Galatians 5:1-6 (Independence Day)

What does it mean to be free?

And how do we stay that way?

It's Independence Day weekend.

We've all been celebrating by grilling meat and blowing things up.

Rightfully so. It's been good.

This is the weekend when we celebrate our political and our national freedoms.

And without a doubt, those are good things to celebrate, be thankful for.

But what about at a deeper level?

What does it mean to be truly free?

And how, if at all, do we stay that way?

This morning we're taking a one-week break from our Hebrew series

and going to the letter of Galatians.

This letter of Paul has often been called the Magna Carta of Christian liberty,

of Christian freedom.

It's here that we find loud and clear,

perhaps more than anywhere else in the New Testament,

that the gospel, that Christianity, means freedom.

True, lasting, soul-satisfying freedom.

Now, before we dive into our sermon text this morning,

let me give some just quick context.

The book of Galatians falls roughly into three parts.

Chapters 1 and 2 are mainly biography.

Paul is telling his story and how his story highlights the gospel of grace.

And then in chapters 3 and 4, we find mostly theology,

where they unpack some of the depths of what the gospel is all about.

And then finally, in chapters 5 and 6, we find mostly ethics.

In other words, what does it mean to live in light of all of this?

But throughout the whole, Paul is defending and declaring that this gospel,

this good news about Jesus Christ,

is above all a message of freedom.

And where we're looking this morning, chapter 5, verse 1,

is really the high point of the whole letter.

It's the rousing climax of the whole thing.

So let's pick up there.

Galatians 5, chapter 1.

Just across the page from where we read earlier in our service.

Paul says this,

For freedom, Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision,

Christ will be of no advantage to you.

I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision

that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

You are severed from Christ,

you who would be justified by the law.

You have fallen away from grace.

For through the Spirit, by faith,

we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything,

but only faith working through love.

Let's pray together.

Oh, Lord Jesus, we pray this morning

that the ringing message of freedom

in this passage, in this book, Lord, in your word,

would become real to our hearts.

God, that we would live as those who've been set free

and stand firm in it.

We ask this in your name, Lord.

Amen.

Well, 5.1 says it pretty clear, doesn't it?

The central idea, the main thrust of this passage

is this exhortation to stand firm

in the freedom of Christ.

But before we look at why we need to stand firm

and how we actually go about standing firm,

first we have to consider exactly what this freedom

in Christ is.

Because we have all sorts of ideas

of what freedom means today, right?

I mean, on the political level,

there's freedom of speech

and freedom of assembly

and freedom to elect your own leaders.

Good things.

But of course, Paul's talking about

a different, deeper sort of freedom here, isn't he?

What is it?

I think if you ask the typical person on the street

what freedom means or what freedom looks like,

they'd say something like

being able to pursue my personal fulfillment

without lots of external rules or authorities

getting in the way.

In other words, having a clear path

to my own personal happiness

without someone else telling me what to be or do.

Or to put it even more simply,

to be free to do what I want

so long as it doesn't hurt anybody else.

Isn't that freedom for us?

Freedom from constraints.

And on the surface,

sounds good.

It's autonomous freedom from all constraints.

But you know, when we think about it,

it's actually pretty deeply flawed.

Think about a musician.

One of our neighbors is literally a concert pianist.

So when we get off the elevator on our floor

in our building,

we hear this incredible piano music

flowing into the hallway.

And most of it is just lightning fast.

Sometimes I think our neighbor has three hands or something

as quickly as he's able to play.

It's melodic.

It's rich.

It's stunning.

And I think if you were to come over and hear him play,

I think you would say that he has incredible freedom

on his instrument.

That he could play probably any piece of music

that you would give to him

and probably do it with ease.

But here's the thing that Beth and I have learned

living across the hall.

That that sort of freedom

takes incredible discipline.

Because he practices a lot.

And he practices hard.

And of course, that's good news for me and Beth.

Because we get serenaded every night

and we don't have to pay for the concert tickets.

But you see, real true freedom

doesn't come from being merely free from constraints

or rules or discipline or structure.

Freedom often comes because of those things, doesn't it?

But our common conception of freedom

is deeply flawed at another level.

It's flawed because this idea of freedom

being merely freedom from constraints,

it simply can't give us what we truly want

at the end of the day.

