Bible Reading — Galatians 5:1, 13–26
Good morning. This morning's reading comes from Galatians chapter five, verse one and verses 13 to 26, and it can be found on page 1812. If you're following along in the read pew Bibles.
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.
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and devour each other. Watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, for the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I do before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the spirit. Let us keep in step with the spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
This is the word of the Lord.
Introduction
Thanks, Ange, and thanks, Pretha. Well, we're in the fifth chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians, and we've been calling this series Breaking Chains because in it, Paul is calling for the Galatian Christians to maintain the freedom that Jesus has won for them.
Now, in our world, we're quite good, I think, today at identifying chains we use words like oppressor and oppressed. We use words like colonialism. We use words like rights.
We protest. We stand against government laws that we feel are restrictive. We make our views known wherever we can.
We identify chains and we call for freedom. We look for self-determination. We look for individual fulfillment.
We look for our rights and our individual autonomy. But whereas we are able to identify where there are chains and we look for freedom. We're not necessarily good at being able to say what we want to be free for.
We're able to say maybe what we want to be free from, or what we would like a particular people to be free from. But it's hard to say what we would like them to be free for. Do we have a shared view of human flourishing where freedom looks like something?
Paul begins chapter five with these words. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Now if we just had those on a flag or a mug or a banner, then we might be left very similarly to today without a picture of what we're being freed for.
That freedom in itself is the greatest good, but we don't know what for. Will, he continues. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
The Yoke of Slavery vs. Freedom in Christ
Well, are we in the same picture? We're looking for freedom, throwing off all the shackles, the yoke. this is still used.
This is in Pakistan. Oxen yoked together, unable to go their own way, but instead are at the mercy of the farmer, who sends them in the direction he wants them to go so that they can plow the field.
In this case, Paul says, 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.
Well, of course we know if we've been reading the book of Galatians, if we've been here for any of the sermons that the slavery that he is particularly thinking about, and the freedom from is the freedom from the law, the law of Moses, the way in which a group was coming to the new Christians in Galatia to say, you need to be more Jewish, you need to be circumcised.
If you're a man, you need to have special feast days. Observe the special ceremonial moments of the year, special practices, special foods. You need to keep the law so that you can be more Christian by being more Jewish.
And Paul is horrified by this because it actually undercuts the entire message and meaning of the cross and resurrection of Jesus. He says. If you try and keep any of the law as part of your salvation, you will be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. You cannot succeed.
Modern Legalism and Its Pitfalls
Now, we also talked a couple of weeks ago that we may not feel tempted to be circumcised or keep the Sabbath in a particular way, to have feast days and festivals, to eat certain foods or not. But we may still be enslaved to an understanding or a worldview, which is law or legalism.
If we have some of these things in our lives, guilt and an expectation of rejection by God based on our actions, our past, who we are. A driven nurse to perfectionism that to be a good Christian, I need to have it all together. Hiding sin from ourselves, others, and God.
I couldn't possibly be honest about those things because people would know that I wasn't a real Christian if I have sin in my life. Busyness, including in church, I better prove myself to God and to that amazing minister up the front, to be as busy as I possibly can, because then people will know that I'm definitely saved.
Holiness hierarchies. That person singing. That person playing guitar.
They must be way more holy than me because they've got that roll up the front on the stage. Rules for acceptance. Well, I'll consider you a Christian if you do this, that or the other thing.
I'll consider myself a Christian if I do this, that, or the other thing. Self-Reliance. It's a strange one.
But, when we might be burdened again to law, we feel that God wants us to get out of our own messes, where we need to make sure that we're as strong as we can be. And prayer is a last resort. Fear of sharing the gospel that is, maybe fearing that it will be considered a burden to someone, but also that I do not live up to the message that I want other people to believe.
And so maybe we're preaching a moral gospel rather than a gospel of grace. And finally, a conditional welcome into our church community. You need to look like this.
Speak like this. Be like us. In order to approach the Lord.
So Paul wouldn't tell us to worry about circumcision, but he would tell us to worry about these things in our lives as potential pitfalls of where we might be living under the yoke of the law. But he does in this chapter, then give us a freedom, for he gives us a vision of human flourishing, not just stay away from it, but it will look like this.
Faith Expressing Itself Through Love
So we didn't have these read, but this is the the next couple of verses. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ. You have fallen away from grace.
For through the spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision or uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
This is the vision for human flourishing. Faith expressing itself through love, faith, trust, belief, connection to Jesus Christ, the receipt of all his good gifts for us, his grace, the merits of his cross and resurrection faith expressing itself through love.
Now, I'm not sure whether I took this photo or whether Randall took this photo. Probably Randall, who was one of the ministers here about 6 or 7 years ago. But this is the top of our church.
This is the the there's a metal cross just out behind you there. and we saw at Easter time, probably funded by the largesse of Hillsong Church or the like, the in the sky, really this vision of human flourishing. Faith in Jesus expressing itself through love.
