Sermon Tone Analysis

Freedom and Discipline

Paul has already reached two important goals in his appeal to the Galatians.

He has defended his apostleship, including a defense of his right to preach the gospel with or without the support of other human authorities (1:11–2:21), and he has defended the gospel itself, showing that it is by grace alone entirely apart from human works that the Christian is freed from the curse of the law and brought into a right relationship with God (3:1–4:31).

But there is one more point to be made before Paul concludes his letter: that the liberty into which believers are called is not a liberty that leads to license, as his opponents would charge, but rather a liberty that leads to mature responsibility and holiness before God through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

This theme dominates the last two chapters of the Epistle.

By Doug Fannon

Paul has already reached two important goals in his appeal to the Galatians.

He has defended his apostleship, including a defense of his right to preach the gospel with or without the support of other human authorities (1:11–2:21), and he has defended the gospel itself, showing that it is by grace alone entirely apart from human works that the Christian is freed from the curse of the law and brought into a right relationship with God (3:1–4:31).

But there is one more point to be made before Paul concludes his letter:

That the liberty into which believers are called is not a liberty that leads to license, as his opponents would charge, but rather a liberty that leads to mature responsibility and holiness before God through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

This theme dominates the last two chapters of the Epistle.

Summary: We are called by god to be free from sin and the ways of the world, not to be caught up in legalism or keeping score of good deed.

What Christ did for us was to free us up to do His will.

We’re talking about freedom today.

The freedom we have in Christ.

But many misunderstand that freedom.

(NKJV) Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

To the Jews the taking up of the law’s yoke was good; indeed, it was the essence of religion.

To Paul it was assuming the yoke of slavery.

Perhaps Paul was also remembering that Jesus had spoken of Christians taking his yoke upon them (, ), but this involves a different kind of service—one that is “easy” and “light”—as the readers of the letter are to see.

Since the Jews of Paul’s time spoke of “taking the yoke of the law upon oneself,” it is likely that Paul is referring to such an expression here.

To the Jews the taking up of the law’s yoke was good; indeed, it was the essence of religion.

To Paul it was assuming the yoke of slavery.

Perhaps Paul was also remembering that Jesus had spoken of Christians taking his yoke upon them (Matt 11:29, 30), but this involves a different kind of service—one that is “easy” and “light”—as the readers of the letter are to see.

Notes

When I study a Bible passage, I often will read the passage from several different translations including the original languages (Greek/Hebrew) to get the feel for what the passage is trying to say.

This opening verse is probably better understood in the NIV

(NIV84) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

(NIV84) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

One particularly telling example of this comes from fourteenth century Belgium.

Let me tell you the true story of a Duke Raynald III.

Raynald lived a life of indulgence and was obese.

His Latin nickname was Crassus, which means, “fat.”

One day Raynald and his younger brother, Edward, got into a vicious fight and Edward planned and executed a triumphant revolt against Raynald.

Edward took his older brother into custody but did not take his life.

Edward decided to construct a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk Castle and promised his brother that he would enjoy freedom once again when he was able to leave the room.

Now for the average Joe this wouldn’t have been much of a challenge, because the room Edward built had a number of windows and a door of near-normal size.

Neither the door nor the windows were locked - - they weren’t barricaded.

So you’re getting the picture by now: In order to experience his freedom again Raynald needed to loose weight.

But his brother Edward was no dummy, because he knew just how to keep Raynald imprisoned.

Every day he would send Raynald an assortment of tasty foods.

And what took place is just sad: Instead of dieting his way to freedom, Raynald grew more overweight and he stayed in that room for ten years until his brother died.

But by that time his health was so awful that he also died within a year.

We can say that Raynald III was a prisoner of his own appetite for food.

I ask you.

Was Raynald free?

He did what he wanted to do.

When given the choice, he chose to indulge his appetite at the cost of greater freedom.

I think that we can agree that he was enslaved.

To whom was he enslaved?

– His lesser but larger self.

(1) Many people think that freedom is the license to do whatever a person wants, but true freedom is the ability to do what is right.

It takes obedience in order to have true freedom.

I The Yoke of Bondage

I The Yoke of Bondage

is a summation of Galatians Chapter 4. Paul used the example from Genesis about the Isaac born to Sarah the free woman and Ismael born to Hagar the slave or bondwoman.

We were once a slave, but now we are adopted into God family.

“Free!” says Paul.

You have been purchased!

You are the property of the Son of God.

Nobody has any right to enslave you again.

Which, of course, was just what the legalists were trying to do.

They were trying to shackle Christ’s freemen with the chains of the Law with their silly man-made rules and regulations of religion.

“Stand!” he cries, “Stand fast!”

It is one of Paul’s great rallying cries in his epistles (1 Cor.

16:13; Phil.

1:27; 4:1; 1 Thess.

3:8; 2 Thess.

2:15).

“Stand firm!

Plant your feet!”

It would bring to mind the Roman way of waging war.

When faced by wild, undisciplined enemy hordes, the Romans simply locked their shields together, planted their feet firmly on the ground, and presented to the charging enemy an iron wall of steel and resolution.

That is the kind of stand that we must take against error.

We must not yield a single point.

Truth is truth; error is error.

The two are at war.

There must be no giving in on a single issue where error is involved.

Paul, the most conciliatory of men, would never compromise when it came to truth.

Many in his audience would have been salves.

“Free!” says Paul.

You have been purchased!

You are the property of the Son of God.

Nobody has any right to enslave you again.

Which, of course, was just what the legalists were trying to do.

They were trying to shackle Christ’s freemen with the chains of the Law with their silly man-made rules and regulations of religion.

“Stand!” he cries, “Stand fast!”

It is one of Paul’s great rallying cries in his epistles (; ; ; ; ).

“Stand firm!

Plant your feet!”

It would bring to mind the Roman way of waging war.

When faced by wild, undisciplined enemy hordes, the Romans simply locked their shields together, planted their feet firmly on the ground, and presented to the charging enemy an iron wall of steel and resolution.

That is the kind of stand that we must take against error.

We must not yield a single point.

Truth is truth; error is error.

The two are at war.

There must be no giving in on a single issue where error is involved.

Paul, the most conciliatory of men, would never compromise when it came to truth.

Being born again under Christ we are born under those that are free