Because what we want deep down is love.

Isn't it?

Is relationship, is to be known and to know another.

But if the freedom we're pursuing

is mainly freedom from constraints,

if that's our highest form of freedom,

then we'll never get it.

Because the freedom of love

is the freedom of limiting yourself

for another, isn't it?

The freedom of turning my life around another

as they do the same for me.

Isn't that what makes the strongest friendships?

When two people are willing to give to one another

time and their attention and their gifts,

when they share and they shape

their passions together,

isn't that what makes the sweetest marriages?

When two people willingly seek the good of the other,

even when and especially when

it's costly to do so.

So don't you see,

if freedom means freedom to be and do what I want

so long as no one else gets hurt,

then essentially I'm saying that freedom

means being left alone.

And at the end of the day,

I think that's exactly

where that sort of freedom gets us.

We end up alone.

So I think all this makes it clear

that we need a new freedom.

And we need a better one.

And we need a richer one.

And we need a more lasting one.

And that's what Christ offers.

Of course, if you're new to Christianity,

if you've come here with a friend,

maybe you're thinking that freedom

and Christianity have nothing in common.

Maybe Christianity just seems to you

like a bunch of restrictive rules

and regulations.

And you know,

if that's what Christianity were about,

I'd agree with you.

But this whole letter

that we're looking at this morning

and practically the whole New Testament

is written to turn that notion on its head.

You see, what we commonly call religion,

a bunch of rules and regulations

that I have to keep for God to accept me,

that's what Paul describes in verse 4 of our passage

when he speaks of you

who would be justified by the law.

This is the mindset of thinking

that my moral performance

is what will put me in the right,

is what will justify me with God.

And that, Paul says,

is the very opposite of Christianity.

Christ has come to set us free from all of that.

For freedom, Christ has set us free,

verse 1 says.

But freedom from what, exactly?

What has Christ set us free from?

Well, it's clear when you read the rest of Galatians

that Paul primarily means freedom from the law.

What exactly does that mean?

Well, two things.

On the one hand,

it means we're free from having to keep

all the so-called ceremonial laws of the Old Testament,

like circumcision,

and all the kosher food laws,

and all the Sabbath regulations,

all the things that marked

Old Testament Israel off from the world

and were representational

of their ceremonial cleanness.

You see, all those things no longer apply

now that Christ has come.

This is what we've been studying in Hebrews

over the course of the year.

It's Jesus who makes us clean once and for all.

And all those ceremonies and regulations

were pointers or shadows to Christ,

who is the substance,

who is the reality.

What they merely represented on the outside,

Christ has fulfilled once for all

in our hearts.

So Christ has set us free

from the ceremonial laws.

And as a quick aside,

that's why Christians aren't being inconsistent

when it seems like we do follow

some Old Testament laws

and we don't follow others.

I think some people think that

we're just sort of picking and choosing

what to obey,

but in fact that's not the case.

It's not arbitrary or inconsistent.

It's actually living in line,

living consistently with the reality

of what Jesus has done.

Because Jesus makes us clean before God.

Because faith in Him

is what defines the people of God.

Because He's fulfilled the intention

of all those ceremonies.

Then those kinds of rules

simply don't apply

in the same way anymore.

In fact, it would be inconsistent

to keep on doing them

in the same way.

It would be a functional denial

of what Christ has done.

And that's part of what Paul

is getting on about in Galatians.

In other words, he's saying,

look, when the sun has risen,

you don't need to go on

lighting candles anymore.

When Christ makes you clean,

you don't need to go on

keeping the ceremonial law.

But on the other hand,

we're not just free

from the law's ceremonies.

We're free from the law

in an even deeper sense.

Galatians tells us

that Christ has set us free

from the law's curse.

And this strikes to the heart

of what it is

that makes Christianity

utterly unique.

You see, friends,

God's moral law

contains His perfect will

for our lives.

This is how we live

as God made us to live.

This is how we bear His image.

This is how we worship Him

and acknowledge Him

as our Creator and Lord.

And if we had kept

God's law holy

and perfectly,

then it would pronounce us blessed.

It would declare us

holy and acceptable to God.

But of course,

that's not what happens.

In each of our lives,

instead of gladly following

God's way,

we make ourselves

our own lords

and rebel against God's law

and willingly alienate

ourselves from Him.

