SET FREE TO REMAIN FREE (GAL 5:1-6)

SERIES: FREE AT LAST, PART 17

GCEFC: FEBRUARY 28, 2010

INTRODUCTION

1. Paul wants the Galatians and us to see that legalism just doesn’t work. First of all it doesn’t work for salvation, as we have seen repeatedly in this book.

2. Salvation is a gift that cannot be earned. In fact, if you try to earn it you forfeit it. Simply because God doesn’t grant it on the basis of merit, but on the basis of grace through faith.

3. Legalism doesn’t even work for sanctification. Even after we’re saved, legalism is a dead end. It fosters only pride and self-sufficiency. Two killers of true spirituality.

4. We’ve seen how legalism works when it comes to salvation. It’s the belief that I can earn God’s favor through keeping the rules. But this doesn’t work for two reasons.

a. Reason #1 is that God’s favor cannot be earned by keeping the rules. This wasn’t the case even with Abraham. It was Abraham’s FAITH not his law keeping that led to God’s declaration of his righteousness.

b. Reason #2 is that even if God granted salvation on the basis of our keeping the law, it would be a moot point because NO ONE can keep the law.

5. But what about when we’re already saved? Don’t we become righteous by keeping the law? Don’t we become holy by obeying the law of God consistently?

6. No—we don’t. But here’s now many believe it works.

a. I desire to be a more spiritual person. I become a more spiritual person by keeping the rules. If I do the do’s and avoid the don’ts—I’ll grow in righteousness.

b. So just tell me the rules and I’ll obey them. I’ll muster up the strength to keep the rules. It won’t be easy, but I’ll succeed. I’ll measure up to the standard.

c. I’ll make progress. Eventually I’ll be doing more of the do’s and fewer of the don’ts. Other people will notice and I’ll get affirmed for my conformity to the rules.

d. I’ll become more righteous than those around me because I’ll keep the rules better than they do. I’ll be so proud of myself. God will be so pleased with my holiness.

e. Then if I can get other people to keep the rules like I do. Then they can be holy and righteous like I am. But it won’t be easy. Not everyone can be as holy as I am.

7. The fact is we cannot be saved through human righteousness—we can only be saved by the grace of God through faith.

8. The fact is we cannot be sanctified through human righteousness—we can only be sanctified by the grace of God through faith.

A. CHRIST SET US FREE SO WE WOULD HAVE FREEDOM AND KEEP IT

1. V1: 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.

2. Christ set us free so we can have freedom. So we can be released from the slavery and the burden and the weight of the law.

3. The law—which doesn’t save us. Which cannot save us. Which was never intended to save us. Which only enslaves us and condemns us.

4. When Jesus said in JN 8 that if the Son sets you free, then you will be free indeed—he meant it when he said it.

5. Jesus sets us free from the condemnation of sin. Free from the penalty we deserve because of our sin. He sets us free from the impossible burden of keeping the law of God.

6. We cannot do it. God knows we cannot do it. God never expected us to do it. He expects us to recognize that we fall short of his standard.

7. And he expects that we will throw ourselves upon his mercy. And he will save us by his grace. In fact, there is nothing else that can save us but God’s grace.

8. And if you’re a believer in Christ Jesus. If you’ve received him as your Savior and your sin bearer. Then you’ve been declared righteous by God Himself.

9. You stand forgiven, redeemed, justified, and righteous. Not because of your righteous deeds—but by God’s declaration.

10. Just as when a convicted law breaker is pardoned. It doesn’t matter what they’ve done. What matters is that they’ve been pardoned for whatever they’ve done.

11. And just as we wouldn’t expect a pardoned and released prisoner to return to the prison—we don’t expect a pardoned sinner to return to a life of legalistic bondage.

12. And yet, that’s exactly what the Galatian Christians are contemplating. So why would they even be thinking about such a thing?

13. Because they’ve been deceived by the Galatian false teachers. They’ve been hoodwinked. Or as Paul says, they’ve been bewitched!

14. So he pleads with them in V1: Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

15. Stand firm in the grace you’ve received. Remain free in Christ. Don't return to slavery.

B. IF YOU SUBMIT TO LEGALISM YOU’LL PAY A HUGE PRICE

1. In V2, we see that the stakes are very high. There’s a price to pay for going back under the law. So what is the cost? Four things are mentioned. The first cost is…

a. Christ’s sacrifice will be of no benefit to you. V2: Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.

b. Circumcision was the initiatory rite of entrance into the Jewish religion. It signified that you were officially in.

c. So why would some religious ceremony, some religious ritual result in Christ being of no value to the one who engages in it?

d. Because the Judaizers were teaching the Galatian Christians that circumcision was required for salvation.

e. Remember back in ACTS 15 we read: Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved. No circumcision—no salvation.

f. But such a belief contradicts what the Word of God teaches. The Bible teaches that salvation is based on one’s faith in Christ alone.

g. So to base it on some religious ritual disqualifies you. If you’re trusting in some religious ceremony to be saved—you’re not going to be.

h. Salvation is not the reward for following some religious ritual. It’s a gift granted to those who receive it by grace through faith alone.

i. Paul wants the Galatians to understand that if they submit to this religious rite—it signifies they’re trusting in what they do to receive salvation—rather than in what Christ did for them.

j. Which means they’re disqualified. What Christ freely did for them does them absolutely no good at all.

