Sermon Tone Analysis

Galatians 5:1-6 (HCSB) \\ \\

 

 

Freedom…what does it mean to you?  (Share time)

From the video clip, it is apparent that our founding fathers and great leaders down though out country’s history have recognized that possessing freedom was always worth the price …even the price of  standing up and dying for.

So, when we hear the words, “Let Freedom Ring”, we’re hearing the proclamation of not just liberty, but of its price…of the sacrifice required, of its value, and of something worthwhile to hang onto.

Paul writes of freedom in Galatians 5 as well.

Listen to what he says…

*/Christ has liberated us into freedom.

Therefore stand firm   and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.  2 Take note!

I, Paul, tell you that if you get circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. 3 Again I testify to every man who gets circumcised that he is obligated to keep the entire law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace!  5 For by the Spirit we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness from faith.

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love./*

This says to me that freedom is not just some nice little concept that individuals can have by just saying or thinking the word freedom.

Paul is writing not of nationalistic freedom here, but of the freedom that was paid for by Jesus Christ when He died on the cross for our sins.

Christ died for our sins.

Christ set us free… Jesus spoke this himself in Luke 4:18-19, when He said the “Spirit of the Lord is upon me,  to proclaim the good news…(Let Freedom Ring)…to proclaim freedom…to set the captives free (Let Freedom Ring).”

But we’ve got to answer a very important question…what kind of freedom did Jesus liberate us to?

Was it freedom to do as we please?

(Home of the free, land of the brave, do as I please!)

Does the freedom that Jesus bought us, give us the right to say we’re Christians, and maybe, if we’re not too involved in something else, we’ll show the World we’re Christians on Sunday, and then we’ll live like the devil is in us Monday through Saturday…because in Christ, we’re free indeed?

Does to be free mean that we can choose whether or not  to be in a small group?

Was that the freedom Jesus was talking about…the Freedom Jesus is talking about certainly has nothing to do with choice.

Or Was it the freedom of the Christian to choose whether or not to fellowship and study His word with other Christians, and have the right to ‘forsake the fellowshipping together.”

Was this freedom a freedom to do as we wish when it comes to our finances and time and our lives?

Did that freedom grant us the right to not tithe nor give special offerings, or to NOT serve Christ’s church, or to NOT minister to others?

No…friends, NO!

You see, the freedom to which Jesus Christ sets us free to, in verse 1, that Paul is talking about here, is the freedom to live a Life of righteousness in the power of the Holy Spirit, and not be handcuffed to a system of man’s works to try to get into some sort of favorable position with God.

Friends…this is so crucial to fully understanding the freedom Paul is writing of here…we’ve really got to get a grip on this theological truth…because regardless of what various writers, commentators, and some preachers and teachers may say, God’s definition of righteousness has never changed, nor has God ever re-defined righteousness according to the modern times.

That’s because God’s standard of holiness has not changed, sin is still sin…adultery is still sin, stealing is still sin; sleeping around is still sin; homosexuality is still sin; pornography is still sin; child abuse is still sin; taking an innocent life is still sin; lust is still sin; sin, friends, is still sin.

God has not re-written His Bible, and because God’s Word does not change, neither has His definition nor His standard of righteousness been changed along the way to make it more comfortable for 21st Century Americans…

And that simply means that no personal interpretation of God’s Word and His Standard, by some commentator or some religious leader’s book, or some denominational or local church body re-write of it in order to be more ‘inclusive’ or more ‘relevant’ or more ‘appealing’ really doesn’t amount to a hill of beans when it comes to God’s standards.

All of Creation, like it or not, or admitting it or not, still falls under the same rules, of Almighty God, Himself.

Now…recall, that we went through the Sermon on the Mount several weeks back.

I hope you didn’t miss that series, because it was a foundational building block for us.

So, hopefully, you remember that Jesus makes it perfectly clear in His Sermon on the Mount, that God still…the Sermon on the Mount reiterated this over and over…God still requires righteousness, and the righteousness that God requires is not simply some outward performance of goody two shoes acts, but instead, it is an inner perfection.

And the bad news was, as we found out, was that we don’t have the individual ability to do it ourselves.

We come up pitifully short when we try.

And because God knew that, i.e., He knows us better than we know ourselves…and why not, He is the Creator,…so God, does something here for us…

God steps in because of His love for all of us, and He sends Jesus Christ to die for our sins…so that through faith and faith alone, as we’re convicted of our sins by the Holy Spirit, and we then turn to God, and away from our sins, and asking God’s forgiveness, and accepting this gift of salvation through Belief in Jesus Christ, God does something else…

Once we accept Jesus as our Savior and life-manager, Jesus sends us the Helper…the Holy Spirit.

