Galatians 5:13-15

The theme for this year is… It is for Freedom.  We have been exploring the freedom we have in Christ Jesus as recorded in the letter to the Galatians.  Galatians has three sections.

-In the first section, after rebuking them for deserting the Gospel, Paul tells them a little history; his history.  He tells of his call and that the message of freedom came straight from Jesus.  He tells how the other apostles accepted him and his mission to the Gentiles.  He tells the story of how Titus went with him to Jerusalem and was accepted by the church there, even though he was not circumcised.  Paul tells how the Apostles in Jerusalem offered him the right hand of fellowship.  There is a clue about what the letter is all about; the right hand of fellowship… hmmm.  Then Paul tells the story of how Peter crawldadded when pressured and how he rebuked Peter for this break of fellowship with the Gentiles!  There is that fellowship thing again.  He ends the first section with these two amazing verses:

Galatians 2:20-21    “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Righteousness comes by Christ/Faith. 

-The second section is all about Abraham and a promise.  God promised that all the people of the earth would be blessed through him; including Gentiles.  Abraham was credited as righteous because of faith before he was circumcised.  He tells the Gentiles that they can receive that promise of fellowship with God – becoming the promised people - by having Christ/Faith!  Paul explained to them that the Law of Moses was the Super-Nanny bringing them to Christ.  They no longer need the nanny because now they are all sons and heirs!  In this second section we find this incredible statement. 

Galatians 3:26-29   You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Those who have clothed themselves in Christ through baptism are all sons and heirs regardless of their race, social status or gender.  They all have fellowship as Abraham’s kids! 

-This morning, we begin the third section.  Galatians 5:13 – 6:10 is the final section.  In this final section Paul brings all of his arguments home and gets down to the nitty-gritty of our existence in Christ!  The letter to the Galatians is about the freedom we have in Christ; the freedom from law, the freedom from meeting others expectations to have fellowship.  I am accepted by my Father. I am his son. I am his heir.  I have fellowship with all who have Christ/Faith.  That is the freedom; the freedom to be who my Father wants me to be.

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So, Paul begins his third section with those exact words, sort of, in his words, of course. 

Galatians 5:13  You, my brothers, were called to be free.

That could have been our theme verse.  Read it with me, with the enthusiasm of it calls for.  (Repeat)

Let’s not too quickly jump over the word brothers.  Listen to the Young’s Literal Version, also known as the Yoda version, “For ye -- to freedom ye were called, brethren.”  The “brethren” is in the emphatic position at the end.  Paul wants them to feel like brothers.  Because we are all sons of God, we are all brothers.  Our freedom is a joint freedom.  WE are called to freedom.  Our freedom is found in community.  The third section of the letter to the Galatians is all about community freedom.  As we read the last two chapters in the book, think us, not me. 

There is a fundamental problem with “us” and with freedom.  Freedom is a dangerous thing.  Freedom in a community is a really dangerous thing.  Let me quote from Ben Witherington III in his commentary, “Grace in Galatia.” 

“There was always the danger that in appealing to the heady notion of freedom in a world empty of democracies and full of slavery and oppression, that this would be understood to mean not merely liberty but license, not merely freedom from sin, oppression, the elementary principles of the world, but freedom to do what one pleased.”

So Paul states the rub of the last section of Galatians; the rub of our lives.

Galatians 5:13  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature;

The problem with freedom is being free.  The temptation in freedom is to use it as a license to do what you want.  Like James Bond, 007 who has a license to… kill.  We can take the magnificent freedom we have in Christ and have a party!  “Let’s go have some real fun because there are no consequences!  We are free!” 

Within every Christian there is a struggle between the Sarx and the Spirit.  Sarx is a Greek word that literally means flesh. It is used in a variety of different ways: the stuff that covers the bones, or the whole body, the human person, a descendant.  But the way Paul uses sarx in this last section of Galatians is “sinful inclination” or more specific, “selfishness.”  So, Paul is saying, don’t use your freedom to indulge your self; to be selfish. That carries with it this thought of community.  What is the opposite of community?  Selfishness.  We all have this struggle between our sarx and the Spirit moving us to community. 

