Pentecost 5 Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Christ Has Set Us Free  

1 Kings 19:9b-21 Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Luke 9:51-62

This week, on the fourth of July, we celebrate our independence. We celebrate by picnicking, having the day off from work and by watching fireworks. It’s a day when we may renew our allegiance to this country or just take our freedom for granted.  It’s also a day when we are to remember those brave men who fought and died to make us free from the tyranny of England. In fact, men are still on guard and fighting to keep this country free because there are many who would take our freedom away.

In our epistle text for today, St. Paul tells us of another freedom; a spiritual freedom won through the death of Jesus Christ.  

Paul tells us “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again by a yoke of slavery.” Christ has freed you from sin, from death, from the power of the devil, and from the condemnation of the Law. He has freed us by the shedding of His blood on the cross. He has made us citizens of His Kingdom by our baptismal birth. Now we are free, but we must guard our freedom closely.  We need not submit again to slavery. We can have either freedom in Christ, which brings eternal life or slavery to sin, which brings an eternal death.

For Christians, slavery to sin comes in two forms. First there is slavery to the Law where we combine our works with the work of Jesus.  Some try to cooperate in their salvation by trying to earn God’s favor by keeping the commandments. That slavery says, "Now that you are a Christian, you must keep the Law and when you break His Law, you must do some great work in order to make up for your sin." If you let any work on your part interfere with the completed work of Jesus Christ, you belittle His work on the cross.  Therefore you separate yourself from Christ’s salvation. The more you rely on your own works for your salvation, the more you will have fallen from grace. You put your self back under the slavery of the Law, and the Law will kill you.

We call using the law to get on God's good side legalism. Legalism is a strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law.

The other from of slavery to sin is called permissiveness. It's the opposite of legalism. Permissiveness is living as if there were no law at all, using your freedom in Christ to do as you please. Permissiveness is what St. Paul warns you about in our reading this morning. He says, “For you were called to freedom, my brothers; only do not use your freedom as opportunities for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Paul describes the works of the flesh: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” (Galatians 5:19-21) 

 Yet the world thinks nothing of these sins. It even glamorizes them and calls them lifestyles and choices. The world's idea of freedom is do as you please, and what pleases you. But St. Paul calls these things slavery and death. He issues this grim warning: “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” This passage plainly tells you and me that we cannot claim to be Christians when we live as if we were not.  Those who live to gratify their sinful nature will go to hell.

Remember, St. Paul is writing to Christian congregations. He knows that there are false Christians in the Galatian congregations, hypocrites who claim the name of Christian but who live oppositely; people who are baptized and go to church and yet live according to their passions and desires instead of actively struggling against them. And so Paul delivers this dreadful warning, when you give in to the desires of your sinful nature and live according to the flesh, you do so at the peril of losing your faith and your eternal salvation.

Just because you live in a free country does not mean you are free to do anything you want. Just because Christ has died to free you from bondage to sin does not mean you can freely sin.

The freedom that we have in Christ is not a freedom to sin but a freedom from sin. In other words you are not free to give in to your sinful lusts and desires. Rather you have the freedom to resist sin, to struggle against the desires of your sinful flesh. There is literally a constant war raging inside of each of you. Paul says, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the thing you want to do.”

There is a war raging inside of us between our sinfulness and the Holy Spirit. War never is pleasant or easy. It doesn’t do any good to protest because you cannot be a bystander; the war being fought is over your soul. To be a Christian is to literally be at war with your self.

You can be certain however, that you will be tempted. You will be tempted by things that don't bother the unbeliever. Paul tells you the things that grieve the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:30) You will be tempted by those things that unbelievers do not consider sinful. Among them are sex, power, greed, anger, drunkenness, and selfishness.

The sinful nature which you were born with actively opposes the Holy Spirit. Our sins keep us from leading the lives that God would have us live. Sin prevents you from loving God and your neighbors with all our heart. Now I know you want to do what is good, right and pleasing to God. But the old sinful Adam in you is always there, holding you back, giving you selfish reasons why you should not let go of the things of this world and place all of your faith and trust in God.

The Holy Spirit fights against your old Adam however. The Spirit reminds you what is wrong and right, so that sin doesn't have free course in your lives. He protects you from yourselves, so that you don't hurt yourselves and others. He convicts you of your sin and stirs up feelings of guilt. The world tells you that guilt is something to be overcome.  Those who love God however, know that guilt is a good thing for your soul.  Guilt tells you that something is wrong and that we are in need of forgiveness. The Holy Spirit shows you that the end of sin is death. The Spirit takes all the fun out of sinning because He makes you live with the guilt.

You struggle with that guilt whenever you remember your baptism. Daily the old Adam must be drowned and die in repentance, together with all wicked lusts and desires. Daily the new person must rise to renewed faith in Christ to live before God in righteousness and purity. Every day this struggle between flesh and the Spirit, death and life, goes on in the life of the believer. And it will go on until the day your body dies, because you and I remain in a constant self struggle as sinner-saints right up to the very end.

But you can take comfort knowing that Christ has already won the victory. He bore our sin to death. He nailed it to the tree. Crucified and buried it. He baptized us into His victory. In Baptism we have been crucified with Christ. We are dead to the world, dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ. The outcome of the struggle is assured. Jesus Christ has won! He has conquered sin and death by dying and rising! And now He wants to conquer sin and death in you. He desires that you walk by His Spirit and do not gratify the desires of the sinful flesh.

Also take comfort knowing that you are not alone in the struggle. When you gather together with fellow believers, Christ promised to be among you. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are with you, fighting for you with the power given to Jesus when He proclaimed victory over death. Baptism, Confession and Absolution, the Body and Blood of Christ, prayer, and the Word of God are available to help you defend your freedom.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. You can acknowledge your sin, be forgiven it by the word of Jesus, live in His freedom, and take up the struggle. If you find yourself tempted, pray right then and there, and pray for the strength to resist. Draw strength from God's Word and from the Sacraments. Surround yourself with fellow believers, put on the armor of God and enjoy the fruits of the Spirit.

In contrast to the works of the flesh, St. Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of our freedom in Christ. He calls these things "fruit," instead of works. Fruit is what hangs on a tree when it is healthy and alive. A tree needs no law to produce fruit. It doesn't need to be forced or invited.

It's what a sound and healthy tree does. The Holy Spirit adorns your life with fruit when you trust in Jesus.

This is what the Spirit works in us when we are joined to Jesus by faith and are regularly watered and fed with His Word. As David tells you in Psalm 1, “You are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither." (Psalm 1:3) When you live by the spirit you will walk by the Spirit.  Then you will truly have, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23) Against such things there is no law and you will be truly free.

In the name of Jesus, Amen