Thanks-Living: Two Kinds of Freedom

Galatians 5: 1 – 15.

Introduction.

What do you have to be thankful for?  It’s hard to believe, but there is only one more Sunday between today and Thanksgiving Day.  While I believe it is a great thing that we have one day every year set aside to give thanks, I also believe one day is not enough.  As Christians, we have so much to be thankful for that we cannot possibly fit it all into one day.  That is why I want to use every Sunday in November to preach about some of the things we have to be thankful for.  Last week, I spoke about the gift of life—we are thankful to God for creating us and providing for all our needs.  Today, I want to preach about freedom.

Actually, I considered preaching about freedom last week.  Last Sunday was the Sunday before the presidential election, and that seemed like a good time to preach about being thankful for freedom.  But today is the Sunday after the presidential election, and it is Veterans’ Day…Therefore, today is another good day to preach about freedom.

I am thankful for two kinds of freedom.  I am thankful for political freedom and for spiritual freedom.

I use the term political freedom to describe all the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America.  Freedom of speech…Freedom of Religion…Freedom to elect our government leaders…Freedom to pursue our dreams.  We live in the greatest country in the world.  But, I am not one to say we live in the greatest country in the world and enjoy these freedoms by accident of birth.  No.  I believe it is by the Grace of God.  We should be thankful FOR freedom and thankful TO God for those freedoms.

Galatians 5: 1 – 15.

In the Book of Galatians, Paul addresses a controversy in the churches in Galatia.  While this controversy is mostly unknown, it has been pieced together through scholarly investigation—by reading Paul’s arguments and speculating what he is trying to correct.  It seems the churches in Galatia had been infiltrated by false teachers who taught that faith in Jesus was not enough.  They taught that in order to be a Christian, one had to believe in Jesus AND do something else.  Anything that requires more than faith in Jesus is a false Gospel.

We think the false teachers in Galatia were teaching that Christians needed to have faith in Jesus AND follow the Jewish Law.  It’s easy for us to wag our finger and shake our head at this false teaching.  But, we do the same thing.  Anytime we tell people they need to believe in Jesus AND do something else to be truly Christian, we are making the same mistake.  In Galatia, the problem was Jesus AND the Law.  For many people it is Jesus AND baptism…or Jesus AND a certain theological position…or Jesus AND a political affiliation.

Whenever we say Jesus AND something else, we have elevated something else to the point of being equal to Jesus.  This is nothing short of idolatry.  Because Jesus is enough.

               

Verse 1…  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

To this point in the Book of Galatians, Paul has placed Christ and the Law in opposition.  In Paul’s estimation, the Law was a temporary arrangement between God and God’s people.  The Law served it purpose and came to an end when Christ came. 

The biggest difference between Christ and the Law is what they accomplish.  The Law cannot forgive sins.  It only condemns.  The Law cannot give life.  It can only take away life.  The Law cannot comfort a guilty soul.  It only increases the guilt.  The Law cannot set us free.  It enslaves.

Christ, on the other hand, forgives sins; gives eternal life; provides comfort to sinners; and sets us free.

From what does Christ set us free? 

The Law tells us that we are sinners who fall short of God’s glory and God’s expectations for God’s people.  Therefore, the Law tells us that we are deserving of God’s wrath.  Every person who breaks the Law deserves to feel the weight of God’s wrath.  This wrath is not felt in this earthly life.  It is reserved for hell: eternal torment and eternal separation from God.

However, Paul tells us that Jesus became sin for us and took away the wrath of God.  This is offered to anyone who places faith in Christ.  Through faith, we receive God’s grace and not God’s wrath.

God’s grace sets us free from God’s wrath.  God is not angry with us anymore.  God will never be angry at us again.  Since God will never be angry with us, we can love God and not fear him.  Therefore, as much as the Law might try to make us feel guilt and fear, we are free from the Law.  As much as sin might cause us to fear God, we are free from sin and its eternal consequences.  As much as death might be foreboding, we are free from death by God’s promises of heaven.  As much as Satan might try to threaten us, we are free from Satan by the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

This is the freedom that Christ accomplished for us.  We could never break free from wrath, Law, sin, death or Satan on our own.  Christ has set us free.  The only true freedom comes from the work of the cross.

