Free for love

But here in today's passage, as Sam has already pointed out,

Paul talks about a freedom that is really very, very different.

This freedom sets us apart from the rest of the world.

It's what is behind discipleship.

It's what will allow Christ's people to reflect the love of Christ

to each other and also to the world.

And if we understand it clearly, it will assist us in growing as disciples of Jesus

and it will transform how we live each day.

And dare I say, it will also make a difference

as to where the Lord takes this church here at Chatswood.

Now, we've been exploring over the last weeks how Paul is challenging the Galatians

to not fall for the wrong teaching by the Judaizers,

not to go back to the way that they were.

They were to remember what they were saved from

and to keep their eyes on Jesus who saves by grace alone,

not by any extra rules or traditions we've seen

where they needed to perform with perfection

because we've also seen time and time again

that to do that you have to be perfect

and it is impossible for any of us to do that.

And we saw in chapter 4 that the Galatians were slaves

but they are now free in Christ,

meaning that everyone who is trusting Jesus is free.

We are no longer slaves.

Colossians 2 tells us that Jesus is no ordinary person.

Many of you will know that already.

He is the Son of God who came to save.

He came from the heavenlies and he broke into this world as a man

because we needed a saviour,

a God who saves us from our sin,

the sin that was taken on himself on the cross

so that we could receive the righteousness

that we did not deserve

and he took the punishment that we did deserve.

This was all to make us free.

Romans 8 tells us that what the law couldn't do,

Jesus did in being a sin offering for us.

And in Corinthians we read,

we implore you as on God's behalf,

be reconciled to God.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us

so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Or in verse 17 it says,

therefore if anyone is in Christ,

he's a new creation,

the old has gone and the new has gone.

Tim Keller says,

freedom is both the means and the end

of the operation of liberation.

And in Luke 4,

Jesus says,

the spirit of the Lord is upon me

because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.

And in Galatians now,

in verse 1 it says,

it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm then,

and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Now this verse is really a summary of the entire letter to the Galatians.

For freedom,

Christ has freed you.

And then Paul says,

because you have been set free in Christ,

stand firm.

Well, stand firm is a military term.

It means to guard your post,

keep alert,

be strong,

resist attack,

and stay together,

hold the line.

And we do this by Christ-centred Bible saturation,

a core value here at St. Paul's,

and for very, very good reasons it's a core value.

It is standing on,

advancing with,

fighting for,

and resting in God's word,

the word that saves and rescues.

The word sets us free.

Now I know about this truth that we're talking about now.

I know that Jesus has set me free,

and I'm sure many of you also know this with all of your heart as well.

I love the Lord.

I have a good idea,

be it not a complete idea,

that my sin was taken on the cross.

What I have done wrong,

Jesus suffered for it.

My heart's desire is to serve the Lord until my dying breath.

My heart's desire is to be very flexible

and to hold very loosely to any ministry

that I have the pleasure of being part of.

My heart's desire is to see others grow

into being better at any of the ministries,

ministry roles that I am currently involved in.

My heart's desire is to always shine for Jesus

in my thoughts,

in my actions,

in my deeds.

Hmm.

But I don't.

I fail on all of those accounts at various times,

and I'm absolutely certain that you would also.

Now, let me explain something.

Many of you know the word sanctification.

It's a great word.

It rolls off your tongue very nicely.

I like saying it.

But sanctification is that process of being made new in Christ.

And when we acknowledge that we need a saviour

and we repent of our sins

and become part of the family of God,

a great miracle occurs.

We're taken from spiritual darkness

of this world into the light of God.

Our spirits are brought to life in Jesus,

where we were once spiritually dead.

That is called personal sanctification.

This aspect of sanctification

speaks to our being set apart

from the world for God.

It's an instantaneous act of grace.

And we're declared right before God

and we are set apart for God to use.

Ephesians 1.4 says,

For he, God, chose us in him

before the creation of the world

to be holy and blameless in his sight.

1 Corinthians 6 says,

And that is what some of you were,

but you were washed and you were sanctified.

You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus

and by the Spirit of our God.

This is positional sanctification.

It's set.

It doesn't change.

But then there is progressive sanctification.

And as the word suggests, it moves.

It is living out what that positional sanctification,

it's about living that out.

It's the process whereby we daily

become more and more like Jesus Christ

through the death of our sin in our lives

as we endeavour to live according to the grace in the gospel.

But we're aware that we all fail.

Romans 7, this is a famous passage

that you would all have heard most probably,

where Paul shares,

I do not do what I want to do,

but what I hate to do.

And if I do what I do not want to do,

I agree that the law is good.

