Not Under the Law

After our visit to Philadelphia my son Hollis became very interested in George Washington, to Hollis he was some kind of mythical warrior of freedom. This new found hero generated a whole lot of questions and I was a little rusty on my revolutionary war trivia, so I read up on Washington so I could answer his questions. Well so I became interested now too.

And one of the things that kept coming up about George Washington was how he always wrote about his desire to go to his home in Mt. Vernon. Despite this he spent most of his life as a solider or as a statesman away from Mt. Vernon.

So I read a little bit on George Washington so I could answer Hollis questions. And one of the things that kept coming up about George Washington was how he always wrote about his desire to go to his home in Mt. Vernon. Yet he spent most of his life as a solider or as a statesman away from Mt. Vernon. But so when he wrote about his desire to go home he often alluded to a passage from Micah where God’s people shall sit every man under his own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.

But so when he wrote about his desire to go home he often alluded to a passage of Scripture from Micah where God’s people are promised that they shall sit every man under his own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.

His fight for freedom,

He said the solider can fight for glory and the statesman for fame, but what I want is a peace of mind, to sit under my own vine and fig tree, to sit in the shade and not be afraid. That was his idea of freedom, for himself and for this new country.

And while George Washington was no perfect man and America was no new heavens, this idea of freedom, free from danger and tyranny to be able to sit under his own vine and fig tree in the shade, became a reality and Washington retired under his own vine and fig tree. But Washington was concerned because the hard fought for freedom was fragile, and there was always a threat of tyranny.

That in christ

All this made me wonder what it must have been like to see the birth of country and feel the uncertainty of its future freedom.

FCF:

I think we can feel something to that here at Christ the Redeemer. We are a young church, and we just started meeting here under our own vine and fig tree with lots of shade.

Many of us in this room have tasted the freedom that comes with following Jesus together. But we are a young church still laying our roots. And there is a threat of tyranny that looms to steal the freedom we have in Christ.

The threat is not

What is it? It is not this new sexual revolution taking place, it is not consumerism, it is not secularism as destructive as those things can be. The threat of tyranny we face is trying to be the church in the power of the flesh and not the power of the Spirit.

To serve, evangelize, advocate for the poor in the power flesh and not in the Spirit, to try and follow Jesus and live a consecrated life in our own power apart from the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

This is what Paul is concerned about with this young church in Galatia. Trying to do things in the flesh trying to follow laws that God does not require of them, and not living in the freedom of the Spirit.

calls this submitting to a yolk of slavery, and not living in the freedom of the Spirit.

Trying to do things together apart from the Spirits that is a work of the flesh and that is slavery.

The flesh is the God opposing energy, a desire that says I will do it my way. Even if they are “good things.”

As we move out to serve w

But what we see in our passage this morning is that

But God has set us free from the tyranny of the flesh

So how do we the live in this freedom together and not fall under the tyranny of the flesh?

Well first we need to

Trust what the Spirit frees us from

There were some in the Galatian church who were not trusting the Freedom of the Spirit and thought it necessary to follow laws from the Old Testament that God no longer desired them to follow.

So when Paul says in verse 18 “you are not under the law” part of what he means here is that Because Jesus has come and the Spirit has been given to all nations, some laws have been done away with, particularly circumcision.

Galatians 5:18 ESV

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

There were some in the Galatian church who were saying that in order to be a true Christian one needed to be circumcised.

And Paul is telling the Galatians that those cultural distinctions and boundaries are no longer needed, because the mission of the Jews to be a blessing to all cultures, has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. With the outpouring of His Spirit there is no more cultural boundary markers

Paul does not like this, not one bit. Look at how he responds to this in verses 11-12

Sub Point 1: What is the law Paul refers to? (V. 18)

What is the law Paul refers to?

Galatians 5:11–12 ESV

But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

Main Point 1: Because God has called us to freedom we should

Or as Eugene Peterson translates it in the message

Galatians 5:12 The Message

Why don’t these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!

Sub point 2: What did it look like for the Galatians? (vs. 11-12)

The Message Chapter 5

Why don’t these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!

What this boils down to, And what gets Paul so worked up over circumcision is this: The Galatians Church was trying to require this rule of circumcision where the Spirit gives freedom.

They were not trusting in the Freedom of the Spirit, and when they or anyone adds to God’s law it is an act of the flesh, the flesh that anti-God energy that all deal with, it is an act of the flesh because we are essentially saying we know better than God.

