Galatians is Paul’s dissertation, from a judicial standpoint, on the doctrine of salvation. And he has spent the brunt of his argument delineating the merits of grace versus law. He has shown in detail the difference between salvation by grace alone, as opposed to salvation by faith plus works. In particular, he was answering the Judaiser’s teaching that you needed to be circumcised and follow the dietary and ceremonial laws of the Jews in order to really be saved.
Paul called such legalism as “slavery.” And he described salvation by grace through faith as “freedom.” But some of the difficulty comes partly in defining our terms, and also in extrapolating certain outcomes from those doctrines. A faulty understanding of the nature of these terms can lead you to a wrong outcome.
And so I want to review some of these key terms for a moment, because I think they are sometimes used interchangeably, when in fact they mean different things. The first term is mercy. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Mercy is forgiveness. You were found guilty of a crime, and the penalty was death, but the judge gives you mercy. You are forgiven by the courts and not held accountable for your crime.
So mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace, on the other hand, is getting something you don’t deserve. Do you see the difference? Grace means a gift. It’s getting something you don’t deserve. You don’t work for. In salvation, not only do you receive mercy, but you receive grace. God gifts you His righteousness, eternal life, and His Spirit to dwell in you.
Now when Paul talks about freedom in the verses before us today, some people might be confused and think he is speaking of grace. But actually, freedom is being set free from the penalty of sin, and the captivity of sin. Paul says in vs 1, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” So Christ set us free from the condemnation of the law, and the captivity to sin, so that going back under the law would be akin to a free man going back to slavery. You would be now required to keep all the law, which would only condemn you, and you would eliminate salvation by grace.
That being understood though, the question arises, then do we have no obligation to keep the law in any respect? Are we able to sin with impunity? Are we, as Paul himself asks in Rom 6:1 “Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” Is grace then a license to continue in sin? Does freedom mean that I am free to live any way I want, to do whatever I want?
Well, Paul answers that question of Romans 6:1 by saying in vs 2, “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Actually I prefer the KJV on that, which says, “God forbid!” It’s a much more strident answer. Why would Paul be so strident, so concerned that the church not continue in sin? Because it is contrary to the will of God. It’s contrary to the plan of God. And its’ contrary to the purpose of our life that we have been given by God. So what I think we will find in this next section is that the law of God is more closely related to the will of God than we might realize.
So to that question of law versus grace, of grace being a license to sin, Paul says in Galatians 5 vs 13, “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. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
Now notice that suddenly Paul seems to be saying that there is still a law that is in effect. There is still a law that we are to be subject to. And this law, the law of love, Paul says, is the consummation of all the law of God. Now let’s try to break that down and make sure we understand correctly what he is teaching here.
So first notice this concept of freedom. Back in vs 1 he said “It was for freedom that Christ set us free,” then in vs 13 he says, “For you were called to freedom.” He is speaking of our salvation, through Christ we are set free from the captivity of sin, set free from the condemnation of the law. That’s why Christ saved us. That’s why Christ died on the cross - to pay the penalty for our sin so that we might be set free. We are justified, set free, not by what we have done, not by keeping the law, but by what He has done for us.
Notice also the element of predestination in his statement. God called us to Himself. The call of God in salvation is from the Lord. And those whom He predestined to salvation will hear His call and come to Him. Rom 8:30 says, “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Notice all those elements of salvation are accomplished by the Lord. We do not participate in our predestination, we do not participate in our calling, we do not participate in our justification, we do not participate in our glorification. Salvation is of the Lord. That’s the mercy and grace of God towards us.
So then salvation is a spiritual transaction that happens for us, and in us, which also produces a physical change. That’s an important point. Salvation is spiritual. We are born again spiritually. But if that is so, then the spirit will change the way the physical lives. That is what Paul was teaching in the Romans 6 passage I read earlier. In salvation we die to sin. And so we live by the spirit and not according to the flesh. That new spirit produces a different way of living, a different purpose for living.
That’s what Paul is saying here. “You were called to freedom, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh.” Now that we are set free from the captivity to sin, now that we are set free from the condemnation of the law, how are we to live in light of that freedom? Paul says don’t use your freedom to go sin again. I am reminded of the woman that was caught in adultery and brought before Christ. The law required that she be put to death. But Jesus said “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” She had been set free by the mercy of Christ from the condemnation of sin. So then to continue in sin would have been a travesty.
Back in Romans 6 Paul says in vs17 “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
Now in our text Paul characterizes sin as an opportunity for the flesh. The flesh is contrary to the will of God. Going back to that passage in Romans 6 which we referenced earlier, Paul continued in that argument to say in 6:12" Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body [flesh] so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body [flesh] to sin [as] instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
All sins of the flesh are at the root a desire to please self. It’s serving myself and my desires and my interests and my pride. The sin is serving myself and my desires above anyone else. Righteousness on the other hand can be characterized as serving God first, and serving others. All the law does is put limits on me, in order to protect others.
So Paul says if we willfully submit our flesh to sin again, are we not in effect putting ourselves back under the law and the condemnation of the law? So do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, and your body as instruments of righteousness.