This is the picture. This is what we ought to be known for. Not simply faith, not simply love, but both.
Faith expressing itself through love. So Paul goes on. He says, you, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.
Free from. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather, serve one another humbly in love.
The word serve one another translates a Greek idea, which really is enslave yourselves to one another. You've been freed from the curse of the law. You've been freed from sin through Jesus.
Now enslave yourself to one another so that you might be a community where faith expresses itself through love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself.
If you bite and devour each other. Watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Serving One Another (John 13)
Bill Johnson, who's the pastor of Bethel Church? a wild, wacky man, but sometimes full of great wisdom. says that his dad used to say that, it's only when you wash someone's feet that you realize why they walk the way they do.
Now, this is a picture, of course, drawn from Jesus. John 13, washing the disciples feet. Serving them.
But we can imagine, you know, sitting there washing someone's feet, seeing what they've walked through, seeing whether there's bruises or broken things, seeing whether they've inherited a particular gait way of walking from their family. seeing that they've got parts that are strong and parts that are weak.
And so when Paul says, serve one another humbly in love. This is part of the way in which we stop ourselves biting and devouring each other as we serve each other. As we humble ourselves to be with people, we understand more why they are how they are.
We're much less likely to impute motives on them. We're much less likely to judge them. And the frustration that we, I'm sure rightly have, and that you rightly have with me, you would maybe come to understand a little more and be able to have some of the things we will look at in just a few moments, particularly patience.
Thank you. So he says, walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.
Flesh vs. Spirit
If you want to serve one another. If you want to fulfill the entire law by loving your neighbor as yourself. Don't go back under.
I must walk by the spirit because it is only the Spirit's transforming power, his connection, his renewing that enables this to happen. And the alternative is something called the flesh.
Now the flesh is not the body. It's not like body versus spirit. Paul has another word for body that he can use if he wants to.
Flesh is about everything in the human experience that is under our own selfish rule. Now, if you're as old as me, you will remember a song that said you and me, baby ain't nothing but mammals. And I'm not going to keep singing it.
But we are, of course, full of our animal desires and hunger and thirst, a need for intimacy, a desire to procreate. These things, these animal things, if you like, are neutral. Neutral.
But when they become flesh is when we become enslaved to them. If you like, where we let them drive us. Now, you've seen this before.
There is, I'm not making a point about evolution or nothing. what I'm saying is, no matter what, we are mammals, we do have serotonin that does things, and dopamine that does things, and oxytocin that does things, and adrenaline that does things, and cold and warm and hungry and thirsty, etc., etc.. But the acts of the flesh are when those things are not brought under the Lordship of Christ, but instead become a new master for us, so we can be freed from the law.
And we think, oh, great. No more ten commandments for me. But if we are not freed for a vision of human flourishing, that is faith expressing itself through love, we will find ourselves actually enslaved again, and we will find the desires that we have to have a community that is free and self-determined and and full of everything good, will not come to pass.
So we will find that the acts of the flesh, when they are under our own selfish rule, become broken sex. Sexual immorality is a general term for sex outside of marriage. Impurity is more, sexual acts that are deviant.
And then debauchery is the type of sexual acts that are kind of unrestrained lust. And everything that we know is damaging is under this. But also, it is sometimes the things that we couldn't possibly believe would be damaging.
Secondly, broken spirituality. Now, these two things, idolatry and witchcraft in a nice Anglican middle class congregation, we might think as if we don't have statues and and we're not casting spells, but idolatry is, spirituality that puts something else on the throne. Anything.
Money. Another person. I my own pleasure.
And of course. Other gods. And witchcraft.
Well, witchcraft is spirituality that, tries to have ways of manipulating spiritual power. That's what it is. Things humans can do.
Certain things that will get humans power from the spiritual realm. So it's important that we don't just dismiss those things. It's possible that you and I might have practices or ideas in our lives where we expect we can manipulate God.
If I do this, you will do that. If I pray this certain way, you must. But then, of course, look at the blue one.
Now we're like the yellow one and the green one are really freaky, and we're gonna want to talk about them. Please, Megan, don't go into any more detail, please. Thank goodness the children are in their programs.
I was very pleased to know that it was all age faith foundations today. But look at the the list for broken society. Hatred.
Discord. Jealousy. Fits of rage.
Selfish ambition. Dissensions. Factions like they sometimes used to translate this party spirit and envy.
Now the problem for us is we've all got a disease. It's called. Yes, but that doesn't apply to me.
Itis. I have it pretty bad. and the way it shows itself is that you look at a list like this and you say, yes, but mine is reasonable.
There is a reason why. Nae nae nae nae. There's a reason why I got so angry.
There's a reason why I'm jealous of that person. They didn't do anything to deserve that. Look at what I've been doing.
There's a reason why I can't ever forgive that person. Ever. Now that's a long conversation and don't hear me judging.
But this disease we have of. Yes, but it doesn't apply to me itis. It's really quite rampant.
