CTK | Austin
Weekly sermon reflection
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Sermon Reflection - Freedom
This week we returned to Galatians for a reset moment in chapter 5. "For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Paul could have said that Christ has forgiven you, saved you, justified you. But instead he summarized four whole chapters with a single word: freedom. In the Greek it reads, "For freedom, Christ freed us." Our focus was this: don't confuse moral reformation with gospel transformation. Christianity is not a program designed to make bad people better. If I stand up every Sunday and tell you, be better, try harder, get your life together, I haven't really preached the gospel.
So from what has Christ freed us? From this present evil age, from the curse of the law, from the law as our guardian, and from the slavery that follows. But here is the shocking scandal. The Galatians already knew paganism was slavery, because paganism looks somewhere within creation for the life that can only and truly be found in the Creator. Then Paul says running to religion is the very same slavery. Irreligion says, "I will determine full life for myself," through desires, autonomy, success, money. Religion says, "I'll make myself worthy of a full life," through morality, church attendance, obedience. Both are trying to accomplish for themselves what Paul says Christ must accomplish for us.
And yet obedience is not our enemy. Right on the tail of freedom, Paul gives a command: stand firm, hold your ground. You've been liberated from the kingdom of sin and slavery into the kingdom of God, to live under a new sovereign who knows best. Think of it like flowers for your spouse. The command hasn't changed, bring flowers, but the relationship of the person to the command has changed. The legalist brings them out of guilt and anxiety; the irreligious refuses to conform; the gospel brings them, prescribed day or a random Tuesday, because "I love this person" and my standing is unchanged whether I bring them or not.
Every rival kingdom promises freedom and a full life. And every rival to the kingdom of God will enslave you. Every false God sends a bill. But Jesus took the bill and paid the tab in full. He knows what you were made for, because he made you. His commands are not obstacles to your flourishing, but invitations into the life for which you were created. So stand firm in the freedom that Christ has already won for you.
So from what has Christ freed us? From this present evil age, from the curse of the law, from the law as our guardian, and from the slavery that follows. But here is the shocking scandal. The Galatians already knew paganism was slavery, because paganism looks somewhere within creation for the life that can only and truly be found in the Creator. Then Paul says running to religion is the very same slavery. Irreligion says, "I will determine full life for myself," through desires, autonomy, success, money. Religion says, "I'll make myself worthy of a full life," through morality, church attendance, obedience. Both are trying to accomplish for themselves what Paul says Christ must accomplish for us.
And yet obedience is not our enemy. Right on the tail of freedom, Paul gives a command: stand firm, hold your ground. You've been liberated from the kingdom of sin and slavery into the kingdom of God, to live under a new sovereign who knows best. Think of it like flowers for your spouse. The command hasn't changed, bring flowers, but the relationship of the person to the command has changed. The legalist brings them out of guilt and anxiety; the irreligious refuses to conform; the gospel brings them, prescribed day or a random Tuesday, because "I love this person" and my standing is unchanged whether I bring them or not.
Every rival kingdom promises freedom and a full life. And every rival to the kingdom of God will enslave you. Every false God sends a bill. But Jesus took the bill and paid the tab in full. He knows what you were made for, because he made you. His commands are not obstacles to your flourishing, but invitations into the life for which you were created. So stand firm in the freedom that Christ has already won for you.
Meditations for this week
Name your rival master
Paul warns that both irreligion and religion are attempts to find life, identity, security, and worth apart from Jesus. Ask honestly: what is your vision of flourishing? Whether it is autonomy, success, sexuality, reputation, or even your religion, remember that every false God sends a bill and every rival master eventually puts a yoke around your neck.
Obey with nothing to prove
The issue is not whether we obey God's word, but the reason behind why we obey. Consider the flowers given not out of guilt or to stay in someone's good graces, but freely out of love. What would following Jesus on the costly road of gospel obedience look like this week if you had nothing to prove and nothing to lose?
Watch your response to failure
When you fail to obey, your response reveals what you believe establishes your standing with God. Legalism panics, hides, rationalizes, or is crushed with guilt; irreligion puffs its chest and says it shouldn't matter anyway. The gospel simply says, "I was wrong, I made a mistake, forgive me," because only the person with nothing to prove is truly free to repent.
Paul warns that both irreligion and religion are attempts to find life, identity, security, and worth apart from Jesus. Ask honestly: what is your vision of flourishing? Whether it is autonomy, success, sexuality, reputation, or even your religion, remember that every false God sends a bill and every rival master eventually puts a yoke around your neck.
Obey with nothing to prove
The issue is not whether we obey God's word, but the reason behind why we obey. Consider the flowers given not out of guilt or to stay in someone's good graces, but freely out of love. What would following Jesus on the costly road of gospel obedience look like this week if you had nothing to prove and nothing to lose?
Watch your response to failure
When you fail to obey, your response reveals what you believe establishes your standing with God. Legalism panics, hides, rationalizes, or is crushed with guilt; irreligion puffs its chest and says it shouldn't matter anyway. The gospel simply says, "I was wrong, I made a mistake, forgive me," because only the person with nothing to prove is truly free to repent.