WE ARE FREE, FREE ATLAST
Galatians 5:1-17
CHRIST HAS SET US FREE
V:1-2. " It was for freedom that Christ set us free;
therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be
of no benefit to you."
A. The text identifies two doctrines: the Law and Grace.
1. The Law was
the old covenant introduce to the Jews after they were
freed from
slavery in Egypt .
2. The law was
designed as a tutor for the Jews in the righteousness of God
3. The law was
not designed for salvation but for condemnation.
4. The law
pointed to the sins of man, and it still does.
5. No man except
Christ Jesus was able satisfy all the requirements of the Law.
B. The blood of Christ shed on the cross atoned for all the
sins of mankind,
past, present and
future.
1. Christ death,
ended the Age of the Law and ushered in the Age of Grace.
2. Faith in Jesus,
freed all believers from the requirements of the Law.
3. Adherence to
the Law is works salvation which is no salvation at all.
C. Circumcision was the sign of an everlasting covenant God
made with Abraham and
his descendants
regarding the possession of the promise land. Gen 17:10
1. Circumcision was included in the Law for all Jews.
2. Belief in
circumcision is belief in the law which is slavery.
D. The Law and Grace opposed each other.
1. The Law
condemns. Grace saves.
2. The Law
enslaves, Grace frees.
3. Those who
believe in the Law nullify the effects of Grace.
4. Salvation is
by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
5. Salvation is a free gift of God and not of
works.
FREED BUT ENSLAVED BY FALSE INTERPRETATION
V:3-4. " And I
testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under
obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who
are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."
A. If the Law could save there would be no need for grace.
1. If the Law
could save, Christ would not have died
for our sins.
2. I think the problem is, if you are born and breed in traditions that
have served
the nation for generations, you will have difficulty disregarding your
training.
3. When some new
belief comes along, it is hard to let go of the old.
B. The Jews had been trained incorrectly in their traditions
, so that
they could not see
Christ as the answer to salvation.
1. For
generations, Jewish male babies were circumcised on the eighth
day after
birth in obedience to the Law, but not for salvation.
2. Paul presents
the doctrine of salvation by Grace, free from the Law.
3. Whoever
combines conditions of the Law with Grace, nullifies Grace.
4. We are not
justified by works of the Law, but by Grace only.
5.
Those who seek salvation by adding a condition of the Law, fall from Grace.
6.
Circumcision is of no value to salvation.
SAVED BY FAITH AND NOT BY WORKS
V: 5-6. " For we through the Spirit, by faith, are
waiting for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
A. God is love.
1. Everything God has
done, and will do is out of His love for us.
2. God gave the
Jews the law as a tutor for a season until Grace came. Gal 3:24-25
3. The Law is good
and teaches us the righteousness of God.
4. The Law was
never designed to save, but to show us how far short we fall from
the glory of
God.
5. There is no
good in us to justify salvation.
B. It is the baptism of the spirit through faith in Jesus
Christ that renders us right before
the Father.
1. Christ having
fulfilled all the requirements of the Law with His death on the cross
open the door
for believers to enter into heaven.
2. For God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son for us.
3. Circumcision is
works of the Law and not of love.
4. In Christ, there
is equality of all believers of which circumcision has no part.
5. Equality in the
body of Christ comes through faith in Jesus alone.
BE INFLUENCED BY THE WORD OF GOD, NOT BY THE WORLD
V:7-8. " You
were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion
did not come from Him who calls you."
A. We do well in our Christian faith when we tune out the
world and it's opinions.
1. We are a
peculiar people which the world cannot understand.
2. The World
cannot receive the spirit of truth, because it is foolishness to them.
B. It is very important that we study the Word of God for
ourselves.
1. The preaching
and teaching of the Word by others may help our understanding.
2. It is when we
study the Word for ourselves that the Holy Spirit enlightens the
truth that will be engraved in our hearts.
