Galatians Week 11 • Galatians 5:1-15

Show Notes

Sunday, March 15th • Beau Bradberry

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." — Galatians 5:1

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Beau Bradberry

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Thanks for listening.

Amen.

Well, good morning.

Glad that you guys are here.

If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open up to Galatians chapter 5.

And as you turn there, I want to share just a few moments about kind of our perspective

on our approach right now as we're going through the coronavirus situation in our country.

Some people have asked this morning, kind of, what's the approach that we're taking as a

church with this?

And so I want to walk through, at least for me as your pastor, how I'm walking through

this and the things that we're thinking through and how we're praying through and actions that

we've even taken.

Number one, I do want to say this, all right, because I believe in the authority of Scripture

and I believe in what God says.

And so number one, we're going to obey the government, all right?

We're going to obey the authorities that God's put over us within there.

So if decisions are made that are outside of our realm, that are outside of our authority,

we're going to be mindful and respectful of that.

As far as the decisions that we make, so right now, everything for our church is business as

usual, all right?

Everything we're continuing to go forward with.

What we're seeking to do within that is through prayer to use discernment and wisdom for what

God has for our own particular unique body of people and what God's called us to.

And so God gives us discernment.

God gives us wisdom.

We want to lean in on Him in times like this to understand and to process what is best for

us as a church.

And so right now, we feel that that is business as usual.

Now, there are some things that have changed, all right?

So then in how we're doing coffee talk, you'll notice there's more hand sanitizers that are

available.

Please don't walk off with those, right?

We want to make sure that we're doing things the right way.

Even Dave's going to give instructions at the end of the service.

We're going to take up the offering a little bit different this morning, okay?

So we want to be mindful.

We want to use discernment.

If something happens and we do, we're not allowed or we're not capable of holding services, we

will maintain the office hours.

We will maintain presence here.

And so if you need someone, if you need us, this is what we're here to do as we're called

to be ministers of the gospel and do that.

As with every Sunday already.

So if you're at home right now because you're not feeling well, if you're off at the beach

because you're on vacation, we live stream every single Sunday anyways.

We have our YouTube channel that we go through with live stream, and so we will make that

available.

We still post our messages on our website and through also our podcast platforms every single

Sunday.

And so we will continue to do all of those things.

So if they shut us down, we will still have the opportunity to have worship just with a

different venue that God has given us.

So those are our approaches as a church of how we're doing this.

And then I'd just like to say, as a believer, all right, so what is our perception as we go

into work, all right?

What is our perception as we talk to our neighbor?

What is our perception as we talk to our spouse even about all of this that's going on?

Number one, I want to encourage us to all do this.

Listen, okay?

Just listen.

There are people right now who are a little nervous about everything that's going on,

maybe more nervous than you or maybe even more nervous than me, and that's okay.

We want to listen.

I'm glad that my 94-year-old grandmother is at home this morning, okay?

So we want to listen and we want to be respectful and understand that everybody is trying to use

wisdom and discernment for them.

And what we want to do is we want to leverage this just like we should look to leverage every

situation, is how can we leverage these opportunities to share Jesus and to love our neighbors?

And so in every aspect that the Lord gives us these open doors and these open opportunities

of God, how can we glorify you?

How can we obey you?

How can we share you?

How can we love you?

And in doing so, how can we love our neighbors as they walk through this?

The other night, it opened the door for an absolutely wonderful conversation with me and

a person in our neighborhood who does not know Christ, right?

So God's working for the good of all things.

And so we take that approach and we have that perspective with there also.

So be quick to listen, slow to speak.

That's somewhere, right?

Quick to listen, slow to speak.

Use it as an opportunity to glorify God and use it as an opportunity to love our neighbors.

And then I just want to encourage all of us as a church, and we're about to go into a

time period where we're going to do this together, to pray, all right?

There are a lot of people, pastors, government leaders, school board leaders, owners of businesses

that have to make decisions that are bigger than them, right?

That have to make decisions with a consequence and a weight that they have to process and that

they have to pray through.