And so instead of pronouncing

a blessing over us

for keeping God's law,

the law pronounces

a curse over us

for breaking it.

And so we stand condemned

and rejected

by the One

who made us

and who alone

can fulfill us.

And the irony is

is that

the more and more

we try to get ourselves

out of that situation,

the deeper and deeper

we go.

And of course,

deep down,

we all feel this reality,

don't we?

Think with me.

Have you ever wondered

why you want so badly

for other people

to approve of you?

Why you'd do anything

sometimes

to get them to accept you

or to praise you?

Why you'd put on

such a front

to get people

to like you?

Why do you bend

the truth sometimes

to get your peers

to accept you

or to think highly of you?

Why are you racked

with bitterness at times

because your parents

didn't love you

or give you

the kind of upbringing

you wanted?

Why is your fuse

so short

when other people

critique you

and you get angry

or you're thrown

into despair?

In other words,

why are we so hungry

for others

to bless us

and to pronounce us

right and acceptable

in their sight?

Could it be

that there's a deeper

blessing

that we've lost?

Could it be

that the reason

we're starved

for someone

to bless us

is because

when it really

counts

and where it

really counts

in God's eyes

we're under a curse

and having lost

his blessing

it drives us

to find a substitute

blessing

wherever we can

find it

only to find

of course

that it never

works

and we simply

become slaves

to the approval

of others

and no matter

how much

we get

we still

need more

and if we

don't get it

we spiral down

into angerness

and bitterness

and self-hatred

and then in our

angerness

and bitterness

or self-pity

we start to

medicate ourselves

with sex

or with work

or with substances

or whatever

and the tragedy

is

we don't even

see

where the real

problem lies

but friends

there's good news

the passage

we read earlier

says

when the fullness

of time

had come

God sent forth

his son

born of woman

born under

the law

to redeem

those

who were under

the law

so that we

might receive

adoption

as sons

the message

of Christianity

is that God

has lifted

the curse

through his

own son

and made

all who believe

his sons

and daughters

blessed

loved

heirs

forever

and if we

ask how

how does

Christ

redeem

us

from the

lost

curse

what does

he do

how does

he bring

this blessing

to us

Paul tells us

earlier in chapter

313

he says

Christ

redeemed

us

that is

freed us

from the

curse

of the

law

by nothing

less than

becoming

a curse

for us

you see

God doesn't

merely set

aside the

law

or ignore

it

how could

he

it's his

own

righteous

holy

character

no he

doesn't

set us

aside

instead of

setting aside

the law

he fulfills

it

the curse

I deserved

Christ bore

in my

place

in your

place

in the

place of

everyone

who trusts

him

but here's

the really

radical thing

is that

Christ doesn't

just take

our curse

but he

then turns

and gives

us his

blessing

you see

Jesus Christ

kept the

law

perfectly

he is

the only

one who

fully

deserves

God's

complete

and total

approval

and the

gospel is

that when

we link

our lives

to him

in faith

it's like a

marriage union

that legally

all that's

mine

becomes his

and all

that's his

becomes mine

and in

this union

with Christ

by faith

he takes

my curse

and I get

his blessing

and he

takes my

unrighteousness

and my

condemnation

and gives

me his

righteousness

and his

justification

and now

God looks

at me

and he

looks at

you

if you

are in

Christ

and he

sees us

through his

son

beautiful

radiant

perfect

friends

that's

freedom

freedom from

the law's

curse

freedom from

ever having

to earn

a standing

before God

through what I

am or what

I do

the freedom

of knowing

deep down

that God

views me

as his

own

without any

reservation

without any

hesitation

that God's

not sitting

around waiting

for me

to become

a better

version of

myself

so that

he'll

accept me

that he

loves me

not because

of my

performance

but because

of Jesus'

