What does it mean to be free?
And how do we stay that way?
It's Independence Day weekend.
We've all been celebrating by grilling meat and blowing things up.
Rightfully so. It's been good.
This is the weekend when we celebrate our political and our national freedoms.
And without a doubt, those are good things to celebrate, be thankful for.
But what about at a deeper level?
What does it mean to be truly free?
And how, if at all, do we stay that way?
This morning we're taking a one-week break from our Hebrew series
and going to the letter of Galatians.
This letter of Paul has often been called the Magna Carta of Christian liberty,
of Christian freedom.
It's here that we find loud and clear,
perhaps more than anywhere else in the New Testament,
that the gospel, that Christianity, means freedom.
True, lasting, soul-satisfying freedom.
Now, before we dive into our sermon text this morning,
let me give some just quick context.
The book of Galatians falls roughly into three parts.
Chapters 1 and 2 are mainly biography.
Paul is telling his story and how his story highlights the gospel of grace.
And then in chapters 3 and 4, we find mostly theology,
where they unpack some of the depths of what the gospel is all about.
And then finally, in chapters 5 and 6, we find mostly ethics.
In other words, what does it mean to live in light of all of this?
But throughout the whole, Paul is defending and declaring that this gospel,
this good news about Jesus Christ,
is above all a message of freedom.
And where we're looking this morning, chapter 5, verse 1,
is really the high point of the whole letter.
It's the rousing climax of the whole thing.
So let's pick up there.
Galatians 5, chapter 1.
Just across the page from where we read earlier in our service.
Paul says this,
For freedom, Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision,
Christ will be of no advantage to you.
I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision
that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
You are severed from Christ,
you who would be justified by the law.
You have fallen away from grace.
For through the Spirit, by faith,
we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything,
but only faith working through love.
Let's pray together.
Oh, Lord Jesus, we pray this morning
that the ringing message of freedom
in this passage, in this book, Lord, in your word,
would become real to our hearts.
God, that we would live as those who've been set free
and stand firm in it.
We ask this in your name, Lord.
Amen.
Well, 5.1 says it pretty clear, doesn't it?
The central idea, the main thrust of this passage
is this exhortation to stand firm
in the freedom of Christ.
But before we look at why we need to stand firm
and how we actually go about standing firm,
first we have to consider exactly what this freedom
in Christ is.
Because we have all sorts of ideas
of what freedom means today, right?
I mean, on the political level,
there's freedom of speech
and freedom of assembly
and freedom to elect your own leaders.
Good things.
But of course, Paul's talking about
a different, deeper sort of freedom here, isn't he?
What is it?
I think if you ask the typical person on the street
what freedom means or what freedom looks like,
they'd say something like
being able to pursue my personal fulfillment
without lots of external rules or authorities
getting in the way.
In other words, having a clear path
to my own personal happiness
without someone else telling me what to be or do.
Or to put it even more simply,
to be free to do what I want
so long as it doesn't hurt anybody else.
Isn't that freedom for us?
Freedom from constraints.
And on the surface,
sounds good.
It's autonomous freedom from all constraints.
But you know, when we think about it,
it's actually pretty deeply flawed.
Think about a musician.
One of our neighbors is literally a concert pianist.
So when we get off the elevator on our floor
in our building,
we hear this incredible piano music
flowing into the hallway.
And most of it is just lightning fast.
Sometimes I think our neighbor has three hands or something
as quickly as he's able to play.
It's melodic.
It's rich.
It's stunning.
And I think if you were to come over and hear him play,
I think you would say that he has incredible freedom
on his instrument.
That he could play probably any piece of music
that you would give to him
and probably do it with ease.
But here's the thing that Beth and I have learned
living across the hall.
That that sort of freedom
takes incredible discipline.
Because he practices a lot.
And he practices hard.
And of course, that's good news for me and Beth.
Because we get serenaded every night
and we don't have to pay for the concert tickets.
But you see, real true freedom
doesn't come from being merely free from constraints
or rules or discipline or structure.
Freedom often comes because of those things, doesn't it?
But our common conception of freedom
is deeply flawed at another level.
It's flawed because this idea of freedom
being merely freedom from constraints,
it simply can't give us what we truly want
at the end of the day.
Because what we want deep down is love.
Isn't it?
