Freed for Freedom

My name is Dan Rocha. Thanks for being here this morning. It's a pleasure for me to be here.

This is my first time at this building that you guys are in, and that was actually one of the

things that I've been praying for. As a provisional elder of yours with Paul Buckley, we pray with

Sean and just hear about all the things that you guys are doing and working on in Cambridge and

really ministering in Cambridge. So we're supporting you as best as we can with our full-time jobs

besides, and really, I think one of the most effective ways that we can pray for you, effective

ways that we can serve you is to pray for you. And so that's what we do. We pray for this building

for you, and we look forward to praying for other things and seeing God's answers to those

prayers. As Matt mentioned earlier, I have my wife and four kids today. One extra, we're

in the process of trying to adopt through foster care, a little girl, two years old, Shelby is

her name, and it's an interesting process and sometimes trying in our patience and faith

in some ways too. But looking to God for how he will move and if he will grant us the adoption.

So we're praying for that. If you would like to pray for me, that's how you can pray is that

this little girl would be in a safe place and that we would get to adopt her.

And yeah, so that's a little bit about me. Let's get into the text. People like choices. We like to

choose from a variety of things. It's interesting, you go to the grocery store, you can choose all

kinds of different toilet paper even. I mean, there's different types, there's different brands,

napkins, napkins, all different kinds of napkins. Now if you go into the cereal aisle, there is an

entire wall of different cereals. So many choices. Apples, apples, there used to be just like a couple

of kinds of apples. And now there are countless apples at the store and at the orchard you can go to.

And I'm thankful for many of those choices. But people even like having choices for religion too.

You know, you have Buddhism, you have Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Atheism. You know, you have your path

and I have my path. And that's kind of how our culture is, that we get to choose our own things

and what's good for you is good for you and what's good for me is good for me. But really, the Apostle Paul

here is revealing to us that there are really only two choices in life. One of slavery and one of

freedom. There's legalism or promise. There's flesh or spirit. Now let me pray and ask God to work in

our hearts as we examine this text. Well, Father, we thank you for Galatians. We thank you for

this book that you've given to us, Lord, that we can trust what you have written to us, that it is truth.

And we ask that you would help us to see in our own lives where we are choosing slavery or

or we are choosing freedom and following you. Point out to us, may your Holy Spirit empower us

to put off those things that tempt us into sin and tempt us to that path of slavery, but to free our

minds and to free our souls through Christ. So we ask that you would do that in us this morning. Amen.

As part of the scriptures that we read this morning, before we read this particular passage,

what I think was from Romans, and it talked about being adopted as sons into God's family. So we have

been adopted and we're not living in a family as like a bond servant or as a slave or a servant,

but we are adopted as sons and daughters. So we are no longer slaves to sin. We are slaves. We're no

longer slaves to the law. We're no longer slaves to any kind of spiritual or ethical oppression.

So we must, what our place is in the family of God is to stand firm in the gospel. If we've been

freed by Christ, then why would we submit ourselves again to slavery and slavery to the law?

And so how I would summarize this particular text would be this. Stand firm for Christ has set us

free and do not submit to slavery again. Stand firm for Christ has set us free and do not submit to

slavery again. And Paul begins here by pitting the law against the law. That is, he's pitting the

commandments of God or just commandments in general versus the first five books of the Bible. So the

books that were written by Moses are often referred to as the Pentateuch today. But in scripture, in the

Jews of Paul's day, it was called the law. The law is the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus,

Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That's the law that, that, that, uh, or one way that, that he's using.

So he says in verse 21, tell me you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?

He's making a play on words. Really? He's saying, tell me you who desire to be under the commandments,

do you not listen to the first five books of Moses? This, this play on words using the law against the

law illustrates how ridiculous it is trying to, to return to the Mosaic law in order to be righteous.