As it is,

it is no longer I myself who do it,

but it is the sin living in me.

So this sounds a bit like a riddle.

But if Paul is confessing that he struggles with sin,

I take it that it's really okay for us also to confess

that we too struggle with sin.

The third sanctification,

I'll come back to the other,

but the third sanctification is perfect sanctification.

It's the glorification of which happens

when Jesus returns

and he makes us perfect to be with him.

And oh, how good will that day be

when Jesus returns

and we are made perfect to live eternally with him.

So we have positional sanctification,

we have progressive,

and we have perfect.

We live in this progressive section here.

The Galatians were saved by grace

and now they are needing to live out

what that looks like.

That's what this middle section is all about.

For the Galatians to obey the law

as being encouraged,

they would be turning away from Christ,

as Paul is suggesting in verses one to four.

But does it mean

that if they obeyed the law,

does that mean

that they would lose their salvation completely,

as it might suggest in verse four,

where Paul says,

if you follow the wrong teaching,

you have fallen away from grace.

Now, interestingly,

Paul knows these Galatians really well

and he has great confidence

that they are not going to turn

their backs away completely.

because we see in verse five,

he says,

but by faith,

we eagerly await

through the spirit,

the righteousness

for which we hope.

He knows that they're going to be

to turn back to Christ.

He has such a confidence

in the Galatians

that they will follow

the gospel of Jesus.

Now, this is a situation

that many of us know

only too well.

We have friends

and we have loved ones

who have declared

a saving faith in Jesus

at some stage in their life,

but they have lost their way

and seemingly lost their faith

and they are far away

from Jesus today.

We want to know,

are they saved?

When Jesus returns,

will Jesus know their name

and call their name

to be his own.

Now, let me say,

first of all,

nobody knows

what really is in the heart

of any individual.

Only God knows that.

But what we do know

is in Romans 8,

for I am convinced

that neither death

nor life,

neither angels

or demons,

neither the present

nor the future,

nor any powers,

neither height

nor depth,

nor anything else

in all creation

will be able

from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus,

our Lord.

But scripture also tells us

that we have a purpose.

Our progressive sanctification,

that middle bit

that I told you about,

will indeed confirm

if the first bit,

the positional sanctification,

was real.

Okay, so it's important.

What we're living in right now

is really important.

That is,

the way we live

reflects

if we are truly saved.

Now, let me state

very, very clearly

that that does not mean

that a person

cannot turn back

to the gospel

they heard once

when they were younger

or whenever

and that stops them

from repenting

of living far away

from God.

That can happen.

The story of the prodigal son

is a typical case in point.

That son,

he turned away

from his father,

you'll remember.

He lived a wild life,

but he realised

he was foolish

and he returned

to the father

with a heart

filled with repentance

and was welcomed

with open arms.

You see,

there are many

who live

as if it doesn't matter

what they do.

They believe

that once

they said a prayer

to Jesus,

a prayer of repentance,

and because Christ

offers forgiveness

and freedom,

they think

it's okay

to live

in any way

they would like to

from that moment on.

I certainly have friends

who live that way.

I have friends

who believe

that they are Christians

because they said a prayer

and they were baptised,

but they choose

not to fellowship

with any other Christian people.

They choose

not to actually

read their Bible.

They choose

to live a promiscuous life,

and yet

they still

are living

under

the wrong

attitude

of thinking

that the grace

that God

actually had given them

that that will cover

all of their sin

for all times.

Now,

earlier I mentioned

the older brother

of the prodigal son.

Well,

the younger brother

equally

fell for the trap

of living

how he wanted to.

he had a hard heart

and had

an expectant heart

of having everything

come to him.

He too

was under sin,

and he took advantage

of the grace

that was given

to him

by his father

as well.

This

taking advantage,

this living

as if it doesn't

matter

what I do,

this is called

living by licence.

It's

by rejecting

the call

to live

a holy life.

Verse 13

in our passage

says,

you, my brothers,

were called

to be free,

but do not

use your freedom

to indulge

the sinful nature,

rather serve

one another

in love.

Freedom

in Christ

is not

a freedom

to sin

as we saw

before,

but it's a freedom

from sin.

It's not

a freedom

to ignore

Christ

and his word.

John 14

says,

if you love

me,

you will

keep my

commandments.

Anyone

who loves

me

will obey

my teaching.

My father

will love

them,

and we

will come

to them

and make

our home

with them.

Anyone

who does

not love

me

will not

obey

my teaching.

These

words

you hear

are not

my own.

They

belong

to the

father

who sent

me.

The

Galatians,

on the

other

hand,

were being

encouraged

to live

by legalism

and add

rules

and regulations

to the

gospel.