Is relationship, is to be known and to know another.
But if the freedom we're pursuing
is mainly freedom from constraints,
if that's our highest form of freedom,
then we'll never get it.
Because the freedom of love
is the freedom of limiting yourself
for another, isn't it?
The freedom of turning my life around another
as they do the same for me.
Isn't that what makes the strongest friendships?
When two people are willing to give to one another
time and their attention and their gifts,
when they share and they shape
their passions together,
isn't that what makes the sweetest marriages?
When two people willingly seek the good of the other,
even when and especially when
it's costly to do so.
So don't you see,
if freedom means freedom to be and do what I want
so long as no one else gets hurt,
then essentially I'm saying that freedom
means being left alone.
And at the end of the day,
I think that's exactly
where that sort of freedom gets us.
We end up alone.
So I think all this makes it clear
that we need a new freedom.
And we need a better one.
And we need a richer one.
And we need a more lasting one.
And that's what Christ offers.
Of course, if you're new to Christianity,
if you've come here with a friend,
maybe you're thinking that freedom
and Christianity have nothing in common.
Maybe Christianity just seems to you
like a bunch of restrictive rules
and regulations.
And you know,
if that's what Christianity were about,
I'd agree with you.
But this whole letter
that we're looking at this morning
and practically the whole New Testament
is written to turn that notion on its head.
You see, what we commonly call religion,
a bunch of rules and regulations
that I have to keep for God to accept me,
that's what Paul describes in verse 4 of our passage
when he speaks of you
who would be justified by the law.
This is the mindset of thinking
that my moral performance
is what will put me in the right,
is what will justify me with God.
And that, Paul says,
is the very opposite of Christianity.
Christ has come to set us free from all of that.
For freedom, Christ has set us free,
verse 1 says.
But freedom from what, exactly?
What has Christ set us free from?
Well, it's clear when you read the rest of Galatians
that Paul primarily means freedom from the law.
What exactly does that mean?
Well, two things.
On the one hand,
it means we're free from having to keep
all the so-called ceremonial laws of the Old Testament,
like circumcision,
and all the kosher food laws,
and all the Sabbath regulations,
all the things that marked
Old Testament Israel off from the world
and were representational
of their ceremonial cleanness.
You see, all those things no longer apply
now that Christ has come.
This is what we've been studying in Hebrews
over the course of the year.
It's Jesus who makes us clean once and for all.
And all those ceremonies and regulations
were pointers or shadows to Christ,
who is the substance,
who is the reality.
What they merely represented on the outside,
Christ has fulfilled once for all
in our hearts.
So Christ has set us free
from the ceremonial laws.
And as a quick aside,
that's why Christians aren't being inconsistent
when it seems like we do follow
some Old Testament laws
and we don't follow others.
I think some people think that
we're just sort of picking and choosing
what to obey,
but in fact that's not the case.
It's not arbitrary or inconsistent.
It's actually living in line,
living consistently with the reality
of what Jesus has done.
Because Jesus makes us clean before God.
Because faith in Him
is what defines the people of God.
Because He's fulfilled the intention
of all those ceremonies.
Then those kinds of rules
simply don't apply
in the same way anymore.
In fact, it would be inconsistent
to keep on doing them
in the same way.
It would be a functional denial
of what Christ has done.
And that's part of what Paul
is getting on about in Galatians.
In other words, he's saying,
look, when the sun has risen,
you don't need to go on
lighting candles anymore.
When Christ makes you clean,
you don't need to go on
keeping the ceremonial law.
But on the other hand,
we're not just free
from the law's ceremonies.
We're free from the law
in an even deeper sense.
Galatians tells us
that Christ has set us free
from the law's curse.
And this strikes to the heart
of what it is
that makes Christianity
utterly unique.
You see, friends,
God's moral law
contains His perfect will
for our lives.
This is how we live
as God made us to live.
This is how we bear His image.
This is how we worship Him
and acknowledge Him
as our Creator and Lord.
And if we had kept
God's law holy
and perfectly,
then it would pronounce us blessed.
It would declare us
holy and acceptable to God.
But of course,
that's not what happens.
In each of our lives,
instead of gladly following
God's way,
we make ourselves
our own lords
and rebel against God's law
and willingly alienate
ourselves from Him.
