“The Promise and Problem of Freedom”
Robert M. Thompson, Pastor
Corinth Reformed Church
150 Sixteenth Avenue NW
Hickory, North Carolina 28601
828.328.6196 corinthtoday.org
(© 2016 by Robert M. Thompson. Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures quoted are from The Holy Bible,
New International Version, Copyright 2011 by New York International Bible Society.)
Freedom is not the right to satisfy the flesh, but the power to walk in the
Spirit.
Galatians 5:1, 13-26
July 3, 2016
Two freedoms
When I drove to church Thursday morning for Bible study, I noticed
that someone had placed small American flags on the church property. I
asked my Bible study guys what were the pros and cons of having the flags
on church property this weekend.
Let’s start with the pros. You and I are only able to worship here
because we live in a free country. The United States of America has led the
world in embracing and proclaiming freedom of worship, of speech, of
assembly, and of the press, along with other freedoms. The American flag
symbolizes political freedom. As a Christian who lives in America, I can’t
separate my gratitude for our freedom from my recognition of God as the
giver of all good gifts, including our freedom.
What about the cons? First, over-identification of faith and patriotism.
I’m not an American who happens to love Jesus. I’m a follower of Jesus who
is blessed to live in America. To say it another way, I’m not a Christian
American. I’m an American Christian. Which one is noun and which one is
adjective makes a big difference. My heart identity is gospel-centered, not
country-centered. It’s important that I not get that backwards.
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The other con is confusing political freedom and gospel freedom.
When Paul speaks of freedom in Galatians 5, it has nothing to do with
freedom of speech or even freedom to worship. The word “freedom” occurs
17 times in the New Testament (New International Version), and not one of
them has to do with political freedom.
When we confuse political freedom and gospel freedom, we diminish
both. You can live in gospel freedom under the most oppressive of human
tyrannies. If I have to choose, there is no choice – I’ll take the freedom of the
gospel.
On July 4 weekend, I have no desire to undervalue or understate the
political freedom symbolized by the American flag. In fact, in many ways it
helps illustrate the meaning of gospel freedom. Let’s look at the promise and
problem of freedom.
Freedom’s promise – no fear
Paul begins Galatians 5 with an emphatic statement about freedom.
In the New International Version it reads, “It is for freedom that Christ set us
free” (v. 1). Both the noun and the verb form of “freedom” are included.
“Christ freed us for freedom.”
We love freedom because we were created for it. The founding fathers
were right when they said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.” There is a yearning in the human soul for freedom because that’s
how God made us. It’s the essence of humanity. I am often amazed by the
freedom that God has given humans.
Paul is tapping into what you instinctively understand about yourself
as a person when he says that Christ has freed us for freedom. Freedom,
according to Merriam-Webster online, is the absence of coercion and
restraint by others. You were made to live free. It’s true. Thomas Jefferson
and others who insisted on liberty in America understood the human heart.
We want to be free, and God has created us to be free.
The promise of freedom is freedom from fear. The American Bill of
Rights insists that no one should fear to worship a certain way, gather with
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other citizens, or speak his or her mind in a free country. Somewhat more
controversial today is the right to own the gun of your choice, and I would
only distract from this sermon by going down that path.1
Paul continues with a warning: “Stand firm, then, and do not let
yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (1). One thing we know
about freedom of all kinds is that if we are not vigilant, freedom is easily lost.
Because freedom is God’s idea and design, there will always be political and
spiritual forces who want to rob us of freedom. We tend to replace one
bondage with another.
The Galatians had lived in a kind of freedom, at least they thought it
was freedom. It was freedom to do as they pleased, morally speaking. Their
religion could choose any god, and their behavior was unregulated by moral
principles. But when you’re living in such a way that you’re breaking moral
laws written on your conscience, you live in fear of condemnation by others
and by God. You soon learn that your “freedom” enslaves you. When you
cast off all restraints about alcohol or drugs or anger, you’re a slave to
addictions, to lust, to resentment. There’s nothing freeing about that kind of
life.
The gospel of Christ had set these Galatians free. By the power of the
cross they were forgiven, made new, released from the penalty and power
of sin. Total freedom from fear of punishment for their sins!
