Freedom is Here: A Study of Galatians | Donovan Rillion | What Now?

Last week, we wrapped up our journey through

Paul's letter to the churches in Galatia. We

went through all six chapters of that letter

and we kind of broke it down into sections and

we focused on this theme that is titled, Freedom

is Here. Because I wanted us to look at the idea

that now that we are in Christ, Now because Christ

has died for us, He lived for us, He rose for

us, He has prepared a place for us, or is preparing

a place for us, because of Christ, we are now

free. Free from the bondage of sin, free from

the bondage of tradition, free from the bondage

of slavery, we are free. Paul's been fighting

for the gospel. He's been fighting for that message,

that freedom, reminding us that salvation isn't

about rule keeping. It's not about religious

performance. But it's simply about the freedom

that Jesus Christ won for us through his life,

his death, his burial, and his resurrection.

The gospel is what we have been exploring. And

as we close this series, I want to focus on one

verse that I think ties it all together, and

that's Galatians 5, verse 1. For freedom, Christ

Galatians 5:1

has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do

not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Never

again. Don't submit to the yoke of slavery. Today

I want to ask a few questions. I want to ask

us, what has Christ done? How? Why? And then

what now? We start with what has Christ done.

Paul says it plainly. Christ has set us free.

He's freed us. He's broken the chains. He's unlocked

the cell. He has freed us. Free from what though?

We just talked about it. It's freedom from slavery.

Slavery to sin. You know those old habits. The

addictions that they once owned you. That they

crept up every once in a while. and they took

hold of your life, they took hold of your heart,

they took hold of your mind, free from those

sins. Freed from religion. The slavery that we

have that binds us to a man -made rule, man -made

traditions, it's freed us from religion. I do

believe that God has called us to relationship

more than religion. That doesn't mean rules go

out the window. That doesn't mean that there

aren't some laws that we've got to follow, right?

But God has called us to a relationship with

Him. The way that I put it is, me and my wife,

we have a relationship together. I have some

rules that I've got to follow if I want to keep

that relationship intact, right? I've got to

do some things in a good way or in an appropriate

way if I want to keep that relationship intact.

That's what God has called us to. So He's brought

us away from this checklist, this legalistic...

And now we have relationship with him. It's a

freedom from slavery to religion. And now we

also have a freedom from slavery to guilt and

a slavery to shame. Because when we keep wearing

the chains, when we put ourselves back in the

cell that Christ has opened, we allow ourselves

to be held captive by the enemy. And Christ came

so that we would not be held captive by the enemy,

but that we could have freedom. For freedom,

Christ has set us free. Whatever it is for you,

whether it's the addiction, whether it's anger,

whether it's fear, whether it's the rule keeping,

whatever it is for you that has held you captive,

Christ has come to free you from it. And not

only has he freed you from it, he says, leave

it behind. Jesus already did the work. Jesus

has already put the nails in his hands. He has

hung on the cross. He has received the beating.

He has received the ridicule, the persecution,

so that you and I could be free. Don't go back

to it. Don't go back to it. And you know what

I mean because maybe you've been freed from an

addiction, but for some reason you slip back

into it. Maybe you found yourself free from those

thoughts or free from those feelings, but every

once in a while, you go back to it. Paul says

don't do that. Don't go back. Don't submit again.

And the next question is how? How did he set

us free? Well, I want us to see what Paul says

about this in another one of his letters in Philippians

Philippians 2:5–8

2, verses 5 -8. What Paul says is Christ Jesus,

who though he was in the form of God, did not

count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

He didn't hold on to it. He didn't feel like

he had to hold on to it. But he emptied himself.

He gave himself up by taking the form of a servant.

Now we're talking about God, the king of the

universe, the creator of all. In John chapter

John 1 · chapter mention

1, he says, In the beginning was the Word, and

the Word was God, and it was with God, and through

the Word. This is that Word. This is God. And

he came in the flesh and lived this life, a life

of a servant, being born in the likeness of men

and being found in human form. He humbled himself

by becoming obedient to the point of death. Even

death on a cross. That doesn't sound like royal

treatment, does it? That doesn't sound like the

spot for the king of the universe, the lord of

hosts. That doesn't sound like a place for the

ruler of all to be a servant, to be like us.

I know how filthy and disgusting and sinful I

am. And I think maybe you know that about yourself.

And he says Jesus came and he lived the same

kind of life we live. Tempted by the same things

we've been tempted by. Struggled with the same

feelings that we feel. He humbled himself to

that, to the point of death for us. That's how

he set us free. He came down. He lived in humility.

He walked among us. He lived sinlessly, even

though he was tempted by all the same things

we've been tempted by. He suffered unjustly.

