The Whole Law In Just One Word: Love

Well, happy belated Thanksgiving.

I know that for many of us, Thanksgiving is a wonderful thing, but others of us, Thanksgiving

is a hard thing because, let's be frank, relationships tend to be messy.

And relationships can be downright hostile from time to time.

Here's why.

Whenever you have people coming together, there's usually some kind of relational mess

that happens.

Has anybody seen the Peanuts Thanksgiving?

Do you know who Pigpen is?

Pigpen is that little guy with kind of the smoky dirt cloud that kind of goes around with

him.

That's kind of like a picture of us.

We bring this little kind of relational mess around with us because we've got something

in us called the flesh that likes to wreak havoc on relationships.

The church is no exception to relational mess.

Our church is no exception to relational mess.

I don't know about you, but imputing motives?

When someone says something to you and you think, oh, I know why they're telling me this.

I know what's going on in them.

Or maybe it's defensiveness or being critical with one another, holding grudges, avoiding

each other, fear, control, gossip, envy, anger.

All of these things wreak havoc within a church.

It's the little dirt around Pigpen.

Now, I don't know about you, but I see all of these things I've just named in me.

How about you?

Every one of us has this potential to inflect harm on our church and not just insignificant

harm, significant harm.

What resides in us, what Paul calls the flesh, can undo what God by His Spirit is seeking

to do.

Unite us in love.

Apparently, back when this letter was written to the churches in Galatia, there was this

major threat of losing the gospel of grace with this threat of legalism.

But in addition to this threat to the gospel, there was this other threat of infighting.

And so if you're in Galatians 5, if you look at verse 15, we read it this way.

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you're not consumed by one another.

Now, if you flip down to 5, 19, and 20, we read, now the works of the flesh are evident,

sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits

of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, and envy.

It's a kind of infighting.

Now, it should not surprise us when we hear that when a people loses sight of the gospel,

that there is this resultant infighting.

Because when you lose sight of the gospel of grace, when it ceases to become central to

your community, you tend to forget what God in His love has done for you.

And when you forget what God in His love has done for you on the cross, it's just a matter

of time before you revert back to your old way of doing things, living for your flesh.

And when your flesh is governing your interactions with others, especially within the church, the

result is a harmful chaos, biting, devouring, and consuming.

We're all prone to give way to our flesh and wreak havoc on one another.

Whether that's on a Sunday morning, whether that's on a ministry team, whether that's in

your life group, whether that's in your marriage, or in your parenting, or in your friendships,

our flesh is a threat.

But it's not the gospel way.

Our freedom in Christ doesn't give us the license to wreak havoc in our flesh, but our

freedom in Christ compels us to serve one another in love.

So let me put it this way.

Our freedom in Christ is not an opportunity for our flesh, but an opportunity for our love.

So this morning, I'm going to walk you through this passage, and I want you to see three

things.

There is a gospel reminder in 513.

You were called to freedom, brothers.

There is a gospel warning.

Also in 13, do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.

And then there is a gospel mandate.

It's the end of verse 13.

Through love, serve one another.

Our freedom in Christ is not an opportunity for our flesh, but an opportunity for our love.

So let's look at this gospel reminder.

You were called to freedom, brothers.

Brothers, who's doing this calling?

Well, if you look back to verse 8, Paul says, this persuasion is not from him who calls you.

The one who calls us to freedom is God himself.

It is an effectual call in which once you hear the gospel, you respond to God.

God has called every Christian in this room to freedom in Christ.

On January 1st, 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the

Emancipation Proclamation.

Quote, that all persons held as slaves are and henceforward shall be free.

End quote.

At that moment in our nation's history, every slave in the Union was legally free.

Regardless of how they, the slaves, felt about it.

Regardless of how their southern masters felt about it.

Regardless of how the southern economy felt about it.

They were free.

And ever since, we've been fighting for the equality of our African American brothers and sisters.

The gospel is God's emancipation proclamation to sinners that sets us free.

Freedom from what?

Well, freedom from a certain slave mentality.

