Hello and happy Monday. If you’re like me, it’s gonna take a little time to get back in the groove after several days off full of food, family and fun. Marge and I had a great Thanksgiving and took full advantage of our first year back to enjoy a lot of family and friends. One great thing about walking with the Lord is wherever He puts you He builds a family of God around you. While in Maui we had our LBC ‘ohana’ that we grew so close to. During the weekend we rejoiced to be back close to family and friends but at the same time we found ourselves missing our Maui ohana. No matter where God plants you He will provide blessed fellowship for you. I’m thankful for that.
Well, this morning we look at one very impressive book in God’s Word, Galatians chapter 5. There’s so much in this book that I want to touch on, for the first time I’m kicking around the idea of spending 2 days writing on one chapter. There’s just that much.
Paul has spent most of the chapter thus far dealing with the false teachers that have permeated the Galatian church, teaching the new believers that they are still bound under the law. They are not teaching this in place of the Gospel, but in addition to. You see, most false teachings today will not deny Jesus Christ, just alter or change small facts and details about Him. You cannot change one thing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ or it is simply not the true Gospel. If I take away one atom of hydrogen from water it is no longer water. It’s a very small atom, a very small deduction, but it changes the entire composition.
I’d like to look at Galatians 5:13 this morning as I think its relevant today for our Christian walk. If I were to ask you how many different ways you can try to live out the Christian life, what would be your answer? What? Isn’t there only one? Well, yes, of course, the right way, but are there other, erroneous ways? Let’s look at verse 13 for the answer.
“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.” (Gal 5:13)
You have to carefully unpack it, but Paul shows us here that there are three different methods in which we can try to live the Christian life, two of them will not work. One is legalism, one is license and one is liberty. Let’s look at them.
1) Legalism. This is what Paul has been discussing for most of this chapter, the Law. Putting the law before or in addition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The life of legalism includes not only the Ten Commandmnets but a set of regulations that have been created by believers today. They tell you where you can’t go, what you can’t do and whom you can’t go with. It’s kinda funny how the history of man repeats itself here. The Ten commandments grew from 10 to a whopping 613 as man added and added and added. Today as a Baptist I’m not supposed to dance. Other religions don’t use live music, some drink, some say you can’t drink, some say the women should only wear dresses and no make-up. The man-made rules today mirror those in Paul’s day. You see man left to himself will only repeat what has already been done. Man has a sin nature and it cannot be shaken. Hence our need for Chirst. Paul is saying that we can’t keep every commandment, we’re not good enough. The Law was never meant to save, but to show us our absolute imperfection and ultimate need for a Savior. Legalism doesn’t work.
2) License. I’ve heard people call this the “get out of jail free card.” Basically, I’m saved by the grace of God so therefore I can live however I want. My sin is covered by Jesus so basically, lets all “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” (Luke 12:19) This type of life is one of living in sin and embracing your sin. “Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.” Grace does not set us free to sin, but it sets us free from sin. The believer should desire to please God, not because he must please Him like a slave but because he is a son and desires to please the Father. License doesn't work.
3) Liberty. The freedom of serving Jesus Christ because we love Him. John 14:15 says, “If you love me keep my commandments.” The whole basis of obedience is a love relationship to Him. If you love Jesus you will respect His laws for living and will want to keep them. God only wants good for us, knows what is good for us, and also knows what will hurt us. He lays out rules for living that will truly set us free. True liberty and freedom is in Christ.
There are many analogies here to our Earthly parents. They love us deeply and want nothing more than to help us avoid the many pains that life can bring. Like most of you, when I was young, I didn’t fully grasp this concept. My parents only seemed to be firmly standing in the way of ‘all the fun stuff.’ What? Why can’t we ride our bikes on the trampoline? Why not? Well, because of course somebody fell off and got hurt. What? Why can’t I stay out til all hours of the night with my friends? Why not? Well, because a lot of trouble, temptation and bad decisions happen at these hours and of course I fell prey. What? Why can’t I run in the house? Well, because when you chase your brothers, you trip on a lamp cord and shatter Mom’s favorite lamp and then get spanked. (By the way, all true stories)
You see mom and dad have been around the block. They know the way the world works, they have lived it. They knew what was in store for me before I even headed in that general direction. They knew, and they wanted to help me avoid those mistakes. Help me avoid the pain that came with the bad decisions. My friends God is no different. God not only knows how the world works, God MADE the world and God MADE you. He knows everything about you. He knows your thoughts before they enter your mind. In spite of yourself God loves you and wants the best for you. If my parents offer me wise advice and I refuse to listen, guess what? I get into trouble and trouble causes pain.
God offers us wise advice in His Word and through His Holy Spirit. Everything we need is in Christ. We follow Him because He is our heavenly Father and just like our Earthly fathers, He wants the absolute best for us. (Luke 11:13) As the popular song says right now, ‘He is a good, good Father.’
I pray today that your 5 minutes in God’s Words offers you His wisdom and knowledge to walk this world and avoid the pitfalls that await. His Word is good for us, rest in it today.
God bless you all.
Comments