performance

I wonder

if you've

ever had a

hint

of that

freedom

when another

loves you

not for

what they're

going to get

from you

but simply

because they

love you

isn't that

one of the

truest forms

of freedom

that we

ever experience

to know

that my

performance

can't change

the other's

regard of

me

that's the

sort of

freedom

that makes

you strong

that's the

sort of

freedom

that brings

you peace

that's the

sort of

freedom

that will

cause you

to go

out

into the

world

with a

confidence

and with

a humility

with a

freedom

like nothing

else

and in

our human

dealings

that kind

of freedom

is rare

we hardly

think

that that

kind of

freedom

could be

possible

and yet

that's the

freedom that

Christ gives

Jesus

the one who

loved me

and gave

himself for

me

you see

friends

to be

counted

righteous

to be

justified

before God

by grace

alone

through faith

alone

in Christ

alone

that's

true

freedom

there's

nothing

else

like it

but what

Paul's

telling us

in the rest

of this

passage

is that

this

freedom

is a

freedom

that's

always

in

danger

that's

why Paul

says we

have to

stand

firm

standing

firm

here is a

military

term

it means

to be

diligent

and ready

and deliberate

and active

you see our

freedom in

Christ is

always in

danger of

being stolen

away

because our

hearts are

so prone

to go back

into a

performance

mindset

and to

think

that I'm

right because

I've performed

well

or that I'm

right because

I've done

certain things

and of course

this happens

subtly

it doesn't

happen overnight

the false

teachers who

showed up in

Galatia that

Paul is sort

of arguing

against in

this letter

they weren't

flat out

rejecting Jesus

as the

Messiah

they were

simply saying

that in order

to be saved

you had to be

circumcised too

after all it was

something that God

commanded in the

law of Moses

who could argue

with that

but in verses

2 through 4

Paul is saying

you can't have

it both ways

it's either

all of grace

through what

Jesus has done

or you lose

the whole

thing

in other

words if you

add any

human work

or merit

or contribution

as a requirement

for salvation

Paul says

you nullify

Christ

in your life

you're severed

from him

and here's the

deep irony

that we can

become very

very morally

scrupulous

that we can

do everything

right

and if we're

doing it to

earn God's

salvation

Paul says

it's driving

you away

from him

after all

Paul says

it won't

just stop

at circumcision

it can't

circumcision

is a promise

it's an obligation

to keep the

whole law

it's like

turning the

key of a

car

and once you

turn the

key the

engine starts

running

and you've

got to

drive the

thing

or turn it

off

and get

out

of course

few of us

are tempted

to accept

circumcision

today

as a requirement

for salvation

if you are

talk to me

at the door

because I've

never met

anyone

who thinks

that

but aren't

we just

like the

Galatians

at heart

aren't we

still tempted

to think

that faith

in Christ

by itself

aren't we

tempted to

think that

faith in

Christ alone

isn't quite

sufficient

to make

us

right

that surely

we need

to add

something

don't we

and of

course the

challenge here

is that so

many of us

would intellectually

agree that

we're saved by

faith alone

but do we

live that way

we get the

right answer

on a test

sure if I

hand it out

in the

bulletin

a check

mark

are you

saved

by faith

alone

or by

a mixture

of faith

in your

works

you would

probably

all say

faith

alone

amen

but what

about in the

day to day

of our lives

is there

something else

that we

functionally

put in

there

perhaps a

good question

to ask

ourselves

is this

what do I

want to be

known for

as you think

about your

life

as we think

about our

life together

what do we

want to be

known for

you know

if we were

to ask

that question

of the

false

teachers

who showed

up in

Galatia

they probably

would have

said

well we

want to

be known

for keeping

the law

of Moses

in fact

in chapter 2

verse 12

they're actually

called the

circumcision

party

circumcision

doesn't sound

like a party

to me

but there

you go

the circumcision

party

now we

don't know

if that's

what they

called

themselves

but that's

what they

were known

for

what about

us as a

church

what do we

want to be

known for

being the

cool hip

church

being the

social justice

church

being the

expositional

preaching

church

none of

those are

bad things

but friends

if they

start to

stand above

the gospel

of the

grace of

Jesus

in our

affections

and in

our

aims

and in

what we

want to

be known

for

then we're

on dangerous

ground

and our

freedom will

start slipping

from our

hands

but what

about in

your individual

life

what do

you personally

want to be

known for

running a

successful

business

fighting world

hunger

raising a