He didn't deserve the beating that he took. He

didn't deserve the death on the cross that he

took. And then he died. Brutally. But he also

rose victoriously. And that's how he shattered

the chains that hold us. By defeating sin and

death once and for all, Christ has freed us.

He's freed us from those things that hold us

in bondage, those things that they have a place

of hostage in our mind. That when we're feeling

good, we can't help but to sometimes think about

those things that we've done. Remember those

things you did in the dark that you thought nobody

would see? Those things that you did that everybody

saw that you feel like you can never live down?

Those feelings that you feel about yourself?

Those feelings that you feel about other people?

Christ broke those chains by dying and rising.

Our freedom isn't something we earn. It's something

that He bought. Our freedom is something that

was paid for with His blood. And we ask the question

then, why? Because I know how bad I am. And maybe

you know how bad you are. Why would He do that

for us? Because I've got to tell you, I'm not

jumping in front of a bullet for somebody that

constantly cusses my name. And I'm not jumping

in front of a bullet for somebody that constantly

just degrades me and degrades my family and goes

against everything that I believe in. I'm not.

Because I'm selfish. And I love and I hold very

highly my values and my beliefs. And so if you're

against me, I don't think I'm going to jump in

front of the bullet for you. Because that's human

nature. But Christ. Even though we do curse His

name, and even though we do sin against Him and

go against everything that He's about and everything

that He is, He still takes the cross for us.

But why? Well, He tells us in John 10 .10, I

came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

We talk so much about eternal life, but Jesus

talks a lot about the eternal life and the life

now, the abundant life that he wants us to have

today. The kingdom come. He came for us to have

abundant and full eternal life. That's why he

did it, because he wants us to know the life

that God had designed for us in the garden. He

wants us to be able to experience that perfect

home. And the only way we could do that was for

Him to die for us. I use this graphic to illustrate

the gospel message because it's so important.

From the moment that Adam and Eve fell in the

garden that they sinned, they sinned against

God, God has been on a rescue mission. And Jesus

is the center of their rescue mission. If you'll

notice in the graphic, the cross is the center

of it. There's four on one side, four on another,

but the cross is the center because Jesus is

the centerpiece of God's mission. It doesn't

work if not for Christ. He is the key that unlocks

our way back to the Father. Without Christ, we're

stuck in the cell. We've got the chains on us.

We cannot go to God. But because of Christ, we

have access to God. He didn't die just to make

us better behaved people. He didn't die just

so we could look pretty. He died to make us new

so that we, the new creation, could live in the

perfect home with Him forever. He died to restore

us as sons, to restore us as daughters who can

live in freedom with God now and forever. And

so understanding that Jesus had to come and die

for us to have the freedom here, to have the

abundant life here, to have the eternal life

there. Understanding that, what do we do with

that? If you've been here throughout the series,

we spent however many weeks, I think it's like

12 weeks, looking at this idea of freedom and

what Christ has done to free us. And we have

to ask the question now, what do we do with that

now? And this is what Paul says. He says, stand

firm and don't go back. Don't go back. Those

things that held you in bondage before, let them

go. Leave them in the past. Those things that

ruined your life before, let them go. Those things

that made everyone around you hate being around

you, let them go. Those things that made you

hate being you, let them go. You are free from

them. Don't submit again to the yoke of slavery.

That's what Paul says. That's what Jesus is calling

us to. Because every one of us has a pull toward

the old life. It still creeps up on us sometimes.

If you ask an addict why they don't go to the

bar anymore, it's because they know they're not

safe there. If you ask someone who has struggled

with their image why they don't just eat like

crazy anymore, it's because they know they can't

go there. If you ask someone why they don't hang

around the same people they hung around with

before they came to know Christ, it's because

they know they are not safe there. And if an

animal has been captured by someone and it finally...

Breaks out of the fence. Do you think that animal

stays around the fence to see if the capturer

is going to come and get him? No, that animal

takes off. He doesn't look back. He doesn't think

twice. He gets as far away as possible. You ever

hunt? Anybody hunt? And you shoot a deer and

you don't exactly get the kill shot that you

need. And that deer takes off. And you go and

you try to track it down, right? And you look

to see if you can get some blood on the ground

and you look for it and you look for it and you

look for it and maybe you get some blood and

maybe you find some fur and you get in the thick

of the woods and you're like, there's no way

this thing kept going. Yeah, it did. And it will

run and run and run because it is not going back

to the thing. It is not going back to the place

that tried to kill it. So why do we do that?

Paul says, don't do that. Maybe it's not legalism

for you. You know, Paul's been fighting legalism.

Maybe it's not that for you. Maybe it's the website

that you promised yourself you'd stay away from.