And it is only through the Holy Spirit of God Himself, that you and I who are believers have the ability to live those lives of perfect inner righteousness.

That’s because Christ set us free…Jesus paid the price for our freedom.

Let Freedom Ring!

So, just like the soldiers who have died and who continue to die for freedom, Jesus paid the price for us…a different price, though…a price that guarantees eternal freedom and eternal life with Jesus in Heaven.

Jesus set us free.

Well, Paul then continues and says, “Therefore stand firm and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.

“

Stand firm, and don’t submit again to the yoke of slavery.

That carries both a warning as well as a military command.

Our forefathers had to stand firm against the Tyranny of the King of England.

Had they not, our national drink might have been Earl Grey Tea.  (maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, since I sort of like Earl Grey Tea…just like Jon Luke Piccard of Star Trek)…

Our soldiers on the battlefields down through time, have had to stand firm against the enemies of democracy and freedom.

Had they not, we all might have been speaking German as our national language.

Friends…so too, we must also stand firm against our enemy today as Paul commands here.

So, not only did Jesus give us freedom, but it tells me that someone else wants to snatch that freedom away.

So there is an ongoing battle…Satan, our enemy, simply does not want God’s people to experience that kind of freedom.

That’s why the Bible tells us that our battle is not against human enemies but against the spiritual powers and principalities in the heavenlies (Eph 6:12).

Now…Can you imagine what the non-Christians of the world would say if they continually saw Christians living the ‘set-free’ lives that were purchased for us, instead of living lives full of sin, or lives all bound up in works of trying to please God?

 

Paul just puts it plainly enough…stand firm, and don’t submit to that yoke of slavery that the devil is trying to slip over your neck.

How many times do we get guilt trips laid on us because we think we need to do something else for Jesus?

So in order to live in the freedom Christ bought for us, we’ve got to stand firm and not submit to the yoke of slavery that the devil tries to get us to put back on.

What will enable us to stand firm?

1)     You’ve heard me say it before…spend time with God.

Talk with Him, read His Word…use a good devotional that helps you put His Word into your heart.

2)    Pray without ceasing.

Don’t just talk to God at meal time…talk to Him like you would your best friend, or your best telephone buddy.

3)    Worship regularly with your church family…Jesus Himself demonstrated the need for such worship in His own life…He went to the synagogue regularly…not just on special occasions.

He went to worship, not to pick a fight with the Jews.

Today more than ever Christians need to NOT forsake the gathering together (Heb 10:25)…we need each other.

4)    Get connected in a small group.

We’re going to be starting training of small group leadership in the next weeks and out of that we’ll be starting a brand new dynamic small groups ministry where people can fellowship, build relationships and apply God’s Word in their lives.

Stand firm…don’t give the devil a chance…

Let the freedom ring in your life that Jesus bought and paid for with His own life…Enjoy that freedom that will not end.

| *Fallen from Grace *(5:2–12) | *13* |

*Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?

This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.

I have confidence in you in the Lord, that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.

But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted?

Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.

Would that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves.

*(5:2–12)

This passage begins the third section of the letter.

After defending his apostleship ([1]chaps.1–2) and his message of justification by faith (chaps.

3–4), Paul now applies that doctrine to practical Christian living (chaps.

5–6), emphasizing that right doctrine should result in right living.

His subject is the sanctification that should result from justification.

The life of genuine faith is more than the belief in divine truth; it is also the bearing of divine fruit.

Especially in chapter 5 (vv.

5, 16–18, 25), the apostle emphasizes the personal ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer, without which genuine Christian living would be impossible.

It is the Holy Spirit who makes the life of faith work.

Were it not for the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, the life of faith would be no more spiritually productive or acceptable to God than the life of law.

The freedom for which Christ sets us free ([2]v.1) is the freedom to live a Life of righteousness in the power of the Holy Spirit.

God’s standard of holiness has not changed.

As Jesus makes clear in the Sermon on the Mount, it requires not simply outward performance but inner perfection.

Through His Holy Spirit, believers have the ability to live internal lives of righteousness.

The final two chapters of Galatians are a portrait of the Spirit-filled life, of the believer’s implementing the life of faith under the control and in the energy of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit-filled life thereby becomes in itself a powerful testimony to the power of justification by faith.

In making his appeal for living the Spirit-filled life of freedom rather than reverting to the futile works-bound life of legalistic self-effort, Paul begins with the negative, a warning first against false doctrine (vv.