godly

household

of course

these are all

excellent

things

and the

gospel will

empower you

to do

them and to

do them

well with

joy and

with courage

but is that

ultimately what

you want to be

known for

the danger

is that any

of these good

things can

start to slide

into the

center and

suddenly our

identity isn't

content with

Christ alone

instead it has

to be Christ

and success

at work

or Christ

and making a

difference

globally

or Christ

and having

a happy

family

to be okay

we start to

say I need

him

and

I want to

be known

for him

and

and as soon

as our

heart starts

saying that

our freedom

is slipping

from our

grasp

because whatever

comes after

that and

whether it be

circumcision

or anything

else

it will

ultimately

drive you

away from

Christ

and his

grace

and into a

yoke

of slavery

that's what

Paul says

over and

over and

over in

verses 2

through 4

this doesn't

mean that a

genuine

Christian can

lose their

salvation

but it does

mean that we

can end up

living under

a crippling

load of

guilt and

shame or

under an

ugly facade

of pride

and pretension

and that is

simply not

what Christ

has freed us

for

he's freed

us for

freedom

and we have

to stand

firm

in it

and in the

last two

verses of

our passage

we see

how

how is it

that we

stand firm

we stand

firm

Paul says

by seeing

that faith

alone

through the

spirit

makes us

eager in

hope

and energetic

in love

look at

verse 5

for through

the spirit

by faith

not by works

not by the

law

through the

spirit

by faith

we ourselves

eagerly wait

for the hope

of righteousness

our faith

in Christ

makes us

eager for

the future

the hope

of righteousness

here is God's

final verdict

over our

lives

and if we're

headed toward

that day

on the basis

of our

performance

friends the last

thing we will do

is eagerly

wait for it

we might

anxiously

dread it

or if we

think we're

good

and we've

kept all

God's laws

we might

pridefully

presume upon

that day

but either

way the

outcome

will be

far

from

hopeful

but in

Christ

friends we

know

what God's

verdict will

be

because he's

already

pronounced it

over us

it will be

one of

complete

approval

and acceptance

for its

basis is

the perfect

righteousness

of Jesus

and that

means neither

dread nor

presumption

but eager

expectation

for what the

future holds

for on that

day we'll

stand before

God in

the new

creation

and he will

look upon

us as his

radiant

bride

without a

spot

without a

wrinkle

without a

blemish

and he'll

delight in

us

forever

he'll sing

over us

the prophets

say

in delight

and Paul

says that

this faith

fueled

hope

comes

through

the

spirit

God's

given us

his own

spirit

to make

this true

in our

lives

he's not

leaving us

high and

dry

he's put

his own

self

into us

to make

this faith

real and

live in

our hearts

faith itself

is the gift

of the

spirit

but the

spirit

also fans

this gift

into a

flame

and makes

the things

of Christ

real to

our hearts

so they

become bright

with hope

friends as

Christians we

should meditate

often about

the way

God views

us in

Christ

do you

do you

make it a

spiritual

practice

daily

to think

about yourself

the way that

your father

thinks about

you in

Christ

or do you

spend more

time thinking

about your

screw ups

and your

failures

and your

mistakes

instead of

thinking about

the fact

that Christ

redeemed us

from the

curse of

the law

by becoming

a curse

for us

do you

spend more

time thinking

of yourself

as lost

and gone

and wayward

instead of

seeing yourself

and viewing

yourself

and telling

yourself

what's true

that in

Christ

you're his

son

you're his

daughter

that in

Christ

you're his

bride

radiant

with beauty

friends we

should be

thinking

deeply

about the

day

when God

will pronounce

us publicly

and finally

righteous

for eternity

when our

screw ups

and failures

and sins

will be

overturned

when God

bangs the

gavel

and says

you're

righteous

because of

my son

friends let

us grow

eager

in our

hope

and then

we'll stand

firm in

our

freedom

and the

spirit not

only makes

our faith

full of

eager hope

but full

of energetic

love

look at

verse 6

for in

Christ

Jesus

neither

circumcision

nor

uncircumcision

counts

for anything

but only

faith

working

through

love

we see

here that

the sort

of faith

that unites

us to

Christ

isn't

merely

just an

intellectual

belief

it's not

merely

ticking

boxes

it's a

sort

of faith

that trusts

Christ

to be

so sufficient

for salvation

it's a

giving of

ourselves

to him

in such

complete

dependence

that love

comes rushing

forth

for others

compare it

to a

circumcision

mindset

where we're

centered on

our own

moral

achievements

you know

if that's

us

we won't

genuinely

love

love

can't

from that

because we

might

you

know

you