Sermon Tone Analysis

Good Morning!

On Thursday we Americans celebrated our independence ….

We celebrated our freedom ….. for the 243rd time in our history we celebrated our break up ….

Celebrated our divorce from a ruler …… our treasonous act against the crown….. the collective thumbing of our noses at a king, King George the third of Great Britain and Ireland.

On July 4th 1776 the founding fathers of this nation, the greatest nation to have existed on this earth, finished and published a Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.

In this most famous document, our nation’s founding father’s stated why a break up was needed, gave a laundry list of reasons for the break up and where the original 13 colonies derived their rights to justify the break up.

The founders made it known that their rights - our rights came from our Creator ….. we see this written in the second paragraph of the Declaration – and it says……

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.

The founders said that man’s rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable – which means they are natural, and they are legal.

They said that humans are free live as they desire, under the authority they wish to live, and to their individual satisfaction.

It’s their God-given legal right to live free and happy.

We Americans, according to our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution – the 1st 10 amendments of the constitution….. believe that we are free to believe what we want, practice any religion we want, free to say whatever we want, free to come together wherever and whenever we want, we have the right to have a free press, right to have and wear fire arms, free from having uninvited soldiers or government officials take up residence in our homes , free from government searches and taking of things or personal property, and various other freedoms of some things and from some things.

There has not been another nation in the history of the world like the United States of America ….. the founding fathers knew world governmental history so well they knew what would work and equally knew what didn’t work … and made sure to create a system of government that would prevent the institution of the things that were known to fail while allowing us to experiment with a system that should work.

Our founding documents serve as an example for people and governments everywhere.

We should thank God that He placed us here ….

Would you agree?

I believe so and so do the others in this room that serve or have served in our nation’s military to protect and defend the rights we all enjoy.

Alternatively, a lot of the freedoms enjoyed or guaranteed in this country can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

Those different things, nowadays, seem to be whatever someone can imagine or want or desire …… people are free to say whatever they want regardless of its effect ….. people are free to restrict the voice of others if it offends them …… people are free to be whatever gender they want …… people are free to have sexual relations with anyone they want regardless of the consequences….. people are free to end the life of a child in the womb if the child doesn’t enter into their career plans … or a whole number of other reasons people use as justification for ending a child’s life …….

The press is free to openly lie if it serves their political agenda …… politicians are free to lie, conceal, or embellish facts if it serves desired political means …..

We could continue down this path of listing the things people are free to do in their pursuit of life, liberty and happiness…… but we won’t….. and just like we heard in our last sermon series from the Old Testament book of Judges – from the very last verse of the book – chapter 21, verse 25….. “…….

Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

People in this country have gone and are going down the same path Israel did in the days when they had no king…… people use their constitutional freedoms to do whatever they want ….

Because their wants and desires were and are all that matters - regardless of those affected – regardless the eternal consequence – regardless the One who created them…….

Please hear and understand …. in no way was anything said here meant to diminish our country, your patriotism, or your thoughts or feelings regarding our country ….. just think of what the world would have been like if there had been no revolution – no declaration of independence – no United States of America over the last 243 years – there would have been no one to stand up against fascism in Europe – no one to stand up against tyrants in the middle east - no one to stand up against communism in the rest of the world – no one to protect the weak from the world’s bullies……

but we need to understand that the freedoms listed in our founding documents are man-made – those freedoms do nothing in regards to your eternal destination, nothing in regards to forgiveness of your sins, nothing in regards to a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior …….. the man-made list of freedoms or the reasons for those freedoms that we enjoy in this country have nothing to do with anyone outside the borders of our country because they are American freedoms

- the only true freedom that applies to everyone that has ever existed or will ever exist is the freedom found in Jesus Christ ….. let’s explore the freedom found in Christ Jesus……

Please open your Bible, phone app, ipad, or whatever it is that you use to read – and turn to the New Testament Book of Galatians, Chapter 5, or as always – you can follow along on the screen….. starting on verse 1 we read

1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

7 You were running well.

Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.

9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.10

I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.

11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?

In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

13 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.

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

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

The scripture we just read is part of one of the earliest letters written by the Apostle Paul.

The letter was written around 48 or 49 AD and possibly while Paul was in Antioch with Barnabas and John Mark during their 1st missionary journey - and the letter was sent to the churches in southern roman province of Galatia – to the cities of Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium.

(you can see the area on the map).

The Book of Galatians was written to clarify and defend the Gospel against false gospels that were being spread in the church by Judaizers – Judaizers were Christians that taught jewish law and customs were to be followed.

Paul starts chapter 1 with his typical greeting and then charges headlong into letting the churches know they have turned away from Jesus by following another way - and there is no other Gospel but the one he preaches concerning the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – Paul then proceeds into defending his apostleship and the authenticity of the message concerning Jesus – he even goes on to cover the discussions that took place in Jerusalem and his challenge to church leaders he thought to be hypocrites as they tried to live as if works of the law saved them instead of by grace through faith in Jesus.

Paul continues by describing how the law held sinners captive until the coming of Jesus and His saving grace through faith – the same faith Abraham had and was counted as righteous to him – how the promise made to Abraham made us sons and daughters of God – heirs of the promise – no longer slaves to sin but heirs through God.

