07/05/2015
Freedom
Galatians 5: 1, 13-14
PRAY
On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution in the
Continental Congress urging the fifty-six men, who were there representing the
thirteen colonies, to declare their independence from England. Four days later
they agreed to appoint a committee to draft the document. They chose five men:
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas
Jefferson. The initial task of writing was assigned to Jefferson. Two weeks later,
after the document had been reviewed by the committee, it was presented to
Congress. They debated and revised the language and on July 4th adopted the
declaration in its final form.
When those fifty-six bold patriots affixed their signatures to the bottom of the
Declaration of Independence, they called upon God to protect them, as they
mutually pledged to each other their Lives, their Fortunes, and their sacred Honor.
Yesterday we celebrated our Independence Day and the many freedoms we
enjoy as American citizens. We owe our freedom to the sacrifice and
determination of those first patriots and to the many other men and women who
have given their all to protect and preserve our liberty and our way of life. The
fifty-six men who gathered in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence
were men of principle; they were men of courage; and they were men of faith.
They believed the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was a gift from
God.
Listen to their words:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.
You cannot read the Declaration of Independence without noting the roll of
faith, the reliance on God, that under girded the determination of those brave
patriots who took a stand for liberty. The opening sentence proclaims their
conviction that the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” compelled them to stand
against tyranny. They believed that liberty was a right endowed by God. They
appealed to God to judge the righteousness of their intentions. And they relied on
God’s protection as they signed their names on this historic document.
These were men of courage and conviction. These were men of passion
and purpose. And these were men of faith. They knew that with liberty comes
great responsibility. They knew that freedom demands righteous behavior. And I
am convinced that most, if not all of them, were very familiar with the words of
Paul the Apostle. Paul was also a great champion of liberty and he wrote to the
Galatians, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” That is the Scripture I want us to
think about this morning. Listen as I read these words from Galatians, chapter 5.
I’m reading verse one and then skipping over to verses 13 and 14.
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not
submit again to a yoke of slavery. Only do not use your freedom as an
07/05/2015
2
opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one
another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5: 1, 13b-14).
Paul knew the people in Galatia to whom he wrote. He had visited in their
homes passionately preaching the Gospel. He proclaimed Jesus as the one and
only Son of God, the Messiah who was crucified, not for his sin, but for our sin.
His death on the cross paid the penalty for my sin and yours. Furthermore, his
resurrection from the dead opened the door to eternal life. And Paul said all you
have to do to receive the gift of salvation is believe – put your faith in Jesus Christ,
trust him as your Lord and Savior. In a sense, Paul’s entire message can be
summed up in a single verse. You can read it in Galatians 2:16: “We know that a
person is justified [that is made right with God] not by the works of the law but
through faith in Jesus Christ.”
You see, for centuries the Jewish people had tried to faithfully observe the
Law of Moses. God gave the law to the people to show them how to honor him
and to live in harmony with one another. The law was intended to be obeyed as a
grateful response to God’s love for us. However, over time faithful observance of
the law came to be understood as a means of earning God’s love and forgiveness.
The message of Jesus, the Good News proclaimed by Paul, is that we can never
earn it. We can never do enough or be good enough to earn God’s love. God’s
love is a gift. God has always loved us. God loves all people. Keeping the law is
07/05/2015
3
a response to the free gift of God’s love. It is a way of demonstrating our love for
Jesus, saying thank you for his sacrifice on our behalf.
Paul’s message to the new Christians in Galatia was that through faith in
Jesus Christ they could be free – free from sin. For Paul this is true freedom. The
Good News of the Gospel is that Christ has broken the chains that enslaved us.
With Christ in our hearts, we are set free from the bondage of sin. We have been
released from the guilt and shame of our past. With Christ in our hearts we are
motivated by love and are no longer bound by the law.
However, after Paul left Galatia, some other Jewish Christians arrived who
had a different idea. They wanted to impose additional restrictions on these new
converts. They said anyone who wants to follow Jesus must first become a Jew
and obey every detail of Jewish law. When Paul heard about this he was
incensed and he wrote this letter to set the record straight. “You are not slaves
under the law. Jesus Christ has set you free! For freedom Christ has set us free,”
he wrote. Paul believed this. Our founding fathers also believed it. They
believed freedom was a gift from God. That conviction formed the bedrock on
which our nation was founded. Freedom is our God-given right. We are made in
God’s image – free to live and think and act. And God gives us freedom in Christ
– freedom from the Law, the grace to be released from the burden, the guilt, and
the shame of our sin, all our sin.
