Worship

Yr C, Pentecost 5                July 13, 2025
Galatians 5:1,13-25               Pastor Ryan Wolfe

Let Freedom Ring!

A few weeks ago we began the second half of the church year, looking not only at what Jesus has done to save us, but also the Christian life that he calls the saved to live in response. Our first summer series has been pointing us to different teachings of Jesus that demand our undivided attention, and this week we have a big one. Freedom, and what we use that freedom for.

A little over a week ago many of us gathered in sweaty parking lots and pavilions to watch the fireworks as we celebrated the 249th anniversary of this nation where we are blessed with freedoms of all kinds. By God’s gift, we are free to worship and gather and work and care for our families without fear of the government in ways that many people around the world can’t. The patriotic songs that we heard and sang calling out “Let Freedom Ring” are good and fitting.

But there can be a problem with freedom. And that problem is how it’s sometimes used. Freedom without direction fails. That’s the reason why John Adams, one of our nation’s Founding Fathers said, “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Adams knew that if people used their freedom for their own gain rather than for the common good, the nation would not stand. No matter where you are on the political spectrum, I think we all recognize that our country and our communities are better when we’re looking out for one another.

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in Galatia, he had a thing or two to say about freedom as well. Not the freedom of a nation from the burden of tyranny, but freedom of sinners from the burden of sin. The freedom that we have because Christ has paid the price for our forgiveness already. But what do we do with that freedom? You see, this freedom too, without direction, can lead to destruction. Christian freedom is a great blessing, and this morning we get a chance to consider again what direction God gives for the way we use that freedom. Brothers and sisters, let’s hear God’s Word and let that freedom ring too!

Paul begins by reminding us of the cause of our freedom. “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.” Perhaps you remember from our Lenten series how David lamented in Psalm 51 that he was sinful from birth, from the time his mother conceived him. A sinfulness that meant there was only one future for him, and for all people. Eternal fire in hell. No, there were no bars in the windows or shackles on our feet, but by nature we are all slaves to sin. We could make all the choices we wanted, do all the things we could try, but because they flowed from a sinful heart everything we could do on our own was tainted by sin. We were slaves to sin.

But we’re here because we know our loving and merciful God allowed someone else to pay the price of our freedom from sin. This is the first Sunday I’ve gotten to preach with the crucifixion window in a place we can see it again. It’s not a pretty picture is it? Even in this “sanitized” image we see a naked Christ, battered and bloody, head hanging in agony and death. It’s a hard picture to look at, so why move it so that it’s right behind every sermon preached at our church?

Well, there’s sometimes debate about whether churches should use a cross that has the body of Jesus still on it (we call that a crucifix) or an empty cross. Both focus on an important truth of what Jesus did. The crucifix reminds us of the price paid for our freedom. The empty cross reminds us of the resurrection from the dead that proves freedom’s payment was sufficient. The empty cross doesn’t mean anything without the crucifix. Jesus gave himself into death to shatter the chains holding us to our sin. His life was the price to set us free. That ugly picture behind every sermon now is the most beautiful expression of love God ever gave.

God seems to love to turn things upside down from the way we would normally think of them. (Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that our sinfulness leads us to think about things upside down from the truth) No matter, the very freedom from sin we have because of Christ is far different from what the world would think too. The Galatians knew they were free from sin because of Christ. They were forgiven! But instead of celebrating that sin with a God-pleasing life they were turning back to the sins that once held them captive. So Paul urges them, “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.’”

And here’s where this sermon text connects to our worship theme. Think about it. If we were still under the law and had to try to earn our way into heaven, how much effort and focus that kind of life would take. We’d have to watch our every word. Every action. Every thought. Remember heaven is a perfect place for perfect people. It wouldn’t only be impossible, it would be all-consuming. But you, Christian, are free from that. Jesus did it already. Now you’re free to put your attention somewhere else. And what does Paul say to give our undivided attention to? “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

We show love and thanksgiving to God by showing it to others. So instead of getting irritated and angry, I am willing to wait patiently while the lady in front of me at the checkout line counts out 79 pennies for a pack of gum. So I bite my tongue when my wife does something in a different way than I would have. So I live with a little less and give an offering to God so that others can hear the Word that has freed me.

Not that this is going to come naturally. Remember, our “natural” is to do the opposite of what God wants. Verses 16-18: “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 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.” Of course living your faith is not easy or automatic! What would you expect? There is a war going on inside you. Two natures, one only evil and one only good, fighting for control over our thoughts and actions. There will never be peace between the two, never a compromise or a ceasefire.

But which of these two “selfs” is the real you? I remember years ago a visiting pastor posed a question to some of my members and myself. He said, “We know that we are both sinners and saints, one by nature and one by Christ. But which one do you consider yourself to be more?” We all took a moment to think about it, and when we raised our hands in answer all but two of us said, “We more sinners than saints.” I was among them. And then the pastor proceeded to remind us that God’s view is the one that matters most, and in his eyes we are now, already, washed clean in Christ through faith. That that is who we are, and to say otherwise is to put our own judgment above God. Brothers and sisters, you ARE the new self. The one who is free from sin and able to serve. When you fall and when you fail, it is the sinful flesh once again rising up to work against who we are. Those acts of the flesh Paul lists in verses 19-21, those are the things of our former self. Turn away from them and recognize them for the sinful lies of Satan that they are. How, you ask? By giving your undivided attention to the fruit of the Spirit who lives in you. The one who gives not only the freedom to serve God and others, but the tools to do it.

Look at this list: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” And while we all have areas to work on, do you have any of those? Certainly! These qualities are the tools God the Spirit gives to serve one another in Christian freedom. To bless others before worrying about being blessed ourselves. When we use these fruits we let our freedom ring for all to see and hear. And we find joy as the new self wins. Never perfectly perhaps, but not never either.

Friends in Christ, Jesus died and rose so that we might be free. Free from the need to save ourselves, but free to serve others in the Spirit. Your time, your faith, your gifts, your body, your everything – has a purpose. Not to use what God has given for ourselves, but to serve one another. To live in love and joy and peace and patience. In kindness and faithfulness. God gave us this freedom, these tools, to truly live, now on earth and forever in heaven. Go out this week and let this freedom ring in your words and your deeds, for all the world to see. Amen.