Because if you read those five first, first five books, you realize that God has not dealt with us

according to the law, but according to grace. And so he traces the story of Abraham and his sons as an

example, using part of those books that Moses wrote, Genesis.

So let's read 22 and 23 of chapter four.

For it is written that Abraham, Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.

But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh while the son of the free woman was born through

promise. And so you have two sons. This is my first point, two sons, one by slavery, one by freedom.

Now, first you might be questioning how Abraham could have slaves.

And to our modern ears, that sounds abominable. Or why, you know, why would God permit slavery?

So, so first I'm going to address, this isn't the message, but I have to address this.

First is not to make excuses or make it any more acceptable, but to help you understand it was a

different culture in that they didn't see the huge difference that we see between a servant and a slave.

That doesn't make it acceptable, but that goes into my second point about that, is that

not everything that the heroes of the Bible did were good things.

Note Abraham lying to Pharaoh about Sarah being his, his sister. And, and a number of other examples,

you can see, that, that point that, that all of these kind of savior figures, hero figures in the Bible,

they're flawed. They're flawed, just like you and me. And flawed in some ways that are even greater than us

sometimes. And yet they did greater things as well for God. And so I'm thankful for Abraham,

even amidst all his failures. But this sermon isn't about that. But I wanted to make it clear

that the Bible does not in any way promote slavery of any kind. In fact, it, it speaks against spiritual

slavery. And so we extrapolate that it would also speak against any kind of slavery. So back to the

text. When Abraham was told by God, remember in Genesis, the story that Abraham was told by God

that he would have a son and he and his wife, Sarah, were very old. They had not been able to conceive for

their however many years, 90 more or more years. Then they became impatient. Sarah ended up offering her

slave Hagar to Abraham so that he could have a son. And of course, that didn't turn out very well.

Of course, he had a son, Ishmael. But whenever you involve more than one woman in a marriage,

it doesn't go well. So verse 23, the son of the slave was born according to the flesh.

And here, here's, he's opposing the flesh and the spirit. So God made this promise to Abraham,

but Abraham took matters into his own hands. That's, that's the fleshly way, taking matters

into your own hands. God's way is very different. Instead of striving to fulfill the promise that was

given to him, Abraham could have rested in the knowledge that he simply needed to follow God

and God would have kept his promise.

God fulfills his promise. So if you follow him, he will give those promises. It's not for you to

accomplish in a kind of worldly fleshly way, but for God to accomplish. And of course, later on,

Abraham did learn to put his trust in God. The end of verse 23. So the son of the slave was born

according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. This son of the

free woman, Sarah, was born through promise. Isaac, the son, gained all the inheritance and all the

promises that were made to Abraham. In Genesis 26, three to four, he says this to Isaac,

I will be with you and bless you for to you and to your offspring. I will give you all these lands

and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham, your father. I will multiply your offspring

as the stars of the heaven and I will give your offspring all these lands and in your offspring,

all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. If you're familiar with what God promised to

Abraham in chapters 12 and a couple of other chapters, that sounds very familiar. Those are all

the promises that God had made to Abraham. Now Isaac gets all of those promises. He gains all that

inheritance. So Ishmael, born of the flesh, does not get these. And so then Paul gets into talking about

the covenants. So verse 24. Now this may be interpreted allegorically. These women are two covenants. One is

from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery. She is Hagar. So again, I have to address this language of

interpreting these women allegorically. Typically we think of allegory as a kind of fiction. Pilgrim's

progress where each character in each place and event represents an idea or a deeper spiritual truth.

And it's fiction. But we're not talking about fiction here. Abraham and Sarah and Hagar, Ishmael, Isaac,

these are all people that really actually lived in history. And these things, these events really did

take place. And so what he means here is not our typical imagination of fiction, allegory as fiction, but a deeper

spiritual understanding of these events of history. And these are themes that the Bible hits on over and over and

over and puts these two women as the point for these two sons. And these two sons as the representations of these two

different covenants. And two really two different religions. Two paths to walk down. One son born according

to the flesh. One son born according to the promise. The spirit.