07/05/2015
4
But there have always been, and I guess there will always be, those who are
opposed to freedom. Paul faced it in the actions of those who insisted that all new
Christians must observe all the Jewish laws and customs. Martin Luther faced it
when he confronted corruption in the church. Abraham Lincoln faced it over the
issue of slavery. Martin Luther King, Jr. faced it in the streets of Memphis. And
John F. Kennedy in his Inaugural Address warned the enemies of liberty: “Let
every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we will pay any price, bear
any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to
assure the survival and the success of liberty.
The struggle between liberty and tyranny continues. It is still being waged
around the world – in the Middle East and in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Even in America our defenses are being tested. We must be vigilant, because the
threat is ever present. And in spite of the threat, in spite of the danger,
everywhere people face oppression there is a longing to be free. America for all
our flaws still stands as a beacon of hope to the world. I pray for our nation and
our leaders, because we often fail to honor God. We have turned away from God.
We live as if we do not fear God or rely on God and I believe we may one day lose
the freedoms our founders fought to secure.
It never ceases to amaze me why some people seem to prefer tyranny,
dictatorship, and control over democracy and freedom. Perhaps there are three
different kinds of people in the world. There are those who thirst for power and
07/05/2015
5
control. There are those who need to be controlled. And there are those who
long to be free and who long for all people to be free.
So this weekend as we celebrate our nation’s independence and the
freedoms we enjoy, I want to encourage you to think about your understanding of
freedom. As Americans we are free to pursue our own dreams; we are free to
elect our own leaders; we are free to speak our own mind; and free to worship as
we please. These are but a few of the amazing freedoms we enjoy in this country.
However, with great freedom comes great responsibility. To insure that our
freedoms are preserved for generations to follow, we must be responsible citizens,
we need to keep ourselves informed, and we need to participate in the political
process.
As Christians we enjoy an totally different kind of freedom. In Christ Jesus,
we are free from the bondage of sin. We are free from the guilt and shame of our
past. And, thanks be to God, because of His sacrifice for us, we freely receive
forgiveness even when we continue to fail him. But, we are not set free to just go
our own way, ... to do our own thing. With freedom in Christ also comes great
responsibility. We are set free from the bondage of sin and set free to love our
neighbor as our self.
You see there is a price for freedom. Christ didn't set us free so we can take
charge. Jesus set us free so He can take charge.
07/05/2015
6
There is no complete freedom. We all have a master. Paul understood that.
He said, “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but
through love become slaves to one another.” Paul understood that willingly or
unwillingly we all become slaves to something or someone. Whatever rules our
life, whatever determines our priorities, whatever is most important to us becomes
our master. When Jesus Christ is our master, we are set free from sin and set
free to love and serve others. And as Paul reminds the Galatians sometimes our
greatest liberation can be found in our commitments; in our freedom to serve
others.
Paul knew that freedom in Christ, freedom from the law, and freedom from
the guilt and pain of sin, required complete obedience to the law of Christ, the law
of love. Because if freedom is not Christ-centered, if freedom becomes selfcentered, the freedom to love becomes adultery and fornication. ... The freedom to
worship becomes idolatry. ... The freedom to discuss leads to quarrels. ... The
freedom to disagree becomes dissension. ... And the freedom to thrive becomes
envy. Paul says when we let our sinful nature take control it brings out the worst
in us. Read the rest of chapter five. Paul warns the Galatians about works of the
flesh, but he doesn’t stop there. He goes on to say, "If you are led by the Spirit, ...
you will bear the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Finally, Paul reminds us
07/05/2015
7
that life in the Spirit is a battle – a constant struggle of wills – the daily call to
submit our will to God's will.
The political and personal freedoms we celebrate this weekend remind us
that with freedom comes responsibility. For our freedom to "work" we must be
good citizens - we must vote, pay taxes, obey the laws, respect property, be loyal
and keep the peace. As Christians, the freedom we enjoy demands two things -faithfulness and love. We must be faithful to Jesus Christ, surrender the control of
our lives to him. And we must love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and
strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves.
That is freedom. And that we celebrate. Not just on July 4th, but every day.
Thanks be to God!
AMEN!
07/05/2015
8