On Christian Liberty

On Christian Liberty (sermon)
Galatians 5:1-15
By Rev. Dale Tedder

There's a story about John Wesley that I discovered as I was preparing for this sermon. I want to share it with you. Donald Bloesch writes:

"In the 18th century, John Wesley, noted for his emphasis on the use of the law as a guide for Christian living, had to be constantly on the alert for outcroppings of legalism among his followers. On one occasion Wesley had lunch with a gentleman whose daughter, a person of remarkable beauty, had been singularly impressed with Wesley's preaching. One of Wesley's fellow preachers, a man of plain manners and little tact, noticing that she wore a number of rings, suddenly took hold of her hand and raising it asked his colleague: 'What do you think of this, sir, for a Methodist's hand?' The young woman was profoundly embarrassed, and the question was awkward for Wesley, known for his aversion to jewelry. But the aged evangelist answered with a quiet, benevolent smile, 'The hand is very beautiful.' That evening the young woman appeared at the gospel service without her jewelry and committed her life to Christ."

Bloesch then says:

"This vignette shows Wesley as a man of evangelical wisdom; he answered in the spirit of the Lord, not as a legalist. Early Methodism was noted for its emphasis on personal holiness as well as on the Reformation doctrine of salvation by grace, but for the founders of Methodism, John and Charles Wesley, holy living never became a pretext for a new legalism."

He then concludes by saying:

"How often, vital religious movements once characterized by freedom of the Spirit have become defensive, hypercritical and legalistic in the second and third generations."

This was the direction the Galatian church was heading when Paul wrote to them. I really believe that sometimes, the freedom that Christ offers us, is more than we can handle. It seems as though, as some members of churches become relaxed in their faith, others, become alarmed at what they perceive as growing worldliness, and they end up trying to keep their "faith" safe with a bunch of "house-rules" that really aren't Scriptural.

Paul had been pleased that the Galatians had been growing in their faith. But recent reports had come to his attention that the church was being influenced by those who were trying to destroy God's work of grace in them.

In our text today, Paul was trying to do two things. First of all, he was trying to expose what would actually happen to the Galatians if they returned to the "yoke of slavery" of the law, and secondly, he was confronting the Judaizers, (or Jewish Christians) with the fruitlessness-or emptiness of their system. Again, I think really understanding the freedom that comes in Christ is hard to grasp - for believers and unbelievers alike.

Christians talk about freedom in Christ, but all too often, unbelievers don't see much more than a bunch of do's and don'ts. As Christians, we have to walk a very careful line between lawlessness on the one hand, (which basically says "since we're forgiven by God, we can live any way we want to").

And legalism on the other hand - which is what Paul is addressing here in Galatians. According to J.I. Packer, Legalism is a distortion of obedience that can never produce truly good works. He says,

"Its first fault is that it skews motive and purpose, seeing good deeds as essentially ways to earn more of God's favor than one has at the moment. Its second fault is arrogance. Belief that one's labor earns God's favor, begets contempt for those who do not labor in the same way. Its third fault is lovelessness in that its self-advancing purpose squeezes humble kindness and creative compassion out of the heart."

I'd like to add a fourth fault based on our Scripture today.

In verse 2 Paul says:

"Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all."

Paul was giving a warning here that he didn't want anyone to miss. He said: "Mark my words!" He was trying to grab their attention. He then suggested that if the Galatian believers were going to follow the Judaizers' teaching, and let themselves be circumcised, then Christ could do them no good.

Why is that? Because Paul understood that if they did that, then they would be trying to earn salvation by obedience to the Jewish law. Paul had nothing against circumcision. In fact, he had been circumcised, and on another occasion he had one of his traveling companions, Timothy, circumcised.

But Timothy hadn't been circumcised so that he could be saved. But that's exactly what these false teachers had been teaching. The Judaizers taught that the gospel needed the Jewish law system to make it perfect. But Paul maintained that God's way was different. God's way was salvation through Christ by grace alone - and we can't mix works and grace.

The Galatians were about to be circumcised as a requirement to 'complete' their salvation. But Paul explained that by that very act they would be making Christ's sacrifice by his death "of no benefit" or "of no value at all." In other words, a free gift cannot be earned. Following the law in this way would mean that they were discarding Christ's death on the cross. They weren't just rejecting Christ's provision for their salvation, but they were destroying any basis for Christ's guidance in their life as well.

Martin Luther pointed out two ways that people devalue or undermine Christ's cross and take away the value of his atonement. The first one is by trusting in their own works, merit, or inherent goodness. The second one is by doubting Christ's power to deal with their sin. The second one occurs when Satan uses memories of our past sins and accuses us. He continually points out our shortcomings until our conscience condemns us.

