Iliff and Saltillo UM Churches
July 4, 2004 Why Freedom?
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
INTRODUCTION: Today, the 4th of July, our country celebrates its 228th birthday. That’s 228 years of freedom. Freedom from what? Most of us probably don’t think much about it. We take too many things for granted. We can think of lots of things that we are free from such as oppressive government, freedom from religious persecution, freedom from slavery, and from censorship. Sometimes when we try to describe what freedom is we run into difficulty. We’re ready to accept freedom from things, but we have a hard time accepting freedom to things. There are two sides to freedom--freedom from and freedom to. If you look at freedom only as from things you might say that we’re free to do anything we want to do. No boundaries, no laws, no responsibilities and no accountability. Our culture celebrates freedom to choose and do whatever you want to do even if your choice affects someone else’s freedom You see this in the news media all the time where to impose limits or responsibilities upon us is to limit our freedom. But freedom brings with it responsibility and accountability as well.
The idea of freedom has even affected our understanding about what it means to be free people of God. Paul addresses this problem in the Galatian church. Paul had been fighting a battle with traditional teachers who wanted to have the new Gentile Christians placed under the strict requirements of the old Jewish law. Some Christians at that time were celebrating their freedom from the coercion, threats and punishment of the Law, and they threw out the Law altogether. No limits or boundaries. They said, “We can live like pagans now and do as we please.” They never even considered what they were free to in Christ. The problem in the Galatian church was that certain Jewish Christians were telling the Gentile Christians that their right standing before God depended in part on their Keeping the Law. They had to live up to this rule or that rule. As a result, they gave up their freedom in Christ and became enslaved all over again by trying to live up to impossible standards of “shoulds” and “oughts.” They were trying to gain God’s favor by doing good works or by observing certain rituals and ceremonies in addition to trusting Christ alone for their salvation. It is no different today. Are there things you think you “should” do or “ought” to do in order to gain God’s approval? Things that you think will give you an “edge” over other people?
Paul deals with this concern by using terminology and illustrations that they all understood in their day.
In the first verse he says, “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” I didn’t understand the term for freedom. when I first read it. As I did some research I found some interesting things. The words for freedom was actually a common term in the ancient world and was referring to the freeing of slaves. To be set free for freedom was understood as being set free for God. It has been found in numerous documents. The procedure called for a slave to save up enough money and then have his master pay it into the temple or church treasury in the presence of the slave. A document was written up containing the words for freedom. The local church would use the money to buy him from the owner. The slave was then the property of God and no man could lay any claim against him. On the walls of some early temples and churches is recorded for freedom God has purchased such and such a slave. No one could ever enslave him again because he was now the property of God.
How does this scripture apply to us today?
1. For Freedom Christ has Set Us Free: What does this term mean for Christians today--for you and for me? When we come to Christ we know that we can look to Him to totally set us free from the slavery of sin. Many Christians have not fully grasped this truth. John 8:34 says, “for if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” He has set us free because He did the completed work on the cross. When we fully rely on His saving grace, we don’t have to add on a lot of man-made or religious rules IN ADDITION to that in order to come into right standing with God. Paul says to the Galatians, “Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” How do we come enslaved again anyway?
a. Our own “oughts” and “shoulds.” Many times we do it to ourselves by our “oughts” and “shoulds.” A lot of the time we think we have to do something more to EARN our right standing with God.
Matthew Henry said, “The natural mind loves outward fetters and is apt to forge them for itself in lieu of holiness of heart.”
Many times we enslave ourselves by the choices we make. Sometimes it is self-destructive habits that we cling to for years. We forge chains that are hard to break. We fail to realize that Jesus came to free us from habits and addictions that try to drag us down and keep us living as defeated Christians.
We allow ourselves to be enslaved by our self-defeating self talk. We say, “Oh, I’m just a born loser.” Or “I’ll never get well” or “I’m never going to get ahead financially.” We enslave ourselves by our self-talk about worry over any number of things or we allow ourselves to slip into a sense of depression. And as a result, the devil has robbed us of our abundant life.
b. religious rules: You may allow others to steal your freedom. You might have fallen into a trap of religious rules over the years and are enslaved to them as a form of pleasing God. Maybe you are miserable trying to keep the “law” just like the Galatians were. Many churches have man-made rules--a whole series of “do’s” and “don’ts” that people try to live up to and end up failing miserably. You might think, “I have to dress a certain way or wear my hair a certain way--in order to please God and be in right standing with him.”