Thinking that our obedience to God's law is what saves us.

That's what we're set free from.

We're set free from thinking that we save ourselves by obeying God's law.

We're set free from thinking that if only I obey God's word so much, then he'll love me.

We're set free from that.

And this particular slave mentality is called legalism.

It's one of two mistakes that distort the gospel.

But we know.

And this is what Paul has been hammering on in the book of Galatians.

We know that it's not our obedience that saves us.

It's only the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross that saves us.

And that saves us once and for all and forever.

If you believe it.

If you believe it.

If you believe in what God has done for you through Christ on the cross, you have been set free.

God has called you to that.

God has set you free.

God has called you to that.

God has called you to that.

God has called you to that.

How do you apply this?

Well, if you're not a Christian in the room, you need to turn to Christ and call out to him to set you free.

You simply say something like this.

Lord Jesus.

Risen Lord Jesus.

Set me free from me.

And if you are a Christian in the room, here's what I'd like you to do.

Turn to the person next to you.

And say this.

Christ has set me free.

Go on.

Christ has set me free.

So, this gospel reminder is this reminder that God himself through the cross has called us to freedom.

It's God's emancipation proclamation.

And if you believe it, you're free.

Free from earning God's acceptance through obedience to his law.

So, we move from a gospel reminder to a gospel warning.

This is the second part of verse 13.

For you were called to freedom, brothers.

Brothers, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.

If one mistake, one distortion of the gospel is legalism.

Seeking to earn God's love and acceptance through obedience to his law.

There's another mistake.

There's another way to fall off the horse of the gospel.

You can fall off the gospel in one of two ways.

If legalism, we lose the gospel of grace, licentiousness is the abuse of the gospel of grace.

Legalism loses the gospel.

Licentiousness abuses the gospel.

If legalism says, I must obey the law to be saved, licentiousness says, now that I'm saved by God's grace,

I don't need to obey the law of God anymore.

In that word, licentiousness, I hope you hear the word license.

This thinking is that God's justifying grace gives us license to sin.

It does not.

What you need to understand is both legalism and licentiousness are just two different forms of slavery.

So we read in 13a, you are freed, saved by believing in the gospel of grace.

And then 13b, only do not use your salvation as an opportunity for the flesh.

If you truly get what Christ has done for you.

If you truly understand the gospel.

If you realize that all of your sin, past, present, future has been forgiven at the cross once and for all and forever.

However, if you realize that, and you're an immature Christian, you can hear a blank check to sin.

Holy cow, man, he has forgiven me all that.

I can do whatever I want.

It's like a teenage boy who gets his father's credit card and unlimited balance.

He's just going to rack up charges, baby.

But that's an abuse of God's grace.

The gospel is not an opportunity for the flesh.

Let me help you understand what this word flesh means.

When you read this, when you hear the word flesh, you might be thinking the skin and the muscle on your bones.

Don't think that.

The apostle Paul is not talking so much about your physicality.

The apostle Paul, when he talks about do not give an opportunity for the flesh,

he's talking about a different aspect of who you are.

He's talking about that part of you or parts of you that have yet to be brought under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

That part or parts of you that have yet to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

That's your flesh.

That part of you that resists God still.

Let me try to put it this way.

Do you remember in the Garden of Eden, Jesus was praying, dripping drops of blood?

Do you remember what he prayed?

Father, not my will, but your will be done.

Here's what the flesh says.

The flesh says, my will be done, not yours.

That's how the flesh operates.

So fleshly thinking, fleshly feeling, fleshly desires, they all have the motto, me first.

Self-centered thinking, self-centered feelings, self-centered desires that look around and say,

I don't exist for you, you exist for me.

That's the flesh.

Now, I want to help you think this through a little bit.

Because when you became a Christian, all of who you are was crucified with Christ.

I've been crucified with Christ.

It's no longer I who live, Galatians 2.20.

If you flip over to 5.24, you read, and those who belong to Christ, Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

So the flesh has been crucified at the cross.

And what that's getting at, it's the power of the flesh has been crucified at the cross.