And so instead of pronouncing
a blessing over us
for keeping God's law,
the law pronounces
a curse over us
for breaking it.
And so we stand condemned
and rejected
by the One
who made us
and who alone
can fulfill us.
And the irony is
is that
the more and more
we try to get ourselves
out of that situation,
the deeper and deeper
we go.
And of course,
deep down,
we all feel this reality,
don't we?
Think with me.
Have you ever wondered
why you want so badly
for other people
to approve of you?
Why you'd do anything
sometimes
to get them to accept you
or to praise you?
Why you'd put on
such a front
to get people
to like you?
Why do you bend
the truth sometimes
to get your peers
to accept you
or to think highly of you?
Why are you racked
with bitterness at times
because your parents
didn't love you
or give you
the kind of upbringing
you wanted?
Why is your fuse
so short
when other people
critique you
and you get angry
or you're thrown
into despair?
In other words,
why are we so hungry
for others
to bless us
and to pronounce us
right and acceptable
in their sight?
Could it be
that there's a deeper
blessing
that we've lost?
Could it be
that the reason
we're starved
for someone
to bless us
is because
when it really
counts
and where it
really counts
in God's eyes
we're under a curse
and having lost
his blessing
it drives us
to find a substitute
blessing
wherever we can
find it
only to find
of course
that it never
works
and we simply
become slaves
to the approval
of others
and no matter
how much
we get
we still
need more
and if we
don't get it
we spiral down
into angerness
and bitterness
and self-hatred
and then in our
angerness
and bitterness
or self-pity
we start to
medicate ourselves
with sex
or with work
or with substances
or whatever
and the tragedy
is
we don't even
see
where the real
problem lies
but friends
there's good news
the passage
we read earlier
says
when the fullness
of time
had come
God sent forth
his son
born of woman
born under
the law
to redeem
those
who were under
the law
so that we
might receive
adoption
as sons
the message
of Christianity
is that God
has lifted
the curse
through his
own son
and made
all who believe
his sons
and daughters
blessed
loved
heirs
forever
and if we
ask how
how does
Christ
redeem
us
from the
lost
curse
what does
he do
how does
he bring
this blessing
to us
Paul tells us
earlier in chapter
313
he says
Christ
redeemed
us
that is
freed us
from the
curse
of the
law
by nothing
less than
becoming
a curse
for us
you see
God doesn't
merely set
aside the
law
or ignore
it
how could
he
it's his
own
righteous
holy
character
no he
doesn't
set us
aside
instead of
setting aside
the law
he fulfills
it
the curse
I deserved
Christ bore
in my
place
in your
place
in the
place of
everyone
who trusts
him
but here's
the really
radical thing
is that
Christ doesn't
just take
our curse
but he
then turns
and gives
us his
blessing
you see
Jesus Christ
kept the
law
perfectly
he is
the only
one who
fully
deserves
God's
complete
and total
approval
and the
gospel is
that when
we link
our lives
to him
in faith
it's like a
marriage union
that legally
all that's
mine
becomes his
and all
that's his
becomes mine
and in
this union
with Christ
by faith
he takes
my curse
and I get
his blessing
and he
takes my
unrighteousness
and my
condemnation
and gives
me his
righteousness
and his
justification
and now
God looks
at me
and he
looks at
you
if you
are in
Christ
and he
sees us
through his
son
beautiful
radiant
perfect
friends
that's
freedom
freedom from
the law's
curse
freedom from
ever having
to earn
a standing
before God
through what I
am or what
I do
the freedom
of knowing
deep down
that God
views me
as his
own
without any
reservation
without any
hesitation
that God's
not sitting
around waiting
for me
to become
a better
version of
myself
so that
he'll
accept me
that he
loves me
not because
of my
performance
but because
of Jesus'
performance
I wonder
if you've
ever had a
hint
of that
freedom
when another
loves you
not for
what they're
going to get
from you
but simply
because they
love you
isn't that
one of the
truest forms
of freedom
that we
ever experience
to know
that my
performance
can't change
the other's
regard of
me
that's the
sort of
freedom
that makes
you strong
that's the
sort of
freedom
that brings
you peace
that's the
sort of
freedom
that will
cause you
to go
out
into the