Licence

and legalism

are different

sides of

the same

coin.

They are

both enemies

of the

gospel of

freedom.

Living

either by

license

or by

legalism

will not

save you.

There

is only

one

sure

way

to

live.

It

is the

gospel

of

freedom.

That

is freedom

from our

sin but

it is

also

freedom

to

something.

What

is this

freedom

to?

Well,

it's a

freedom

to love.

Verse

6 says,

for in

Christ

Jesus

neither

circumcision

nor

uncircumcision

has any

value.

The

only thing

that counts

is faith

expressing

itself

through

love.

The

saving

gospel

doesn't

give us

license to

live how

we want.

It gives

a freedom.

It gives

ability and

desire to

live how

God wants.

As

Christians,

we do

not attempt

to produce

perfect

righteousness

in our

own lives

by our

own

efforts.

hope is

not in

ourselves.

It is

in Christ

and Christ

alone.

More

than that,

the

Christian

life is

hoping for

what we

already

have.

This

sounds

really

very

strange

to the

world

because

worldly

hope is

not a

gospel

hope.

Worldly

hope says,

oh,

I hope

this works

out.

I hope

it doesn't

rain

tomorrow

because I

want to

do

something.

Gospel

hope says,

I know

that this

will work

out.

It means

that we

have total

assurance.

Paul uses

it in

verse 5

simply

meaning

that we're

awaiting

this

righteousness.

We don't

work or

strive for

it.

We know

that it

is coming

so we

can wait

eagerly

and not

anxiously.

What is

it that

we're

awaiting?

It is

a

completely

right

record

and right

relationship

with God.

Paul is

saying that

we can

live

today

in the

light

of our

certain

hope,

a

guaranteed

future,

a

glorification

and be

welcomed

by

God

and his

open arms

one day.

God

has

made

us

heirs.

It

doesn't

mean

that we're

left

sitting

on our

hands

doing

nothing

though.

By

faith

the

Holy

Spirit

enables

us

to

experience

the

presence

of

Christ

in

the

here

and

now.

By

faith

the

Holy

Spirit

enables

us

to

enjoy

the

commands

of

Christ

and

these

commands

are not

burdensome

but they

are free.

Freedom

in Christ

is

demonstrated

through

love

and

selfless

service

to

others.

Gospel

truth

is never

limited.

Gospel

truth is

never

intended

to

only

be

believed.

Gospel

truth

is

always

intended

to be

obeyed

and

shared.

Let me

say it

again.

Gospel

truth

is never

intended

to just

be

believed,

to just

be head

knowledge

that you

hold on

to

for

yourself.

Gospel

truth

is always

intended

to be

obeyed

and

shared.

Love

for God

shows

itself

in our

love

for

others.

The

two

are

inseparable.

Verse

14 says

the entire

law

is summed

up in

a single

command,

love your

neighbour

as

yourself.

How do

we do

this?

Living

in freedom

to

love,

loving

others

is

serving

others.

It's

about

not

wanting

everything

to be

about

me.

Now

many of

you know

that I

have a

six-year-old

grandson,

gorgeous

Lincoln,

and I

had the

joy of

having

Lincoln

stay with

me for

a couple

of days

in the

holidays.

Now

Link

is a

typical

six-year-old.

His

world

revolves

around

him.

He

wants

everything

for

himself,

be it

food,

be it

time,

be it

goods,

be it

anything,

he's a

typical

six-year-old.

He's a

gorgeous

boy,

but he's

a typical

six-year-old.

The sad

thing is

many of

us

adults

want to

live like

the

six-year-old.

I want

to live

like a

six-year-old

sometimes.

I want

to

actually

but that's

not what

this is

about.

Gospel

freedom

actually

helps us

to grow

up to

be the

adult,

not the

six-year-old.

Our

world

doesn't

revolve

around

just

us.

Now

being

free in

Christ

calls for

something

radically

different.

Christ

empowers

a change

in us

to love

in such

a way

that is

counter

cultural

to what

society

thinks.

Christian

freedom

is about

discipleship.

It allows

the world

to see

Jesus

in us

because of

the way

that we

love each

other and

the way

that we

love the

world.

That is

an awesome

responsibility

my friends

but let me

say the

great thing

is that

God doesn't

leave us

to do it

all on

our own.

We have

the Holy

Spirit to

help us.

Christian

love is

saying that

you would

deny

yourself

and give

whatever is

needed to

another

person.

There are

plenty of

ways that

we can

do this.

It can

range from

a simple

smile that

you might

give to

somebody who

serves you

morning tea.

It might

be a smile

for a

shopkeeper.

That's

Christian

love.