And I think when we hear that challenge that. Do I look at a list like this and. But it's reasonable.
Comes to mind. We might need to look at it a lot longer. And Drunkenness and Orgies is about broken sensors using substances or other types of experiences processes to entirely let go.
And they used to say that Christians should be sober minded. That's part of the language that we find in some of Paul's letters. And you think, oh, that sounds really boring.
No one's going to want that. But what Paul is saying is, life isn't about having a responsible time and then entirely letting go. Making sure you lose all sense of what's going on so that, you know, because that's just the best time.
That actually says, I don't trust you, Lord, that there is flourishing for me in your way. And he says, I warn you like I did before, that those who live like this, who make this their practice, who embrace this flesh, will not inherit the kingdom of God.
And of course, this is Jesus own teaching. Jesus said to the Jews, if you hold to my teaching, you really, you are really my disciples, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. It'll teach you and inoculate you against.
Yes, but it doesn't apply to me itis. They answered him, we are. Abraham's descendants have never been slaves of anyone.
How can you say that? We shall be set free. He says, let's get this right.
What am I talking about? Everyone who sins. Everyone who lives like that list that Paul has said.
Everyone who lets themselves be their own boss is a slave to sin. You're not free. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
So if the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. The sun's gift of freedom is far more than a therapist who's able to help you move through some of these things, which is very good.
But the sun's gift of freedom is the freedom to be in a new family, to have a new DNA, to have a new master who when you are yoked with him, it is light and life giving and full of joy and love.
The Fruit of the Spirit
And so that's exactly what Paul says now. Yes, you could choose to live this way, but in fact you have an alternative already planted within you. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance or patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Now Paul does sometimes in his letters list kind of vice list and then a virtue list. Don't do this, but instead do this. Put off these things.
Put on these things. But he's really made a point not to do that. Because even though and we'll talk about it in a second, we have agency here.
He's wanting the Galatians to know that he's not moving from one kind of list of law to another. Don't do this, do this, do the law. Do these things well.
They're just telling you to do things that you don't need to do. But you do need to do these things. No.
He wants them to know that this is fruit that grows from a life that has been implanted in you from your new creation, DNA. This is a gift and a transformation and a formation in you.
And I've grouped them into three. and and I think it's legitimate, but it doesn't really matter too much. The first three are more the spiritual character, the gifts that God gives because they are his for his children.
This is what you experience in the Kingdom of God love, joy, and peace. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. we know that it is faith, hope, and love.
This is the type of, character and atmosphere that life can have when the spirit is at the center. But the second, I think, is useful to think about it as our societal. Relationships.
Patience, kindness and goodness. How do I relate to other people? I relate to them these ways with patience, with kindness, and by doing good to them.
And then in myself, what do I expect to see? And what do I hold myself accountable to? Faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
If I say I'm going to do something, I do it. I keep my promises. I relate to myself and others gently.
That's quite radical. And I have agency to say no to my desires. Even the things that are normal and neutral can be expressed at the wrong time, or in the wrong way, or in a way that is over the top, or in a way that is not enough.
And I have agency. To make choices about those things. It's called self-control.
Against such things, there is no law. That is, these are a gift from God. They are not able to be told, do joy, you must be joyful.
This is the fruit of God's life in you. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. And so since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit.
We have an external reality and an internal agency. We live by the spirit. Only way we don't make ourselves alive in Christ.
He makes us alive in him. And so our job is to keep in step with the way that he wants us to live.
And so let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. The cross of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, and the gift of the Holy Spirit are now exactly what we have longed for. Exactly what was promised and the only way to live the good life.
From Sinai to Spirit — Living the Good Life
So a couple of weeks ago, we talked about how the, the, the Jewish identity was about the giving of the law at Sinai and that they would see that as God's revelation of himself and this identity marker and the means of right standing with God. And it makes us part of God's mission in the world.
And it was the way to live the good life. And Paul is saying that only got you so far. It was guardrails, but it could never actually implant these things that you can't have a law about in your heart.
But now, with Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit, you have the blessing of God's revelation of himself. You have the identity marker of God's people. You have the means of right standing with God.
You are part of God's mission in the world, and you have the way to live the good life.
Hmm. Now, I'm a terrible photographer, but this is like my favorite photo that I took at Easter this year. I call it the women tending the Cross.
and, you don't have to come to my art show anytime soon because it is terrible. However, what it is to me is a symbol of faith expressing itself through love.
Why we decorate the cross every year at Easter is that we know that the cross is the way to the flourishing human life, and so we don't leave it as a symbol. We have it as something living and vibrant.
Paul says the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. And this is not these amazing ladies giving each other a bunch of flowers.
This is these amazing ladies finishing off the cross because we'd moved on to something else, and they were very aware that it was not as lively as it needed to be, but they were participating in the life of Jesus by saying this for you, congregation is going to be the means for a flourishing human life.
The cross faith, expressing itself through love and the gift of the spirit, making the cross and resurrection not a past event, but a present reality for those who believe. Amen.