What I call the rub, in the last section of Galatians, is this struggle in a Christian between the Holy Spirit inside of us and our own selfishness.  How do we not use our freedom for selfishness?  How do we learn to live in the Spirit?  How are we led by the Spirit?  How do we stay in step with the Spirit?  How are we sanctified?  Remember sanctification?  It is to be more like Christ.  Do you know the meaning of Santa Fe?  Holy Faith or Sanctifying Faith.  How do we get Santa Fe’d?  I think the answer is surprising.  It was to me.  And it is found in the next part of verse 13. 

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Galatians 5:13  You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

The solution, the answer to the rub, the way for us not to indulge in our selfish nature is to serve one another in love.  Sanctification is found in a loving community.  We are the answer.  Our fellowship is where we are Santa Fe’d.  Isn’t that surprising?  Our sanctification is accomplished through serving one another in love.  Hmmm, the sanctifying community is, I think, the point of this last section of Galatians.     

The word translated by the NIV as “serve” is actually “be enslaved to.”

NRS Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.

The way to true freedom, the way to sanctification, the way to be more like Christ, is to be enslaved to others in love. Paradoxically, we must be enslaved to each other in love to be free for fellowship.  We all want community, but to get it we have to give up self and be enslaved to others and in that slavery we are sanctified.  I told you, you would be surprised!  But Paul doesn’t stop there.  He keeps on stacking up the paradoxes.

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Galatians 5:14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Listen to the Yoda version again:

YLT Galatians 5:14 for all the law in one word is fulfilled -- in this: 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;'

Not so much summed up, that is not the point, but fulfilled, completed, accomplished, satisfied; done!  It is in being free from doing the law that we can achieve the law’s purpose; creating a community of love.  Community is created by freedom in serving each other, not doing laws.  Remember how the paidagogos kept the Jewish community together for all those years until Christ came?  We no longer need the Law of Moses to be our Super-Nanny because through the Spirit, love can create that community.  When we are enslaved to each other in love we create the sanctifying community which was the whole point of the Law of Moses and circumcision.

When we get it, when we get out of ourselves and are focused on serving our neighbor, like we would want our neighbor to serve us, then:
1) We create a magical community,
2) Which was the purpose of the paidagogos,
3) Which was the purpose of circumcision,
4) Which creates this fellowship with all who have Christ/Faith,
5) Which forms this sanctifying community.

Is your brain full yet? I’m sorry but there is one more thought we have to do.

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Galatians 5:15  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

In the struggle between the sarx and the Spirit, if the sarx wins, then there are fatal consequences.  If, as a community, we give in to our own selfishness and demand that we get our own way, if we all are focused on what we individually want, than the ultimate outcome is bad.  The metaphor Paul is painting here is of a bunch of dogs.  First, the nip and bite each other.  Second, they start taking big chunks out of each other and then when they are dead the consume each other and there is no more fellowship.

We need to be very sensitive.  When we first begin to feel the nips, we need to realize we are giving in to the sarx and not the Spirit.  Then we must renew our commitments to be enslaved to each other and think of loving things to do for each other. 

There are two clear paths:
Sarx – Unrealistic legal Expectations – Self-focus – Nipping & Biting – Consumed Body
Spirit - Freedom – Enslaving Love – Fellowship - Sanctification

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Paul begins his third section of the letter by dumping a load of amazing paradoxes all over us. 
-Freedom is found in being enslaved to love.
-Our sanctification is found in community.
-Love is the fulfillment of the law.
-Giving in to our sarx leads to destruction.

I can’t wait for the coming weeks to see how Paul helps us to get all of this sorted out and incorporated into our body. The rest of this third section is how we learn to be enslaved to love and create, “The Sanctifying Community.”    

Galatians 5:13-15  You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Los Alamos Church of Christ
August 2, 2009