Called to Freedom
Galatians 5:13-26
Do you remember when as a child you could hardly wait until you grew up? I can remember many times when I would just think about how great it would be when I became a teenager. As a teenager, I thought I would be able to do so many things that I couldn’t do as a pre-teen. I don’t remember anyone using that term “pre-teen” back then, but still, getting to my teen years seemed to be the focus of all my thoughts. I just knew that when I became a teenager, everything was going to be great. Dances, going to football and basketball games without adult supervision, learning to drive and going to the drive-in theater, dragging Main Street—I just knew that life would be perfect when I became a teenager.
But as a teenager, I quickly realized that the freedoms I gained only seemed to highlight all the freedoms I didn’t have. I still had to get permission to go places or do things. I didn’t have a job, so I had to ask my parents for money. I didn’t have my own car, so I had to borrow the family car whenever I could. There were still things I couldn’t do and places I couldn’t go to because I just wasn’t old enough. Plus, all the stress associated with the teen years in school, the group of kids I hung out with weren’t from the popular group, and the girls I wanted to get to know wouldn’t give me the time of day. So, as a teenager I began looking toward the day when I became an adult because surely, life would be better when I had unlimited freedom to do whatever I wanted to do.
But as an adult, I learned the hard way that being able to do whatever I wanted to do wasn’t all that great, and the idea of having unlimited freedom was really an illusion because there is always someone around who’s going to tell you “You can’t do that!” Or if you do that “You’re going to jail.”
You know, back when Saddam Hussein was the powerful dictator of Iraq, he exercised strict control over many aspects of Iraqi life. He was able to keep a firm hand over vices such as prostitution, alcohol, and drugs but when his regime fell, every sort of depravity became common practice and the sex trade quickly flourished. Many, especially young adult men when asked about this would respond by saying, “Now we have freedom.”
Some people, when they read Galatians think that this is what Paul is talking about. They’ll say that since we’re not under the law, we now have freedom to do whatever we want. Paul knew that some people would think this way which is why he made his point very clear when he wrote Gal 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
So, what is this freedom Paul is speaking of? What do you do with freedom when you get it? Does freedom mean “party all the time like some might think?” You see, when we look through the letter to the Galatians, we find that it says that we are free in Christ. We are not obligated to keep the law in order to be accepted by God. We are free from the law as a means of salvation. Jesus paid our debt in full, so we can’t add anything at all to what He did for us to be accepted.
But if we don’t have to obey the law to be accepted by God, does that mean that we can live however we want? If we’re not under the law, then what, if anything, should guide our conduct? This is what I want to try to answer today.
* * * * * *
Gal 5:13-26 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." (15) But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! (16) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (17) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (19) Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, (21) envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (24) And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (26) Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatia was a region near where modern Turkey is today. Paul’s letter to the Galatians wasn’t written to a specific church, but to several churches within the region of Galatia. During his first missionary journey, Paul and company established churches in the Galatian cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, but everywhere he went he faced severe opposition by the Jews who would instigate animosity and riots against him and his companions. Then, after Paul would leave an area, these false teachers would infiltrate the churches and begin to teach that to be saved, the Gentiles converts would have to follow the law of Moses and be circumcised.
The Judaizers were wanting to bring the Gentiles under the law, and to keep any Jewish believers among them from discovering their true freedom in Christ who fulfilled the law and paid our debt. They didn’t want them to know that Rom 8:2 …the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we’re free at last! We are truly free in Christ, but that freedom isn’t an opportunity for the flesh!
1. Freedom Isn’t – doing whatever I want, whenever I want, without any consequences. The flesh that Paul is speaking of here isn’t specifically our skin, or our bodies. It refers to our baser instincts, our carnal desires, our sinful and fallen nature. He makes it very clear that if we follow the flesh it will lead us into things such as: Gal 5:19-21 …adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, (21) envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; (and then he warned them that he’s told them all of this before when he said) …of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Folks, the Christian life may not be about keeping the law. It may not be about following a specific series of rules and regulations because we’re told that Gal 2:16 …a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, … for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. So, the Christian life isn’t about keeping the law, but this does not mean that we have license to sin, because Gal 2:17 …if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!
Paul said Gal 5:13 …do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Do not use your freedom in Christ as an excuse to live any way you wish and to indulge your sinful nature, because Gal 5:21 …those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
You see, true freedom doesn’t mean that we live however we’d like. That isn’t true freedom at all because the Lord said, Joh 8:34 …Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. So, if you use your freedom from the law as an opportunity to sin, then you’ve placed yourself into a different kind of slavery. You’re no longer a slave to the law; you’re a slave to sin! Like those young Iraqi men, I spoke of earlier, the freedom they thought they gained wasn’t freedom at all, it was just a new kind of slavery—slavery to sin—slavery to the flesh.
