INTRODUCTION
• VIDEO CLIP
• SLIDE #1
• We live in a great country. American citizens enjoy a level of freedom not found in too many places in the world or throughout history.
• We are closing in on celebrating our nation’s independence. We are blessed that the one life that we have to live, we get to live it in the United States!
• Our Founding Father’s had a vision of a country were freedom would reign supreme, and for this vision, they fought, and many died for the concept.
• Our Constitution guarantees all citizens things like the freedom of expression, the freedom of the press, the freedom to practice religion, the right to protect oneself, among many other freedoms.
• Christianity played a significant role in the establishment and foundation of this nation.
• John Adams as quoted in a letter to Thomas Jefferson dated June 28, 1813, concerning the role Christianity played in the formation of our nation.
• SLIDE #2
• The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.
• Today we are going to talk about freedom and what it means to be free.
• We will be in Galatians 5 today, we will derive our thoughts from verse 1, and we will use the rest of the chapter to build on what we see in verse 1.
• The overall context of the book of Galatians is Paul trying to convince the people not to sucked into following the Judaizers.
• These were Jews who became Christians who then would try to convince the gentiles who wanted to be or had already to become Christians that they needed to brace and follow the Law of Moses and as a part of that, to become circumcised.
• Paul fought hard against this false teaching.
• In Chapter 5, he equates falling for what the Judaizers were teaching to rejecting Jesus. He tells the readers that they will lose what they have in Christ by adopting the old ways.
• I am sure you are aware that in our war for Independence, not ALL who lived in the 13 colonies were for the fight, it is estimated that anywhere from 20% to 33% of the Colonists were Loyalists or Tories. These were folks who remained loyal to the British Crown and did not want freedom from England.
• Even after the war some of these Loyalists wanted things to go back the way they were.
• When Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, they were many who wanted to go back to be a slave.
• So, Paul is fighting hard to get the folks to realize that going back is no way to live.
• SLIDE #3
• Galatians 5:1 (CSB) For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
• SLIDE #4
SERMON
I. What is freedom?
• I us to focus on verse 1, one piece at a time.
• For the first observation, I want to concentrate on the first two words, FOR FREEDOM!
• What does that mean?
• FOR FREEDOM?
• When you think of the word FREEDOM, what comes to mind? I would image over time, how we define freedom changes a bit.
• When we were teens, we thought freedom was all about doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. Many of us had the impression that what being adult afforded you.
• The dictionary defines freedom as, the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
• IF that is the exact definition, then none of us are free in the United States because we are hindered and restrained to a level, just not to the degree that folks are in other countries.
• A more Biblical definition would be personal freedom from servitude, confinement or oppression.
• Within the Biblical definition of FREEDOM, you will find the word LIBERTY used a lot.
• We define Liberty as the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.
• In the Biblical sense, FREEDOM is more like what we would define LIBERTY.
• The word in the original text can be defined either way.
• The phrase “for freedom” was extremely well known, found in numerous documents for the freeing of slaves.
• The procedure called for a slave to save up enough money, and then to have the local temple use that money to buy him from the owner.
• The slave was then the property of the god, and no man could lay any claim against him. On the wall of the temple, it would be recorded that "for freedom" the god had purchased the slave. (NIV College Press Commentary Series- Galatians and Ephesians)
• The Judaizers were trying to get those in Christ to going back to the restraint of the Law of Moses.
• When our country was formed, the Founders wanted to be free from the restraints of England. They did not want taxation without representation. They wanted the freedom to succeed.
• The Founders also understood our system of Government would rise or fall based on the morality of the people.
• SLIDE #5
• John Adams again stated…
• [W]e have no government armed with power capable of contending
with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. . . . Our constitution
was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the
government of any other.
• The freedom we have as a one who is in Christ is more than the freedom of speech; it is freedom from sin and death.
• We have the freedom to live as Jesus has called us to live! The other thing we need to understand concerning freedom is “Freedom is not the absence of something; it is the Presence of Someone” ((Bob Hamp, “Fear and Lust,” July 27, 2012, http://bobhamp.com/freedom/fear-and-lust/).