Now Paul must remind the Galatians about true freedom.  They are contemplating going “back” into slavery.  I say “back,” even though they were never Jewish.  They were Gentiles.  Therefore, they have never experienced life under the Old Testament Law.  Yet, they have experienced other forms of slavery: wrath, sin, death and Satan.  According to Paul all other religious systems are equal.  Christian faith is the only religious system that sets us free and does not lead down the road to hell.

Verses 2 – 3 … Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

Verse 2 indicates that the churches at Galatia are still in the thinking about / contemplating stage.  They have not yet submitted to circumcision.  They have been hearing from false teachers, comparing their words to the Gospel Paul preached, and are trying to make a decision between the two.

There are two important, but closely related points in these two verses.

First, Paul says that circumcision nullifies the work of Christ.  I think we need to consider his use of the term “circumcision.”  Either Paul means circumcision literally or he means it as a symbol for something else.  Today, I think he is using it literally.  I used to think it was symbolic for the entirety of the Old Testament Law.

Circumcision was the final step for a Gentile man in his journey to become a Jewish proselyte.  It was a big step, because it was painful and difficult.  It was saved for the end of the process.  A man did not begin by having himself circumcised.  He began with other aspects of the Law.  He modified his diet, observed the Jewish calendar, studied the Torah…And only then was circumcised.  This is one reason why I think Paul is using circumcision literally.

If a man became a Jewish proselyte, he was committing himself to the Jewish religion.  The Jewish religion taught (and continues to teach) that the Messiah has not yet come.  The Jews are still waiting on the Messiah.  Therefore, a Jew and a Jewish proselyte both share the view that Jesus is not the Messiah (Christ).  By professing that Jesus is not the Christ, the Jews were also professing that Jesus was of no value to them.  It was as if Jesus had never come and had never died on the cross.  Paul’s warning to the Galatians is that they were considering a move in the wrong direction.  Instead of professing Jesus as sufficient for salvation and freedom, they were about to profess that Jesus is not the Christ, because the Christ had not come.

The second point also shows us that Paul is talking about literal circumcision.  He says that the Law cannot be separated into different sections.  The Law must remain intact.  Either the Law will be accepted wholly, or it will be rejected wholly.  There is no middle ground.  Circumcision cannot be isolated from the rest of the Law.  Submitting to circumcision is a sign that the person is submitting to the whole Law.

What Paul is writing about is the idea that circumcision is necessary for salvation, not the physical act of circumcision.  We cannot apply spiritual power or significance to anything other than the cross of Christ.  This is significant, because the Old Testament tells us that circumcision was instituted by God himself.  It was not invented by any human.  If Paul can make this bold of a statement about something instituted by God, then imagine what he would have to say about human institutions.

Verses 4 – 6 … You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.  But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

I do not believe the phrase “fallen from Grace” means that Paul is teaching that a person can lose their salvation.  Instead, I think he is stressing the gravity of the situation.  This is not a little matter.  It is a big deal, because it affects the whole Gospel.

Paul addresses the churches at Galatia as his “brothers.”  This indicates that he does not doubt their salvation.  They are fellow Christians.  However, even fellow Christians can distort the Gospel for future generations.  They professed faith in Christ and received the Holy Spirit.  These people are Christians.  Yet, if they begin to teach their children and others that circumcision is necessary for salvation, they are going to lead a lot of people astray.  A mistake at the beginning of the church will affect countless generations to come.

The word “righteousness” could also be translated “justice” of “justification.”  The righteousness / justice / justification for which we hope.  I would not choose to use the word “justice.”  But, I would agree with either “righteousness” or “justification.”  Paul is writing about a now and not yet understanding of salvation.  Through faith in Christ, God has declared us “righteous” or “justified” in his sight.  However, that righteousness or justification is not yet complete.  It will never be complete as long as we continue to live on this earth.  It is completed once we are in heaven.