And so what is a covenant though? A very simple definition is that a covenant is a binding agreement that God makes with his people.

They can be as simple as the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments that's part of a covenant.

Or the commands to Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Or the New Covenant in Christ's blood that we celebrate at the Lord's Supper that we'll do later.

So it can be simple.

The Ten Commandments.

It's very short.

Or the New Covenant.

The New Covenant is full of promises.

It involves the story of Christ in the gospel.

That's part of the covenant.

How God deals with his people.

And so,

there are two covenants really.

Two overarching covenants.

There are lots of kind of sub-covenants in between there.

But there are really two big covenants.

One of works.

And one of grace.

And so,

these two overarching covenants,

which govern all the other covenants God has made with his people.

One is law.

The other is grace.

One is flesh.

The other is spirit.

And God gave the covenant of works to Adam and Eve.

He said,

don't eat from this tree.

You can eat from every other tree.

You can't eat from that tree.

And they failed,

of course.

They ate from the tree.

They sinned.

But,

then right afterwards,

God gives them a covenant of grace

and promising them that from Eve

will come one who would crush the serpent's head.

And while God has given us rules to follow,

he's been continuing to deal with his people

in the way of grace

and not of works.

God promised Abraham

he would become the father of a multitude

and bless all nations.

God promised Israel

that they would receive the promised land.

God will keep those promises

because God is the one doing these things.

God never meant for the Ten Commandments

given at Mount Sinai

and all the subcommands that followed

to be the way to earn salvation.

He never intended that.

These are commands.

These are how you're supposed to live.

These aren't how to get in my good graces.

And that should have been clear

in how God dealt with his people

and in reading these five books of Moses.

Especially if you read Genesis or Exodus.

You see the people of God

fail over and over and over.

And they sin over and over and over.

And God gets angry.

Yes.

He deals with some of those people.

There's punishment.

Yes, for some.

But still, he was gracious.

He could have wiped them all out

because that's what they deserved.

But he was gracious.

He was patient.

He was kind.

When Abraham sinned in taking Hagar

and in being impatient

with the whole process of promising an heir,

God could have said,

Well, you know what?

You broke my covenant

and so you don't get any heirs.

But that's not what God did.

God restored Abraham.

Brought him to faith again.

That's the way of grace.

That's the way of the Spirit.

The law that God gave to Israel,

it's wonderful and beautiful.

But the law makes a poor God.

And when you make the law your God,

you become a slave of the law.

And this was true of the Israelites

in Moses' day.

It was true of Paul,

true of the Jews in Paul's day.

When faced with promises,

they chose the path of the flesh.

So let's get into this a little bit more.

Verse 25.

Now, Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia.

She corresponds to the present Jerusalem,

for she is in slavery with her children.

But the Jerusalem above is free,

and she is our mother.

For it is written,

Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear.

Break forth and cry aloud,

you who are not in labor.

For the children of the desolate one

will be more than those of the one

who has a husband.

So here we have two Jerusalems.

This is my second point.

Two Jerusalems.

One present and one above.

Now, remember, present,

I'm talking about back in Jesus' day,

back in Paul's day.

Jerusalem now is a little different.

Paul is asking the Galatians,

and I'm asking you this.

Do you think that God on Mount Sinai,

when He gave those Ten Commandments,

the God that brought the Israelites

out of slavery to Pharaoh,

do you think that God meant

for these Ten Commandments

to then enslave the Israelites

so that they would become slaves again?

Did God want the Israelites

to make the law their God?

And serving the law their God?

And yet, that was their tendency.

They tended to either make the law their God

or to shrug that off entirely

and complain and do whatever they wanted.

But instead, God shows them grace over and over.

They failed in many ways,

and yet God continued to make them into His people.

I don't know about you,

but that sounds familiar in my own life.