But here's the distinction.

The cross, though it crucified the power of the flesh, did not eradicate the presence of the flesh.

That will happen when either you die or when Jesus comes back.

And now we have this existence in the presence of God without the flesh, without the sinful nature.

It's going to be really weird.

Wonderfully so.

So the point is, the flesh still exerts influence in our lives.

Which means daily, we have a choice to make.

A choice between either sowing to the flesh or sowing to the spirit.

And what Paul is saying here is, do not use your freedom.

What Christ has purchased for you at the cross.

Do not use your salvation as an opportunity for the flesh.

That word opportunity is a great word in and of itself.

It was used of an army's forward base of operations in order to mount military campaigns.

In order to advance its purposes.

It's a place from which to expand.

And what Paul is saying is, don't let your salvation purchased through Christ become the base of expanding your flesh.

So here's what God is telling us this morning.

Do not use what Christ has accomplished for us.

As some kind of beachhead for fleshly advance.

Don't do that.

Christ did not die for us so that we could live for our flesh.

Christ died for us so that we could truly love one another.

Now, I thought it would be helpful to spell this out in a little bit more detail.

So I want to introduce you to a family.

The Fleshlies.

Maybe you've heard of the Brady Bunch.

This is the Fleshly Bunch.

Maybe you'll see yourself.

The first person I want to introduce you to is Ivan Fleshly.

A.K.A.

Ivan the Imputer.

Ivan imputes motives onto other people as if he knows their hearts.

It usually shows up when someone is saying something that Ivan doesn't want to hear.

Ivan is quick to say, there you go again.

Judging me.

Ivan wreaks havoc in relationships.

Denise Fleshly.

Defensive Denise.

Denise is very guarded when you raise issues that threaten her.

She lives in fear.

She's guarded.

She's suspicious.

She's self-protective.

Oftentimes it's because something's happened in her past.

But when Denise is in a life group, Denise does not share much.

Because the Fleshly.

Because the Flesh is ruling her.

And then there's Gary Fleshly.

Gary the Grudge.

He holds past offenses or perceived past offenses against the one who offended him.

Gary.

Gary.

His lack of forgiveness has hardened his heart.

And he's become quite cynical.

You know when Gary shows up.

Gary.

You know when Gary shows up.

Because when Gary shows up to a Christian gathering, usually a chill runs through the room.

And then there's Alice Fleshly.

Alice the Avoider.

Alice avoids all conflict.

If you've offended her or she's offended you, she will find out where you're sitting on a Sunday morning.

And she will purposely sit as far away from you as possible.

Or if Alice sees you walking towards her in the hallway, Alice will quickly find an alternative route to her destination and go after it.

She thinks she's keeping the peace.

But in reality, peace, peace.

When there is no peace.

And then there's Chris Fleshly.

Chris the Controller.

Chris always needs to have the last word.

He always needs to be the one that makes the decision.

Sometimes Chris will be heard saying,

Better to ask for forgiveness afterwards than permission beforehand.

And if you go and make plans without Chris, he's deeply offended.

Chris has a cousin.

Her name is Kendra.

Kendra Fleshly.

She's also a controller.

And here's how Kendra rolls.

Her life, her marriage could be in shambles.

She could have just lost her job.

Her mortgage payment might be past due.

But when you go up to Kendra and ask how she's doing, she says,

Everything's great.

Everything's just fine.

Controlling the way things look.

Could it be an operation of the flesh?

When any of these fleshlies are given an opportunity to take over among God's people,

it can wreak havoc among God's people.

And not only does it wreak havoc,

it dramatically limits the degree of relationship and intimacy and mutual understanding.

It limits the kind of peace and unity a fellowship can experience.

Some may say that this is like a multiple personality disorder of the flesh.

Because I'm guessing if you're like me,

you've seen a number of these fleshlies in you.

Now I could just move on to the last point here.

But I wouldn't serve you well.

When you see a fleshly show up in you,

whether that's imputing motives or being defensive, avoiding,

projecting that everything is fine when it's not,

you need to say something to that fleshly.