This also reminds me of the story that Paul mentioned in the second chapter of Galatians. As an illustration to the Galatian churches, he brought up an incident with Peter. You see, Peter had come to Antioch to see what the Lord was doing there through Paul and Barnabas. While he was there, he worshipped, fellowshipped, and ate meals with the Gentile converts because to all who are in Christ Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
So, he was using his freedom in Christ to worship, fellowship, and take meals with Gentiles. But when some other Jewish believers came from Jerusalem to visit the church in Antioch, Peter stopped doing all of that. He separated himself from the Gentiles and held himself aloof because he didn’t want to offend the party of circumcision. What’s even worse is that all the rest of his own party who had been eating and fellowshipping with the Gentile believers started separating themselves too. They followed him into his sin to the point that even Barnabas was suckered into their hypocrisy.
So, Paul confronted Peter and the rest of them about their conduct. He asked them Gal 2:14 …If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? In other words, “Peter, practice what you preach! You’re a Jew who has been living like a Gentile before these others arrived, but now your actions are telling the Gentiles that they aren’t good enough, that they have to live like Jews. Your hypocrisy is showing.” And then he went on to say that Gal 2:17-18 …if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! (18) For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
Peter believed in justification by faith not works of the law, but when the circumcision showed up his tune changed. By showing preference to the circumcision, he was building that wall of separation they had worked so hard to destroy. He was sinning and he needed to stop and repent.
Well in the same way, when you have come to Christ and have been saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus, if you then practice sin, if you indulge your sinful nature, then you are building again those things which were destroyed in Christ. Do you see what I’m saying? When a believer, a Christian practices sinful behavior, they are building again those things that were destroyed—they are living according to the flesh and not the Spirit. Gal 5:21 …those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
True freedom is not doing whatever we please, whenever we please. But now let’s take a look at what…
2. Freedom Is
Gal 5:13-14 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
Oh, how simple this is, yet because of our sinful nature, it is so difficult to live by. True freedom is not about fulfilling selfish desires. True freedom is about “through love, serve one another.” Or to put it another way, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
Folks, I’ve talked about law and about license, but now I’m talking about true gospel freedom, and I want you to understand two things about this true freedom. The first thing being that true gospel freedom…
a. Begins in the heart. It’s inside out. Paul says it displays itself in Love and Service, and that love is the fulfillment of the whole law. And if you think about it, this command to love fulfills every commandment of God. Do you want to love your neighbor, then don’t kill him. Don’t steal his wife. Don’t lie to him. It could easily go on and on like this. Every command is really about loving your neighbor, but the truth is that you can keep all the commandments and still not really love your neighbor, can’t you? Isn’t that exactly what Jesus accused the Pharisees of?
You see, this is why the law isn’t enough. This is why we so desperately need the gospel because the gospel gives us a new heart, which changes us from the inside out. So, we’re free from the law as an outward observance; but this change that is wrought from within allows us to live according to the law from the heart!
b. It’s a work of the Spirit. In verses 22 & 23 we’re told that this inside out change will cause us to produce some fruit. As we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, we will experience His transforming power within and we will begin producing the fruit of His transforming power which is Gal 5:22-23 …love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control.
But the only way to receive any of this is to continue walking in Him—walking in the Spirit! Think of it like a man standing on a ladder picking fruit from a tree and then dropping that fruit into a basket below. The only way to receive the fruit into your basket is to stay close to that man, right? So, you’ve got to stay close to the Spirit, and that’s what walking in the Spirit means.
This is true Christian freedom. This is the liberty we have in Christ. It’s not about indulging our sinful nature; it’s about being led by the Spirit and serving our neighbor in love. You see, when we have been changed from the inside-out, when we have been transformed by the Holy Spirit, the law becomes something good to us and we obey from the heart, not to be accepted by God, but because we have been accepted by God.
So, what do we do with all of this? How do we…
3. Live in Freedom
Well, the first thing I’d say would be to keep the gospel message central. Remember, Paul’s point is that we truly change as we encounter the gospel. So, stand firm in the freedom you have in Christ, and don’t move away from that stance. The gospel is our foundation for growth in holiness, so keep it front and center. Dwell there. Keep coming back to that message and remember what Christ has done for you.
The second thing would be to keep our flesh, our sinful desires crucified. Don’t resurrect them. Don’t put them on life support. Don’t do like Garth Brooks once sang and bury the hatchet but leave the handle sticking back out! Paul said that Gal 5:24 …those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. And what this means is that we have been crucified with Christ, and when that happened our sinful nature was dealt a death blow.
Our sinful desires may still be there, but they are mortally wounded. They no longer rule our lives. So, we are to consider them dead, and we are to treat them as such, because that’s what they are. Dead.
And then third, Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Walk and be led by the Spirit. That word, “walk”, it literally means to march in order, to keep in step. It makes me think of boot camp and learning how to march in lockstep with everyone else. All over the parade ground, hundreds of men stepping in perfect time with each other and obeying every command the drill Sargent called out.
This is what Paul is telling us to do here. We are to keep in step with the Spirit. Stay in formation and depend entirely on Him. We are to keep His commands as He calls them out. This is true freedom. It doesn’t mean the absence of restrictions; it means the right kind of restrictions. It means that we are set free to serve our neighbor in love through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit as we are changed from the inside-out.
No law. No license. Love through the Spirit. That is true Christian freedom.