Then along came some Christian teachers from Jerusalem who taught
them, “If you are a Christian, you need to keep the Jewish laws. Be
circumcised, observe the Sabbath rules, honor the festivals, don’t eat certain
foods or wear certain clothes…” and more. Paul is writing to the Galatians
with intensity to say, “That’s just a new kind of slavery.” Fear is back. These
Judaizers will never let you rest until you are in 100% compliance with every
detail of every interpretation of every law. If you yield that kind of control to
them, you will never be free, and you will always live in fear.
If you live in slavery to fear of being judged by God or others, you have
not yet fully embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you live life judging the
behavior of others, you have not yet fully embraced freedom. Paul writes in
John Piper recently wrote a blog I liked on that subject, but he’s been soundly criticized by
others. The issue, I suppose, is whether having more guns around diminishes or increases fear.
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Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus.” 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts
out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The man who fears is not
made perfect in love.”
As far as I know, I’ve only ever lied once to the Consistory (our
governing board) in the 23+ years I have served as pastor. It was early in my
tenure, and I needed a new set of tires for my church-owned vehicle. One of
the Consistory members asked if I had rotated the tires. I said yes, but I
hadn’t. Why did I lie? It was a moment of shame at a time where I very much
wanted to be respected and felt that for some of our leaders that respect
was conditional. I lived in bondage to that moment for a year or more until I
confessed that lie to the Consistory member who had asked the question.
When shame and condemnation rule, there is fear. When the gospel rules,
there is freedom.
I have no reason to conceal any part of my behavior. There’s no sin
that has not been fully paid for. I am truly free before God, with every sin –
past, present, and future – completely forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
on my behalf. That’s freedom!
Freedom’s problem: abuse
Freedom also comes with a problem. Freedom is always subject to
abuse. That’s fairly evident with political freedom. People abuse freedom of
speech by spreading hate. They abuse freedom of worship by worshiping
false gods. They abuse freedom to own a gun by using it to spread terror.
Right now in America we’re in a battle to hold on to our ideal of gathering
openly in public places because others are abusing freedom.
In the second half of Galatians 5 Paul addresses abuse of Christian
freedom. We pick up his argument in verse 13. “You, brothers, were called
to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather
serve one another in love.” Instead of “sinful nature,” the updated NIV says
“flesh.” However you translate it, the word appears six times in the last half
of this chapter.
We abuse freedom when we indulge the flesh. There are many ways
to do so. The Galatians were abusing the flesh by quarreling with each other.
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Apparently when these false teachers entered the picture preaching
obedience to the law, all hell broke out in the church. In verse 15, Paul even
describes them like you would a pack of carnivores in a battle to the death:
“If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be
destroyed by each other.” When you cartwheel into conflict filled with
sarcasm and blame and bursts of temper, what Paul calls “fits of rage” in
verse 20, you can call it “freedom of speech,” but it’s not freedom – it’s a
return to bondage.
Paul says in verse 26, “Let us not become conceited, provoking and
envying each other.” Pride is not freedom. This is one of my theories about
freedom that might be a little unsettling to you. I believe political freedom
makes us proud. You may recall the quote from Lord Acton, “Power tends to
corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In America we give power
to the people, and so the whole lot of us tend to be corrupted. The freedom
to think like I choose and to limit myself to the company of those who think
like I do makes me always think I’m right!
That’s how Paul describes the abuse of freedom – the kind of conceit
that leads to envy, factions, and mutual destruction. It’s the flesh completely
in charge. I want my way, and if I have to destroy you to get it, so be it. When
freedom is abused like that, it enslaves. In verses 19-21 Paul talks about other
acts of “the flesh” (or “sinful nature”) that look like freedom – but they are
slavery – sexual immorality, selfish ambition, drunkenness. Paul says such
“freedom” keeps you from God’s kingdom (21).
What is the alternative to all this? It’s “the Spirit.” This is why I like the
translation “flesh” instead of “sinful nature.” It’s a better contrast to “Spirit.”
Paul uses “flesh” six times in this section, but he uses “Spirit” seven times.
The contrast is not between the flesh inside of us and the Holy Spirit trying
to control us from the outside. Instead, the Spirit is in us. Sometimes it feels
like a raging war, as he says in verse 17 – “They are in conflict with each
other.” In fact, if there’s no war raging inside me, more than likely sin is in
control.
