Freedom From Law
Freedom In Christ • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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For the month of July…
Due to it being the month of Independence & Freedom for us Americans…
David & I are going to do a short series titled:
Freedom In Christ
Freedom In Christ
Each week, we will look at a freedom that we as Christians have in Christ
We’re going to start off this series with:
Freedom From Law
Freedom From Law
In Christ, we have freedom from the law
That’s a truth that the NT teaches consistently
But, there’s also a lot built into that statement
There are things that means
And there are things that doesn’t mean
Freedom from law can sound like a dangerous idea
Does being free from law mean:
We can do whatever we want?
Obedience doesn’t matter?
And if we're free from the law…
How do we know what God expects from us?
When the NT says we are free from law…
What does that mean…
And why is it important?
Recognizing our freedom from law…
Isn’t just a theological study
It changes everything about our walk with Christ
It changes how we think about salvation…
And how we view our salvation
It changes how we think about obedience to God…
And how we live every single day
The Christian experience can be summed up in 2 words:
Justification
Sanctification
Justification is the beginning of our journey with Jesus:
Forgiveness of sins
Being made righteous
Just-as-if-I’d never sinned
Sanctification is what we work toward…
For the rest of our journey with Jesus:
Growing in our obedience to God
Growing stronger & more skilled in our battle against sin
Continuously becoming more holy & more like Jesus
When it comes to justification & sanctification…
We are free from law
But what does that mean?
As it pertains to Justification, what does being free from law mean?
As it pertains to Justification, what does being free from law mean?
Paul wrote extensively on this topic
In the 1st century, this was one of the major issues in the church
In their specific case, there were many Jewish Christians…
Who were teaching that Gentiles must essentially…
Convert to Judaism in order to be faithful Christians
They must start obeying the Law of Moses…
Especially as it pertained to the more exclusively Jewish laws…
Such as:
Circumcision
Sabbath-Keeping
Celebrating Holy Days
The idea was that Gentiles must submit themselves to the Law…
In order to receive justification from their sins & be made righteous
Paul spends half of the book of Romans & the entire book of Galatians…
Absolutely obliterating that false gospel
28 For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law.
Righteousness comes through faith in/allegiance to Jesus
According to Paul in Romans 4-5…
Righteousness is granted to us when we place our faith in Jesus…
Not when we do works of the law
15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
But Jon, by saying we’re not saved by obedience to God’s laws…
Are you saying that God’s laws don’t matter anymore?
I’m glad you asked that…
Because Paul foresaw the same question:
31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead we uphold the law.
What is Paul saying here?
Does recognizing that justification only comes through faith in Jesus…
And not through obeying the law…
Cause the law to be nullified/set aside/no longer useful?
As Paul said, “Absolutely not!”
Justification by faith & not by obedience to the law…
Upholds/establishes/validates the law
Law was never meant to save us from our sins
It was only meant to reveal sin to us
20 For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
As Paul says in Romans 7:12…
The law is holy, righteous, & good…
But it can’t save us
It was never meant to
Attempting to be saved by obeying God’s laws…
Is like trying to wash your face with a mirror
It shows you your dirt & flaws…
But it can’t remove them
It wasn’t designed to do so
“So, what’s your point, Jon?”
“Why is it important for us to know...”
“That we can’t be justified by obeying the law?”
Because so many of us are still trying to be
So many of us have the mindset of:
“I hope I have done/am doing enough to be saved.”
Do you know what that is?
Whether we realize it or not…
That thought comes from a mindset…
That believes in a law/obedience-based justification/salvation
And that is an extremely dangerous mindset to have:
4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Those seeking or expecting justification…
Based upon their obedience to God’s laws…
Have their relationship with Jesus severed…
And the grace they received is now revoked
Why such an extreme penalty?
Because such a mindset doubts & belittles God’s grace
Justification comes by God’s grace through our faith
Nothing more
Nothing less
Any gospel that doubts or belittles God’s grace to the extent…
That it leads people to believe…
That they must obey laws & do works…
In order to receive justification…
Is a gospel that God will not tolerate
Jesus paid for our justification through His death, burial, & resurrection
Nothing more needs to be done for someone to be justified…
Besides placing their faith in/allegiance to Jesus
There are no laws you can obey to earn that
There are no works you can do to receive that
His saving grace can only be received as a free gift…
To those who place their trust & allegiance in Jesus
We can have confidence in our justification…
Because it has absolutely nothing to do…
With any works of obedience that we could possibly do
It’s all according to God’s grace through Jesus
It’s a gift you can never earn or work for
If, by faith, you’ve been baptized…
For the purpose of becoming a disciple of Jesus…
Then you are justified, forgiven, saved
But someone may be thinking:
“But Jon, it says plainly in James 2:24:
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
You would be exactly right by noticing…
What seems to be a very straightforward contradiction in the NT
James & Paul seem to be playing for opposing teams
But they aren’t
This leads us to the 2nd half of the Christian experience:
As it pertains to Sanctification, what does being free from law mean?
As it pertains to Sanctification, what does being free from law mean?
1st, the key to understanding Paul & James’ contradictory language…
Is understanding that they are dealing with…
2 different issues
When you read the context of James…
You’ll notice that he isn’t referring to the beginning of the Christian experience
He’s referring to those who already claim faith in Jesus
Those who claim to have faith, but don’t have works
They claim to believe & follow Jesus…
But their lives paint a different picture
A faith that doesn’t obey & do good works…
Is a faith that is dead
This does not contradict Paul:
8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast.10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.