I believe the Galatians were interested in circumcision and the Law, because they felt like they needed a boundary marker to identify them as part of the Christian community.  It was easy to identify those who worshipped as a part of the Emperor cult and those who worshipped the Roman pantheon of gods.  The Jews were easily identified by circumcision and the Law.  But, how were outsiders to identify the Christian community?

Paul ends verse 6 with a shift toward ethical behavior and the defining characteristic of the Christian community.  If Christians do not have to obey the Law, what separated us from the pagans and the Jews?  Does freedom in Christ mean that we can live any way we want to live?  No.  Salvation comes through faith.  Faith is expressed ethically in loving actions.  (We will deal with this more at the end of the passage.)

Verses 7 – 12 … You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?  That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.  "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough."  I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.  Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.  As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Here is the final reason why I believe Paul is writing about literal circumcision.  Verses 7 – 12 contain several puns on the concept of circumcision. 

Verse 7, Paul reminds his readers of circumcision by using the word “cut.”  Often, Paul compares the Christian life to running a race.  Here, he used the Greek imperfect tense to describe the way the Galatians started their race.  The Greek imperfect is used to indicate continuous action in the past.  The NIV captures this well with the phrase “you were running.”  In other words, they were doing a great job.  They professed Christ.  They received the Spirit.  They established churches.  They were growing in their faith.  All was good until someone “cut” in on them.  Cutting is the problem.  Circumcision has distracted them from running the race.

Paul says that the ones insisting on circumcision are not from God.  God does not distract us from running the race.  Satan is the one who distracts us.  Paul makes an association with the “cutting party” and a Satanic influence.  It did not come from God.

In verse 10, Paul refers to the agitators, but refuses to identify them.  He calls them “the one who is throwing you into confusion” and “whoever he may be.”  Some take this to mean that Paul does not know who they are.  He just knows there is a problem in the churches.  I think it is a shaming device.  They are not important enough to call by name. 

Although “whoever he may be” could indicate that this false teacher was someone famous.  Either it was one of the Apostles, or it was a man who had been led to faith and discipled by one of the Apostles.  Compare this to Galatians 1: 8, and I think we have a good case for a famous false teacher.  However, reputation does not matter.  All that matters is the purity of the Gospel.  No matter who is teaching a false Gospel, it is still false.  They will be held accountable to God.

Verse 12, Paul gives some offensive words about circumcision.  Literally, this verse reads: “As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and cut it off.”  The NIV captures this with the phrase “emasculate themselves.”  If they were to “cut it off,” they would be excluded from the Jewish synagogue.  The Old Testament teaches that a man who is incomplete is excluded from worship.  If the agitators would go the whole way, the problems with the churches would be resolved.  They could no longer find acceptance in the Jewish religion.

Verses 13 – 15 … You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

There is a danger in preaching freedom.  The danger is that sometimes people interpret freedom as a license to sin.  If we are free from the Law, then it does not matter how we live our lives.

License is not freedom.  License is slavery just as legalism is slavery.  Legalism is slavery to the Law.  License is slavery to “the sinful nature.”  It is slavery to Satan.

Love is the proper balance between legalism and license.  Paul proves this by quoting from Leviticus 19: 18.  The legalists would recognize this as a good Law.  The Christians would recognize this as the words of Jesus.

The beauty of this statement is the fact that you don’t have to study huge law books to understand it.  We all know how to love ourselves.  We all know how we want to be treated by others. 

Now, treat others the same way.  It is simple, but it is also complicated.  Jesus told us in Luke 10, that loving our neighbors does not mean loving people who are easy to love.  It means loving our enemies and the people that we really don’t like.

Conclusion.

You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather (use your freedom) to serve one another in love.

This is the way Freedom was demonstrated for us in the life of Jesus…Jesus used his Freedom to die on the Cross for all our sins.  And Jesus used his Freedom to serve the physical needs of others around him.  He calls us to follow his example.

If you follow Jesus as his disciple, then you are Free…How will you use your Freedom?  Will you serve your own sinful desires?  Will you follow the example of Christ and serve the needs of others around you?

Both political freedom and spiritual freedom come with responsibility.  To love as Jesus loved…  To use our freedom to serve the needs of others…  If we keep on biting and devouring each other, we will destroy each other.