Opportunity or Abuse?

Psalm 20 / Galatians 5:13-15

Dec 7, 1941 was called by President Roosevelt, “A day which will live in infamy.”

The Baptist Standard of Texas editorialized, “The American people will never cease to regret that we were forced to use such measures to stop an enemy who deliberately defied every code of common decency in a wild rampage of murderous pillage and plunder of peace loving nations...

Sept. 11, 2001 - The attack in NY, PA, and DC

May 2, 2011

New York Times: Bin Laden Killed by U.S. Forces in Pakistan, Obama says, declaring justice has been done

Daily News: Rot In Hell!

The Galatian Context

Judaizers & Circumcision

Paul’s Assessment:

Don’t abuse your freedom

Take the opportunity to love your neighbor

From last week:

Free from sin’s bondage

Free from historical sin, and tradition

Free to live righteously

Don’t abuse your freedom

The easy way out: go along with the prevailing opinion of the religious crowd

How do we recognize if we are abusing our freedom?

direct opposition to the word / teaching

examining our hearts, reactions, and interactions

Galatians 5:19-20 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,”

Luke 9:53-55 “But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them.”

How do we take the opportunity to love in this fractious time?

Humble ourselves before God and Neighbor

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Remember that what any one administration or court can do, another can undo

Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

Press INTO harmony, if not unity, esp. within the body of Christ

Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

Listen to opposing views and seek to truly understand them before responding

1 Peter 3:15 “...always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

Acts 17:17 “[Paul] reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.”

Actively Love people more than issues

James 2:14-16 “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?”