And what we need to be able to do is we need to be able to pray for them that they will

have the wisdom and the discernment to make the right decisions.

But also, in our pocket of where we are in the world right now is different than it is

for some other places.

And so there's some other places that life has been disturbed more than it has for us.

Like I know there are situations with what people don't think of, but there are missionaries

right now who would love to get back into the countries in which they served, where their

friends are, where they're doing gospel works and they're not allowed to.

And so I'd like to take this opportunity right now as we here together as a church, but maybe

even in this season of life, to cause us, to give us an opportunity, regardless of your

affiliation with political parties, right?

To pray for the leaders that are in place right now, to take this opportunity, to not get

frustrated when a business owner or when a school management makes a different decision

than what we like, to instead pray for them and that we give a time to pray for our missionaries

on our field that this is strongly impacting their life of where they are.

So before we go any farther in God's word this morning, let's just go to him in prayer.

God, I thank you.

Lord, as all the songs that we just sang just remind us, Lord, you are the steady presence

in the midst of the chaos.

And so, Lord, as we meet here today, may that truth be reminded to us.

Lord, that in spite of whatever happens in this world, Lord, that you are sovereign, that you

are in control, that you are good, that you are working, or there is never a moment that

you take off, or there is never a moment where you sleep, or there is never a moment where

you panic, or there is never a moment where you worry, Lord, in all of those things, you

keep pressing forward in your will of what you're going to accomplish.

Lord, and we can rest in that.

Lord, we don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know tomorrow you are still God.

And you are still in control.

Lord, I pray for every leader that has to make decisions, decisions that impact people's

lives.

Lord, I pray that you would grant them and that you would give them the discernment and

the wisdom they need, or to make the right decision, or the right decision that we as a

body, that we as a group, Lord, can see and understand how you're working and how you're

moving.

Lord, I pray for us as Christians, that we would use this opportunity right now to not

complain, to not be negative, but to encourage, to love, to share, Lord, and to seek a depth

of obedience in our life.

Lord, I pray for the people that this is affecting right now, or people who can't go to work, and

so the loss of their income is greatly affecting their house.

Lord, I pray for people who have lost loved ones.

Lord, I pray for our missionaries on the field who cannot get back to the gospel work that you've

had laid out for them.

Lord, I pray that right now, in all of those circumstances, Lord, for the single mom who

can't provide, for the spouse who has lost their spouse, to the missionary who's far away

from home, Lord, that right now, what would reside in their heart is the peace that comes

from you and you alone.

Lord, and what we can do as believers, it's not when we look back at this, Lord, that we

can, with our breath and with our lives, Lord, give praise to you regardless of the circumstances

because of who you are in your goodness and in your greatness.

Jesus, I thank you for the opportunity that we have to meet here today.

Lord, I thank you that there are those who can't be with us this morning and they're sitting

right now on their computers watching us and worshiping with us.

Lord, I thank you for that ability that you give us.

Lord, and I pray whether it's sitting here in this auditorium or if it's sitting in a living

room, Lord, that you would be glorified by the things that are done, by the things that

are said.

Lord, and I pray that today, someone today could step out of the bondage of sin and today

become a child of a living God.

Jesus, we love you, we praise you, and it's in your name we pray, amen, amen.

All right, so Galatians chapter 5, starting in verse 1.

And by the way, isn't this pollen just absolutely wonderful?

Let's start reading verse 1.

For freedom, Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.

I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law, have fallen away from grace.

For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

You were running well who hindered you from obeying the truth.

This persuasion is not from him who calls you.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view,

and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.

But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?

If that case, the offense of the cross has been removed, I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves.

For you were called to freedom, brothers.

Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

And so Paul comes in in this passage of Scripture and begins to push forward in us being able to understand as believers what it's like to live in freedom.

And he cautions us at the very beginning with a warning.

And what he's talking about at the very beginning is the loss of freedom.

And that's what we have to be careful of.

That Paul wants to establish from the very beginning of chapter 5 that there is a loss of freedom.