You need to say something like this to yourself.

You need to say something because I belong to Christ.

This manifestation of the flesh belongs on the cross.

When I see defensiveness in me, I must speak.

That has been crucified with Christ.

When I see imputation of motives coming from me on another,

that's been crucified with Christ.

When I avoid people,

that's been crucified with Christ.

Get back on Christ's cross.

That's what you need to say.

You can't brush it aside.

You must kill it.

If we don't put the fleshlies in their place,

which is on the cross,

they will find their place among us

and wreak havoc.

That's why you have this warning in 515.

But if you bite and devour one another,

watch out that you're not consumed by one another.

Do you know what this is a picture of?

This is like a picture of a dog fight,

biting and devouring one another.

My favorite book is Jack London's Call to the Wild.

And it's a story of this dog named Buck

who goes from living a really comfortable life

to going wild.

And Buck turns into this raging beast

that kills.

Brothers and sisters,

is the church to be a place like a dog fight?

Biting and devouring one another?

Consuming each other?

That is not the gospel way.

So let's now turn to the gospel way.

At the end of verse 13,

we have a gospel mandate.

But through love,

serve one another.

If we're not to use our freedom in Christ

as an opportunity for the flesh,

what opportunity does our freedom in Christ afford us?

How are we to use our freedom in Christ?

But through love,

serve one another.

Our freedom in Christ

is not an opportunity to serve ourselves

ourselves in our flesh,

but to serve one another in love.

Do you see that word in verse 13?

It's in the ESV.

It says,

but through love,

serve one another.

The English kind of loses its force.

It really means

to enslave yourself to others.

It means to give up your rights,

die to yourself,

and seek what's best for others

like a slave.

A slave has no rights.

And what Paul says here,

we are to enslave ourselves

to one another through love.

Does anybody see the paradox here?

Our freedom in Christ

results in enslaving ourselves to others.

Do you see it?

It's not enslavement to the law.

It's not enslavement to the flesh.

It's enslavement through love to one another.

The Apostle Paul talks about this

in Ephesians 5.21

as submitting to one another

out of reverence for Christ.

Christ freed us

from ourselves,

serving ourselves

to serve one another

in love.

Another way to think about it is this.

In our church,

there's not one master

with many servants.

One servant

with many masters.

You figure that?

See that?

If you're hearing this right,

you're seeing yourself

as a servant,

seeking to serve

the many masters

of our church.

And Paul

zeroes in

on the motive.

Through love,

enslave yourself

to one another.

Our freedom in Christ

from the law

is a mandate

to serve one another

through love.

It's not optional.

It's a command.

When you hear the word love,

don't think feelings,

think commitment.

Don't think 70s love songs.

I'm lost in love

and I don't know much.

Do, do, do, do.

Don't think love song.

Think wedding vow.

One spouse

vowing to another

to do what's best

for the other,

for better,

for worse,

for richer,

for poorer,

in sickness

and in health

till death do us part.

Our love

for one another

makes us

slaves

to one another

to submit

ourselves

to each other.

So, biblical love

is essentially

an abiding commitment

to one another

to do

what's

best

for each other

even

at great cost

to ourselves.

It's the nature

of slavery.

You don't need

to go any further

than our Lord Jesus Christ

for the model

of this.

He himself said,

I came not to

be served

but to serve

and to give

my life

as a ransom

for many.

He is our model.

And did you notice

in verse 14

how Paul grounds

this command

to love,

this mandate?

He says,

for the whole law

is fulfilled

in one word,

you shall love

your neighbor

as yourself.

The whole law

is fulfilled

in just

one word.

All 613 commandments

fulfilled

in one word.

Love.

Do what's

best

for the other.

Do the greatest

good

as you

would have

the greatest

good done

to you.

Now,

if you're thinking

right now,

if you're looking

over at your spouse

and saying,

finally,

someone is telling

you how to be

my servant.

You're totally

missing the point.

This is a call

to you

and save yourself

to your spouse,

to your family,

to your life group,

to your church.

love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

What are we aiming

at here?