STORY: Legalistic people have their own set of rules that they say have to be followed in order to be part of their group. The story is told of a man named Joe who was encouraged to go to Jimmy the Taylor for a new suit. He was supposed to be the best taylor in the world. Jimmy measured Joe and told him to come back in a week to pick up his new suit. When he tried it on, it looked absolutely awful. It had an arm hole sticking out in the front and the pants were way too short.
But Joe’s friend told him he looked great in it and that he should take it. He wore the suit home and someone on the bus asked him about it.
“Did you get that suit from Jimmy the Taylor?
Joe said, “Yes, how did you know?”
The guy said, “Only Jimmy could make a suit for someone as deformed as you are. Jimmy’s made suits for every deformed person I’ve ever met.
That’s what legalistic people do to you. They put you in a yoke that doesn’t fit. They get an idea of what Christian faith should look like and shove people into it until they somehow fit. Paul said, “Don’t let people do this to you.” Paul was frustrated by the way that Christians went back into being enslaved by the Law. He reminded them how they were set free in the first place.
STORY: A pastor got up one Sunday morning and found that all the roads were icy. The streets were all blocked off and there was no way for him to drive to church.
He was forced to skate on the river to get there. When he arrived at church, several of the church leaders were horrified that their preacher had skated on the Lord’s day. After service there was a special board meeting to determine whether or not he should be fired for skating to church that morning.
He explained that it was either skate or not go at all. This was not a satisfactory answer for some of the more staunch legalists on the church board. Finally one of the deacons asked, “Did you enjoy it?”
When the preacher said, “No,” then the board decided it was All Right.
We need to remember how we were set free. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free--not to be enslaved to sin, or to rules, or to people, Not to even our “oughts” and “shoulds.”
2. The Other Side of the Coin: We have freedom not to give us a license to sin and live like the world.
I Peter 2:16 says, “Live as free men but do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil.” The freedom we have been called to is a responsible freedom that leads to holiness of life. Verse 13 marks a new beginning for us. Paul is saying, “Christ has not set you free so that it gives you an excuse for sinful self indulgence. Christians sometimes allow their freedom to become a stumbling block to others. I Corinthians 8:9 says, “Be careful that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” The use of freedom ought to be morally qualified. Verse 13 in the Message Bible says, “Rather use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows.”
3. Free to be: We are free to be what we were created to be in the first place--people made in the image of God, reflecting His glory to others in what we say and do.
What good is it to be set free if you still live like a slave?
Jesus said, “take my yoke upon you for my burden is light and my yoke is easy” (Matthew 11:29, 30). Paul understood the work of Christ as liberating. Through faith in Him we are able to move to a more mature relationship with God than was possible before.
How can we be free to be? When Christians love and serve one another it fulfills the law. It is the Spirit alone who can keep the believer truly free. Not trying to live up to legalistic rules or trying so hard to please God that we are miserable. Under the good news of the gospel we are brought into a state of liberty wherein we are freed from the curse of the Law so that we are no longer under bondage. We owe this liberty to Christ. It is he who has made us free. Rev. 1:5 says, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sin by his blood.” His transformation in our life makes us want to serve him and to serve others.
STORY: The story is told of a preacher’s son who loved comic books. But he developed a problem with his desire for comic books to where he was stealing them. The pastor tried on three occasions to use the law in getting him to stop stealing comic books. But it didn’t do a thing. Matthew kept right on stealing them and hiding them in his room.
The first time the father found them stuffed in his dresser drawer and they were all stamped with the local library stamp. Matthew had checked them out but hadn’t taken them back. He marched Matthew over to the library with them. The tall, stern librarian explained the law to Matthew. He still didn’t stop stealing comic books.
The second time he went to a corner drug store where they were vacationing in another state. He smuggled them back to his hometown and to his bedroom. The pastor lectured him on “thou shalt not steal,” built a fire in the fireplace, and burned them all. Did the raging fire remind Matthew of hell?
The third time when the parents found more comic books they were beside themselves. He resorted to spanking Matthew. But Matthew showed no remorse. Would he ever change? In his despair and frustration, the pastor left the room and he cried.
Years later Matthew and his mother were driving in the car having one of their discussions, “Remember the time when...” Suddenly Matthew mentioned the time when he had been stealing comic books noting that he had finally stopped. But he followed with the question, “Do you know why I stopped?”
“Sure,” his mother replied, “Dad finally spanked you.”
“No,” said Matthew, “It was because Dad cried.
The pastor had said, “The law can shame you, blame you, and restrain you--but it cannot change you. It cannot give you real freedom. Only God’s love in Jesus Christ can begin to change us from the inside out and give us real freedom.”
Let us Pray:
