I can’t think about the word “freedom” without being reminded how much this word has been used as we’ve been living through this pandemic. And the reason this word has been used so much is because another word has entered our daily vernacular: restrictions. And there’s been so much talk on our freedoms being taken away from us. I’m not here to make a point about all of that, but I am here to say that it’s critical for us to understand what freedom actually is and how freedom actually works.

As we continue our series on the Holy Spirit, there’s something I want all of us to experience today and I’ll sum up my desire for you with the title of my message – “Don’t Miss Your Freedom”.

Galatians 5:13-26 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

When we think about our spiritual lives, it’s easy to evaluate according to how we feel like we are currently doing with God. Do we feel close? Are we praying? Are we reading Scripture? And these are great questions to help us assess how we’re doing? But we need to look at more than just how we’re doing with God.

If you want to know how your spiritual life is going, observe how you’re treating other people.

Freedom is the main theme Paul has in mind in his letter to the Galatians. He wrote earlier in chapter 5, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” What kind of freedom has Jesus come to give us?

He has freed us from the law. He has freed us from the bondage of sin. We need to know that in Christ, we have been freed. But we also need to know what we’re supposed to do with our freedom.

Am I free to do anything I want to?

Most people would say, “Yes – that’s what freedom is.” But this is not how Jesus thinks about freedom and it’s not how people think who are seeking to orient their entire lives around Jesus. Paul says in verse 17 that “you are not to do whatever you want.” I know I’m saying this in the year 2021 and from a stage in downtown San Francisco.

“Real freedom comes from a strategic loss of some freedoms in order to gain others. It is not the absence of constraints but it is choosing the right constraints and the right freedoms to lose.” Tim Keller, Making Sense of God

Freedom in marriage – free to be with whomever or greater freedom because I’ve restricted myself to Shauna.

Freedom in being deep in this church community – free to go to a different church and not belong anywhere or greater freedom because I’ve restricted myself to being deeply engaged in this church community. If you want to step into the freedom that comes from being deeply engaged in this church community, attend our Next Steps lunch today as we discover how to be part of the Epic family.

Paul says, “Don’t use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Use your freedom to serve others.”

Are you using your freedom to serve yourself or to serve others?

Rejoice in the freedom Jesus has given you and consider how you’ll use your freedom to serve others. One thing that really got my attention in this passage is the focus on humility and pride that you see at the beginning and end of the text. In verse 13, we’re told to HUMBLY serve one another and in verse 26, we’re told to not become CONCEITED. If we want to know whether we’re living primarily in the Spirit or primarily in the flesh, we should pay attention to where we currently are on the humility/pride spectrum. And know this:

You can never be full of the Spirit when you are full of yourself.

Then we’re told that the entire law is summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And it’s really important in this moment to recall how Jesus defined neighbor. He did not restrict “neighbor” to people who share our skin color or our political party or our faith.

While we cannot expect the world to love in this way, we should expect more from any of us who have the Spirit of God living in us. My heart is grieved by so much in the world today, but even more by what I see from people who are in the church. There’s so much hatred. There’s so much anger and outrage. This whole idea of cancel culture.

We follow a Savior who canceled sin, but never canceled people.

Galatians 5:15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

What a word for all of us! If we aren’t careful, we’re going to destroy our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you have been biting and devouring others, watch out. You’ll end up destroying them and you’ll eventually destroy yourself. We have an enemy who would love for us to believe that we are enemies of each other.

If humans destroying other humans doesn’t break your heart, you might be part of the problem.

This does not mean we have to be the same people with the same opinions about all the things. In fact, I’ll say it this way:

Disagreements in the Epic community are welcomed and expected, but we will not allow anyone to destroy others here.

As long as we are on this earth, there will be conflict between the Spirit and our flesh. Even Jesus said to his disciples, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The desires of the flesh and Spirit are contrary to each other. They are in conflict with each other. But you can make sure the Spirit comes out of you, rather than the flesh having a stronghold in your life. Paul uses four different verbs to get at how this can happen: Walk in the Spirit (16). Be led by the Spirit (18). Live by the Spirit (25). Keep in step with the Spirit (25). One commentator said it this way:

To walk in the Spirit or to be led by the Spirit means to go where the Spirit is going, to listen to His voice, to discern His will, and to follow His guidance.

Life in the flesh and life in the Spirit both produce outcomes and we read about those here. Paul says the works of the flesh include: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. Paul lists 15 of these and implies there are many more when he ends with “and the like”. There you go – those are the kinds of things that result from a life lived in the flesh.

Many people think these things bring freedom and life, when in reality they bring bondage and death. What’s the eternal result from a life lived in the flesh? You see it in verse 21 – “Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Hear me clearly on this – We don’t inherit the kingdom of God by not living this way. But living our entire lives doing these things is evidence that we don’t have the Spirit of God living in us…which means we haven’t followed Jesus as Lord…which means we won’t spend eternity in His presence.

But the fruit (outcome) of life in the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Don’t you want these things coming out of your life? For more life in the Spirit to happen, we crucify or kill the flesh with its passions and desires…and we keep walking in step with the Spirit.

Have you experienced the freedom that Jesus came to give you? Think about how Jesus used his freedom. He didn’t owe anyone anything. He made the world so He didn’t have to follow the restrictions imposed on him by any earthly rulers. Remember how he said that in a moment, He could have had angels show up and rescue Him. But the One with the most freedom ever did not use his freedom to serve himself. He used his freedom to restrict Himself to a human body and then restrict Himself to a brutal cross. Why? Why restrict Himself? Why constrain Himself? For freedom. For your freedom.

Today you can begin to know this freedom as you trust Jesus.

For the rest of us:

-How are you using your freedom?

-How are you currently trending on the pride/humility scale?

-As you examine how you think about, talk to, and interact with other humans (especially those who aren’t like you at all) – are you loving people well or biting and devouring them? Do you tend to see them more like a neighbor or more like an enemy?

-What results are showing up in your life – those works of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit?