But in this last section, Paul begins to deal with the conduct of the Believer. In the remaining part of the Book of Galatians, Paul breaks the conduct of the Believer into six sections.
In this sermon we are going to see where God has set the Believer free from the bondage of the law and how it affects our conduct.
HOW DID HE SET US FREE FROM THE BONDAGE OF THE LAW? He did it through the works of Christ on the cross!
Those who oppose the teaching of salvation by grace alone, say, “SALVATION BY GRACE THAT EXCLUDES ALL WORKS GIVES PEOPLE A LICENSE TO SIN!”
Paul was very familiar with this argument because it was the same argument he had to deal with in his ministry. It is comforting to know that we who believe in salvation by grace excluding all works must be on the right side, as Paul was.
In this passage Paul proves their argument is not true. Let’s look at how Paul deals with this.
I. OUR LIBERTY
Look at verse 13, we read, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
Many have the mistaken idea that the Lord is the Savior, but He does not do all the saving. They claim that we have a part in this salvation also!
Illus: A preacher that believes in salvation by grace AND works used this unscriptural illustration in a sermon to make his point.
He said, “My son really wanted a car, in fact, he wanted a car so bad he actually thought he could not live without one. So I saw his predicament, and I said, ‘Son, I tell you what I will do. I will help you get a car, but here is how I will help you. You work hard, save your money and every hundred dollars you put in the bank, I will match it. And when you and I have put enough in the bank together, we will purchase a good used car for you.”
That is the most unscriptural illustration any preacher has ever used to teach how we acquire salvation. But false preachers all around the world are teaching the same thing.
There are many who have fallen from the faith, as the Word of God says many will do in the last days before He returns, and they teach we are saved by mixing our good deeds with His good deeds.
The Bible says, “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;” The Bible teaches that it is impossible for us to save ourselves by our good deeds. Why? Because we could never do enough good deeds. NEVER! NEVER!
Listen, when we do a good deed, we cancel it out with a bad deed within a short time after we have done the good deed. The Mosaic law is perfect, but we are far from perfect.
Illus: When we try to get to heaven through our good works, it is like being in a rocking chair; we are putting forth a lot of effort but we are not getting anywhere.
Illus: It is like trying to go somewhere, but we take one step forward and one step backward, and we never get anywhere like this. NEVER! NEVER!
Illus: Have you ever tried to climb a slippery bank? You take one step up and you slide back to where you started. The only way you can get up the slippery bank is for someone to reach down and to pull you up, because within yourself you are not capable of getting up.
The fact is, He did the saving and we did the sinning! He saw we could not save ourselves, and He reached down from the portals of heaven and pulled us into the kingdom of Heaven.
If it were not for Him, we would still be in the miry clay of sin. When we get to heaven by His marvelous grace, He is going to receive all the glory because He did all the saving.
However, notice as soon as Paul talks about our liberty, he also begins to show that liberty is not to be used, “…For an occasion to the flesh….”
WHY DOES PAUL DO THIS? Because as already stated, any time a Bible preacher proclaims salvation by grace alone, the opponents of grace will step up and say, “IF YOU PREACH THAT STUFF YOU ARE GIVING PEOPLE A LICENSE TO SIN!”
Listen, our LIBERTY IS NOT A LICENSE TO SIN! But many feel that when you exclude works from salvation, this gives people a license to sin. They are quick to point out that the Bible teaches works.
The Bible does teach about works, however, the Word of God teaches OUR WORKS ARE FOR OUR REWARDS, NOT FOR OUR SALVATION.
The point is, when a person places their faith in the works of Christ on the cross, God counts His works as our works and accepts us. Man is saved by grace alone!
But the question is, can a saved person place their faith in Christ for salvation, and go out and live in sin by choice? No! No! No! THEY FAIL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT BELIEF REALLY MEANS.
Some folks have some strange ideas about their belief in God.
Illus: One little boy said he believed in the power of prayer. He believed that through prayer God can provide our needs.
The little five year old was snuggled up in his bed, with his mom sitting on the covers beside him as he said his evening prayers.
He put his hands together and began to say his prayers, "God, bless Mummy and Daddy,” and very loudly said, “God, PLEASE GET ME A NEW BICYCLE!!!"
His mother noticed how loud he got when he asked for the new bicycle, and she said, "God's not deaf. You don't need to shout."
The young lad smiled, "I know, Mummy, but Grandma's in the next room, and she's hard of hearing!"
Many folks say they believe in God, but their lives do not reflect it! Some folks BELIEF in spiritual things is only an intellectual belief.
Illus: Someone said, “THE DISTANCE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL IS ONLY SIXTEEN INCHES, that is the distance for the normal person between their mind and heart.”
Many folks know the Lord intellectually, but they do not know Him in their heart. The kind of BELIEF the Bible talks about for salvation is a COMMITTED BELIEF!
Illus: That reminds us of the tight rope walker who tied a rope from one building to another, twelve stories high. He had several hundred on top of the building watching him. He turned to the crowd and said:
• “How many believe I can walk across this rope to the other side?” Most of the crowd raised their hands and said, “Yes, we know you can!”
• He said, “How many think I can push this wheel barrow across with two bags of fertilizer in it that weigh 150 pounds?” Again, the crowd raised their hands and said, “Yes, we know you can!”
• He said, “I forgot to bring the fertilizer, you on the front row who raised your hand, you weigh about a hundred and fifty pounds, come jump in the wheel barrow!”
And the man said, “No way!”
You see, many folks will say they believe Christ died for their sins intellectually, but Bible belief is “committed belief,” we must be willing to put our life in His hands.
The Bible teaches that we must totally trust HIM for our salvation. We do not just say we trust HIM, our life must show we are totally trusting Him for our salvation.
Illus: A Jew, a Christian and a Muslim were having a discussion about who was the most religious. "
• The Muslim said, “I was riding my camel in the middle of the Sahara, and suddenly a fierce sandstorm appeared from nowhere. I truly thought my end had come as I lay next to my camel while we were being buried deeper and deeper under the sand. But I did not lose my faith in the Almighty Allah, I prayed and prayed and suddenly, for a hundred yards all around me, the storm had stopped. Since that day I am a devout Muslim and am now learning to recite the Quran by memory."
• The Christian said, "One day while fishing I was in my boat in the middle of the ocean. Suddenly a fierce storm appeared from nowhere. I truly thought my end had come as my little boat was tossed up and down in the rough ocean. But I did not lose my faith in Jesus Christ, I prayed and prayed and suddenly, for 300 yards all around me, the storm had stopped. Since that day I am a devout Christian and am now teaching young children about Him."
• The Jew said, "One day I was walking down the road in my most expensive designer outfit in the middle of New York city. Suddenly I saw a black bag on the ground in front of me appear from nowhere. I put my hand inside and found a million dollars in cash. I truly thought my end had come as it was a Saturday and we are not allowed to handle money on Saturdays. But I did not lose my faith in Jehovah, I prayed and prayed and suddenly,...for 500 yards all around me,... it was Tuesday!"
A lot of folks claim to have faith, but it is obvious the only faith they have is in themselves, because they are willing to lay aside their beliefs when it is not convenient. Listen, if a person is not willing to commit his life to the Lord, HE DOES NOT BELIEVE IN CHRIST.
We have looked at OUR LIBERTY, but now let’s look at-
II. OUR LOVE
Look at verse 13 again, we read, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
The Believer is set FREE from the bondage of the LAW that condemned him. He is no longer bound by the LAW, RESTRAINTS or WORKS!
If the Believer is not under these things, WHAT IS HE UNDER? He is under Christ. The Believer does what he does, not because he is trying to acquire salvation, he does it because he is saved.
Christ died for the Believer’s sins and the Believer knows the tremendous price He paid for our salvation. He knows of the great love that was shed on him.
It is HIS GREAT LOVE that makes us to want to SERVE HIM.
• What makes a man faithful to his wife, the law of the land? No, it is LOVE!
• What makes a woman faithful to her husband, the law of the land? No, it is LOVE!
Listen, if people loved the Lord, it would solve every problem in the church today.
HOW DO WE SHOW OUR LOVE TO HIM? Look at verse 14, we read, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF.”
This is strong language when the Lord says, “…Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Once the Lord graciously saves us, we are MOTIVATED BY LOVE! And that love is the same kind of love we have for ourselves.
Illus: We have young people who have grown up in a society where they do not know the first thing about love.
• They did not see any love between their parents
• They did not see any love with their role models in Hollywood
• They did not see any love among those who profess to be saved.
And now they reach the age they think they are in love and they do not know the first thing about love.
We wonder why there are so many divorces. Many people are married just six months to a year, and they are headed for the divorce courts.
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, LOVE IS A PROBLEM IN THE SOCIETY IN WHICH WE LIVE, BUT ALSO IN GOD’S CHURCH.
Sometimes it is difficult to explain some things to some folks. They just can not seem to comprehend it.
Illus: That reminds me of the man that drove into a Gas station with two penguins in the back seat. On seeing them, the pump attendant said, "What are you doing with those penguins?" The driver shrugged, "I don't know. I got into the car this morning and there they were. Have you got any ideas?"
"Well, the obvious solution is to take them to the zoo", said the attendant. "Fantastic I should have thought of that myself", said the driver.
A couple of days later the same man was back with the same two penguins.
The attendant he had met earlier was behind the till and he remarked, "Hey, mister, I thought you were going to take those penguins to the zoo." "I did," said the man, "they loved it! Today I'm taking them to the fun-fair!"
God’s Word teaches that if they truly know the Lord as their Savior they will love their neighbor as themselves, and we do not see a great deal of this among many who profess to be saved.
God’s Word says, all men shall know you are my disciples BECAUSE YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Listen, we have more CANNIBALS in the church than we do CHRISTIANS it seems.
We have those who say they love God, but they are like cannibals because they are always trying to take a bite out of someone.
Paul picks up on this. Look at verse 15, we read, “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”
The Lord’s people are not a bunch of cannibals, but a bunch of Christians who are supposed to LOVE HIM and LOVE EACH other.
Look at 1 Cor. 13:4-7 as the Bible describes love. We read, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”
Conclusion:
It is not enough to tell people that you are a Christian. Paul tells us in this passage that we should do the right thing toward others:
• Because we have been saved by His marvelous grace
• Because our love for Him compels us to love those He died for
We have looked at:
I. OUR LIBERTY
II. OUR LOVE