world
with a
confidence
and with
a humility
with a
freedom
like nothing
else
and in
our human
dealings
that kind
of freedom
is rare
we hardly
think
that that
kind of
freedom
could be
possible
and yet
that's the
freedom that
Christ gives
Jesus
the one who
loved me
and gave
himself for
me
you see
friends
to be
counted
righteous
to be
justified
before God
by grace
alone
through faith
alone
in Christ
alone
that's
true
freedom
there's
nothing
else
like it
but what
Paul's
telling us
in the rest
of this
passage
is that
this
freedom
is a
freedom
that's
always
in
danger
that's
why Paul
says we
have to
stand
firm
standing
firm
here is a
military
term
it means
to be
diligent
and ready
and deliberate
and active
you see our
freedom in
Christ is
always in
danger of
being stolen
away
because our
hearts are
so prone
to go back
into a
performance
mindset
and to
think
that I'm
right because
I've performed
well
or that I'm
right because
I've done
certain things
and of course
this happens
subtly
it doesn't
happen overnight
the false
teachers who
showed up in
Galatia that
Paul is sort
of arguing
against in
this letter
they weren't
flat out
rejecting Jesus
as the
Messiah
they were
simply saying
that in order
to be saved
you had to be
circumcised too
after all it was
something that God
commanded in the
law of Moses
who could argue
with that
but in verses
2 through 4
Paul is saying
you can't have
it both ways
it's either
all of grace
through what
Jesus has done
or you lose
the whole
thing
in other
words if you
add any
human work
or merit
or contribution
as a requirement
for salvation
Paul says
you nullify
Christ
in your life
you're severed
from him
and here's the
deep irony
that we can
become very
very morally
scrupulous
that we can
do everything
right
and if we're
doing it to
earn God's
salvation
Paul says
it's driving
you away
from him
after all
Paul says
it won't
just stop
at circumcision
it can't
circumcision
is a promise
it's an obligation
to keep the
whole law
it's like
turning the
key of a
car
and once you
turn the
key the
engine starts
running
and you've
got to
drive the
thing
or turn it
off
and get
out
of course
few of us
are tempted
to accept
circumcision
today
as a requirement
for salvation
if you are
talk to me
at the door
because I've
never met
anyone
who thinks
that
but aren't
we just
like the
Galatians
at heart
aren't we
still tempted
to think
that faith
in Christ
by itself
aren't we
tempted to
think that
faith in
Christ alone
isn't quite
sufficient
to make
us
right
that surely
we need
to add
something
don't we
and of
course the
challenge here
is that so
many of us
would intellectually
agree that
we're saved by
faith alone
but do we
live that way
we get the
right answer
on a test
sure if I
hand it out
in the
bulletin
a check
mark
are you
saved
by faith
alone
or by
a mixture
of faith
in your
works
you would
probably
all say
faith
alone
amen
but what
about in the
day to day
of our lives
is there
something else
that we
functionally
put in
there
perhaps a
good question
to ask
ourselves
is this
what do I
want to be
known for
as you think
about your
life
as we think
about our
life together
what do we
want to be
known for
you know
if we were
to ask
that question
of the
false
teachers
who showed
up in
Galatia
they probably
would have
said
well we
want to
be known
for keeping
the law
of Moses
in fact
in chapter 2
verse 12
they're actually
called the
circumcision
party
circumcision
doesn't sound
like a party
to me
but there
you go
the circumcision
party
now we
don't know
if that's
what they
called
themselves
but that's
what they
were known
for
what about
us as a
church
what do we
want to be
known for
being the
cool hip
church
being the
social justice
church
being the
expositional
preaching
church
none of
those are
bad things
but friends
if they
start to
stand above
the gospel
of the
grace of
Jesus
in our
affections
and in
our
aims
and in
what we
want to
be known
for
then we're
on dangerous
ground
and our
freedom will
start slipping
from our
hands
but what
about in
your individual
life
what do
you personally
want to be
known for
running a
successful
business
fighting world
hunger
raising a
godly
household
of course
these are all
excellent
things
and the
gospel will
empower you
to do
them and to
do them
well with
joy and
with courage
but is that
ultimately what
you want to be
known for
the danger
