As we wrapped up Galatians chapter 4 two weeks ago, Paul
used the story of Hagar and Sarah to finish off his discussion about Law and
Faith. If you remember Hagar and her son Ishmael represented the world and all
its trappings. Sarah and Isaac represented Faith and the freedom that comes
from it. Paul used their story to teach the difference between being a slave
and free. The Law, the world, and sin rob us of the inheritance that God has
prepared for us, but the freedom through Jesus gives us that blessing of
eternity in Grace.
Let’s see what Paul has for us this morning as we open our
Bibles to Galatians chapter 5.
Galatians 5:1
“5 Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand
firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Starts with a nice summary of what we have covered for the
last several weeks. We are free, liberated, given grace, and so much more
through our faith in Jesus Christ. Which is followed up with another reminder
to not fall back into bondage or slavery by submitting to the world, the Law,
or any sin in your life. Stand firm, don’t be swayed.
Philippians 1:27
“27 Just one thing: Live your
life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and
see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in
one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the
faith that comes from the gospel,”
Stand firm in your faith. Stand firm knowing that you have
been set free. Stand firm knowing that you are not a slave any longer and live
your life accordingly. Let Christ be seen in the choices you make, the actions
you take, and the love you share. Stand firm in your faith and let it change
who you are.
Galatians 5:2-3
“2 Take note! I, Paul, tell you that
if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. 3 Again
I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to
keep the entire law.”
Following the Law gets you absolutely nowhere except tied
down to the Law. If you choose the Law over Jesus, you are obligated to keep
the entire law.
James 2:10
“For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point,
is guilty of breaking it all.”
Since it is impossible to follow every point of the Law, if
you choose it, you are doomed. It is a curse that will pull you down. Which is
exactly why we need a savior.
Galatians 5:4
“4 You who are trying to be justified
by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace”
Once again Paul is telling the Galatians that you cannot be
saved by the Law. There is no way through the Law to salvation, it cannot
justify you. Instead it tears down the bridge between you and God.
We need to remember that we are saved by faith. We are not
saved by our works, repeating a confession, being baptized, or being a member
of a church. Our salvation and justification come from believing that Jesus
died for our sins, that He defeated death, and rose to the right hand of the
Father. Saved by faith, not by any rules, rituals, or traditions.
Galatians 5:5
“5 For through the Spirit, by faith,
we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.”
Through Jesus there is no doubt whatsoever if we are
justified. We are grafted into the family of God. We become co-heirs with
Jesus. We go from being a sinful being, to one that is made perfectly clean,
bathed in the blood of the lamb, and completely conformed to God’s
requirements.
1 Peter 1:3-4
“3 Praise the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a
new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is
imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”
Through Jesus you are a new creation, born again, made Holy
and you are able to enter Glory.
Galatians 5:6
“6 For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is
faith working through love.”
Jesus does not care about your past. He does not care about
your background, what you have, or anything else. What really matters ‘is faith
working through love’. These words are highlighted and underlined in my Bible
as a reminder that my faith is demonstrated by my actions.
Ephesians 2:10
“10 For we are His creation,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of
time so that we should walk in them.”
Our salvation comes through our faith, but we were created
to do good works in Christ’s name. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the poor,
help the homeless, and so on. That is what loving God and loving Others is all
about. Loving others will drive you into action.
Galatians 5:7
“7 You were running well. Who
prevented you from obeying the truth?”
Worded another way is ‘what is preventing you from following
Jesus?’ Everyone here needs to answer that question. What is preventing you
from following Jesus? What is keeping you from doing what God created you to
do? What is stopping you from acting on your faith?
I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again.
Coming to church is not enough. That is part of Loving God. Setting time aside,
committing to God, singing His praises, studying His Word are all part of
Loving God. We were also created to Love Others. What is preventing you for
sharing God’s love with others? You need to pray about it and ask the Holy
Spirit to show you what you should be doing. Pray for Him to break your heart
for something that breaks His heart. Then do something about it.
Galatians 5:8-10
“8 This persuasion did not come from
the One who called you. 9 A little yeast leavens
the whole lump of dough. 10 I have confidence in
the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is
confusing you will pay the penalty.”
