Freedom to Love

Freedom to Love: The Power of Grace in Action

Bible Passage: Galatians 5:13–15

Introduction

One of the greatest tensions in the Christian life is this: what do we do with freedom? We live in a culture that screams “freedom” in almost every sphere. In American politics, freedom is the highest value—freedom of speech, freedom of choice, freedom to live however one pleases. I hear it nearly every day: “It’s a free country! You can’t tell me what to do.” But if we’re honest, when most people talk about freedom, they mean freedom from responsibility, from restraint, from obligation. That kind of “freedom” almost always ends in self-destruction.

Teenager who finally gets his driver’s license says, “I’m free!” But if he treats that freedom as license to drive recklessly, disaster follows.

Wife who says, “I’m free to do what I want, I don’t have to serve my family, I don’t have to be submissive in all things to my husband,” and neglects their marriage vows, doesn’t create joy—they destroy their family.

Farmers here in our community know this well too: if you let the cattle “free” without fences, you don’t get thriving livestock—you get chaos and death on the highway.

Freedom without love is deadly.

And Paul knows that’s exactly the temptation facing the Galatians.

If you have your Bible please turn to Galatians ch 5.

If you need a bible, there are some on the table in the back

Please stand for the reading of God’s word.

Galatians 5:13–15 ESV

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.

This is God’s Word

Lets Pray

You may be seated

After tearing down the false gospel of works-righteousness in chapters 1–4

Then explaining in chapter 5 that Christ has set us free from the yoke of slavery to the law

Paul now presses the question: What is this freedom for?

Is it freedom to sin?

Freedom to indulge the flesh?

No—Paul says true Christian freedom is the freedom to serve, the freedom to love, the freedom to lay ourselves down for one another.

A Christian man is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian man is a perfectly dutiful servant, subject to all.

Martin Luther (Founder of the German Reformation)

This is the paradox of the gospel: Christ frees us not to live for ourselves, but to live for others in love.

1. Christian Freedom Is a Calling, Not a License

Galatians 5:13 ESV

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.

We have spend considerable time going through Paul’s defense of the Gospel

Preaching against adding law to the gospel....

Then in Chapter 5 Paul shifted to opposing the opposite heresy

Antinomianism...explain

There are statements like this in scripture

Romans 8

Galatians

We are free from the law

Do not need to be bound by duty to obey the law

Free in Christ!

People who take this to the extreme

Continue to sin - Grace can abound

When we violate the law, Christ paid for by his death

Don’t worry about sin and obedience

HERESY of EPIC proportions!!

Unfortunately very popular today

Through book of Galatians, trying to come to a true understanding of what the Christian life should look like

This is ultimately a pretty basic text...

As we work through this text, I want to start with a few comments.

Bible is crystal clear

If a person Loves God

Keeps his commandments

Obeys God’s word

Not only obeys God - Eagerness

**Children obeying begrudgingly

Obeys motivated by Love

Desires to Honor God

Worship God

Bring Glory to God

True Christians Love God

On the other hand...

Someone with No interest in keeping his commands

Indifferent

Not concerned with honoring God or Obeying

He Hates God!

May be an extreme statement, but there are only 2 possibilities

Love God

Hate God

No middle ground

To show this, we can go all the way back to the book of Exodus.

Exodus ch 20 sets forth this clear truth

You are either a lover of God or hater of God

This is God speaking and he says this in Vs 2

Exodus 20:2–6 ESV

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Loving God is demonstrated in keeping his commandments

If you do not keep, identified as one who doesn’t love God

May think this sounds too harsh.

See it again in Duet ch 5. and Duet 32.

Jesus himself said this: John 14:15

John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Christian freedom cannot be

Disinterest in the honor of God

Not caring about the Glory of God

freedom to sin

free to be passive

Rather it MUST be

Loving God

Being Obedient to God

Desire to honor and glorify him

worshipping him

Nature of a true Christian is to Love God’s word and his commandments

This idea of being free to sin however I want

Without restriction

right to be free from anyone’s condemnation of those choices...

Sinners think this is freedom.

Christ said:

John 8:34 ESV

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

There will always be corrupt preachers who accept people on their own terms rather than God’s

Require no repentance,

No self-denial

No pursuit of holiness, purity, sanctification

We don’t judge here, we accept you just as you are. You are free to be whoever you want to be.