What this boils down to, And what gets Paul so worked up over circumcision is this: The Galatians Church was trying to apply a law or a rule that God did not ordain for them. They were not trusting in the Freedom of the Spirit, but were relayed on the flesh saying that the real Christian is the one who is circumcised. And even just a little one time act of requiring circumcision as a mark of true belief Pul saw as it as a threat the whole church in Galatia.

And if we try to add to what God requires even just a little bit bad results ensue.

saying that the real Christian is the one who is circumcised. And even just a little one time act of requiring circumcision as a mark of true belief Pul saw as it as a threat the whole church in Galatia.

. And even just a little one time act of requiring circumcision as a mark of true belief threatens the whole church in Galatia.

Illustration:

Paul describes it like just a little bit of yeast that is mixed in with some flour and water. A little leaven, leavens the whole lump. If we don’t trust the freedom of the Holy Spirit and instead try to make our own rules, as marks for the truly Spiritual or a serious Christian, Paul is saying this is the spiritual equivalent kicking over one of those turkey deep fryers where the grease and flames spread out of control. The works of the flesh listed in verses 19-21 are the grease fire Paul is talking about.

Why is this? Because that is what the flesh produces.

Just like a little yeast mixed with flour and water leavens the whole thing. So too when we don’t trust the Spirits freedom and start

How much yeast does it take to leaven some flower and water?

spreading, burning, and hurting one another.

Is it more wrong for me to allow what God prohibits or to prohibit what God allows?

Application:

It is not like these Galatians were intentionally trying to find ways to hurt people, they thought what they were doing was good, and the church can do the same thing. Maybe we would not require circumcision. But there are ways we don’t trust the Freedom of the Spirit and in our own fleshly power make our own rules that God has not required. Here are some extra rules that can cause the grease fire of the flesh in a church:

Now probably no one here this morning are in the circumcision party saying that circumcision is a mark of a true Christian, or a more spiritual Christian. But there is always a temptation to want to add human rules and prohibit the freedom the Spirit allows. So here are some rules that we can have for people

A true Christian or more spiritual Christian will:

Wear a this or that on Sunday,

Will abstain from alcohol

Only wear a one piece bathing suit

Will speak in tongues

Vote republican

Vote democrat

Abstain from voting

Send your kids to a christian school, or will home school, or send your kid to a public school

Will dress up for Sunday

Not wear a

Will not dress any different for Sunday than any other day of the week.

Will use a worship bulletin

Will use a TV scree

Now we have to make decisions on these things, but we must differentiation our best judgment on which we must act from what others must obey. In God’s wisdom we must trust the Spirits freedom.

For anytime we add to God’s law, and say this is what you should do we are working in the flesh and the works the flesh will produce a grease fire in the life of our church.

We should trust the Freedom the Spirit gives.

We should also

Trust what the Spirits frees us for

The freedom that the Spirit brings is not just a freedom from extra laws, but a freedom to.

Look with me at verses 22-23

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

The Spirit frees us so that we might love, that is be committed bound and affection for one another and God,

Frees us to have joy, a glad heart that overflows from thankfulness

Frees us to have peace, a quiet conscience, restful soul, and non anxious presence

Frees us to have patience, to endure pain and difficulty

Frees us to be kind, a warmheartedness considerate of others

Frees us to be good, moral in our actions, virtuous

Frees us to be faithful, a reliable person who does their duty, and what they say they will do

Frees us to be gentle, mild even tempted

and

Frees us to be self-controlled, having the ability to restrain your desires, and not act impulsively

Freed to

Have joy

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Against such things there is no law.

Then Paul says against such things there is no law. Paul is saying you cannot make a rule that will produce this fruit. It can’t be legalized. This does not mean that the Spirit leads us in ways that move against or beyond God’s Law. It means that the Spirit enables us to follow God’s law and creatively live in the context of God’s created world

Paul is saying you cannot make a rule that will produce this fruit.

Sub point 1: The freedom the Spirit brings is not opposed to God’s law (vs 13)

Sub point 2: The freedom the Spirit brings cant be legalized (vs 23) against such things there is no law. The ceiling is not legal restrictions, but Jesus expression of love

Illustration:

So growing up I played a lot sports. And it was about 5th grade that I found basketball, or basketball found me. And can still remember, coach Dunn teaching me how to shoot, the right form and how to envision the shot going in. He taught me the rules, but it is hard to remember learning the rules, it seems like I just always knew them. But there was one rule that I do remember learning, somewhere in middle school.

