermon, I was reminded by Alan Cole that Paul puts on his ‘rabbi hat,’ if you will, and argues some points of theology that have major implications for how we live our lives. In other words, the freedom that we so desperately seek is not a matter of closely reasoned and intellectually deep arguments. It is a matter of practical, every day life. We may trouble understanding what Paul is saying because our conception of law is different that what law means in the Bible, but we have no trouble understand the inner turmoil of Paul as he so eloquently expresses it in Romans 7:21 through 25: ‘It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.’
How then do we win such a battle? How do we obtain the freedom to do what is right and moreover want to do what is right? Well, not only need we constantly remember that our freedom is grace based not performance based, (Slide 3b) we must also let the love of God change us and also change our love. To better understand this we need to understand that Paul stood between two groups (as well as the Jews of that day) who opposed him at various points and times.
The one group I briefly introduced a few moments ago. That group felt that the long standing Jewish traditions, including circumcision, should be kept as part of the Christian faith. The other group, and the one to whom Paul now turns his attention, was a group of people who believed that freedom from the law meant a greater freedom to do whatever one wanted to do.
But as we read in verse 13, Paul pointedly disagrees. ‘For you have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I think that Paul very, very strategically (and under the influence of the Holy Spirit as well) brings the Greatest Commandment into play – to love.
I would briefly remind us that Jesus defines the greatest commandment (found in Matthew 22 and Mark 12) in response to a question to a group of people who were very concerned about religious performance. But the love of which Jesus spoke, and which Paul turns to, and which is another part of our resolution to live free in Christ for this year, is not a free wheeling, ‘me first’ love. It is a costly and ‘agenda surrendering’ love. I say ‘agenda surrendering’ because of the negation of one agenda, a personal and self-centered one, and the embracing of a God-centered agenda in which a caring and serve love of neighbor is expressed.
If we are going to resolve to live free in Christ, then the love that exists within us as human beings, must be expressed in a life of serving and caring. Paul stresses a key portion of the entire commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself,’ because he is aware, as we are today, that self-centeredness is a problem for followers of Jesus. He also notes the problems that a lack of holy love creates, ‘if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.’
To live free in Christ is to have both our lives and our love transformed by the power of God through Christ and through the Holy Spirit (which we will talk about in a moment). When that happens there is a power that is unleashed and a sense of belonging that takes place which helps us live freer and better than ever before.
We also need to notice the corporate nature of what Paul is saying. The book of Galatians is a book that is written to a gathering or group of believers not to a single individual. What this means is that the strength and effectiveness of our individual character influences the larger group and vice versa.
In other words, if we make the choice to allow God to deeply and profoundly change the character issues that cause division and squeeze out love, then our church is impacted by that choice. The same holds true the other direction. If there is a climate of mistrust, conflict, pride, and division where God’s love is inhibited from working, most likely our defense will go up. Only as we true allow God to change our attitudes and thus our loving, will we be able to live free in Him.
Now at this point you may be thinking, ‘Pastor Jim, you’re crazy! This whole thing about love and care is good to think about, but I live in a dog-eat-dog world! It is fierce out there! It is hard to live for God at times! This is not going to help me at all!’
Now I admit that you’re right! I know that you work in vastly different environments than I do. The solution to this situation brings us to the third way that we resolve to live free in Christ.
(Slide 3c) We live free in Christ when we continuously make the choice to allow the Holy Spirit to live within us. Notice what Paul says in verses 16 through 18, ‘So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.’
In a wonderful book called, A Theology of Love, Mildred Bangs Wynkoop, speaks of Entire Sanctification. Now some of you are saying, ‘What does that mean, preacher?’ Let Dr Wynkoop explain:
“Entire” refers to the total moral integration of personality… Entire does not mean that all the process of character building and spiritual stabilizing is completed…It does mean that the whole man (or person) has united itself about Christ,’ [and] refers also to a life of continued commitment.’
Paul is, I believe, saying the same thing. If we want to have the peace and power of God in our lives, it means that we invite the Holy Spirit to enter our mind, soul, life and being to effect the important work of change in us in very profound and necessary ways. In other words, it is about ‘growing up’ as a Christian and letting go of spiritual immaturity.
This is something that we cannot make happen in our own power. It requires us to surrender to the Holy Spirit to change our character and habits in a way that only He can do. It is a very important part of resolving to live free in Christ.
The contrast that Paul makes then in verses 19 through 23 are very pointed ones. Which way do you prefer to live? It is a point about the old fashion notion of purity and let me put this notion to you in this manner:
How many here want to eat impure or tainted food? We have and we have paid dearly for it, right? (I won’t go into details!)
What about drinking impure or tainted water? How many of us want to drink impure or tainted water? Some of us probably have and it has not been a pleasant experience, right?
Why then do we seem to be content living with a tainted or impure character? In which things like jealousy, profanity, anger, resentment and the like are common?
But pastor, “I can’t…’ IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! IT’S NOT ABOUT YOUR ABILITY TO CHANGE YOUR CHARACTER… YOU CAN’T!’ But it is about God’s ability (and His loving desire) to change us and our continued willingness to let Him change us we move along in life.
Do you resolve this first Sunday of 2008 to live free in Christ? Then this is where you begin! In always remembering that God’s freedom is a gift of grace and not earned by your performance; that God’s transforming love must take root in our heart and thus our character; and finally, that we must surrender to the leading, power, and work of the Holy Spirit every day when we get up.
I close with a story from Becky Tirabassi whose wrote the article posted at Christianity Today.com I spoke of earlier that illustrates one young man’s desire to be free in Christ.
While speaking at Oregon State, ‘in front of 1,000 students,’ she wrote, ‘near the end of my message, a young man approached me, uninvited. It was an awkward moment—the audience looked at me, then at him.
He asked to speak. I said, "Right now?"
He said, "Yes."
I don’t normally relinquish the microphone without knowing what a person is going to say, but after I looked in his eyes, I went ahead. He told the audience, "I am the person Becky is describing. I’m a senior here. I’m getting married in six months and I plan to attend seminary. But I’m hooked on pornography—and I have been since the age of 11. If any of you are in the same place and want to fight this battle together, meet me at 7 p.m. tomorrow night in the lobby of Wilson Hall." Nearly 100 seats emptied and young men came forward to kneel and pray.’
Jesus Christ came to set us free! We can be free in Him! But are we willing to resolve to do whatever is necessary to be free in Him?
What is God saying to you this morning? Do you desire to be free in Christ, no matter what the cost? Obey the Lord this morning. The altar is open for prayer. Amen.
Power Points for this sermon are available by e-mailing me at pastorjim46755@yahoo.com and asking for ‘010608slides’ Please note that all slides for a particular presentation may not be available.
Sources:
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/New_Years_Resolutions.shtml
http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/holidays/tp/resolutions.htm
Wynkoop, page 207 and 208
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/december/32.46.html