Paul begins by reminding them the profound freedom that you and I have in Christ.

In verse 1, what he literally says is, for freedom, Christ freed you.

So for the purpose of freedom, for the noun of freedom, he applies the verb of freedom.

He has freed you.

Freedom in this, for Paul in the gospel, is both the means and the end of the Christian life.

It's the way that we live our life in freedom, and it's the finish line that we long for, freedom.

For Paul, you can't remove freedom from the gospel.

And so what he begins to set in place is that when Jesus came, he came in a liberation movement.

He came to set the captive free.

He came from what was enslaving us to set us free from.

And this is why it's so important to Paul.

For Paul, if there is no freedom, there is no gospel.

And so when the Judaizers come in and they say to the group, hey, hey, hey, for you Gentiles, this is important for you.

Yes, you have to be saved through Christ.

But you also, in order to be saved, must be circumcised.

And Paul's like, no, no, no, no, no, that's not how this works at all.

That what begins to infringe on is your freedom from what Christ has set you free from.

It's the noun, it's the verb, it's every part of the gospel.

For freedom, you have been freed.

And for Paul, this is the battle worth fighting.

Because what Paul understands in our life and in the life of a believer, that when you're saved, you're saved for eternity.

That that cannot be taken away from us.

That when Jesus Christ became my Lord and Savior, that that's the case for my eternity.

My destination has been sealed.

But what Satan wants to do is rob us from the reality.

And so what begins to happen in the life of a believer, our eternity has been sealed.

But what can be taken away from us is our freedom.

So Paul uses words like, hey, do not submit again in verse 1.

He talks about in verse 4 that you've fallen away from grace.

And so what he does is very important.

Verse 1, he tells us how not to lose our freedom.

Right?

That's important.

Not just what freedom is, but to make sure that we do not lose our freedom.

So in verse 1, he tells us, stand firm.

Now when I say those words, you immediately get a picture in your mind of what that looks like.

As Paul's talking, the word that he uses is a military word that implies the person who's on guard or on lookout.

And so he takes that military term and he imparts it to us in our spiritual life.

He says, here's how you maintain your freedom.

It's not just you lay back and it's a passive approach.

It's an active approach of what it means to stand firm.

And so if I'm a commander in the military and I go up to one of my soldiers and I say, look, you need to stand firm.

There's four things that this means for this soldier.

The first thing, what it means, it means stay alert.

Stay alert.

Look, if you're going to stand firm in your freedom, if you're going to stand firm in the gospel,

what we have to do is we have to stay alert, meaning this, we cannot be ignorant to the things that are around us.

We can't stand firm.

We can't stay alert.

And spiritually speaking, close our eyes to what's going on.

We can't exclude from what is happening.

We can't be ignorant to the things around us of what's taking place.

And we need to stay alert.

Christians, we do not need to be ignorant about the things that are happening and taking place.

We need to be the forefront on culture.

We need to be in the forefront of technology.

We need to be the forefront of what is going on as we stay alert of what is happening.

We can't isolate ourselves.

And then all of a sudden we're surprised when the lion strikes.

That we're surprised when the temptation comes.

That we must stay alert.

Not only must we stay alert, but to stay firm or stand firm means to stay strong as well.

Got to stay strong.

Can I tell you what it means when we're doing this?

When you got the person on the watchtower.

What you want for them to be is they have to stand there all day.

They have to stand there all night.

So what you want is a person who's physically fit doing that.

And so Paul looks at the believers and he says,

As you stand firm, make sure that you stay strong in your faith.

Right?

To walk away from freedom is to walk away from growing in God's word.

And the two are linked together.

That what we do is we work out, we build up, we strengthen our faith to get together as we push forward.

So that spiritually speaking, our muscles are built and our muscles are tuned and our muscles are strengthened over and over and over again.

Because I want to tell you this.

If you're going to stay firm in your faith, if you're going to stand firm in your faith, it's hard.

It's not easy.

The temptations come, but we stand firm.

The enemy tries to pull us away, but we stand firm.

