7-4-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Galatians 5:1; “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

    A lot of time will be spent on “freedom” today.  We value it, we hold it dear to our heart but what do we really mean by the phrase “freedom”?  For many, it is a license to do whatever their little heart pleases.  They believe that freedom means I can live the way I want to live, and no one can tell me anything different.  Not surprisingly, this is the logic that the devil used on Adam and Eve when he told them, “you will be like God”; no rules except the ones you make!!

    This is what Paul means when he says in our verse to not submit to a yoke of slavery.  That yoke of slavery is sin, a condition we endure because we choose to define our life as what we want, what our sinful nature wants.  This is not true freedom; it is not the freedom that the Bible speaks of either.  Philosophers, sociologists, and word smiths will tell you there are two types of freedom.  The first is the freedom from something; this is usually called “negative freedom”.  The second is to pursue your potential; this is called “positive freedom”.  The freedom Scriptures speaks of, and on this Independence Day, the Declaration of Independence speaks of is the negative freedom.  The freedom from interference in our life by an outside party.

    In the case of our history, the colonial rebels sought to have freedom from the British Empire.  In the Bible, this freedom is from the interference by the devil in our lives.  Christ’s death and resurrection frees us from the bondage of sin, the tyranny of the Law and the fear of eternal death.  We are freed from the enemy the devil.  This is the predominant way freedom is described or used, especially in the New Testament, but we do have a positive freedom as well; we get to pursue and strive for our potential.

    This potential is found in us by living the life to which we were created and to which we are called.  We are called to be God’s servants, to be caretakers of his creation.  We do this by caring for the birds, the animals, the land but especially by taking care of each other, by loving our neighbor.  This, of course, is ridiculous to the unbeliever.  The unbeliever will strive after his own pleasure, his own sinful selfishness which leads to his destruction.  But we, as the redeemed children of God, are free; we are free to be who we are, children of the heavenly Father.

    So, we live with what the Apostle Paul calls “divine foolishness”.  In this present age, at this present time, we are to express our love for our fellow man with a divine recklessness.  We can do this because we know that our freedom, our life, our eternal life is guarded by Jesus and while we are in the present age, we are not of the present age.  We are of our heavenly Father and ultimately, our home, our future, our life is with Him.  This is our freedom; this is our hope.

Father, you have freed us to be your own.  Guide us in our journey that we may always follow you, that we may always serve you according to your will.  Keep us safe in your loving arms.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret