Standing Firm in Freedom

Intro

- Illustration- standing firm- fishing on the reef

o Sometimes life feels that way doesn’t it- like things are pushing us from all sides and it is hard to stand firm

o Especially in our Christian walk- many times we know what is right, we know how god has called us to live, but the pressures all around us, the pressures from within us, are constantly pulling us back into living for ourselves- doing things our own way

- Review of the letter to the Galatians so far

o 1-2- autobiography, 3-4- stern doctrinal address

o Now in chapters 5 and 6 he talks about how we live in the freedom God has given us

- How then, in light of this freedom, should we live?

o Will this teaching of grace and faith lead us to live in lawlessness or righteousness?

o The Galatian church struggled with what they should do with this freedom

§ We see the same thing in our churches today- “Christian freedom lets me live how I choose or to be myself” “I can live how I want” or “I can do this on my own”

§ The focus becomes on me and what I want instead of on Christ and how he has called us to live

o Martin Luther "Having been justified by grace, we then do good works, yes, Christ himself does all in us."

o 2:19- for through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God

§ This is Paul’s instruction on how we do that

- Read Galatians 5:1-6

As followers of Christ, we must stand firm in the freedom that has been given to us through faith in Jesus so that we do not backslide into living by our own strength, which results in bondage.

Stand Firm (1)

A. We have been set free

1. We don’t have to fight for our freedom. It has been done for us

2. We so easily forget or diminish the price of our freedom

Illustration- those who fought for our freedom in the USA- now we are quick to take it for granted or give in up completely

- In light of that freedom we have been given…

B. We have been given an imperative- a command

1. The imperative is based on the indicative “Christ has set us free”

2. What we are called to do as Christians is ALWAYSbased on what God has already done for us

a. Typically the structure is the imperative and then the indicative- "if you do this, then this will happen" “If you finish your chores, then we can go for ice cream”

b. But in the case of our freedom, our justification, we are called to stand firm because of what Christ has done

3. Become what you are! Live out what God has miraculously done in you

- But with this command, Paul gives a warning…

C. The danger of slipping back into the slavery of the law

1. Yoke of slavery- oxen with a heavy burden

a. Acts 15:10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

2. Christ came to take that heavy burden for us

a. Unlike the heavy yoke of the law, Jesus said his yoke is easy and his burden is light Matt. 11:30

The Consequences of Backsliding (2-4)

A. Christ will be of no advantage to you

1. He uses the example of circumcision

a. It's not about whether circumcision is right or wrong

(1) Paul wasn't against it- He encouraged Timothy to do it to help their missionary efforts among the Jews.

(2) It is an issue of what we are depending on to make us righteous

b. It’s an issue of motivation- Why am I doing this?

(1) If our motivation in pursuing anything that we do is to improve our standing before God or gain righteousness resulting in salvation or a better standing before God, then Christ is of no value to us.

(2) Why would we need him?

2. Circumcision- it is not a theological matter to us today

a. But in that time, if someone other than a Jew wanted to be circumcised, it showed their great desire to be a part of the Jewish people

b. So Paul equated their desire for circumcision to a desire to be justified by the law

c. It can be many different things for us today

B. You are obligated to keep the whole law

1. The Jewish teachers were slowly introducing various Jewish laws and customs into the lives of the Galatians- “if we can get them to do this, it is one step closer to observing the whole law”

2. Not just a few of the big ones- "I'm keeping most of them. I got the big ones."

3. It is all or nothing- We can't be selective

a. If we are relying on our good works, or somehow trying to supplement faith with good works, we are committing ourselves to live by the whole law

C. You will be separated from Christ- severed, alienated

1. The Greek word carries the meaning of “released from”- this not a casting out, but a letting go

a. This is our own desire to walk away from Christ and pursue our own way

2. You can’t have both

a. They are mutually exclusive

3. John Calvin “Whoever wants to have a half-Christ loses the whole.”

D. You will fall away from grace

1. This does not mean we can lose our salvation

2. But it is a stern warning

- So we've seen the command to stand firm, and we've seen what happens when we backslide into the slavery of the law, now in verses five and six Paul begins to answer the question…

How do we stand firm in our freedom? (5-6)

- What does it look like to live by faith? How do we live in this freedom given to us?

A. We must live by the power of the Holy Spirit

1. This will be a major theme in the final 2 chapters

2. 2 Cor. 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

B. We must live with the confident hope of righteousness

1. When we are saved, God credits Christ's righteousness to us. This is undeserved grace

a. But as we life in the power of the Spirit, God begins to produce righteousness in our lives. This is our sanctification

b. Our righteousness is fully realized through glorification. This is our hope of eternal life

2. We “eagerly await”

a. Romans 8:18-25 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondageto corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

3. W. Grundmann “The Christian stands in the tension of a double reality. Basically freed from sin, redeemed, and reconciled … he is actually at war with sin, threatened, attacked and placed in jeopardy by it.”

C. We must live in union with Christ

1. In the previous verses Paul said that pursuing the law would severe us from Christ. Living by faith in the freedom that Christ offers us means the exact opposite- we are IN Christ- fully dependent on him

2. Our union with Christ is what counts in the end. Not our righteousness or our nationality or our denomination or anything else

3. What is your relationship with him like right now?

- So what really matters? Faith expressing itself through love

D. We must show love to one another

1. Our lives ought to be marked by love for others

2. Faith is expressed through loving and serving one another

3. Faith shows itself in action

a. James 2:14-18 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Conclusion

- As followers of Christ, we must stand firm in the freedom that has been given to us through faith in Jesus so that we do not backslide into living by our own strength, which results in bondage.

So What?

- Are you standing firm in your faith and dependence on God’s grace?

o Relying on the Holy Spirit

o Living with confident hope

o Living in union with Christ

o Showing love to one another

- Have you found yourself slipping back into the bondage of performance driven Christianity?