Freed to Love

When you don’t have to worry whether or not you are right with God, then you can really love out of pure motives.

B. Freedom to Live a Life of Love (vv. 13–15)

SUPPORTING IDEA: Christ gives the Christian the freedom to love others truly.

5:13–14. In verse 1, Paul states that Christian freedom is the right and privilege of every believer. Then he points out six negative consequences of falling back into slavery. Now he warns them not to use this freedom as a license to sin. Rather than liberty being used for selfishness, the true objective of their newfound freedom is love. Quoting Leviticus 19:18, Paul summarizes the law as “love your neighbor as yourself.” Always remember that we are slaves commissioned to love one another (Matt. 22:39).

5:15. As a result of the legalists, this church was divided. They were biting and devouring each other. Their church and community of faith were on the verge of destruction. Legalism treats people harshly and often leads to divisions.

C. Freedom to Live and Love Empowered by the Spirit (vv. 16–18)

SUPPORTING IDEA: Release from the law and the power to love are results of God’s working in us by his Holy Spirit.

5:16. The law was powerless to help a Christian overcome these sins. We may want to please God, but our sin nature continually pulls us into disobedience (Rom. 7). The answer to this battle between the old and new nature is found in the inward ministry of the Holy Spirit. To experience victory we must live or walk (KJV) by the Spirit. As we live our lives in dependence on, and obedience to, the Holy Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (see “Deeper Discoveries”).

5:17. Now Paul demonstrates the need for the Holy Spirit’s enablement. The Christian will, this side of heaven, always experience conflict between the Holy Spirit and the flesh. Here flesh is not limited to the physical dimension of man but denotes anything less than and other than God in which man places trust that belongs to God alone. Paul gives a more complete description of this conflict in Romans 7.

5:18. In summary, Paul tells us that victory over sin is not the result of living under the law. Instead, it is the result of actively yielding to the Spirit. Therefore, both the first step of salvation and its ongoing steps (sanctification, growth in holiness) are brought about within us by God’s Spirit working through faith. To be saved, we must have faith in Christ. To walk in God’s way, we must have faith in the Holy Spirit, for he empowers us to walk in obedience.

D. Contrast of the Acts of the Flesh and the Fruit of the Spirit (vv. 19–23)

SUPPORTING IDEA: The acts of the flesh symbolize spiritual death, but the fruit of the Spirit is evidence of spiritual life.

5:19. In verses 19–23, Paul contrasts the acts of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. The acts of the sinful nature are divided into four categories. First, three sexual sins are listed. Sexual immorality is a broad term covering fornication, adultery, and homosexuality. Impurity is also a broad term referring to moral uncleanness in our thought life, speech, and actions (Eph. 5:3–4). Debauchery is brazen, unashamed boldness in these sexual sins. People who become desensitized through sexual exploits can eventually lose all modesty and instead can flaunt their erotic, sinful lifestyle.

5:20–21. The second category of these sinful acts is religious sin. Paul presents idolatry and witchcraft as two religious sins. Idolatry involves bowing down to pagan gods. Witchcraft refers to the magical potions administered by sorcerers. Through these magical potions, these sorcerers were able to control the evil powers.

Now Paul lists eight societal sins. They run the gamut from hatred to the actions of discord and jealousy that result in factions. Loving others is not easy. When the flesh controls us, interpersonal problems are the result. Finally, two alcohol-related sins are listed: drunkenness and orgies. Orgies refer to drunken sexual perversions associated with Bacchus, the god of wine. Alcohol controls people and distorts their thinking. Many people, under the influence of a few drinks, have committed grievous sexual sins. Rather than being controlled by alcohol, the Christian is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). While a Christian may intermittently get pulled into these sins, those who live like this (habitually, continually) are not Christians and will therefore not inherit the kingdom of God.

5:22–23. In contrast to the “acts of the flesh” presented above, those who are obedient to the Holy Spirit produce beautiful, nourishing spiritual fruit. Notice the fruit in this passage is called the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of self-effort. This fruit the Holy Spirit produces in the life of a faithful Christian. In other passages of Scripture, we are commanded to fulfill the individual characteristics. The answer to this seeming paradox, I believe, is that only the Holy Spirit can produce the fruit; but he will not do so unless we are striving to the best of our ability for them in faithful obedience. These fruits of the Spirit are in harmony with and not opposed to the law. However, they are not produced by the law but rather by the Spirit working through the believer’s faith.

E. The Solution to the Sinful Struggle (vv. 24–26)

SUPPORTING IDEA: The Christian has died to sin and is alive to a Spirit-controlled life of righteousness.

5:24. The struggle between our flesh and our new nature is real. Yet there is more truth to help us win this battle. Paul explains that those who know Jesus Christ do not have to respond to the flesh because they have crucified the [flesh] with its passions and desires. This crucifixion refers to our identification with Christ in his death and resurrection (Gal. 2:20). When Christ died, our flesh was judged. This does not mean our propensity to sin has been eradicated or rendered inoperative. We must accept that our old nature has died with Christ and that as new people we have an increasing power to resist sin (Rom. 6:10–12).