I sin in even the same ways

over and over,

and yet God continues to bring me

into a place of faith,

a place of obedience,

a place of worship of Him.

And the Jews of Paul's day,

especially the Pharisees,

had made the law their God.

And in fact,

they had made a hedge around the law

so that they had law upon law,

and that was the commandments.

And if you didn't follow those commandments too,

you weren't serving God.

That's what they would say.

And really,

they had made themselves slaves.

They couldn't see past that.

They couldn't see past that

to see that Jesus died for them.

They couldn't see that God

was dealing with them in a way of grace.

He was trying to deal with them

in a way of grace,

and yet they rejected it.

And so they were encouraging others

to join them in their slavery

by forcing them to keep the trials

and keeping the rituals, really,

that no longer bound them.

And they were even trying to force the Gentiles,

if you really want to be a Jew,

you really want to follow God,

you've got to keep these rituals too.

But those rituals never bound them

in the first place.

And it was as if the Judaizers

and the Pharisees

and the Jews of Paul's day

had isolated Mount Sinai.

Here we have Mount Sinai.

That's the Ten Commandments

is where we get the law of God.

And then they forget about

the rest of God's dealing with His people.

You read the Old Testament

and it is God dealing with His people

in a gracious way.

They are sometimes idiots

in how they rebel against God

over and over and over.

And yet God deals with them with grace.

Did the Pharisees not read this?

And yet we can do the same thing.

So God had already promised them

that He would be their God

and that they would be His people.

He promised that He would deliver them

out of the hands of their enemies.

These were promises

that the Jews of Paul's day still had.

And yet they adopted

a legalistic observation

of the law and of the Old Testament.

And that's what Paul's talking about.

The present day Jerusalem

that Paul speaks about

is full of this ritualistic allegiance

not to God but to the law.

And Jerusalem in Paul's day

represented slavery of God's people.

Slavery to the law.

Slavery to the flesh.

And all who are children of Hagar,

children of Jerusalem in Jesus' day,

they are all slaves.

But there is another reality to Jerusalem.

There is another Jerusalem.

One that is the fulfillment

of all things to come.

One where Christ reigns on His throne.

One where Jesus is the temple.

One where the kingdom of God

brings freedom, not slavery.

One where the law is not a God

but a guide.

A Jerusalem where instead of being

many barriers and hurdles

to cross in order to commune with God,

the Jerusalem above is one

where we commune with God

because the dividing wall

has been broken down by Christ.

This is the Jerusalem

that is our mother.

If you are a Christian,

you believe that Christ

has died for you.

The Jerusalem above is free.

Verse 25.

This Jerusalem,

it really is,

I think it's talking about the church.

Not this building

or this particular local church

but the true universal church of Christ.

Belonging to that community.

Belonging to the family of God.

And if Jerusalem above is free

and she's our mother,

then we're free as well.

And that is true.

If you are following God,

you're accepting that Christ paid

for your sin on the cross.

Now, verse 27.

You see how it's in a different format

in your Bible probably?

Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear.

Break forth and cry aloud,

you who are not in labor.

For the children of the desolate one

will be more than those of the one

who has a husband.

He's quoting Isaiah 54.1.

And it's important to look.

When the New Testament quotes

in the Old Testament,

you are supposed to know

the context that that's quoting.

So not just the text that's there

but also the surrounding chapter

in the Old Testament.

And if you don't know it,

and you're probably like me,

I don't know it necessarily offhand,

go look at the Old Testament.

You can see cross-references in your Bible.

And go and look

and turn to Isaiah 54 or 53.

I'll read from there.

You don't have to look,

but you can if you want.

But it's important to look at that context

because Paul's not just picking

this random verse that proves his point.

He's picking a particular context

to prove his point

and carries with it

some amount of magnitude.

Let's read.

I'll read from Isaiah 53.12.

Therefore I will divide him

a portion with the many

and he shall divide the spoil

with the strong.