Because we stay strong.

Not in ourselves, but in God's word.

We also have to resist.

To stand firm means to resist.

It's not that we just look.

It's not that we just stay strong.

It's not that we just build our muscles.

But when the picture is given of someone that is standing firm, what it actually means is they have a good base.

Think about going out into the ocean, right?

Have you ever, growing up or maybe with your kids, you played the game where the waves come in at you and you fight the resistance of going out into the water.

The easiest way to lose that battle is to walk into the ocean and put your feet side by side, right?

Even a small wave is going to come and it's going to do what?

It's going to pull you back out.

But when you get the strong base, when you widen your stance so that when the wave comes, you can dig in.

You feel the pull that is trying to drag you away, but yet the foundation is secure.

Walking in freedom means this.

We resist the attack.

There's going to come point in time in our life where we want to walk away from the freedom of obedience that we have in Christ.

And if you're standing there with a weak foundation, if you're standing there, spiritually speaking, with your feet right beside each other,

let me tell you what's going to happen.

You're going to collapse.

You're going to fall down.

But if we stand there with the firm base of who we are in Christ, we're prepared and ready for the fight.

Think about a boxer.

The boxer doesn't walk up to the bout, doesn't get into the ring and stand there like this, right?

What do they say?

Got to get your feet.

Got to get your base.

Because when the punches come, when you get rocked, you can stay firm because it'll happen.

And then the last thing was this.

Stick together.

In military, when a person is put on watch, when they're put on guard, do you know they're never put by themselves?

They're always put with someone.

And so in this concept, as the commander would send his person out to take watch, to hold strong, he would send there with at least one other person so that they could stand there together.

Church, hear me with this.

Your Christian life and your Christian growth was never intended for you to face it alone.

It's always been in the sense of community.

It's why it's so important that we understand and believe in the trinity of God, that God operates in community, and so do we.

It's so important that we have men and women of faith to both challenge us, strengthen us, and hold us accountable.

Because when they see us standing there and they see us, spiritually speaking, begin to get a little weak, they can challenge us and, hey, let's go work out together.

When they begin to see that we're standing there and our foundation begins to get a little weak, they can walk alongside us and they can wrap their arms around us and hold us as we're being drawn towards something else.

You see, in the concept of us staying and not losing our freedom, it's the battle that we face together, and it's never been intended to be the battle that you face alone.

And so if you're sitting here this morning and that's your battle, if you're sitting here this morning and it's a battle of isolation, if you're sitting here this morning and wondering, where is everyone around me?

Look, look, look, right in the ear, the family that God's given us, the group of people that are here, the opportunities that we have to challenge and to grow, and the opportunity to do it together.

Paul continues on, he talks about the importance of the yoke.

He says, do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Let me explain what a yoke is.

There's two yokes in the Bible.

The yoke that Paul is referring to here is not the yoke that an animal would use.

When you think of an animal, it's the concept of two working together, and biblically we see those as well, where there's a piece of wood with a loop that connects two animals so that they can push together in the work.

That's not the yoke that we're talking about.

We're talking about the yoke that a person would use, which ironically enough would oftentimes be connected to slavery.

And it would be a piece of wood, again, with a curve that would fit over the neck.

And it would run down some distance, probably about two feet on either side.

So you're talking about a four-foot piece of wood.

And there would be some ropes that would be attached to it.

And then on the end would be some type of carrying, like a bucket or something on each end, so that if a person has to move an object from one place to the other, that they wouldn't have to go one bucket at a time.

But instead, they could go and they could fill two buckets up, and they wouldn't just have to rely on their arm strength, but instead they would have a full strength of their body to pick up the yoke and to carry the yoke.

And so when you see someone carrying the yoke, what you could see within them is the burden of the difficulty of their work, or you would know that they are headed to a place of burden where they will work.

And so Paul looks at the believers, and he says, hey, hey, do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Don't continue on in this pattern.

But there's another guy who's kind of a big deal in Scripture, and he talks about a yoke too.

And it's Jesus.