But it

might be

bigger than

that.

It might

be offering

to provide

a meal to

somebody who

is having

a tough

time and

just to

give them

a little

special treat.

It might

actually be

coming and

helping with

kids here

at Kids

Church.

It might

be helping

with kids

at ESL

or even

helping with

ESL.

And let me

just plug,

ESL desperately

needs a

helper on

Friday mornings

because we've

now got

two families,

so three

children,

coming to

ESL and

we cannot

actually have

the second

mum come

if we don't

have a second

person looking

after the

kids.

So that

would be

terrible if

we had to

tell that

mum that

she can't

come.

But we

can do

things that

would actually

help in

many and

different ways.

Here at

St Paul's,

you will find

in our

vision series

an abundance

of ways in

which you

can serve

here at

church.

But it's

not just

serving here

at church

and loving

here at

church,

it's about

loving out

in the

world also.

So there's

many,

many ways.

Might I

also say

that we

are also

encouraged

to love

and to

love means

that we

will resolve

any conflict

quickly so

that sin

does not

fester and

we do

not get

a bitter

heart.

Now,

we have

set as

one of

our core

values,

humble

authenticity,

where we

want to

deal with

hurt quickly

and appropriately

and with

the appropriate

people.

And so

that is

another way

that we

actually show

that we

love.

If we

cannot

resolve

conflict

here in

our church

at St Paul's,

we have

absolutely no

chance of

being able to

reflect how

to solve

conflict out

in the

world.

So we

need to

do it

well here.

That's

humble

authenticity,

one of

our core

values.

And,

you know,

sort of,

there is

no end

to how

we can

love and

serve,

my friends.

We need

to understand

that this

freedom we

have is

because we

serve a

new king.

We are

not obligated

to return

to our

old ways

of living.

to be

fooled into

living by

license or

by legalism

as the

Galatians were

being encouraged

to do is

just truly

foolishness.

We need to

understand that

we are going

to be tempted

because Jesus

hasn't returned

just yet

to take us

home.

And so in

the meantime,

when we're in

this middle

section, we are

going to be

tempted.

and when

Jesus

returns, he

will make us

totally new,

he will make

us totally

perfect,

he will

sanctify us.

But for

now, we

live in this

world where

temptation exists

and at the

same time, we

live with the

hope of

heaven.

But we

cannot stop

that temptation,

but we

can choose

what we do

with any

temptation.

temptation

because King

Jesus has

called us to

be holy.

It's about

being alert

to the fact

that we

all have

weak spots

and if you

don't know

your weak

spots, you

need to go

home and ask

the Lord what

your weak

spots are.

Where do you

get tempted

most?

What lies do

you believe

in your head

that make you

cause you to

live in a

different way?

Because once we

know our weak

spots, then we

can resist the

temptations when

they come.

Well, these

last verses of

our passage help

us with how

we are to

live.

You need to

believe.

You need to

know what you

believe.

Okay?

We need to

read God's

word.

We need to

pursue Jesus.

Be active in

our response to

the freedom that

Christ has won

for you and he

has won it on

your behalf.

It's about this

active pursuit,

being alive to

Christ.

If you are not

actively pursuing

Christ, then you

will be sliding

back either into

legalism or

into license or

maybe both,

depending on how

you wake up on a

particular day.

Friends, we don't

grow by accident.

If we never read

our Bible, we

never pray, we

never apply what

we learn, if we

limit when we're

around Christian

community, we

will focus on what

are worldly

things and we

will not focus on

Jesus.

You won't grow

because you are not

pursuing Christ.

Christ.

You can allow sin

to reign or you

can choose to

confess and to

grow.

Trying to deal

with sin on your

own will just get

you into trouble and

you will constantly

fail.

You need to

confess to the

one who has taken

it on the cross for

you.

But remembering the

gospel, preaching it

to yourself day by

day, you will

know that the

Spirit of God

will empower you

to receive the

grace of God,

to not only

confess the sin

when needed,

but will give you

a heart to

serve, a heart

to love, a

heart that will

live not wanting

there to be

anything that

stands in the

way of you

encouraging,

and loving

others as

Christ desires

for you to be

doing.

Why can we be

confident in this?

Because Jesus in

his death and

resurrection gave

up his life and

by this life gave

us a freedom to

love to the

full, to be

loved and he

gave us a

heart to serve

others beyond

anything that we

would naturally

choose by

ourselves.

The world will

have different

views on what

freedom is really

about and what

it looks like.

But friends, we

have freedom to

love.

It's a freedom

that comes with

the gospel.

Let's be the

church that

reflects the

freedom that

Christ has given

us.

Amen.