And he poured out his soul to death

and he was numbered

with the transgressors.

Yet he bore the sin of many

and makes intercession

for the transgressors.

Clearly that's talking about Jesus

dying on the cross.

And he continues.

54 verse 1.

Sing, O barren one who did not bear.

Break forth into singing

and cry aloud,

you who have not been in labor.

For the children of the desolate one

will be more than the children

of her who is married,

says the Lord.

Enlarge the place of your tent

and let the curtains

of your habitations be stretched out.

Don't hold back.

Lengthen your cords

and strengthen your stakes.

For you will spread abroad

to the right and to the left

and your offspring

will possess the nations.

It's Jesus' death on the cross

for our sins

and for the sins

of all transgressors

like us.

It's his death

that leads us

to possess the nations,

to spread throughout

the world.

This is a promise.

This is a promise

that the Galatians

would be most encouraged by.

At the time

when Christianity

was new,

it may have felt

like it was going to be

snuffed out

at any moment.

So now we see

Christianity

has kind of exploded.

It's worldwide.

There's not that many countries

out there

that don't know the gospel,

that haven't heard the gospel,

that there aren't Bibles towards.

There's not missionaries.

There's not churches.

There's a few.

And there's certainly persecution.

But Christianity

isn't going anywhere

anytime soon.

It's not about to be

snuffed out.

And it's not something

that you can kill

with intellectualism

or disprove with science

because Christianity

doesn't oppose those things.

But when Paul

was addressing the Galatians,

they had experienced

persecution.

Not many had heard

about Jesus.

And those who had

thought it was

some weird Jewish cult thing.

they didn't understand.

And those who had

thought it would just,

oh, it's a new thing,

new trend,

and it's going to go away

pretty soon.

And many thought

it wasn't going to go anywhere.

And the Galatians

were being pressured

into becoming true Jews

because the Jewish communities

were recognized by Rome.

They knew who the Jews were.

They didn't know

who the Christians were.

That was some weird group.

Yeah, they follow

the Jewish law,

but they do other things too.

And so the Galatians

were being pressured

into becoming true Jews.

You have to be circumcised

and you have to do this

and you have to do that.

Follow all the rituals

in order to follow Christ.

Or rather than following Christ.

And the Christians of Paul's day

felt barren.

They were desolate

and desperate.

Lonely in a world

that seemed like

it could stuff out

Christianity any moment.

And today can feel like that,

especially in here

in New England sometimes,

where maybe none

of your coworkers

are Christian.

or maybe a couple

say they are

but don't really seem

to ever go to church.

Or maybe they do

but they don't seem

to talk about it at all.

Or they're Christian

in maybe name only.

Or maybe you can't even

mention Jesus

at your particular job

or risk losing your job.

And it seems like

maybe there are

less and less

faithful churches

every year,

every decade.

And so,

though maybe the South

and the U.S.

is booming

with churches

left and right

here in New England,

that used to be the case.

And there are certainly

church buildings

but there aren't

a lot of churches

that are growing fast.

churches are growing

very slowly

and new converts

are very slow.

And so,

it can feel lonely

but we have a hope.

We are not in slavery.

It is those

who are around us

and do not see

their need for Christ.

They are slaves.

They are slaves to sin.

They are slaves

slaves to false religions.

Slaves to atheism

or agnosticism.

Slaves to legalism even.

Trying to win

their salvation

whether they believe

in God or not.

This is the common thing

of man

is to try to win.

Do more good

than bad

and whoever is out there

will judge me well.

But that is not

how it works.

When we sin

if we sin

and every

person has

sinned.

Every person

who has ever lived

has sinned

except for Jesus.

And that

one sin

although

you have committed

many

let's be honest.

I have too.

that one sin

one sin

is enough

to send you

to death

and to eternal

death.

To not reach heaven

to not be with God.

Because you're declaring

by your sin

you're declaring

I want to be my own boss.