is that any
of these good
things can
start to slide
into the
center and
suddenly our
identity isn't
content with
Christ alone
instead it has
to be Christ
and success
at work
or Christ
and making a
difference
globally
or Christ
and having
a happy
family
to be okay
we start to
say I need
him
and
I want to
be known
for him
and
and as soon
as our
heart starts
saying that
our freedom
is slipping
from our
grasp
because whatever
comes after
that and
whether it be
circumcision
or anything
else
it will
ultimately
drive you
away from
Christ
and his
grace
and into a
yoke
of slavery
that's what
Paul says
over and
over in
verses 2
through 4
this doesn't
mean that a
genuine
Christian can
lose their
salvation
but it does
mean that we
can end up
living under
a crippling
load of
guilt and
shame or
under an
ugly facade
of pride
and pretension
and that is
simply not
what Christ
has freed us
for
he's freed
us for
freedom
and we have
to stand
firm
in it
and in the
last two
verses of
our passage
we see
how
how is it
that we
stand firm
we stand
firm
Paul says
by seeing
that faith
alone
through the
spirit
makes us
eager in
hope
and energetic
in love
look at
verse 5
for through
the spirit
by faith
not by works
not by the
law
through the
spirit
by faith
we ourselves
eagerly wait
for the hope
of righteousness
our faith
in Christ
makes us
eager for
the future
the hope
of righteousness
here is God's
final verdict
over our
lives
and if we're
headed toward
that day
on the basis
of our
performance
friends the last
thing we will do
is eagerly
wait for it
we might
anxiously
dread it
or if we
think we're
good
and we've
kept all
God's laws
we might
pridefully
presume upon
that day
but either
way the
outcome
will be
far
from
hopeful
but in
Christ
friends we
know
what God's
verdict will
be
because he's
already
pronounced it
over us
it will be
one of
complete
approval
and acceptance
for its
basis is
the perfect
righteousness
of Jesus
and that
means neither
dread nor
presumption
but eager
expectation
for what the
future holds
for on that
day we'll
stand before
God in
the new
creation
and he will
look upon
us as his
radiant
bride
without a
spot
without a
wrinkle
without a
blemish
and he'll
delight in
us
forever
he'll sing
over us
the prophets
say
in delight
and Paul
says that
this faith
fueled
hope
comes
through
the
spirit
God's
given us
his own
spirit
to make
this true
in our
lives
he's not
leaving us
high and
dry
he's put
his own
self
into us
to make
this faith
real and
live in
our hearts
faith itself
is the gift
of the
spirit
but the
spirit
also fans
this gift
into a
flame
and makes
the things
of Christ
real to
our hearts
so they
become bright
with hope
friends as
Christians we
should meditate
often about
the way
God views
us in
Christ
do you
make it a
spiritual
practice
daily
to think
about yourself
the way that
your father
thinks about
you in
Christ
or do you
spend more
time thinking
about your
screw ups
and your
failures
and your
mistakes
instead of
thinking about
the fact
that Christ
redeemed us
from the
curse of
the law
by becoming
a curse
for us
do you
spend more
time thinking
of yourself
as lost
and gone
and wayward
instead of
seeing yourself
and viewing
yourself
and telling
yourself
what's true
that in
Christ
you're his
son
you're his
daughter
that in
Christ
you're his
bride
radiant
with beauty
friends we
should be
thinking
deeply
about the
day
when God
will pronounce
us publicly
and finally
righteous
for eternity
when our
screw ups
and failures
and sins
will be
overturned
when God
bangs the
gavel
and says
you're
righteous
because of
my son
friends let
us grow
eager
in our
hope
and then
we'll stand
firm in
our
freedom
and the
spirit not
only makes
our faith
full of
eager hope
but full
of energetic
love
look at
verse 6
for in
Christ
Jesus
neither
circumcision
nor
uncircumcision
counts
for anything
but only
faith
working
through
love
we see
here that
the sort
of faith
that unites
us to
Christ
isn't
merely
just an
intellectual
belief
it's not
merely
ticking
boxes
it's a
sort
of faith
that trusts
Christ
to be
so sufficient
for salvation
it's a
giving of
ourselves
to him
in such
complete
dependence
that love
comes rushing
forth
for others
compare it
to a
circumcision
mindset
where we're
centered on
our own
moral
achievements
you know
if that's
us
we won't
genuinely
love
can't
from that
because we
might
you
know
you