Maybe it's the anger or the pride or the urge

to control everything around you. Maybe it's

the comfort that you find when you drink that

thing or you smoke that thing. Maybe it's the

peace that you feel like you have when you're

around those people that seem to only drag you

down. Maybe it's the comfort. That's numbed your

passion for Christ. I don't know what your slavery

is. I don't know what your chains are. But Paul's

message is the same across the board regardless

of if it's an addiction or if it's legalism.

He says stand firm. And that's an action that

he's challenging you to. It's not a passive thing.

He says stand firm. Don't go back. Don't let

those chains slip back around your wrist. And

this, again, this is an active thing. It's not

something casual. It's not something passive.

Freedom in Christ is a precious thing. And it

is something to be fought for. It's not something

we maintain passively. It is something we scratch

and we claw and we box our way through an army

of enemies to maintain. We just celebrated Veterans

Day. And we honor those who fought to preserve

our national freedom, and we do celebrate that.

But we also are reminded that there are people

that had to put themselves in harm's way so that

we can maintain our what? Freedom. Because if

we don't, we leave ourselves susceptible to being

overtaken or run out. The same is true for spiritual

freedom. It requires vigilance. We fight not

with anger, not with willpower, but with prayer.

We fight with community. That's why this place

is so important. Again, this is a rally point.

And every week we come here to find ourselves

encouraged. We find ourselves strengthened, prepared

so that we can go out into the world and keep

fighting another week or another day. We fight

this fight with being in the word of God, with

staying with God. We fight by staying alert to

the things that want to enslave us again, to

resisting the enemy. We fight by remembering

who we are and whose we are. C .S. Lewis said

in his book, Mere Christianity, only those who

try to resist temptation know how strong it is.

If you think that this is something you can just

passively do, you're wrong. The moment I get

comfortable in my freedom is the moment the enemy

comes and finds me in a cage. When we fight to

resist, we realize, one, how strong the enemy

is, but guess what? We also find out how strong

our God is. And I like my God's chances in this

fight. If you're not resisting, you may not even

realize how close you are to losing ground. But

if you fight to stand firm, you will find Christ's

strength holding you steady. And standing firm

doesn't mean just holding your ground. It doesn't

mean just fighting to stay in place. I want you

to imagine the buffalo that when the winter storm

comes on and it's snowing and it is pouring down

on them and it's freezing and the wind is frigid

and it's blowing hard, the buffalo goes against

the grain. And he trudges on and he marches forward

through all of the chaos, through the freezing,

bitter. And that is our fight to stay free in

Christ. Because if we'll keep going through it,

the other side is a lot closer than we think.

And the other side is a lot better than we can

imagine. Fighting to stay free means using your

freedom to love radically, to serve joyfully,

and to forgive. Completely. Freedom in Christ

isn't a freedom from responsibility. We talked

about this. It's not a freedom to just live with

no holds barred. It's not a freedom to just do

what you want, to drink what you want, to go

party like crazy, to live how you want, to say

whatever you want. It is not a freedom to just

go and do whatever. What did Paul say? He said,

do I just abuse this grace? No. Heavens no. I

fight. I keep going. It's a freedom not from

responsibility, but a freedom to finally be able

to live like Jesus because the chains are free

and now I can walk freely. It means living a

life that is at peace and confident no matter

what comes, knowing who holds the keys to our

life. But maybe you've been hearing all of this

over the last couple weeks if you've been here

or maybe just today, and it sounds like a lot.

It is, but it's also really simple. Jesus Christ

loves you, and because he loves you, he came

so that you can have a full, free, and abundant

life. That's simple. And the gospel is simple,

and it is so good. But maybe you've been hearing

that. And all of this talk about freedom, and

deep down you know you're not there yet. You

feel like you're not free yet. You don't know

that the chains have been broken off. You don't

know that the cell's been opened for you. You

still feel the weight of guilt. You still feel

chained to sin. You still feel far from God.

You feel like maybe you've wandered too far to

come home. But I want you to hear this, please.

Christ has already broken your chains too. He's

already opened the cell. He's already offered

you freedom, but freedom or being set free isn't

this automatic thing. It's not something that

you just think about and it happens. It's not

something that you just wake up one day and you're

like, oh yeah, I'm free today. There's some things

that have to happen. It's a gift that has to

be accepted and it has to be opened. Paul said

earlier in Galatians, he says in chapter three,

verses 26 to 27. So in Christ, you all are children

of God through faith. OK. All right. So we believe.

Yes. All right. Got it. For all of you who were

baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with

Christ. That's how Paul describes it. He says

when you're baptized into Christ, when you have

put him on in baptism, you give your life to

him. Now you are free. Baptism isn't just symbolic.

It is the moment where faith becomes embodied.

The moment you step into the freedom that Christ

offers. I mentioned the gift. I like to tell

people, baptism is like if I hand you a Christmas

present. It's got the pretty wrapping on it.