So we are called to freedom, to live in the Spirit and not to live in captivity to the flesh. I want to read from Romans 8 again, in which Paul speaks to this change from living according to the flesh to living according to the Spirit. There is so much there, I can’t really exegete the whole passage. But perhaps if I read it, the Lord will give you understanding. Romans 8:5-8 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so,] and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
So this is speaking of the same thing as Galatians is speaking of. An opportunity for the flesh, is the same as setting your minds on the things of the flesh. And notice that Paul says that such a mind set on the flesh cannot subject itself to the law of God, and those in the flesh cannot please God. So he is saying that the law of God is still something that we are to be subject to. But when you are focused on fulfilling your fleshly desires, which is sin, then you cannot please God. So as Christians under grace, not the law, we are no longer serving the desires of our flesh, but our desire should be to please the Lord, which is to subject our bodies to the law of God.
Now admittedly it feels like we are splitting hairs in trying to delineate the difference between law and grace. I suppose you might say that under the law we are condemned, but under grace we do the works of righteousness. The difference between the old covenant of law and the new covenant of grace is that in the old covenant we are given the law but we are not capable of keeping it, and so it only condemns us. But under the new covenant, we are given the power over sin, which results in righteousness, and that power is the presence of the Spirit within us.
Let me ask you something. Define righteousness without referencing the law of God. I don’t think it is possible. The law of God not only defines sin, it defines righteousness. Righteousness is by definition a state of being moral and ethical. When you try to keep the law in the flesh you cannot do it, resulting in sin. But when you follow the Spirit you do the works of righteousness by the power of the Spirit within you. The difference between the old and new covenant is we that are saved have the Spirit of God in us who enables us to do the works of righteousness.
I might try to illustrate it this way. Imagine the word LAW written as a giant sign. On one side of the sign is the word sin and flesh. On the other side of the sign is the word righteousness and Spirit. The same law produces either result. The difference is that sin is the result of the flesh and righteousness is the result of the Spirit.
Now let’s go back to our text. Gal 5:13-14 “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. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the [statement,] "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
But through love serve one another and love is the fulfillment of the law. Now we have heard that all of our Christian lives, but how is that true? How does that work? Love, first of all, is not a sentiment. It’s not an attraction you have towards your neighbor. Or a feeling you have towards the Lord. Love is not based on attraction. Love is not based a feeling. Sometimes love may be accompanied by a feeling, but you must not rely on a feeling in order to act in love. Love is a commitment to put another’s needs above your own. To serve another before yourself. That is love. And my apologies to those who can only see love through a romantic lens, but there may be more times in your marriage when you will choose to love your mate when you feel like wringing their neck, than there will be times when you will love your mate because you feel so warm and fuzzy about them. In good times and bad, in sickness and in health, in ups and downs, in financial woes and financial bliss, whatever happens, whatever their response may be, you choose to love them.
But that being said, you cannot really legislate love, can you? You can’t make laws and write them on the doorposts of your house and on the walls that say “you must love me and obey me.” You can legislate obedience, but not love. But if you have a mate that loves you, you won’t have to say “obey me.”
Jesus said, “if you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” See, the issue is not that the commandments have been done away with and you are free to live like you want. The issue is that captivity to sin has been done away with, and you choose to love the Lord, which is to keep His commandments. And what is the commandment? “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Your neighbor is anyone within the sphere of your world. That includes your husband or wife, or kids or friends, or coworkers, or in-laws or outlaws, or anyone that you come into contact with. In salvation there is a change from loving yourself first, to loving the Lord first and loving your neighbor as yourself.
If you love your neighbor, you will not bear false witness against him. If you love your neighbor, you will not murder him. If you love your neighbor, you will not steal from him. If you love your neighbor who are your parents then you will honor your mother and your father. If you love your neighbor, you will not commit adultery with his wife. If you love your neighbor, you will not covet his stuff.
Romans 13:10 says, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of [the] law.
So the difference between law and grace is that we have a change of heart. When we are saved by grace, forgiven of our sins, given a new spirit and everlasting life, we are given a new heart. I mean by that, we are given a new nature, new desires. And that happens by the indwelling of the Spirit of God. If you are unsaved, you do not have the Spirit of Christ in you. You cannot please God. You cannot do the things of God. You cannot work the works of righteousness. You certainly cannot do it in the power of your flesh. You can only do it by the power of the Spirit in you.
So key to our new life in this covenant of grace is that we have the Spirit of God indwelling us. Empowering us, changing our heart, so that our desire is to please the Lord. And we please the Lord by being obedient to His commands.
Paul qualifies what not acting in love is like in vs 15, “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” That needs very little exposition, doesn’t it? We call it back biting today. Slander. Bearing false witness against one another. Hateful speech. Speaking ill of one another. The result of that is to devour one another. To murder one another. That’s the opposite of love. That’s the result of the flesh. We that are saved still have our flesh. But we are to die to the desires of the flesh, and operate under the control of the Spirit.
Let me close by reading the promise in the Old Testament, that God would give a new covenant to those whom He called to be His people. It says in Jer 31:33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Instead of being subject to the law written on tablets of stone, we are now subject to the law written upon our hearts.
And God tells us how that will be accomplished in Ezekiel 36:25-27 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”
Let me ask you this morning, have you been born again? Have you had your sins forgiven, and a new spirit put within you, and do you have the Spirit of God dwelling in you? You cannot become a Christian through observance of the law, or by attending church, or by being baptized, or by taking communion, or by any work of the flesh. But you need to be changed, you need a new heart, and a new spirit, and the Spirit of Christ in you. You can have that salvation as a gift of God, if you will simply call upon the name of the Lord, confessing Jesus as Lord of your life, trusting in Him as your Savior who paid for the forgiveness of your sins, and receive the Spirit of God to reign in you. Call on the Lord to save you and change you, and live in you.
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