Paul says that we are saved without works
Then he says the purpose of the saved is to work
Paul & James agree whole-heartedly
“So Jon, you’re saying that, as Christians…”
“We’re expected to obey God’s laws & do good works…”
“But, at the same time, we are free from law?”
Exactly!
Kind of confusing, isn’t it?
In both his letter to the Romans & Galatians…
Paul is concerned that his readers will misunderstand him…
And think that being under grace instead of under law…
Means that they can live however they want
He tells the Romans in chapter 6 that that isn’t the way it works
Those who chose to die & be reborn into Christ through baptism…
Have chosen a life rejecting sin & living righteously
And to the Galatians he clarifies what freedom from law is:
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, but through love serve one another.14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”
Freedom from law doesn’t mean freedom from obedience
Freedom from law means freedom to obey
When it comes to the Christian life & sanctification…
Not being under law doesn’t mean we no longer obey the law
It means that our relationship to the law has changed
It’s no longer about having a checklist of dos & don’ts
It’s about having God’s laws written on our hearts…
Just as Jeremiah said of the New Covenant
It’s about understanding the spirit of the law…
And not just the letter of it
Not simply what it says, but what it means
Jesus showed us several examples of this in His sermon on the mount:
He said He came, not to destroy the Law…
But to fulfill it
Then He showed us what He meant by that
The letter of the Law said, “Do not murder”
But the Spirit of the Law meant, “Don’t even remain angry at another, but reconcile”
The letter said, “Don’t commit adultery”
But the Spirit meant, “Don’t even lust after another person”
The letter said, “An eye for an eye”
But the Spirit meant, “Don’t retaliate at all. Instead, go out of your way to bless those who insult & harm you”
When you’re under law…
You have exact parameters of what you should & shouldn’t do
It makes us comfortable to have exact parameters
“I’m not allowed to murder him, but I’ll be angry & hold a grudge”
“I’m not allowed to cheat on my spouse, but it doesn’t say anything about looking”
“I’m only allowed to retaliate to the extent that he hurt me…”
“But I’m going to take it all the way to that limit when I punch back”
“I only have to go one mile, so that’s as far as I’ll pack his stuff”
Speed limits are the perfect example of this
How many of us go the speed limit when we drive?
How many of us go under the speed limit when we drive?
Most people go all the way to the limit
We go all the way to the guardrail of the law…
And then, with many of us, before we know it…
It becomes increasingly easier & more comfortable…
To cross the guardrail & break that law
And we justify it by saying:
“I won’t get pulled me over for going a few MPH over the limit!”
What do you think would happen…
If the government decided to remove all speed limits?
What if we were free from the law of speed limits?
It would be terrifying, wouldn’t it?
But let me add one more little detail to the scenario
What if people didn’t use their freedom to indulge their own flesh?
What if, instead, everyone used their freedom from that law…
To serve one another in love?
If everyone truly loved & cared for the safety of those around them…
There would be no need for specific speed limit laws
Everyone would drive carefully & safely…
So as not to scare or harm others
That’s the point that the NT makes about being free from law…
As it pertains to Christian living & sanctification
With law, we limit ourselves because we have to
With love, we limit ourselves because we want to
Multiple times in the NT…
We’re told that love is the fulfillment of the law
When we love, we have no need of a checklist of rules/laws
Paul goes on to say to the Galatians:
16 But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Being under the law…
Only leads to obeying the flesh & its desires
Following the lead of the Spirit…
Only leads to true obedience to the law
Living by the Spirit means having a transformed heart
When you love someone:
Their desires become your desires
Their happiness becomes your happiness
Because of the God’s love & grace through the Gospel of Jesus:
We love Him in return
His desires become our desires
His happiness becomes our happiness
And we inevitably strive to be more like Him (Sanctification)
And when our hearts & desires are transformed…
To be in line with God’s heart & desires…
We don’t need a list of rules & laws to govern how we live
Love governs everything we do
I don’t need a list of laws telling me not to harm my neighbor
I love my neighbor & have no desire for them to be harmed
I don’t need a list of laws telling me treat my neighbor well
I love my neighbor & desire to treat them well
Love fulfills the law…
Because when we love God & others…
Our desire will be to do what is right & reject what is wrong
We don’t have to worry about crossing any guardrails to the law
Love doesn’t desire to come close to breaking the law
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
When we are governed by the Spirit…
These 9 things are the result
And when we are actively practicing/living these 9 things…
We won’t break any of God’s laws
Does freedom from law mean we don’t have to obey God’s laws?
Not even close
Freedom from law is the only way to adequately obey God’s laws
Being under grace & following the lead of the Spirit…
Leads to true & pure obedience from a transformed heart
Conclusion
Conclusion
We have to recognize our freedom from law…
As it pertains to our justification & sanctification
We are not & cannot be justified by obedience to God’s laws
We cannot & will not be sanctified by placing ourselves under God’s laws
Our justification only comes…
By God’s grace through our faith
Our sanctification only comes…
When our focus is on love & the fruit of the Spirit…
And not on obeying a checklist of rules & laws
It’s about inward transformation of the heart…
Not external attempts at law-keeping
Let’s learn what Jesus meant when he said:
28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”
We are not under law
We are under grace
And the sooner we recognize & understand that…
The sooner we’ll realize how easy it is:
To be justified by our Lord
To be sanctified in our Lord