Have you ever found yourself beating yourself up because of past sins that God has long-since forgiven you of, but Satan keeps bringing them up again and again in your mind? I know I have. Luther echoes Paul by saying that to fight this, our trust must be in Christ's faithfulness and perfect life, not in our ability to live up the law's expectations.

That's what bondage to the law is all about. Being enslaved or under the bondage of the law means always having to worry if you're good enough or if your works are good enough to please God. Paul says in verse 1 that:

"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."

In Christ we have freedom or liberty. Paul says we don't have to worry about performance anymore. We don't have to constantly wonder if we're on the plus or minus side of God's scorecard. Here are just a few words that Christ brings to us:

Matthew 9:2- "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

Matthew 11:28- "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

John 16:33- "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world."

We've been set free from the bondage of sin and death and sorrow and despair. The New Testament sees salvation in Christ as liberation and the Christian life as one of liberty. Christ has freed us FOR freedom. Christians are set free from the law as a system of salvation. Being justified by faith in Christ, we're no longer under God's law, but under his grace. This means that our standing with God rests on the fact of our acceptance and adoption in Christ. Now, this doesn't mean that we throw the law away or have nothing to do with the law. We need to take the law of God seriously, because it reminds us of our sin and it directs us to the path of holiness. But we don't follow the law to earn God's favor.

We have also been set free from sin's domination or dominion. We've been supernaturally regenerated and made alive to God through our union with Christ in his death and resurrection. This means the deepest desire of our heart is to serve God by practicing righteousness. When sin controlled us, not only were we disobedient, but we also lacked an enthusiasm for keeping God's law, and even hatred for it. But Christ didn't come to get rid of the law, but to fulfill it. Believers in Christ are now motivated by our inexpressible gratitude for all that God has done for us and for who he is.

In my experience, I've met too many people who've agreed that they're saved by grace, but then feel like their life of piety and devotion to God has to be marked by some painstaking attachment to biblical rules. Rules against dancing, drinking, going to the movies, card-playing, cable vision and things like this become the litmus test of Christian maturity in certain circles. John Wesley always had to keep a sharp eye on the early Methodists for this kind of behavior.

My best friend, who's an ordained pastor in another denomination, had to promise to not have cable or ever go to movies when he became a pastor of a church he once served. We of course, want to make sure we don't walk into unnecessary temptations throughout our lives, but sometimes these "house-rules" which aren't necessarily Scriptural, become a form of works-righteousness. Without meaning to, these committed Christians are actually undermining the gospel of grace.

Grace doesn't set us free to live to ourselves; it frees us to serve God sincerely for the first time. Our heart-felt desire should be to please God above all things. When we include in our definition of "proper Christian living" or holiness, any extrabiblical guidelines - this is to fall under God's judgment first issued by Isaiah and then repeated by Jesus when he said:

"You hypocrites ! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"

In fact, Jesus seemed utterly baffled by the religious leaders of his day. He said:

"To what can I compare this generation?… For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and 'sinners.''"

We must of course learn self-control, a habit that must grow out of our character. But self-control can't be learned at all where it is replaced with a rigid set of prohibitions. Paul's telling the church to "stand firm" in its liberty and to 'not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.' Paul tells us we've been freed in order to live for God and each other.

We must use our liberty as an opportunity to glorify God and enjoy him forever. If we can enjoy an activity, a product, or a relationship that's within the guidelines of Scripture and do so as an expression of gratitude to the God who gave it, then we're at liberty to accept these gifts from the hands of God.

But, John Calvin warns us:

"where there is plenty, to wallow in delights, to gorge oneself, to intoxicate mind and heart with present pleasures and be always panting after new ones - such are very far removed from a lawful use of God's gifts."

Calvin continued,

"we must never use our liberty as a pretext to 'outstrip our neighbors in all sorts of elegance.'"

God is always looking at our motivation. He's looking at why we do what we do. Are the works that we do a token of gratitude to the God who has saved us? Or - are our works a veiled attempt to earn his favor. Are we submitting to what God has revealed in Scripture? Or, have we smuggled in "extra-biblical" rules because we feel pressure from others? That must be what we keep our eye on in our own lives.

Let me conclude by quoting Michael Horton. He said:

"In short, let no one be lord of your conscience but God, and do not give up your Christian liberty to those who might wish to dictate the more difficult decisions we all have to make. At the same time, use your liberty as an opportunity to acknowledge God's liberality toward you and calm your fears, doubts and questions about his goodness or favor. Use it also as an opportunity to serve your brother or sister for whom Christ died."

I think that's good advice.