As a nation, we have just celebrated another Independence Day. There were parades and picnics and fireworks. We remembered our founding fathers who put their lives on the line, giving us the framework to govern this great nation. We also remembered the brave men and women who have fought through the years to keep us safe and to extend the same hope of freedom to people of other nations.
There is no doubt that we as a people have had our differences, our problems, our individual and our collective sins. We are not perfect, but, thanks be to God, we are still free.
In the Book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul was addressing his letter to a people who had been set free through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. John 8:36 records these words of Jesus: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (NIV). Previously, in John 8:36, He also said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The Galatian church had been set free, they knew the truth, but still some wanted to go back to traditions and ceremonies with rules and laws; things they had been familiar with, things that were symbols of freedom, but not the substance of freedom. All the animal sacrifices and all the rituals could not bring freedom. There had to be more.
In Galatians 5:1, Paul writes, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Christ is the source of true freedom. He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament laws, ceremonies, and rituals. These laws, ceremonies, and rituals pointed worshippers toward Christ, but they were not Christ. Anything apart from Christ or anything in addition to Christ will not give us true freedom. The source of our freedom is Christ, and Christ alone.
Paul goes on to write, in that same verse, “Stand firm…” He speaks of the defense of that precious freedom. In every generation that freedom has been under attack. It has been belittled, mocked, challenged, and ridiculed. The symbols of that freedom have been distorted in attempts to change their meanings. They have been burned, defaced, and, in some cases, removed from public display in hopes they would be forgotten. Writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul writes, “Stand firm.” In other words, defend your faith. Speak the truth, always speaking it in love.
Finally, in that short verse, he addresses the threat of losing that freedom: “…do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” The loss of that freedom comes not from without, but from within. It is not an external threat, but rather an internal drifting away. It is not something forced on us by an enemy; it is something we choose ourselves. Choose Christ, and walk in His freedom.
Paul adds, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Enjoy your freedom as a citizen of this great nation. But even more, enjoy your freedom in Christ. Stand firm, and stand strong in Him.
Rev. James R. Pentz, Lead Pastor, New Covenant Assembly of God, 1270 Pinchtown Road, Montgomery
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