I want to be my own king.

I want to be my own God.

And so

what God gives you

is just that.

You want to be your own God

you will see what

it is really like

without

Him.

And yet

God has

rescued us

out of that.

Out of making

our

our own selves

our God.

It's making

our idols

our God.

God has

rescued us

and given us faith.

And He has

paid for

all of our sin

upon the cross.

And so

we're now part

of this promise

and we know

that God's kingdom

will ever

increase here

on earth.

Jesus will

possess

the nations

and the church

will spread

to all nations

every tribe

and tongue

and nation.

We have hope.

We're children

of promise

so we should

expect

opposition

from the world

we should

expect

the enemy

to tempt

us

with

legalism

and tempt

us

with

falling

back

into

slavery.

And Paul

addresses this

in the next

section

in verse

28

beginning.

Verse 28

Now you

brothers

like Isaac

are children

of promise

but just

as

at that

time

he who

was born

according

to the

flesh

persecuted

him who

was born

according

to the

spirit

so also

it is

now.

But what

does the

scripture say?

Cast out the

slave woman

and her son

for the son

of the slave

woman shall

not inherit

with the son

of the free

woman.

So brothers

we are not

children of the

slave but of

the free

woman.

So there's

two paths

really.

That's my

third and

final point.

There's two

paths.

One of

flesh and

one of

promise.

Two paths.

One of

flesh and

one of

promise.

There's no

middle road.

There's no

path out

here.

There's no

third choice.

You're either

on a path

of flesh

or a

path of

promise.

But being

a child

of promise

as you are

if you believe

in Christ

you believe

that he

died and

rose again

for your

sin.

If you're

part of

that it's

not all

sunshine and

roses.

You know

that.

Verse 29

those born

of the

flesh persecute

those born

of the

spirit.

We will

encounter

opposition.

We will

encounter

persecution.

We will

experience

pressure not

only from

those outside

the church

but even

from within

the church

like Paul

is addressing

in the

church of

Galatians

that it's

a mix

of people

who are

pressuring

in the

wrong ways

into temptation

with legalism

and slavery.

There are

those who

wish to

add rules

for how

to live

the Christian

life.

Let's say

you can't

do this

or can't

do that

that aren't

clearly laid

out in

scripture.

and the

world

doesn't

understand

Christianity.

Every

other

religion

in the

world

is about

doing

enough

good

to

outweigh

the

bad.

Even

those

who

don't

believe

in

God

believe

that we

should

leave

the

world

having

done

more

good

than

bad.

And

they're

trying

to

achieve

whether

they

know

it

or

not

they're

trying

to

achieve

something

they

cannot

possibly

achieve

is to

outweigh

your

good

to

outweigh

the

bad

with

the

good.

You

can't

do

that.

The

scale

is

already

at

the

bottom.

If

you

have

sinned

you

cannot

reach

God.

There

is a

you know

from

if

you're

the

worst

of

sinners

it's

like

you're

down

in

the

depths

of

a

mind

and

the

best

of

sinners

is

at

the

mountaintop

but

neither

can

reach

God.

You

can't

reach

the

heavens

still

stuck

on

the

ground.

We

need

Christ

to

do

that.

The

point

here

is not

about

persecution

but

that

you

should

know

that

the

path

of

promise

is

opposed

on

every

side

and

so

we

must

oppose

the

path

of

the

flesh

of

legalism

and

of

slavery.

Don't

allow

it

to

linger

in

your

own

life.

When

you

see

it

creeping

into

your

own

life

put

it

to

death

and

return

to

the

freedom

that's

in

Christ.

Return

to

trusting

in

Christ.

That

his

sacrifice

is

enough

to

cover

not

only

all

your

sin

but

sufficient

for

all

your

righteousness.

All

that

you

would

need

to

appear

good

before

God.

God

and

this

also

hits

us

a

little

bit

more

subtly

sometimes.