I remember because I learned it during the game.

We were playing a game and after the other team made a shot I garbed the ball stood out bounds and tried to pass it to my teammate, but the other team was doing something I had never seen before.

Rather than just letting me toss it into my teammate they were guarding me, as I was trying to pass the ball in, which made it really hard to pass to my teammate, because I could not get around him, I just stood there trying to pass it around him.

Well then I think we called a timeout and coach Dunn told me a rule.

I did not have to stand still when I took the ball out of bounds after the other team made a shot.

I could run back and forth out of bounds so I could get out of the way of the guy guarding me, and pass it to my teammate.

Knowing this rule freed me up to play better basketball.

Similarly Knowing God’s rules frees us up to play in the world God created.

The rule is this. If the other team scores, then you get the ball, and you have to go stand out of bounds under the goal and throw it in to your teammate. But in this case when you take the ball out of bounds

Application:

Now

Now not violating any of the rules in a basketball game does not make you a good basketball player. You can measure if you go out of bounds, but staying in bounds does not make you good at playing the game.

You have to pass, shoot, score, defend, you have to play.

And you can’t make rules about play, imagine making rules like, you have to shoot this many three pointers, and pass this many times, with dribble only with your left hand when your on that side of the court. It would be a mess.

The rules set the context for playing the game.

God’s law sets the context for his created world and the Spirit enables us to play.

Application:

God’s law gives us the context for his world, and his Spirit enables us to play.

Application:

This means two things for us. First it means that God’s moral law is still to be obeyed. This means we cannot appeal to a new work of the Spirit as a reason for not following God’s moral law, the Holy Spirit will not lead us into sin. Or we cannot appeal to grace as a reason why obedience is not necessary. God’s moral law is still to be followed. And to say that we should obey God is not legalism.

Secondly it means that if we embrace the freedom of the Spirit we are freed and empowered to live. Not simply to not violate God’s law, but to creatively live in God’s world. There is no law for this? Why? well for one how do you legalize patience and faithfulness? It is not measurable exactly and so how do you make a rule about it.

To appeal to a new work of the Spirit as a reason for not following God’s moral law, the Holy Spirit will not lead you to sin.

The Spirit has given each one of us and our community tremendous freedom to creatively figure out how to play, create, love, serve, and work within the context of the laws of his world.

Here is that this means for us. It means

The fruit of the Spirit are specific, but not situationally specfic. There is tremendous amount of creativity that is expected in the Christian life.

There seems to be an almost infinite amount of creative ways to live like this in God’s world. There is no law there.

So many of us are dying to know God’s plan for us, just tell me what to do God. And often the Spirit is saying your free! I am with you to enable you to create, work, serve, enjoy, I am with you to endure hardships and follow through with commitments you make. There is no law against such things.

It is for freedom that we are set free.

Secondly it shows us that focusing on not messing up

or to grace as a reason for not following God’s law is wrong.

What does this mean, well first some people have said that the Spirit has moved them past Scripture.

We must live in the freedom of the Spirit not to do whatever we want, but to be so committed to one another good and not our self interest that you cannot measure or put a limit on.

Is it more wrong for me to allow what God prohibits or to prohibit what God allows?

Conclusion

Conclusion:

You know at Christ the Redeemer we come from quite an array of different backgrounds, and we each have our own story, stories that are filled with the drama of love, loss, pain, and joy. Some have come from other churches and oh you hope that Christ the Redeemer does not turn out like that one. Others come from churches you loved and oh you hope that Christ the Redeemer turns out like that one.

And as time goes on and we grow and change and mature as a church there will be a temptation to do church life in the power of the flesh and set up rules beyond God’s, or there will be a temptation to do church life in the power of the flesh and ignore God’s law and go our own fleshly way.

As a young church just laying roots under our own vine and fig tree, let us hold fast to the freedom that Christ has won for us, that the Spirit gives to us, so that we may rejoice with one another trusting the freedom the Spirit gives and with great joy and creativity may we flourish where God has planted us.

with great joy and creativity flourish where God has planted us.

Is it more wrong for me to allow what God prohibits or to prohibit what God allows?