Called To Freedom

“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:13-16 NET

I have chosen not to go into the scriptures from Galatians 4:17-28 & 5:1-12 as it is further narrative about the need to distance from the Torah law and traditions opposed to abiding in the grace and freedom of Christ which has been covered extensively in previous posts.

Today I will be digging into the freedom we have in Christ and not indulging in the flesh and it’s temptation to detract us from the call of God has upon our lives. The ultimate goal of our freedom in Christ is to serve one another, not to take personal advantage and use it against other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Galatians 5:1 states “Galatians 5:1 NET “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.” Paul is emphasizing here what he has stated in our verse today, that freedom in Christ is the goal, but not a freedom to be selfish and self-serving, but a freedom to die to ourselves and our own desires that Christ may resurrect us into new life with His priorities and desires becoming ours. I believe that in some ways the statement “yoke of slavery” is a double entendre, but not in a bad way. We are always a slave to something or someone, it is just human nature. We either become a slave to sin and its effects upon our life, or we become a slave of Jesus Christ. Why would I choose this language of being a slave of Jesus Christ? The reason is quite simple, Jesus loved humanity including each and every person on this earth both past and present, those who loved him at His arrival, and even those who killed Him and put Him to death on a Roman cross. Everything was designed (all prophesy and all scripture) out of His love for all humanity.

Again, being a slave is not all bad; we all have to serve something or someone, whether it is our spouse, our employer, the government, or whatever the source of what we serve; it can be a positive experience if we put the Lord first in all things. That is what Paul called being a slave of righteousness. “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Absolutely not! Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death or obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.” Romans 6:15-18 NET

Paul actually thought of himself as a ‘slave to Christ’ in how he described his relationship to Jesus. “From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” Romans 1:1 NET. If we are to characterize our relationship with Jesus in ways that mirror Paul’s, we should see our relationship the same way as he did. Jesus is described in so many ways that define Him in different characteristics and attributes that correspond to our daily relationship with Him and the various maturity levels we have with Him. For example, Jesus is defined as a friend to those who need a friend, like when he comforted his disciples in times of trouble. He is described as a King for those who need a powerful conquering King, like when he overcame death and sin. He is described as a lover to those who require an intimate and passionate lover, like when he sacrificed himself for our sins, and there are many other descriptors which describe His character in ways that connect to our specific needs.

Herein is the beauty of the freedom of Christ; none of us are held to a specific revelation of His character; we are free to explore and express the full nature of Christ as He is revealed to us. It can be different for each person, but one constant is always true, He loves us completely and fully. I believe this is why Jesus stated so many times, ‘Do not fear, or be afraid’ because fear prevents us from experiencing the whole nature and character of Christ in our lives and keeps us stuck in bondage to sin and death. The enemy of our soul uses fear as a weapon to keep us from becoming the men and women of God we were destined to be by keeping us stuck in old patterns of fear and shame. This blocks us from stepping outside of our comfort zone and growing, knowing the full freedom of Christ with our fellow believers, and demonstrating the beauty of Christ and who He is in our lives. In Christ's love, we are all connected, and it is this unity that gives us strength and courage to overcome fear and shame, and to grow in faith.

It is the Holy Spirit residing in us that reveals Christ, so much so that even faith that is imparted to us causes us to believe. The ultimate stance of arrogance is to think that somehow we had a part in coming to Christ; we didn’t; we were dead in our sins. We had no good thing that resided in us that God would want, so we had to sacrifice our bodies to the proverbial flames of death. This sacrifice allowed us to become a new man, transformed and renewed, raised (or resurrected) in the righteousness of Christ. It is that new man that the Holy Spirit embodies and reveals the beauty of Christ in His fullness. This is where the freedom of Christ becomes evident.

Stephen Barnett