I don't

know about

you,

but I

am

not

particularly

tempted

to

engage

in all

the

ritualistic

practices

of

Judaism.

That's

not

the

thing

that

really

assaults

this

church,

I don't

think.

not

in our

modern

day,

but

people

can

often

face

choices

that

also

become

a

kind

of

slavery.

There's

one,

there's

legalism,

yes.

We can

be tempted

by a

legalism

of our

own

making.

When

we

think

or act

like

God

loves

us

less

when

we

sin,

or

that

he

will

vindictively

punish

us,

or

because

we

didn't

do

this

or

that,

or

because

we

sinned

in

this

way

or

that

way,

God's

not

going

to

do

good

to

us.

That's

a

kind

of

legalism,

that's

a

kind

of

slavery

that I'm

talking

about.

We

need

to

reject

that.

And

as well,

you can

have

stress

and

pressure

and

worry

because

of

a

legalistic

view

of the

world,

whether

at your

job

or

in

your

relationship,

that

you feel

like

you're

not

up to

what

you

should

be.

And

the fact

is that

no,

you're

probably

not.

You're

probably

not

making

it

well

as

a

parent

or

husband

or

wife

or

a

worker.

You're

not

perfect.

You

make

mistakes,

right?

You

shirk

responsibility

here and

there.

You

sin

in

ways.

You're

not the

best

father.

You're

not the

best

parent.

Not

the

best

husband.

And

that

can

weigh

on

you.

And

instead

of

confessing

that

sin

and going

to

God

and

receiving

forgiveness,

you can

just carry

that guilt

with you.

A little

low-lying

guilt.

Just feel

like you're

not up

to the

task.

You're

not doing

well in

that.

And you

can carry

that

around.

And it

can become

a kind

of legalistic

slavery.

But you

feel this

little bit

of guilt.

guilt.

Not

enough to

actually go

to Christ

and to

ask for

forgiveness

to help

him to

change you.

But enough

so that it

weighs on

you.

But that's

not what

Christianity is

supposed to be

like.

That's not what

Jesus wants

for you.

He doesn't

want you to

have really

any guilt.

guilt.

Because that's

all been

paid for

on the

cross.

And so

if you're

aware of

your guilt,

you are

aware of

your sin,

confess it

before God.

Receive that

forgiveness.

Receive the

freedom that

he brings.

And as

well, we

can encounter

licentiousness,

license,

kind of the

opposite of

legalism.

That there

are plenty

of things

that we

know that

are dangerous

and addicting.

There's drugs

and alcohol,

pornography.

There's addiction

to smartphones.

That's a

common one

now.

And I

see it in

the younger

generations as

well.

That instead

of talking

with people,

they'll just

look on their

smartphones.

They don't

talk to each

other anymore.

And that can

become a kind

of slavery.

I've heard

in popular

media that

they've

categorized that

as an

addiction,

a smartphone

addiction.

Maybe that's

not your

thing.

But those

are things

that can

really,

anything that

can control

you, that

you don't

have control

over, becomes

slavery to

you.

So whether

it's anger

to overeating

to materialism,

it's not

just the

drugs and

alcohol,

things that

we need to

worry about

as addicting

behaviors and

controlling

behaviors.

But anything

that you

are controlled

by, you

cannot control

your anger.

Well, if you

can't control

your anger,

you are

controlled by

it.

You are a

slave of

that.

But the

reality of

Christ is

this, that

the Holy

Spirit gives

you power

over those

sins.

So don't

deny that.

Receive that

power.

Ask for that

power to put

off that

sin and

to follow

God without

being controlled

by that.

And another,

one more,

culture.

I think culture

can shape our

minds in

certain ways.

And we

become a

slave of

the culture's

way of

thinking things.

And it

holds up

captives.

So rather

than God's

word being

our key to

freedom in

our thinking,

we can kind

of think of

this as a

backwards,

regressive

book.