It's got the pretty bow. I just need you to unwrap

it. Take that bow off. And now you get to see

the gift that I got you. And you get to experience

it fully. But if you take that gift I got you,

you never unwrap it and you just put it on the

shelf. Guess what happens? You don't get to play

with the remote control monster truck that I

just got you. You don't get to enjoy the gift

that I got you. And that's the same thing here

with baptism. It's got to happen. You got to

unwrap the gift. It's free. You didn't pay me

for the gift. You didn't earn the gift. I just

gave it to you because I love you. And that's

the same thing with God. But you got to take.

One simple step. Baptism's the moment when your

old self, that ugly self that we hate, that we

talk bad about, that self, that bound by sin

self that's got chains on it, baptism's the moment

when that self is buried in the water. Where

your new self, the washed clean self, the shiny,

sparkly, fresh smelling self, clothed in Christ,

rises up in freedom. This is not just a ritual.

It is rescue. It is the moment where I grab onto

the life preserver and say, pull me out. It's

a reunion. It's redemption. When a prisoner's

cell door swings open, freedom still requires

one step, doesn't it? Got to walk out. Baptism

is that step. It's the moment where you leave

the cell behind and you don't look back. It's

the moment where you take God at his word when

he says you're free and you say, I am. And you

walk with him. So maybe you've been standing

just outside the water for a long time. Maybe

you've been thinking, I'm not ready. Or maybe

you've been thinking, I'm not good enough. Or

maybe you've thought maybe later. Or maybe you've

even asked, do I really need to? But you do need

to. And the great news is you don't have to fix

yourself first. You can come just as you are,

just where you are, because the water is for

just that. The water is there to clean. The water

is there to restore. Not because there's magic

in the water. I'd be lying to you if I told you

you're going to feel some tingly feeling when

you get in there, unless the chlorine levels

are high. There's nothing magic about it. But

there's something special and magnificent about

the work that God does through it. I want to

tell you a story that you may or may not be familiar

with. It's a story that Jesus told. I've told

it already since I've been here just a few months.

I've told it a couple times. There was a father.

He had two sons. And one of his sons asked his

father for his inheritance early. He said, I

want to go do my own thing. And the father said,

yeah, sure. Gives him his inheritance. The son

takes the inheritance. He goes off. He wastes

it. He blows it on all kinds of dumb stuff. And

one day he finds himself sleeping with some pigs.

He has nothing to eat. He's starving. He's filthy.

He stinks. He feels awful. And he decides, well,

maybe, you know, the servants in my father's

house, they live better. So he thinks, maybe

I can go beg my father for a spot as a servant.

I can work for him. So he gets up. He goes to

his father. Before he even gets back, his father

runs. He grabs him. He hugs him. He celebrates.

Because my son has come home. And now that his

son is home, he gets him the best robe. He gets

him the best shoes. He gets him a ring. He says,

go kill the fattened calf. Let's throw a party.

Because my son who sinned against me, my son

who disrespected me, my son who wished I was

dead, he was dead. Now he's come home. That's

what happens when we come back to God. When we

give our lives to him, when we say, God, I want

to be yours. I want you to clothe me with your

finest robe. God doesn't make you earn your way

back. He doesn't make you pay for it. He doesn't

make you work for it. He embraces you. He clothes

you. And he says, welcome home, son. Welcome

home, daughter. So if you haven't yet taken that

step, if you don't know, if you don't feel like

you're free, if you feel like, I think I'm free,

but I also sometimes feel bound by some chains.

I ask you a question. Ethiopian eunuch in Acts

asks the same question. What's holding you back?

What's preventing you from taking that step today?

If you haven't felt the freedom. that only Christ

can bring. If you haven't felt the full, abundant,

joy -filled, eternal life that only Christ can

bring, I'm asking you, what's holding you back?

Wherever you are today, whether you're inside

the prison with the door open and you just don't

know if you're able to walk out or not, whether

you've still got chains on you, or whether you

just are struggling to stand firm in your freedom,

I want to encourage you, remember, trust, and

live in this confidently that Jesus has already

broken the lock. It's just up to you if you're

going to walk free. For freedom, Christ has set

you free. Stand firm, therefore, and don't submit

again to the yoke. Freedom's here. Freedom is

here because Christ is amazing. And because he

loves you so much that he would not let you stay

bound by the chains of this world. But he would

redeem you. He would restore you so that one

day you could live eternally in the perfect home

with the Father. And so that today you could

live abundantly in this amazing home with God's

people. Wherever you're at today, I want to challenge

you. Take the step. Walk out of that cell and

run as far away from those chains as you can.

If you need anything today, whether it's prayer

or you need to unwrap that gift and experience

the awesome gift, the free gift that Christ has

brought to you, wherever you're at, I hope you

will trust in him and come.