5:25–26. In addition to the flesh that is judged, Paul reminds the Galatians that they have the Holy Spirit to strengthen them against sin. We must keep in step by following the Holy Spirit’s direction and guidance. He ends our bondage to evil desires. Finally, Paul challenges the Galatians to live a life of harmony. Conceited legalism sees no need of the Spirit’s help and thinks it has accomplished salvation apart from the Spirit. Instead, it leads to arguments. Paul says to stop provoking and envying each other. These negative traits point to the divisions in the church caused by the legalists. The only answer to such disharmony is love empowered by the Holy Spirit.

MAIN IDEA REVIEW: The Christian is freed from external control by the law to internal control by the Holy Spirit.

III. CONCLUSION

Trading for Freedom

In this chapter Paul challenges us to live in freedom from the law. He gives us six excellent reasons not to live under the law (vv. 1–12). He tells us to walk in love (vv. 13–15) by the power of the Holy Spirit (vv. 13–26). He tells us how we can break free of the tyranny of sin—not that we will never sin again but that we need not be in bondage to sin.

In the book The Trapp Family Singers, the Trapp family falls into disfavor with the Nazis who are rising to power just before World War II. Therefore, they must escape from their lovely home in Austria to Switzerland. As Hitler’s troops closed in on Austria, the von Trapp family escaped to a church, then to a roof, and finally to the country, where they climbed the mountains to freedom. They eventually made it to America, where they settled in Stowe, Vermont and became nationally famous for their lovely musical performances. They never lost their gratitude for the freedom they enjoyed in America. Even though they left behind a fortune in land, estates, and gold, they willingly traded it for freedom.

Like the von Trapp family, Jesus has given us escape from the bondage and tyranny of sin. Yes, we may have had to give up some things that the world considers valuable; but to enjoy spiritual freedom now and eternal reward in heaven, the exchange was well worth it.

PRINCIPLES

• Everybody is a slave to something … either good or bad. You cannot expect to harvest the fruit of God when you are sowing the seeds of evil.

• It only takes a few cancer cells of sin to infect and destroy vital spiritual organs.

• Freedom in Christ does not give us the right to do as we please, but the liberty to do as we ought.

• God must work in me so he can work through me.

APPLICATIONS

• Choose your bondages well. Make yourself a slave to Christ.

• Catch sin early. Like cancer, it spreads.

• Imitate Jesus in all you do.

IV. LIFE APPLICATION

In the Grip of Grace

Does grace promote sin? Legalists make the claim that complete forgiveness in Christ, without human effort to be “good,” will give Christians the freedom to run wild, morally. They reject grace because they believe it gives Christians a license to sin. The opposite is true, however. If one has truly understood and experienced grace, it makes him want to be more holy, not more sinful. If one has tasted the fresh fruit of grace, a still resolve to be more like Jesus is the result. Quietness comes, not chaos.

Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, tells a remarkable story of the power of grace being manifested in a prison near the city of Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. Twenty years ago the Brazilian government turned the prison over to two Christians, who renamed it Humaita, and began to run it on Christian principles. With the exception of two full-time staff, inmates do all the work. Families outside the prison adopt an inmate to work with during and after the term of imprisonment. Colson heard about the prison and one day visited it. He reported:

When I visited Humaita I found the inmates smiling—particularly the murderer who held the keys, opened the gates, and let me in. Wherever I walked, I saw men at peace. I saw clean living areas, people working industriously. The walls were decorated with Biblical sayings from Psalms and Proverbs. My guide escorted me to the notorious prison cell once used for torture. Today, he told me, that block houses only a single inmate. As we reached the end of a long concrete corridor and he put the key in the lock, he paused and asked, “Are you sure you want to go in?”

“Of course,” I replied impatiently, “I’ve been in isolation cells all over the world.” Slowly he swung open the massive door, and I saw the prisoner in that punishment cell: a crucifix, beautifully carved by the Humaita inmates—the prisoner, Jesus, hanging on a cross.

“He’s doing time for the rest of us,” my guide said softly. (“Making the World Safe for Religion,” Christianity Today, 8 November 1993, 33).

Christ sets people free. We don’t have to remain in bondage because Jesus has paid the price for our crime. Just as it would be absurd for a prisoner who has served his time to want to stay behind bars, even so it is absurd for us to remain in the penitentiary of sin. We are now free. We are released from the prison of sin. Christ has done our time for us.

Therefore, exercise your Christian liberty today. You have the freedom to say, “No,” to sin and, “Yes,” to God. That’s your powerful privilege in Christ! You are no longer a slave to sin. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, he gave you the freedom to become a slave of righteousness. Disdain your old, damaging bondage to sin; celebrate your new, life-giving bondage to Christ. Everybody is somebody’s slave. Whose slave are you? As a slave of Christ, your greatest joy will be the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

V. PRAYER

Dear Lord, progress is so satisfying and regression so saddening. You have changed me in many, many, wonderful ways. By the power of your Holy Spirit, help me to move forward and not fall back. Make me a large, green-leafed tree filled with the fruit of your Spirit. Work in me privately so you can be seen in me publicly. In you I pray. Amen.

Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, pp. 63–68). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.