Freedom – Week 11

We have been focusing primarily on the idea of our freedom in Christ, and if you’ll recall, even though we haven’t been focusing on it lately, the definition of Freedom that we’ve been working through is a “Liberation from human-led legalism to Spirit-led righteousness.”

We have seen three distinct sections in this book. In section #1, we see Paul bringing the issue to the forefront, helping us all see that the Galatian church was wandering from the truth of the Gospel. He soundly reminds them of his authority in Christ to preach the Gospel and reminds them of the salvation they had when he first preached to them.

In the second section, Paul got extremely theological in his explanation of the freedom we have in Christ, why we have it, and why it is vital for us to keep on pressing against the legalism that so wants to vie for our attention and our loyalty.

Last week, Davis began showing us that in this third section of Galatians we begin to put practical application to the theological truth that we’ve been exposed to. We are beginning to see just how this position of freedom that we have is going to work itself out in our daily lives.

Galatians 5:13-26

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

So, Paul begins here by reiterating what he has been saying in first 12 verses of chapter 5, mainly that we are called to live in the freedom that Christ offers through His blood.

He goes on here, reminding us that while we have true freedom in Jesus, we are not to use that freedom in the wrong way.

We are also called to be about the “one another”s that we find in the Bible. We find three of these “one another”s in this passage we’re looking at today. The first of which is to “through love serve one another.”

The freedom that we’re called to live in guides us first to serve others. It’s not about being served but serving. In fact, those who are the best in the Kingdom of God are those who serve. If that sounds familiar, then you’re probably hearing Jesus’ words when He said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve.” And Paul is calling the Galatians and us to this same kind of attitude.

Paul wants us to change. He talks here in this section about living by the flesh and what that looks like. He challenges us to walk in the Spirit so that the flesh will die.

He uses this imagery because he wants us to see the contrast of those who live according to the flesh and those who live according to the Spirit. He says that those who live by the Spirit will not gratify the desires of the flesh, and those who live by the flesh will not seek to live according to the Spirit. He says that it is an impossibility for us to live both lives.

Verse 19 tells us what life in the flesh looks like.

  • Sexual immorality
  • Impurity
  • Sensuality
  • Idolatry
  • Sorcery
  • Enmity
  • Strife
  • Jealousy
  • Fits of anger
  • Rivalries
  • Dissensions
  • Divisions
  • Envy
  • Drunkenness
  • Orgies
  • And other things like these

And look at what Paul says here…Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now understand that the word translated “do” here is in a Greek tense. But this Greek tense has the implication of habitual or lifestyle or regularly practicing these things. It means that if your life is characterized by these things, the Kingdom doesn’t belong to you. You’re still living in the flesh, and you are more than likely not a part of the Kingdom.

While the life characterized by the flesh is obvious, so is the life characterized by the Spirit’s control. And Paul spells it out for us:

The fruit of the Spirit is…

  • Love
  • Joy
  • Peace
  • Patience
  • Kindness
  • Goodness
  • Faithfulness
  • Gentleness
  • Self-Control

And then look at his final statement. “Against such things there is no law!” To simplify what he’s saying here, when these things are present in a life, there is true freedom.

I want to go back and look at verse 25, because I feel that this verse is the KEY to what we’ve been talking about today and throughout the rest of this book. When we talk about freedom (liberation from human-led legalism to Spirit-led righteousness), we must talk about how we live in the day to day. The Bible refers to this as our walk.

Paul says here, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Two illustrations that I think about when I read this verse.

The first is that of marching in the military. The second is dancing.

This is what it means to be truly free…to truly be liberated from a life of having to “live up” to a certain standard…because we can never live up to the standard that God has set…perfection. God’s way is to have Jesus make the way, to become our way, to be the only way to perfection. We are free from having to be enslaved to the way of the flesh and live the life of the Spirit. This is the way that God has called us to, and this is the way that we can now live in freedom…and what is freedom?

LIBERATION FROM HUMAN-LED LEGALISM TO SPIRIT-LED RIGHTEOUSNESS!

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