I Pledge Allegiance

National Anthem

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

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.

These are words that were written with freedom in mind, nonetheless when we think about the history of this country this freedom has been conditional and selective.

Freedom, when you hear that word what do you think about? To the 17 year old high school student it might be staying out past curfew. To the refugee escaping a war ridden country it might just be making it to American soil. To the mother it might be a day without her children and the ability to do what she wants. To the thrill seeker it may be jumping out of a plane. Nonetheless to the Christian it is the ability not to be shackled to the bondage of sin.

Some have depicted this letter to be called the charter of Christian liberty. The beauty of this letter is imperative for us to take note of. The author Paul is vulnerable to give us an inside view of his life before he became a follower of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:13 “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.”

Understand that the way we used to live is a prison, and if we are not careful we can live in those shackles longer than we would like.

To profess Christ yet live like the old you is similar to a work release program in jail. Sometimes people have the ability to go to work yet return to the shackles once the work day is over. Life can be struggling, many of worship on Sundays like we are free and Christ and I truly believe that we are here because we want to do better but when the closing prayer has been done and we get back in our cars and we read text messages and get phone calls from the old life how do we refrain from handcuffing ourselves to our sinful past!

Sin builds tendencies, it’s similar to someone who has spend enough time incarcerated that it becomes a fabric of their being. We typically and irresponsibly call these individuals institutionalized. The more we sin the more we become institutionalized. What does our sin recidivism rate look like this morning. How likely are we to re-offend God because our willingness to succumb to the flesh.

Paul’s vulnerability is a testament to the fact that many converts in Galatia were worshippers of Greek mythological gods and goddesses, primarily Cybele which help further these cult like influences. Similar to his previous religious devotion to Judaism, the people Galatia were converts from their previous practices.

Slavery vs. Freedom

Galatians 5:1-2 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.”

Stand in your freedom, Christ died for our freedom. Freedom typically comes at the expense of a sacrifice. He sacrificed the comfort of heaven, sacrificed his supernatural being to become like us, just to die for our Sins. His ability to conquer death gives us the power to say no to death and say yes to Jesus.

Here’s where we have to be careful as Christians, we don’t share the gospel with people just for them to become Christians and we place them under another yoke of bondage. What was happening was people were converting to Christianity just to have circumcision held over their head.

Galatians 3:2-5 “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

Sometimes people aren’t trying to convert you to Christ they’re trying to convert you to their form of morality! Its up to us to live by the spirit, free from gratifying selfish desires.

What is Bondage?

It’s interesting to know that root word of entangle actually means to hold a grudge. Here’s where sin becomes shackling when we fall victim to the fear of missing out.

When we become Christians, life changes, friends might change, weekends look different. Sometimes we fall victim to our flesh because the fear of missing out becomes so grand that we succumb to the desires of our flesh. How many times have you buckled and given in to the flesh just to show up somewhere, spend time with someone or engage in some activity and then within ten minutes of being there you regret even showing up.

Here’s the danger of being entangled sometimes we find ourselves entangled in things we will never get out of that’s why it’s so dangerous.

Acceptance of people means nothing because as soon as you refrain from doing what people want you to do, you’ll find yourself isolated and betrayed. True peace, true acceptance comes from Christ.

Circumcision is worthless. Just like other physical displays of devotion without our heart being in the right place. You can sing all the songs, bow your head in prayer, take as many notes as possible but if my heart is not in the right place my worship is in vain.

Not too mention be careful of folks who hold things over your head yet don’t keep the entire law! Galatians 5:3 “And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.”

There is more freedom in loving one another selflessly rather than falling victim to physical means of bondage in effort to look uniform instead of being unified.

Galatians 5:13-15 “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!”

Justification is in Christ Alone

I owe no one allegiance but Jesus Christ. I’m free because of Him. Be careful what you allow yourself to be justified by. No matter how impactful we are as a church. The fact that you are a member at Genessee Avenue is not going to hold any weight with God at judgement if your life is not right.

How many times have we done things out of peer pressure in fear of not being accepted by people. When you go against morals to be accepted you’ll have to continue to do it to remain accepted.

I’m justified by Christ, I’m liberated by Christ. Do you understand how expensive our freedom is? It cost God his only son.

Acts 15:6-11 “Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.””

Don’t lose salvation trying to be justified by people rather than building a pure relationship with God.

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Freedom, License And

Many people think that freedom is the license to do whatever a person wants, but true freedom is the ability to do what is right. It takes obedience in order to have true freedom. I can sit at a piano and be at liberty to play any keys that I want, but I don’t have freedom, because I can’t play anything but noise. I have no freedom to play Bach, or even “Chopsticks.” Why? Because it takes years of practice and obedience to lesson plans to be truly free at the piano. Then, and only then, does one have the freedom to play any piece of music.

The same is true of freedom in living. To be truly free, we must have the power and ability to be obedient.

In God I’m free from my past, I’m no longer justified by who I used to be. In God I’m free from addiction, lies, deceit, mess ups, hang ups, let downs and set backs!

Jesus died on the cross for me to be able to live free from sin. When he hung on that cross and conquered death, Jesus took the sting from death and pardoned us from sin. We are free not because there is no consequence we are free because in Christ our record is completely clear. Just as if you had never gotten involved with the law in the first place.

When we confess that we believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and be baptized for the removal of our sins. We yes to Jesus, we say yes to a new future! Regardless of your past you are at liberty to be free today!

In Texas we celebrated a holiday called Juneteenth and during the 1860’s there was no social media or local news station, so people who were enslaved did not know they were free. So much so that General Gordon Granger sent enforcement to Galveston, Texas to let people know they are free. Many of us this morning don’t know we can be free. Our sin, our past has shackled us so much that we think we aren’t worth saving, but understand this morning you are worth saving, Jesus cleans us up because He knows our worth. The goal is for us to be free! The goal is for us to be whole! When I’m free I’m going to share it with someone! Freedom is too good not share!