It's very interesting

because you shall love

your neighbor

as yourself.

If I really like

Ben and Jerry's

chocolate therapy,

does that mean

you love me

by getting chocolate

therapy for me

all the time?

Is that what

slavery looks like?

No, the understanding

of what the Bible

is this.

The best thing

I know is for me

is Jesus.

He's my first love.

He's your first love.

He's the vine.

We're the branches.

We love each other

best by pointing

one another

to Jesus

sacrificially.

So I hope you see

what's going on

in this passage.

We've been set free

from the law

through Christ

in order to

become slaves

of one another

just like Christ

which fulfills

the whole law

which pleases Christ.

We don't fulfill

the law

to be saved.

We've been saved

so now we fulfill

the law

by Christ-like

love for one another.

Our freedom in Christ

is not an opportunity

for our flesh

but an opportunity

for us to

love one another

like Christ.

And do you know

what's really encouraging

about this passage?

This is why

I reached into

verse 16.

Paul says

but I say

walk by the spirit

and you will not

gratify the desires

of the flesh.

Do you know

what's so encouraging

about verse 16?

when you realize

you're more like

pig pen

and you make

relational messes

where you go

isn't it good

to know

that God

has put

an inside man

in you

the Holy Spirit.

And what the Holy Spirit

is looking to do

is to direct

and empower us

daily

to love one another

sacrificially

to fulfill

the law

and please Christ.

That's what it means

to walk by the spirit.

To daily depend

on the spirit

to direct

and empower us

in order to

not gratify

the desires

of the fleshlies

but to live out love.

The Holy Spirit

is the hallmark feature

He is the hallmark feature

of the new covenant

people of God.

He was the one

anticipated

in Jeremiah 31

Ezekiel 36

and Joel 2.

He is the game changer

God who would come

and dwell within us

to work

in each of us

to fulfill

God's law

directing us

and empowering us

daily

to love each other

sacrificially

isn't it good

to know

that the third person

of the Trinity

dwells in us

to bring all this

love stuff

about.

He wants to do it.

Do you remember

the fruit of the spirit?

Do you remember

the first

fruit of the spirit?

Love.

the fulfillment

of the whole law

is just one word

and the Holy Spirit

is seeking

to bring it about

in us.

Our shared freedom

in Christ

is not an opportunity

to gratify

our flesh

with one another

but to fulfill

the law

with one another

to love

one another.

So I want to boil

this down

a little bit

more.

I want to boil

it down to

just one question

that is a

diagnostic question

to govern

your relationships

with other people

in our church.

Here's something

that you can be

asking yourself

before you write

an email.

Before you send

a text.

Before you make

a phone call.

Before you talk

to someone

about someone

else.

Before you think

certain thoughts

about someone.

Before you act

towards someone.

Here's the question

that you need to be

asking yourself

from this text.

Will this thought

does this feeling

will this word

does this text

email

or action

does this

lovingly

serve

my brother

or my sister

in the relationship

with Christ?

Does it serve

their relationship

with Jesus?

That's how we love

one another.

And inevitably

here's what's

going to happen.

when he started

asking that question

and started asking

okay God

this doesn't feel right

feels kind of defensive

what's going on

spirit lead on.

You know what's

going to happen?

It's going to expose

the spirit

out of love for you.

He's going to expose

sin in you.

He's going to expose

the fleshlies.

And now you're

going to have a choice

to either

respond in faith

and repentance

or ignore

the spirit's prompting.

So

when I start

praying

and asking

beforehand

will this

whatever it is

serve this person's

relationship with Christ?

Will this

really love them?

It helps me

to start seeing

my imputing

motives tendency.

And it helps me

then to be able

to say wait wait

I'm imputing

motives on that person.

I don't know

what's going on

in their heart.

Oh Lord Jesus

that belongs

with you

on the cross.

And then I'm

reminded of this.

1 Corinthians 13

7

Love believes

all things.

I'm going to

believe the best

in this person.