This is the mark of a false teacher.

To be Christian is to become a slave.

We have switched allegiance

We were slaves to the law, slaves to ourselves

Now we are a slave to Christ.

Most rich, blessed, rewarding, joyful, fruitful, peaceful slavery

Slavery of Love for the Master who first loved us!

Faithful christians are not trying to figure out how disobedient I can be before God takes my life

They Run to Christ, to righteousness, to purity, to godliness

IF you love God, you love his commands

So What does it mean that we have “christian liberty?”

What about the things that the bible doesn’t condemn or condone?

Entertainment

recreation

alcohol

should you buy a house, take a vacation, etc.

Good question to ask yourself.

Will it be spiritually profitable?

Will it build me up or edify?

Paul gives us some wisdom in his letter to the church in Corinth.

1 Corinthians 10:23 ESV

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.

See a christian shouldn’t be asking how close can I get to that line of disobedience

Should be : How hard can I run the direction of righteousness?

How can I eliminate things in my life that may not be forbidden, but may be pulling me in the wrong direction.

2. Love Fulfills the Law

Next, We are free to fulfill the law at it’s highest level.

He goes on in Vs 14

Galatians 5:14 ESV

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Quote from Leviticus

Leviticus 19:18 ESV

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

In Romans 13, Paul tells us basically that Love fulfills the law. Romans 13:8

Romans 13:8 ESV

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

You want to fulfill the law at the highest possible level??

Love your Neighbor!

10 commandments split 4-6

Want to love your neighbor??

Honor your father and mother

Don’t kill your neighbor

Don’t commit adultery with your neighbor’s wife

don’t steal your neighbor’s things

don’t bear false witness against your neighbor

Don’t covet what your neigbor has

Love sums up the entire law! That is the point!

The problem with the law

External force

Now...

Holy Spirit

I don’t have a sign in my house reminding me not to kill my neighbor or steal his stuff...

I just have to sacrificially love my neighbor and the whole law is fulfilled!

3. Misused Freedom Leads to Destruction

The final thing we will look at today is that we are free to avoid destructive conflict.

One thing that happens when people feel they have the freedom to live however they want and do whatever they want

careen through life leaving a trail of broken lives.

Crash and burn into people...

Paul says in Vs 15:

Galatians 5:15 ESV

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

The lack of Love that is SIN literally causes conflict everywhere

When there is love and sacrificial service, conflict disappears.

We can use our freedom as a platform to get our own way, or we can fight for truth, liberty, justice and grace of the gospel

Brothers and sisters, we are living in dark days. This week we witnessed a school shooting, the racially motivated murder of a young girl on the subway, and the brutal execution of a brother in Christ, Charlie Kirk, in front of his friends and family. These were acts of sheer evil—demonic in their hatred of truth and life.

Charlie was bold. He put himself in harm’s way every day to proclaim the message of freedom and, most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He stood firm in the truth, unashamed of the gospel of grace, and he preached it to anyone who would listen. He used his freedom, not to indulge himself, but to stir up a passion in young people across this nation to stand up for what is right.

What grieves me even more than his death are the wicked, mocking responses from those enslaved to the very ideologies he opposed. Yet even here we must remember: Charlie fought for freedom not simply because he was an American, but because every human being is made in the image of God, with inherent worth and dignity. And he never wavered in boldly proclaiming that the truest freedom is found only in Jesus Christ.

So I urge you—follow his example of courage. Stand firm in your faith. Be bold in proclaiming Christ, even when it is hard, even when it is costly. As we saw with Martin Luther, so we must echo today: here we stand, we can do no other.

Let us repent of our fear, our laziness, our silence. Let us go from this place resolved to proclaim the gospel to a world that is lost in darkness. Because no political leader, no movement, no ideology can save. America does not ultimately need another fighter for rights—though that has its place. What America desperately needs is the gospel of Christ, for only Christ can transform hearts and change a nation.

The amazing thing about the Gospel is that there is nobody too wicked to be forgiven. If Tyler Robinson were to repent of his sin and trust in Christ, he would be saved. This doesn’t negate justice…still be punished etc.

But the best part is that if he were to repent, I know that Charlie would welcome him into heaven with open arms as a brother in Christ!

So may we leave here today as people who live in the true freedom of the gospel, who serve in love, and who shine the light of Christ into this dark and broken world.

Let us pray.