Oh, that's

so old.

What is it?

2,000 years

old.

What does

that have to

say about

today?

And then we

can think

culture's way

of thinking.

That's so

much better.

It's so

enlightened.

I mean,

it's been

informed by

many, many

years of

study.

And it

goes from

a wide range

of things.

What you

think about

immigration

policy to

abortion or

to roles in

marriage or

in the

church.

There are a

number of

ways that

there are

assaults on

scripture.

And scripture

is good,

although

sometimes

counterintuitive

way of

thinking about

things.

And I

would just

offer this,

that if you

follow the

Bible, you

follow what

God says in

his word,

it will grant

you freedom.

It will

grant you

freedom not

only in

living but

in thinking.

Far from

being this

being slavery.

No, this

is our path

to freedom.

There are

really two

paths.

One of

flesh and

legalism and

slavery and

one of

spirit and

of freedom

and of

promise.

And so

let's remember

that Christ

came to

bring us

freedom, to

forgive us, to

lift our

burdens by

dying on

the cross.

He gave

us life.

In

concluding

chapter 5,

verse 1, I

included this

because it

is a good

capstone.

It summarizes

this passage.

For freedom,

Christ has set

us free.

Stand firm

therefore and

do not submit

again to a

yoke of

slavery.

If you

don't know

Christ this

morning or

you haven't

experienced that

freedom in

Christ, haven't

trusted him

for your

salvation, you

can do that

now.

Believe that

he died on

the cross for

your sins and

you will start

to have that

freedom, freedom

in your life,

freedom in your

thinking, freedom

in the way of

not feeling

guilty anymore.

You can stand

before God

clean, holy,

and pure.

And that's a

good reminder

for us too

that if you

have already

believed, you've

been a Christian

for 20 years,

30 years,

that's a good

reminder that we

do not have to

feel guilty

before God.

We confess our

sin and we

receive that

forgiveness, that

full pardon, that

full righteousness

from him.

And we ask

him, we ask

him for help

in those areas

that we're tempted,

we ask him for

help.

Because there

are really two

paths.

Which path are

you on?

And two

questions for you

that I'll leave

you with.

What area of

your life are

you tempted to

walk the path of

legalism and of

slavery and of

flesh?

Maybe it's

legalism, maybe

it's license,

maybe it's you're

captive in the way

of thinking to the

culture or to

something else.

So that's

question one.

What area in

your life are

you tempted to

do that?

I'm not

saying are you

walking down the

whole path and

that's going to

lead you away

from God?

Well, it can.

I've seen it

happen.

It doesn't mean

that if you're a

child, a promise

that anyone can

snatch you away.

But I've seen

people that thought

they were Christian

and then are led

towards a path of

destruction.

destruction.

I don't want

that for you.

And it is a

danger.

And so we want

to put that

off.

And I'll ask

you this second

question.

How can you

better walk in

the freedom

Christ has given

you?

How can you

remember to walk

in freedom?

Maybe it's as

simple as reading

your scripture,

praying every day.

Maybe it's really

putting off that

particular addicting

sin and following

God, replacing it

with something good,

something that God

has called us to.

Well, let me pray

for you and pray

for us as we think

about these things

and ask God for

strength.

Father, we thank

you for today.

Thank you for your

scripture that you

have given us

clear picture of

the path that

leads to death

and the path that

leads to life.

We want to be on

that path that

leads to life.

And Lord, you have

set us on that

path.

Help us not to

turn back.

Help us not to be

tempted, Lord.

And where we are

tempted, help us to

conquer that sin.

Give us your Holy

Spirit.

Give us your power to

conquer that sin and

to follow you into

freedom.

Help our minds.

Help our spirit.

That we would not

give into sin.

We would not give

into legalism or sin

or slavery.

but that we would

follow you and

desire to follow you

and to rejoice in the

freedom that we have

in Christ.

We pray this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.