If I start

seeing defensiveness

in me

kind of a

guardedness

I'm going to say

okay Lord

that belongs

on the cross

with you

because in

1 Corinthians 13

love does not

insist on

its own way.

If I start

seeing envy

in me

that I'm

going to send

an email

out of envy

I'm going to

say oh Lord

that too

has been

crucified

with Christ

on the cross.

And then I'm

not going to envy

I'm going to

weep with those

who weep

I'm going to

rejoice with

those who rejoice

I'm going to

love this person

If you start

seeing grudge

in you

you're avoiding

someone because

you're on a

grudge against

them

it's

it's the

Alice Gary

mix

crucify that

with Christ

because love

is not

irritable

or resentful

it does not

keep records

of wrongs

it forgives

as God

in Christ

has forgiven

me

and I've

been forgiven

way more

what this

love ethic

does for us

this spirit

working

love ethic

does for us

it helps us

to bear

one another

in love

Ephesians 1

Ephesians 4

1-2-3

so church

let me ask

you

what happens

when more

and more

Christians

from our

church

are seeking

to put

to death

the flesh

and by

the spirit

bring to

life

this love

we're not

going to be

consuming

one another

we're going

to be

building each

other up

in love

or in

Galatians 6

9-10

we're going

to be doing

good to

each other

this morning

God has

reminded us

of

the gospel

we've been

freed

in Christ

God has

helped us

to see

a gospel

warning

give no

opportunity

for the

flesh

God has

also helped

us to see

a gospel

mandate

to love

one another

at cost

but I want

to close

by saying

this

we have

a unique

challenge

as a

church

along

these

lines

it's a

unique

challenge

we must

face

together

as a

church

because

this call

to love

one another

sacrificially

would be

hard enough

if all

of us

were of

the same

ethnicity

if all

of us

were of

the same

socioeconomic

class

if all

of us

were the

same

age

if all

of us

had the

same

cultural

background

we would

have all

of those

things in

commons

and it

would still

be hard

to love

one another

because we

still have

to die

to ourselves

but God

has called

us as a

church

to live

out the

gospel in

such a

way

we're praying

that God

will unite

a people

through the

cross

of very

diverse

backgrounds

and that

is going

to raise

a unique

temptation

with us

because when

we interact

more with

more and

more people

who are

different

than us

we're going

to be

tempted

to withdraw

from them

but we

must not

withdraw

from them

the gospel

compels us

to move

towards

people who

are different

than us

we must

purpose

all the more

not to

use our

freedom

as an

opportunity

to withdraw

in the

flesh

but to

move

forward

to our

people

in love

to serve

them

and not

only will

we experience

depth of

community

and richness

of diversity

we will

live out

something

Jesus

himself

prayed

for us

for

in

John

John 17 · chapter mention

chapter

17

20

and 21

Jesus

prayed

I do

not ask

for these

only

but also

for those

who will

believe

in me

through

their

word

that's

us

that they

may all

be one

just as

you father

are in

me

and I

in you

that they

also may

be in

us

so that

the world

may believe

that you

have sent

me

not only

is the

quality of

our fellowship

dependent on

our putting

death the

flesh and

bringing to

life

love

our

witness

to this

city

depends

on

it

our

freedom

in

Christ

is not

an opportunity

for our

flesh

but an

opportunity

for our

love

let's

pray

God in

heaven

we are

in over

our heads

we make

messes of

our

relationships

this

flesh

that

influences

and exerts

itself

in us

oh God

it can wreak

havoc among

us

God would

you do

a work

in us

by your

spirit

would you

do a

purifying

work

would you

do a

mortifying

work

in which

you

kill the

flesh in

us

so that

we

can love

one another

unto you

God we

pray that

you would

grow us

as a

church

not only

to love

one another

in this

room

but to

love

those

who are

more and

more different

from us

outside

of this

building

God would

you do

a work

and it

can only

be by

your

spirit

only

through

the

power

of the

cross

by which

you

unite

a

people

a

diverse

people

in the

worship

of your

name

for the

good of

all

people

amen

amen