In Matthew 11, verse 28, he says this,

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Verse 29,

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Let's notice this.

First thing about this.

Jesus takes away a yoke, but then gives another one.

I think all too often we look at the things of what Christ takes from us.

But the beautiful picture of what Christ does here is he has the removal of a yoke.

Paul says, don't pick back up the yoke of slavery.

But Jesus comes back, and he says, but there's another yoke.

You see, when we're Christians, we're not free from the yoke.

There's still an aspect of that that is a part of our life.

But it's a different yoke.

It's different than the one that we were used to.

It's different than the one that we understand when we come to Christ.

It's something that's different.

You see, the first yoke is heavy.

The first yoke is burdensome.

The first yoke gives great weight, which creates a sense of never-ending turmoil.

So you pick it up, and you hope that the buckets have even amounts of weight, and if not, you'll

begin to wobble from side to side.

You begin to hope that it's not too much for you to be able to bear, because then you'll fall

flat on your face, and you'll be punished for the things that you do.

And so Jesus says, look, this first yoke, that's not mine.

Mine's not heavy.

Mine's not a burden.

Mine's not going to give weight.

Mine's not going to put you in a constant state of worry.

But mine is easy.

Mine is light.

Mine eases the burden, and it creates something, Jesus says.

It creates rest, specifically rest for your souls.

You see, a yoke always implies two things, whether it's the yoke that Paul refers to or the yoke

that Jesus refers to.

A yoke always implies obedience to a master.

It always implies obedience to the master.

Is it the master that's overwhelming, or is it the master that sets free?

Always the yoke is connected to the master.

The first yoke is the yoke of the law.

It's the get it right.

It's the heavier the weight, the more that it drags you down.

But Jesus comes with a second yoke, and it's the yoke of discipleship.

It's the yoke of faith.

It's the yoke that causes us to grow in obedience.

And so when Jesus says, hey, pick up my yoke, it gives rest.

It's the picture of discipleship that begins to live out in the man and woman of faith.

And what we begin to understand as it deals with the soul is that this yoke is a spiritual

act, that it's the Spirit of God working in me and working through me, that it's the Son

sent the Spirit that is made evident in the life of the believer.

And so this is the yoke that we carry.

It reminds us that the discipleship is what we're commanded to do, that this is part of

our life.

Jesus doesn't say, hey, and if you want to, set that yoke down.

And if you want to, come and pick this one up.

No, it's the command.

It's connected to obedience.

And so it's a part of us as a believer to understand that this yoke of discipleship, it's what's

been imparted.

It's what's been commanded to us.

And in the concept of discipleship, back to us being together, the concept of discipleship

is a full circle that continues to work, that I am both being discipled and I am still discipling

someone.

So that a life lived for Christ means that I'm invested into as I invest into others.

Also, what we begin to see is discipleship, this yoke that Jesus talks about.

It's where obedience and grace combine.

It's where obedience and grace combines and so it begins to come from us.

And it's what Paul reminds us.

Because what we're striving for is freedom, not abuse.

Look back at verses 13 through 15 of Galatians 5.

He says, for you were called to freedom, brothers.

Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another.

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

You see, Paul starts at equal ends of the argument.

He starts at the very beginning and he says, look, don't lose your freedom.

And then for the other side, he says, but make sure you don't abuse your freedom either.

Don't be legalistic in your freedom, but don't be liberal in your freedom.

Don't approach your freedom and this is what I have to do or else.

But also don't approach it in, I can do whatever I want.

What Paul wants both sides of the aisle to understand is that in Christ, we have the opportunity to live in our freedom.

So that the gospel doesn't lead us to a guilty life, but the gospel also doesn't lead us to an unholy life.

That there's the balance that we walk.

There's a line that's there.

There's a fruit that comes from the Christian and it is the fruit of freedom in Christ.

And what we find in our freedom, and I ask you to check your heart when it comes to your freedom, is this.

Does your freedom or your perspective of your freedom excuse away your sins?

Or does your freedom bring you back to repentance before God?