When we are aware of the war, we take active steps to “keep in step
with the Spirit” (25). The power of Christ in us enables us to resist fear of
condemnation, which in turns releases us not to indulge the flesh, but to let
the Spirit rules. And when he’s in charge, we can see “fruit” – evidence that
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he’s in charge. Instead of biting and devouring, instead of provoking and
envying, we see the growth of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (22-23). You can’t legislate those
qualities – for or against them (23). But you will find such freedom when you
allow the Spirit to grow them in you.
Hating is bondage. Lying is bondage. Sexual immorality is bondage.
Serving is freedom (13). Loving one another is the law that frees (14). This is
true freedom. Your brain predisposes you to attachment. But as a human
being, you can choose a new attachment. You’re going to be a slave to
something, so be a slave to Christ. Be a slave to love.
Pope John Paul II said it this way: “Freedom consists not in doing what
we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” Based on Galatians 5,
I would make the same point this way: Freedom is not the right to satisfy
the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit.
This is ultimately the problem with freedom the way most Americans
conceive of it. The essence of American freedom is freedom to be me. The
essence of gospel freedom is freedom from being me. Americans think of
freedom as very individualistic. It starts with me and ends with me. The
higher, nobler American freedom is about the country – it’s about us. But we
don’t even think about that much anymore. American “freedom” enslaves
us to a slaveholder named “me.” Self is the worst of all tyrants.
Gospel freedom doesn’t start with me or us. It starts with God and
ends with God. It finds its greatest fulfillment in knowing and being known
by God. It finds the fulfillment of life in loving God and loving others. That is
the only true and perfect freedom.
Freedom isn’t free
So American freedom is not gospel freedom. American freedom has a
strong potential to strip us of gospel freedom. Living for self will never make
you free. In one of the only places where the New Testament addresses
political freedom, the Pharisees pushed back against Jesus when he said,
“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Proud
Jews that they were, they insisted they had never been slaves. And Jesus
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answered, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin… If the Son sets you free, you
will be free indeed” (36).
True Christian freedom is at the heart of the gospel. Honestly, it’s
uncomfortable. Because it is subject to abuse, Christians of almost every era
and stripe have tried to tone down the radical nature of gospel freedom. We
fear that if people really “get” freedom they’ll live immoral lives. The
Reformed faith has always had a different approach. We’re not afraid of
preaching grace alone, of preaching complete emancipation from the need
to keep rules in order to go to heaven. The gospel plus conditions is not the
gospel. The gospel plus rules is not the gospel. The gospel plus (fill in the
blank) is not the gospel.
Still, the Reformed faith teaches that biblical laws, including those in
the Old Testament, are essential for faithful Christian living. But keeping
God’s law is not about fear or guilt or shame. It’s about gratitude. It’s about
awareness that freedom isn’t free.
This past week I attended the Rotary Club of Lake Hickory for the
installation of Peter Nelson, a Corinth member, as the President for 2016-17.
Inside the program was a poem attributed to Kelly Strong, who wrote it in
high school when he was a Junior ROTC cadet. Kelly wrote it as a tribute to
his father, who was a career Marine and had served two tours in Vietnam.
I watched the flag pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze;
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
How many pilots’ planes shot down
How many died at sea
How many foxholes were soldiers’
graves
No, Freedom is not Free.
I looked at him in uniform,
So young, so tall, so proud;
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought… how many men like him
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
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I heard the sound of Taps one
night,
When everything was still;
I listened to the bugler play,
And felt a sudden chill;
I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant “Amen”
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend;
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea,
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No. Freedom is not Free!
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
This may be the most important parallel between American freedom
and gospel freedom. What Kelly Strong was trying to convey is that the
fundamental reason freedom must not be abused is the cost that was paid
to gain and pay for our freedom.
How much more is this true of gospel freedom! Paul Cummings texted
these words to me on Friday: “Often we think more about what to do with
our freedom than where our freedom actually came from.” Gospel freedom
was purchased at the cross where the eternal and blameless Son of God paid
for it with his blood. No, freedom isn’t free. Jesus paid for it. That’s our
greatest motivation not to abuse it, but to pay it forward in a life of holiness
and obedience and service. Amen.
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