2. The second cost of returning to legalism and keeping-the-law righteousness is that those who do will be required to keep the entire law—not just their favorite parts.

a. V3: Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

b. Picture yourself driving down the NYS Thruway at 90 mph and you’re pulled over by a state trooper. He starts writing out a ticket for a large sum of money.

c. You say: But officer—I’ve never committed adultery. I’ve never stolen anything. I’ve never murdered anyone. And I’ve never even once built an idol to a false god.

d. The officer looks at you and says—The ticket is for speeding—I don’t care how many laws you haven’t broken—the ticket is for the law you have broken!

e. Paul is saying that if you want to submit yourself to the law. If you want to earn your salvation by keeping the law—go ahead.

f. But remember that when you submit to a legalistic system—you must keep all of the laws—not just the ones you like. Or find easiest. Or that suit your temperament.

g. So the second cost to submitting to the law is that you must keep the law perfectly. Good luck. Only Jesus managed that.

3. The third cost for submitting to legalism is that you will be alienated from Christ.

a. Well of course you’ll be alienated from Christ—you’d be snubbing his sacrificial death on your behalf.

b. You’re saying that Jesus’ death is insufficient payment for your sin. You’re saying that his righteousness is not enough—you need to add your righteousness to his.

c. You’re saying that the most costly death. The most selfless act in human history. When God himself died in your place. That this was not enough.

d. That you’ll need to add your contribution to your salvation. If you do that, Paul says—count on being alienated from Christ.

4. The fourth cost of submitting to legalism is you’ll be living outside the realm of grace.

a. In fact, it says in V4 that you: have fallen away from grace. Which has nothing at all to do with losing one’s salvation. That isn’t even the context.

b. Paul is saying that our salvation is by grace through faith. It’s not through any other means. So if you’re attempting to be saved or sanctified by your own good deeds. By your own adherence to the law—then you’re outside the realm of grace.

c. Let’s suppose we could get every person here this morning up on this platform.

d. And I say that every person who comes and remains on this platform I’ll give $1,000. This is just an illustration so don’t get your hopes up.

e. So everyone comes up here and stands. But one person gets annoyed with the crowd and the congestion, so he goes down the stairs to the main floor.

f. Then I pass out $1,000 to each person on the platform. But the guy on the main floor says: Hey, what about me? And I say: What about you? And he says: Where’s my $1,000? And I say: I said that the $1,000 was for everyone on the platform.

g. You aren’t on the platform—you’re on the main floor. I made no promise to those on the main floor. You’re out of the realm of the $1,000.

h. You’ve fallen from the platform. And because you’re not in the realm of the $1,000, there is no $1,000 you’re qualified to receive.

i. Paul is saying that if you submit to the legalistic requirements of the law for your salvation—then you’re out of the realm in which salvation can occur.

j. Salvation and sanctification according to God’s economy occur within the realm of grace. Grace is the only realm in which they occur.

C. TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS COMES THROUGH FAITH

1. The next main point of the passage is in V5: But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.

2. We don’t work for righteousness—we wait for righteousness. On what basis? On the basis of faith. So what righteousness is this? Let’s call it ultimate righteousness.

3. Let’s take a little survey. How many of you believe you’ve achieved ultimate righteousness? That you’re as righteous as you can be? That there’s nothing sinful remaining in you?

4. Now in a sense, as believers, we are totally righteous—in a judicial sense. By virtue of our faith in Christ—God declared us righteous. This is what justification is. It means we’re judicially, officially, and legally righteous.

5. But in a practical, earthly sense we’re anything but righteous. We’re sinners by nature and sinners by thought and sinners by behavior.

6. But some day our legal righteousness and our practical righteousness will merge into ultimate righteousness. This will not be something we do for ourselves. It will be something God does for us.

7. This hasn’t happened. So we wait for it. We hope for it. Hope is desire with expectation.

a. Hope isn’t just desire—because I might desire what there’s no chance of receiving. I might desire to win the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. But I don’t hope for it because I don’t expect it.

b. But hope isn’t just expectation—because I might expect to come down with the flu. But I don’t desire to do so.

c. Hope merges desire and expectation. We want to have it and we expect to have it.

d. But the verse tells us that what we wait for and hope for is achieved by faith through the Holy Spirit.

e. Our ultimate righteousness is not achieved because of what we do ourselves. It’s achieved by what God does for us through his Spirit through our faith.

f. For this we eagerly wait. We don’t eagerly work—we eagerly wait. It’s the difference between a life of faith in God’s working in us. And our working for God.

8. V6 brings it together: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

9. Circumcision or uncircumcision, keeping the law or failing to keep the law, keeping the rules or failing to keep the rules—these are not what matters.

10. Law keeping has no power to save us or sanctify us. Only God has such power. Only God’s grace through faith can accomplish these things.

11. We don’t live lives pleasing to God to earn his love. We live lives pleasing to God because he’s already showered us with his love in spite of our not earning it.

12. JN 3:16 says that God so loved us that he gave. But we love God because he gave. Because he gave freely, and graciously, and unconditionally.

13. Why is love so important? Because love expresses the heart of God. God is love. So those united with him and in fellowship with him will express his heart.

14. Paul ended all confusion about this in 1 COR 13. He says that if he can speak in the tongues of men and angels, and if he has the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries, and if he has a faith great enough to move mountains, and if he gives all he possesses to the poor, and he gives his life for his faith.

15. And yet, if he lacks love as generated by a relationship with God through Christ—it’s worthless. It’s meaningless. It’s pointless.

16. Paul is saying that circumcision, uncircumcision, law keeping, legalism, keeping the special ceremonial days—keeping the rules. It all misses the point.

17. The point is that a true relationship with God begins by grace through faith in what Christ has done. And it continues the same way throughout our spiritual journey.

18. And this relationship manifests itself through our faith expressing itself through love. This not only confirms we’re saved for eternity.

19. But we will grow spiritually as God intended us to do and as God enables us to do—for his glory.