Does your freedom bring you back to obedience before Him?

And what we see as Paul wraps up this session is that what freedom creates in us is an obedience to God that affects those around us.

That our obedience to Him literally molds and shapes the way that we see other people.

And so what we see from this is our vertical relationship with God affects our horizontal relationships with other people.

So I can't say I'm right and I'm good with Him, that everything is in order with Him if I look out here and there's nothing but chaos that surrounds me.

There's nothing but hurt that surrounds me.

I can't say that my life before Him is holy if my life before everyone else is unholy.

So the question for us this morning is this, does your freedom in the gospel, for what you're experiencing, for what you're walking in,

does your freedom in the gospel draw others to Jesus or does it push them away?

Does your freedom in what Christ has done for you cause other people to be drawn toward or to be pushed away?

Are we abusing the freedom that He has for us?

In closing, two things to think about this morning.

As we go into our time of response.

Each of us has a yoke on.

We either have the yoke of slavery or the yoke of discipleship.

We either have a yoke where we're growing in our sins and the patterns of this world.

We either have a yoke that restricts us and that holds us back.

We either have a yoke that tells us we're not good enough and we'll never be good enough.

Or we have a yoke that's light.

A yoke that's easy and a yoke that sets us free.

But not only what yoke do we have, but what freedom are you living in?

And the closest thing of what Paul points us to, the litmus test that he sets before in our life,

is when we look at this freedom, that it's not found in our church attendance.

It's not found in how much scripture we know.

It's not found in anything of the holy acts of what we try to engage with.

But it's in our relationship with each other and in our relationships with other people.

What does that look like?

What is the freedom that you're living in?

Would you pray with me?

Lord, I come to you this morning.

We thank you so much for this opportunity that you give us.

God, your word tells us that you've set us free.

And so we lay aside one, but we're called to something else.

It's not lay aside and I'll do what you want, but it's lay aside and come and pick up.

That we're still a slave, but we're no longer a slave to this world.

We're no longer a slave to the law, but we're the slave to the one who set us free.

And his work builds, his worth strengthens, his work gives peace, his work gives life.

And from that work, Lord, what we find is rest for our souls.

So, Lord, this morning, pray that that's the yoke that we would embrace.

But also, Lord, may we examine our freedom.

May we examine our freedom.

Does our freedom give us the right to treat people however we want to?

Does our freedom give us the right to speak whatever we think?

Or does our freedom cause us as an overflow of the grace that we've received?

Of the love that we've received?

Cause us to then overflow onto others.

So we listen.

We care.

We love.

We speak truth.

We're a person of peace.

We're a reminder of hope.

Lord, I pray, especially in this season of life that we're in right now.

Lord, when we watch the news, we see this person and that person surprised by this and surprised by that.

Lord, and you're not.

You're not surprised.

So, Lord, may we be a people understanding your sovereign hand at work.

May we walk out of here carrying the yoke of Christ, growing in our faith and our obedience in such a manner

that as a bee is drawn to the flower.

Lord, so too people are drawn to you.

With every head bowed and every eye closed,

we've got prayer encouragers on either side of the auditorium.

I'm going to be down front.

Pastor Dave's back in the back.

Maybe today,

maybe you're recognizing

that yoke that's on your shoulders.

And it's heavy.

And it's hard.

And it knocks you down.

And it's difficult.

Maybe today is the day that you set that yoke down and you pick up a different one.

Maybe the day that you realize that you're not living in your freedom, but you're abusing your freedom.

Maybe today could be the day where you say no more.

No more.

Today I'll walk out living in freedom.

We'd love to pray for you.

We'd love to encourage you.

Maybe you've got a friend or family member that needs to be prayed for.

Maybe it was all the courage you could do this morning to get up and come here today.

And you just need somebody to pray with you.

We would be honored to do that.

Would you respond in how God leads you?

Jesus, we thank you.

We love you.

We praise you.

And it's in your name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.

We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message.

If you'd like to learn more about who we are or explore additional resources, visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com

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