Freedom to Love Others

Intro

- Illustration- sister with diabetes got special food privileges in school

- We have been called to freedom (13a)

o What do we use our freedom to do?

o He ended vs 12 on a startling condemnation of the Judaizes, but now he turns to the Galatians

o He wishes that the false teachers would be cut off, but you Galatians, you are my brothers, and you have been called to freedom

o Called- by God himself- this is not the work of Paul, or even the superior intellect, understanding, or morality of the Galatians- God called them to himself

- We have been called for a purpose

o We have a tendency, because of our sinful nature, to misuse good things that we have been given

§ Dynamite- Alfred Nobel created it to make labor easier in the expansion of railroads and the digging of tunnels- he had a vision of using this to make the world a better place- but it wasn’t long before men used it in war to cause great destruction and death

· This is why he also created the Nobel Peace Prize, so that he would be remembered for that instead of the destructive nature of his creation

o It is easy for us to do the same, to use the freedom God has given to us for our own selfish purposes and desires

o but we have been called to freedom for something much greater and much more fulfilling than living for ourselves

o we have been freed for a purpose

- Read Gal. 5:13-15

- This morning I want us to look at the ways we can abuse our God given freedom, but also the way God intended us to use our freedom, the purpose behind it all.

Our Freedom is not License to Sin

A. Why would we return to what we have been freed from?

1. The danger for the Jews was returning to their former way of life, living by the law

2. But for the Galatians, returning to their old way meant returning to a pursuit of selfish indulgence with no thought of God

3. “Now that I have forgiveness and freedom, I’ll go back to the things that condemned me in the first place”

B. Opportunity for the flesh

1. Sarx- sinful nature

a. We are called to be in the flesh, but not of the flesh

(1) Our sinful nature is a reality, but it does not define us- we are no longer under its control

(2) The power of the Spirit within us is greater than our sinful nature

(3) That is why the gospel offers freedom- we are no longer slaves to our sinful desires

2. We are still sinful human beings even after we are forgiven

a. We will continue to fight against that sinful nature until we are in heaven with God

3. But we still must fight

a. Can’t say, “well, that’s just the way things are. No one is perfect. Life is messy.”

C. Living in sin does not magnify God’s grace

1. Some believe that when I sin, it is an opportunity for God’s grace to shine!

2. The worse I am, the greater God’s grace appears

a. This is cheap grace

b. Christ did not die so that I could continue living according to the flesh. He died so that we could be freed from it’s grasp

3. Illustration of a man, newly released from prison mistaking his torn and soiled rags for the finest royal garments and his shackles for golden bracelets covered in jewels

a. We cannot pretend that our sin brings glory to God

4. Paul directly addresses this in Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Serving One Another in Love

A. This is the opposite of slavery to the flesh and the law

1. Flesh

a. Slaves to our sinful desires

b. It’s all about me and what I want- only concerned others when it affects us

c. Illustration- Landon offering to be a servant

2. Law

a. I’m consumed with keeping all the rules

b. No time to think about others

c. Me focus even when I do serve others

3. Only when we throw off the chains of these masters, through the power of Jesus, are we free to love and serve others with pure motives

B. Love shows itself in service

1. There are many motivations for service (obligation, in order to gain payment or favor, out of guilt, out of fear) but love is the greatest

2. The word used here for serve is the verb form of the Greek word dulos- slave- we are to be slaves to one another

a. We often think about how others serve us, or what we think they should do to make things easier for us

b. Phil. 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

c. Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

3. You might think, if we are called to be slaves to others, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of our freedom?

a. Freedom does not free us from all responsibility

b. We are freed from bondage to our flesh and to the law

c. But we are freed to love and serve others instead of living for ourselves

d. Luther “A Christian is free and independent in every respect, a bond servant to none. A Christian is a dutiful servant in every respect, owning a duty to everyone.”

4. The picture of love in Galatians

a. 2:20- motive for Christ's sacrifice- Paul always goes back to this- Christ’s life and sacrifice as an example for how we ought to live

b. 5:6- an expression of faith

c. 5:13- shown through service

C. Loving others summarizes the whole law

1. He's not saying that they are pursuing love in order to fulfill the law- the entire book has been clearly against this

a. He's not saying, "do this so you can fulfill the law and be justified"

b. He is however describing, in a very powerful way, the impact that genuine love can have

2. God’s moral law reflects who he is and his divine will for us

a. This was in place far before Moses was given the law and far beyond our freedom from the bonds of the law

b. Rom. 2:15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness

c. we have been set free from the ceremonial and civil aspects of the mosaic law, but God’s moral law still stands as it always has

d. the difference is that we have been given the power of the Holy Spirit to help us fulfill that law as he produces righteousness in us- sanctification

3. truly loving others shows a genuine love and submission to God and a desire to see his will done through us by his power

a. we can love because he first loved us by sending his son to purchase our freedom and sending his Holy Spirit to empower us

4. this is what we see in Paul’s letter to the Romans- 13:8-10 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

D. The command to love your neighbor as yourself

1. This is not promoting self-love

a. We live in a culture of self-love

b. This is taking for granted that we are all pretty good at loving ourselves, taking care of ourselves, looking out for number one

c. What if we extended that same love to others?

2. Quoting Lev. 19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

3. Luke 10:25-28 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

a. Shows how hard this really is

b. And who is my neighbor? - Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan

(1) It’s easy to love others who are kind to you, who you along with

(2) But what about…

(3) Often love is shown through mercy- given to people who don’t deserve it

(4) We don’t deserve it

- Paul reveals a picture of the current state of the Galatian church- a picture that illustrates what happens when love is not paramount

The Danger of Division

A. Legalism and license tear the church apart

1. Legalism

a. Can cause us to be judgmental, self-focused, and always comparing

(1) Comparison is the enemy of contentment

b. Walter Hansen- When churches define their purpose in terms of law observance, they need to watch out or they will be destroyed by a competitive, critical, judgmental spirit.

c. The more we try to fulfill the law by our own effort, the more we strayed from one of its greatest commands, "love thy neighbor as thyself"

2. License

a. Anyone who stands for truth will be labeled a legalist!

b. We find unity in truth

B. Pursuing our own agenda, our selfish motives, can only lead to division in the church

1. If we are called to be a body, we must work together.

2. We must seek to selflessly love one another

3. If we do not, destruction is imminent- we have seen this throughout church history- churches tearing themselves apart from the inside

C. But when we have love for one another, we are made less of, and God is magnified

1. We find unity not in our selfish motives, but in our freedom through Christ

2. This was Paul’s desire for the Galatian church, and I pray that it is our desire as well

3. If we want to see God working in our church, growing our church, we must strive to show love to one another and love to our neighbors around us

- So What?

o Are we guilty of using our freedom in Christ as an excuse to live the way we want?

o Are we quick to serve each other in love?

o Do we allow our selfish motives to create division where there ought to be unity?