Free to Serve
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Years ago, a series of studies set out to determine how a fence and a boundary affected the behavior of children in the playground. The researchers constructed a playground with no fences. During the experiment, the children stayed in the center—almost in fear—and never ventured out beyond the playground structure. Then the researchers put up a fence. Immediately, the children's behavior changed. Instead of fearfully staying in the center of the playground, they wandered with freedom all the way to the fence, exploring and enjoying the entire space.
The researchers concluded: "The overwhelming conclusion was that with a given limitation, children felt safer to explore a playground … With a boundary, in this case the fence, the children felt at ease to explore the space." In other words, fences brought freedom. It was the absence of fences that created fear and apprehension.
Limits to our Freedom is not just a good thing but a command in the scriptures. We are not to use our freedom in Christ to sin. Here in chapter 5 of Galatians we first saw the urging of Paul not to lose Gospel freedom. Now we are being warned not to abuse Gospel freedom.
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
I. Freedom Limits
- Gospel freedom is not a freedom to sin, but freedom from sin.
A. So we have seen from the beginning of the letter the apostle urging the Galatians to recognize the deception of legalism and works righteousness. But now he begins to move against the reality of intellectually believing the gospel but not living in a way that is powered by the Gospel.
B. What is this error. License. So we go from dealing with legalism to dealing with license. If we fall into legalism we lose our freedom. If we fall into license we abuse our freedom.
C. The language of freedom can be very misleading to people. Paul is not a fool. He knows that when you speak of freedom from the law, people now think that they can live according to their own standard of behavior. The Anabaptists cornered John Bunyan in prison about his preaching of the Gospel.
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended.
D.
D. Do not use your freedom to satisfy or to indulge our sinful natures. Freedom from the Law does not do away with Holy Conduct. We are free not so that we can do what ever we want, but now we are able to do what Christ wants.
E. So you see we as Christians have a tendency to fall into legalism or license. Legalism motivated by fear or gain. License motivated by fear or gain. How so?
F. Tim Keller talks about how Tertullian used a metaphor for this. The two thieves on either side of Jesus. For us its stealing our joy. Legalism and License. With legalism we lose the gospel and with license we abuse the gospel. Neither of which will bring us the supernatural joy we are to receive from the truth of the gospel and its freedom.
G. The Gospel calls us not to live either a guilty life nor an unholy life. Both are wrong and that is what Paul is trying to get us to see in v. 13
H. But he continues to tell us what we should be doing with that freedom. Serving. Contradiction? I would rather use the term a paradox. We are now free and what should we do with that freedom? Serve. The reason why this service is different from being a slave is that it is voluntary and from the heart.
I. But a servant? Why not our Lord did it.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
And why should our attitude not be this way?
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.
If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.
Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.
So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.
J. And hey, if you guys are wanting to keep the law, then this is how.
Philippians 2
II. Summary of the Law
- You cannot love God without loving your neighbor.
A. The Law is summarized here. But some of us might think contradiction here, but it is not.
Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
B. But you cannot fulfill the command to love God without loving your neighbor and you cannot fulfill the command to love your neighbor without loving God. Right?
If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
0-21
So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.
C. But how can this be? Because this is the summary of the 10 commandments and the 10 commandment are a summary of the whole law of God.
D. But once again the reason why it has to be motivated by the heart is because motivation is part of the fulfillment.
III. Messiness in the Church
- But it is a mess worth making
A. The picture here is that of church people acting like wild animals. Biting each other like dogs. Paul warns that if you do this. If you continue to to be mean and nasty to each other you will destroy yourselves. You will consume each other.
B. The problem with dissension in the church is that ultimately everyone is going to suffer.
C. Why do you think that this happens all over the world?
D. “Each of us should become a Christ to the other. And as we are Christs to one another, the result is that Christ fills us all and we become a truly Christian community.”
Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 193). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
The researchers concluded: "The overwhelming conclusion was that with a given limitation, children felt safer to explore a playground … With a boundary, in this case the fence, the children felt at ease to explore the space." In other words, fences brought freedom. It was the absence of fences that created fear and apprehension.