3. For this reason,
Satan is ready to bring in outside influences to destroy our
hope in Jesus.
DON'T LET SATAN DESTROY YOUR CONFIDENCE IN JESUS
V:9-10. " A little leaven leavens the whole lump of
dough. 10 I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other
view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is."
A. In this twenty first century, the influence of the world
is all around us. It is in the
news and in the
internet.
1. Miss information
about Biblical Truths even comes from the pulpit.
2. From the pulpit
we hear sermons about the blessings of God, but rarely about the
sin that
corrupts us.
3. We rarely hear
from the pulpit that some of the blessing of God are contingent
upon our
obedience to the Word of God.
B. Acceptance of a
little bit of sin will eventually lead to more sin which
can corrupt the
whole body.
1. If we listen
to the world, we would come to believe that certain sins
are worse
than others.
2. Is murder
worse than lying?
a. Is adultery
worse than rape?
b. Certainly,
according to our laws, one carries a greater penalty than others.
c. But
according to God's commands, all sin carries the penalty of death.
3. If we are not
careful, the world will influence us to believes lies about
the righteousness
of God.
DON'T ENSLAVE YOURSELF WITH OTHERS OPINIONS
V:11-12. " But I,
brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the
stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish that those who are
troubling you would even mutilate themselves."
A. The lie about circumcision as a condition of salvation
was propagated by
those who opposed
the Christian faith.
1. We as Christians,
have to know the truth so that we can stand against the
opposition to
our faith.
2. There are many
religions today that do not accept Christ as the way to
salvation.
3. Some say Christ
was a good man and that He did some good things, but
He was not the
son of God.
B. There are some
religions that do not recognize our God as the true and living
God.
1. We as believers
cannot change the worlds belief about their gods.
2. It is the Word
of God that we proclaim that has the power to change minds.
3. Faith comes by
hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
3. We should not
get discouraged by the false information we hear about Our
God, but
stand firm in our beliefs.
4. God is here to
strengthen us in the face of opposition.
LOVE IS THE KEY TO YOUR FREEDOM
V:13-14. " For
you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an
opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole
Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR
NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
A. Love is the key to our freedom in Jesus Christ.
1. All the
requirements of the Law are fulfilled in our love for each other.
2. God began His
creative process with Love.
B. Love frees us from the emotion of hate.
1. Love promotes
forgiveness.
2. Love sees the
good in worst of people.
3. Love promotes
tolerance and harmony.
4. Love sees the
friend that our enemies can be.
5. Love allows us
to be all that God desires.
DON'T LET HATE CONSUME YOU
V:15. " But if
you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one
another."
A. What you measure out will be measured back to you.
1. Discouraging
words promote more discouraging words.
2. Hate promotes
more hate.
3. Corruption
promotes more corruption.
4. You can't keep
a person down without bringing yourself down.
5. The very evil
you crave will consume you.
B. In all that you do, do it with love and compassion for
others.
1. Let the aim of
you day be to promote love and peace.
2. When opposition
comes your way, see it as an opportunity to
show love.
WALK BY THE SPIRIT
V:16-17. " But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will
not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against
the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to
one another, so that you may not do the things that you please."
A. When we accepted Christ, we were given the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit.
1. We must seek to
allow the spirit to lead and guide us.
2. It is the job
of the Holy Spirit to reminds us of what Jesus would do in our situations.
B. The Holy Spirit reminds us that the best way to handle
any situation is with love
and kindness.
1. We can face
down the devil with love.
2. A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous
words stirs up anger. Prov 15:1
3. It is a normal
human reaction when push into a corner to come out fighting.
4. The Holy Spirit
reminds us that the battle is not ours, it is the Lords.
5. The best thing
to do is to bestow love and kindness on those who oppose us.
ENJOY THE FREEDOM THAT GOD
HAS GIVEN YOU
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lessons, follow me on facebook and visit my blogs
www.revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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