God is perfect and Holy. Anything that comes from Him will
also be perfect and Holy. This false teaching about the Law did not come from
God, it came from man. Sin and corruption come from man, not God.
One little false truth, one small hurdle put before
believers, one teeny tiny requirement for salvation, beyond having simple faith
destroys the whole thing. Yeast spreads through the whole loaf of bread, so
does a single distortion of the truth. No matter how minor it is it will
corrupt it.
The message of Jesus and His love and sacrifice for us, is
as pure as it can get. Over the last 2,000 years that message has been
corrupted by many. It is sometimes hard to tell if someone is speaking the
truth or adding to in. Insisting on things like baptism, worshipping in a
specific church, or on a specific day are manmade additions to the message of
Jesus. Each one of these corrupts the truth, each manmade rule creates a
stumbling block for believers.
We need to make sure we keep the message pure and Holy. As
Paul stated at the beginning of his letter to the Galatians and is repeating
here. Anyone who corrupts the message of God is cursed. Anyone who leads a
believer astray will pay the penalty. We need to stay truthful to the message
of Jesus and His cross. Nothing taken away and nothing added.
Galatians 5:11
“11 Now brothers, if I still preach
circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the
cross has been abolished.”
Before Paul’s Damascus road experience, he would have
preached the need for a man to be circumcised, after all he was an advocate for
the Law and an enemy of those who followed Jesus. If he was still teaching the
Law, these false teachers would not be attacking him and his teachings. Instead
he is being persecuted for simply teaching the meaning of the cross.
1 Corinthians 1:23
“23 but we preach Christ
crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.”
The message of Jesus can be hard for people to grasp. If
they believe that they are saved through rituals and rules this whole faith
concept sounds ridiculous. They think they can earn their way to heaven, faith
alone won’t be enough. Others think it is foolishness, a bunch of fairy tales,
something made up to encourage the weak.
We see these same things today. People think they can be
good enough to get into heaven, or they think the Bible is just a bunch of made
up junk. Our job as followers of Jesus is to be a witness where ever we go in
hopes that those who do not believe will see Jesus in us which will ultimately
lead to them seeing the truth.
Galatians 5:12
“12 I wish those who are disturbing
you might also get themselves castrated!”
Now you can probably come up with some deep theological
meaning behind this statement if you want. I think Paul was simply mad and
expressing his desire for those who were corrupting God’s message to go away.
Galatians 5:13
“13 For you were called to be
free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,
but serve one another through love.”
We are free from the Law through our faith in Jesus. We are
free from the consequences of our sin through our faith in our Savior. We have
been set free. But we are not free to return to sin, as being a slave to sin is
just as bad as being a slave to the Law.
1 Corinthians 10:23-24
“23 “Everything is
permissible,” but not everything is helpful. “Everything is
permissible,” but not everything builds up. 24 No
one should seek his own good, but the good of the other person.”
Just because we are free and have been saved by our faith,
does not mean we should go off and do anything we want. Faith in Jesus is not a
license to sin or as some call it, fire insurance. If we have a true faith, it
changes what we believe, how we feel about things, and how we act.
Are we free to sin? Yes, but is helpful? Absolutely not. We
are commanded to be witnesses, and living in sin destroys our ability to be a
witness.
Instead of living in sin, we need to be loving others.
Galatians 5:14-15
“14 For the entire law is
fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. 15 But
if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by
one another.”
Paul reminds us of the second of the greatest commandments.
We are to love others as ourselves. There
is no greater visible manifestation of a person’s faith in Jesus than the love
they show for others. The love they show for the lost, the poor, the down
trodden, those that drive them crazy, the hungry, those in need, and so many
more that are in need of our love and ultimately God’s love.
One day we will be standing in front of Jesus and He will
ask us two questions. How did we act on our love for God and how did we love
others as ourselves?
The question you need to ask yourself is, ‘if you were to
answer those questions today are you happy with your answer?’ If not, what do
you need to do about it.
It all comes down to Following Jesus, Loving God, Loving
Others, and Being a Witness.
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