• Outside of Jesus, we are not free; we are slaves to sin, doomed to separation from God. Death will have victory over us.
• Let’s look at verse 1 again.
• SLIDE #6
• Galatians 5:1 (CSB) For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
• SLIDE #7
II. Who gives us true freedom?
• One thing we need to understand as Christians is where our freedom is derived.
• It does not come from the Government; it comes from Jesus! The second four words in verse one say…
• Christ set us free.
• Our Founders understood this, and they knew the government was not the giver of Freedom, but rather the protector of the freedoms God has given to us in Christ.
• John Quincy Adams stated
• SLIDE #8
• In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.
• Our passage reminds us that Jesus set us free in Him.
• Then the question becomes what are we to do with our freedom?
• Paul tells us in verses 5-6 that we are all equal in Christ and what matters is FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE.
• Our freedom in Christ should be used to love others and look out for what is best for others. We are not called to be selfish.
• We are also not to abuse our freedom.
• SLIDE #9
• Galatians 5:13–14 (CSB) — 13 For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.
• THERE is the theme of love. Our freedom is not handed out to us merely for our self-gratification, it to be used to serve other.
• Benjamin Franklin said…
• SLIDE #10
• [O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.
• (Source: Benjamin Franklin, The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, Jared Sparks, editor (Boston: Tappan, Whittemore and Mason, 1840), Vol. X, p. 297, April 17, 1787. )
• Why would Mr. Franklin say this? It is because folks who are unrestrained will bite and devour one another.
• Amazingly, look what verse 15 says.
• SLIDE #11
• Galatians 5:15 (CSB) But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
• This is maybe one of the chief problems in our country today; many folks are just looking out for number one. We have many social programs that were put in place with good intentions, only to littered with fraud and abuse.
• People who are in Christ would never do such things. A REAL Christian nation would not face such issues.
• A government should only protect the freedoms we have in Christ, once we see them as the giver of freedom, what they give, they can take away.
• Let’s look at our final observation.
• SLIDE #12
III. Maintaining freedom requires a strong backbone.
• Verse 1 tells us to Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
• We are at war personally and as a nation.
• As a nation, we are in a cultural war, a war that will not be won unless we win the personal battle.
• We are at war over many of the social issues, but those issues are a symptom of a deeper problem.
• People are enslaved by sin, or they are allowing themselves to be pulled back into sin.
• We have to have a strong backbone to be able to stay free; there are a significant number of things trying to drag us back to where we were. The Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt when things looked tough because we find comfort in what we know.
• Paul encourages us in verse 16-18.
• SLIDE #13
• Galatians 5:16–18 (CSB) — 16 I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
• We cannot quit the fight, and we must stand firm in our faith no matter what the circumstances.
• The founders of this great nation overcame OVERWHELMING odds to fight for this nation and to stand for freedom.
• We cannot let our freedom in Christ be taken away be allowing ourselves to go back to the old self, and we need to press forward and trust God.
• As a nation, Christians cannot back down, and we have to defend and stand firm for what we believe it.
• It cannot be OK to try to silence our voice in the public arena just because our voice will offend those enslaved to sin.
• Moreover, for our voices to be heard, our life has to REFLECT the God we serve. And it truth, it does.
• Our voices will never overcome our actions!
• Nestled away in all this talk about not going back to their days without Christ is this beautiful passage we know as the fruit of the Spirit.
• SLIDE #14
• Galatians 5:22–23 (CSB) — 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.
• Notice there is no law against such things. Law are meant to restrain evil. The fruit of the Spirit is a fruit that must be prevalent in your life if you ever want your voice to be taken seriously for Jesus.
CONCLUSION
• Freedom is not free. I would like all who have served or are currently serving in our nation’s military to please stand up!
• For those who have lost loved ones protecting our nation, we owe you a debt we can never repay, all we can do is honor them by being good citizens and preserving the principles for which they died.
• Like those heroes, Jesus also laid down His life to purchase our freedom from sin and death!
• Remember where your freedom comes from, stand firm for Jesus and make sure you use the freedom you have in Christ to be a blessing to others!