So then we come to chapter 5 of the letter to the Galatians…… where we learn we have freedom … true freedom in Christ Jesus….. so let’s now begin to break down verses from Galatians chapter 5……

In verse 1 we read first that “For freedom Christ has set us free;” because of the law of sin and death….because the sinner has been held captive by the law….

Because no one can be set free from the law on their own accord – because the law shows everyone they are a sinner – because the law enslaves mankind - the law reveals our sins and there is a penalty for those sins ….because we are incapable of saving ourselves…Jesus – God the Son - came here and humbly died on the Cross so that He could save us from our sins if we confess His name and believe He was risen from the dead – the grace of God through faith in God the Son sets us free from the penalty of sin through the law.

And continuing on in the same verse we read “stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Paul is saying ….. submit to Christ….

stand strong – stand secure in the works Jesus did on the Cross – and because of what Jesus did for you on the Cross, you don’t have to worry about the Judaizers trying to tell you to live through works of the law and do what they tell you to do – Paul says don’t submit again to the law of sin and death …..

In verse 2 through 4 we read “2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified (or counted as righteous) by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

“

In we learn that male circumcision was a sign of the covenant God had made with Abraham….

a symbol of being Jewish….

Which meant the circumcised were obligated to follow the entirety of Jewish law….

so we learn in the Letter to the Galatians that the Christian Jews in Galatia were trying to make the gentile Christians – the non Jewish Christians follow the law and be circumcised….. Paul is telling them if they get circumcised as part of the law, then the law of grace through faith in Jesus would longer apply to them - because it means they would now have to follow the entire Jewish law…… and no one can follow the law …… so if the Galatian Christian listened to the false teachings of the Jewish Christians and was, in turn, circumcised in the law - and because no one can follow the law in its entirety ….

Then the Christians were forfeiting salvation by grace through faith….. the events at the Cross – the Cross that set them free would no longer apply to them …..

Paul continues in verses 5 and 6….. “5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

Paul tells us that it doesn’t matter what you are, where you live, what your economic status is, what you think of yourself, what others think of you, or whatever category you or others have placed you in – circumcised or uncircumcised, Jew or gentile …. a faith-filled life ….

a life where you work and do things for others as if they are more important than yourself - out of the love you have for God and for others – because He loved you first – to live a moral, honest, and blameless life in Christ Jesus….

can only be done in the power of the Holy Spirit….

God the Holy Spirit indwells in the follower of the Lord Jesus – and guides and directs the follower – and reveals scripture to the follower – counsels the follower – convicts the follower in righteous, love-filled, faith-filled living ….

But the follower of Christ Jesus must listen and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit….. so don’t tune Him out – don’t suppress His promptings – don’t dismiss His voice …..

He is there for you – He is there because God the Father loves you - He is there because of what Jesus did on the Cross – He is there because you decided to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe He was risen from the dead – because you decided to say yes to Jesus and decided to follow Jesus….. please understand that listening to, responding to God the Holy Spirit leads the follower of Jesus in a freedom-filled life.

So for freedom’s sake….

listen and do what He wants you to do….

Amen!

Let’s continue in verse 7….

“7 You were running well.

Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.

9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

Paul states here the folks in the Galatian churches were doing well living out the freedom in Christ Jesus – living out their faith in the power of the Holy Spirit ….

Until, that is, they began to listen to alternate, faulty teachings.

The alternate teachings that we discussed a little while ago – about circumcision – about the law verses grace… and when that yeast….

that raising agent….

that fermentation agent – the alternate, faulty teaching entered the church, it began to spread.

Paul said the alternate, faulty teachings were not from God – God doesn’t do that….. and it prohibited them from the truth about the grace of God in Christ Jesus….. folks….

This is why it’s so important to listen and respond to the Holy Spirit….. this is why it’s so important to guard your heart, guard your eyes, guard your ears, guard your minds against the faulty teachings… like that of many of those on TV, and radio, and their books and their videos on the web….

and against those cults that claim to be Christian – like the mormons and jehovah witnesses ….. this is why you need to read, and study, and know what the Bible says – and why you need to listen and respond to God the Holy Spirit – he’ll remind you of what the Bible says ….. then you won’t allow the false things you hear to act as yeast and spread onto others…….

Paul continues in verse 10…..

“10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.

11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?

In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!”

The false teachings are so offensive to God’s truth and the spirit of unity in the church that Paul says the false teacher… the one spreading the false truth should just castrate themselves…….

do you think Paul was a little heated writing that verse?

I would say so….. false teachings are a serious matter……

Paul is saying the view to take concerning freedom, is freedom in Christ Jesus ….. by grace through faith in Christ Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit…….

there is no other freedom …. there is no other teaching….. Paul says that if he had preached or proclaimed the same message the Judaizer was spreading… the same false teachings about the law verses grace….

then why are the jews still persecuting him?

…. they would be for Paul had Paul gave the same message… there would have been no reason to go after him….. apparently, someone had spread a rumor that Paul taught the same faulty message… it was likely the guy spreading the false teaching so it would give his message credibility….. “see…..

I am teaching what Paul teaches and you respect and know Paul……” Paul also states that if that teaching about the law and circumcision had been the correct teaching - then the jew’s offense to the Cross would not exists… jewish and non- jewish people find the message of the Cross offensive – jewish people think they are following God’s law as He wants it followed and they are God’s people….

Jewish people are still awaiting their messiah….

They don’t think Jesus has come….