Galatians 5:1-17
Today as a country, we celebrate our independence, our liberty, freedom, emancipation, autonomy. Liberty, freedom, and the others I just mentioned have awaken special feelings within the heart of men and women through history. Feelings so deep, so radical, so personal that people from different races and backgrounds have come up together as one to fight for freedom when it has been taken away from them. Societies have been transformed by the sound of the word freedom or liberty. The cry of the French Revolution was “liberte, fraternite, egalite,” liberty, fraternity, equality, and we all were taught in our history class about Patrick Henry’s words,“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.” Freedom, Liberty is an essential part of our lives, our existence is not complete if we do not have it, because freedom is a gift from God.
But what is freedom or Liberty? The answer depends on who we ask. Philosophy defines freedom as the absence of constraint orthe state of the one who does what he or she wants. This implies almost no restrictions. According to our constitution freedom or liberty means not to be deprive of the right to exercise the rights enumerated by the constitution. And we know the debate we have in our country about the meaning of the Bill of Rights. I believe the idea we have of liberty or freedom comes to us from the philosophical current of humanism. Humanism is defined asa “democratic and ethical life stance which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It is a system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.” And that is why, I think Freedom or Liberty is a word that has been used and abused. Expressions like “this is a free country” is used just to justify some of our personal actions. Expressions like “this is a free country, and I can say or do whatever I want.” Or “it’s a free country I can live anyway I want,” are common expressions in our society. Today fourth of July, that is the kind of freedom most of the people celebrate; the right to do anything they want as long as they do not bother others. However, the Bible which is our Rule of Faith and practice has a different approach.
Paul opens the fifth chapter of his letter to the Galatians saying, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” Usually when we think in freedom, we think in freedom from. The United States got freedom from England. Most of the Latin American countries got their freedom from Spain. Paul in Galatians 5 emphasizes not in freedom from, but in freedom for. “For freedom Christ has set us free.”
During the Pandemic, many people have refused vaccines and wearing mask because in 1777 they were made free. Others have raised the question “How free are we?” And all of them have in mind freedom from. According to Galatians 5 the question we should be asking is “What Christ has made us free for?” not from. You see, freedom in the New Testament has implicit a choice to be made. Galatians 5 verses 16 and 17, say, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” We have the choice to live our freedom gratifying our flesh or walking by the spirit.” In verses 13 and 14, Paul suggests the way, those in Galatia and us should live our freedom, “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.’” The gift of freedom, we have received from Christ is to be used in service to others and loving our neighbors as ourselves and not to indulge ourselves.
This is the freedom Paul celebrates in this text. And it should be the freedom we celebrate as we commemorate our freedom. We should celebrate the freedom to care and love one another, the freedom to see all people as equals in the sight of law and the eyes of God. The freedom to serve not because we have to, but because we love to; not because we have a duty to fulfill, but because we have a love to put into practice.
This weekend most of the people will celebrate social freedom. Freedom guaranteed by the constitution, but according to the Bible, real freedom is guaranteed not by a constitution but by God’s presence. 2 Corinthians 3:17, says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Our founding fathers knew and understood what Paul meant when he said, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” On January 1, 1802, in an address to the Danbury Baptists Church, Thomas Jefferson said: “The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state, but that wall is a one-directional wall; it keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.” (End of quote). Therefore, if we want to remain a free nation, we must live under those Christians principles Paul is reminding us, this morning. The Bible set those principles and we, as a nation must be summited to them. Therefore, let us not use our freedom to indulge the flesh; but to serve one another humbly in love and loving our neighbor as ourselves.’”
Benjamin Franklin, when he was Ambassador to France, said: “He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of Christianity will change the face of the world. And that is what made us different from the rest of the nations because as our declaration of independence say: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” End of quote. And we cannot, brothers and sisters, fulfill those unalienable rights if we “bite and devour one another” as Paul say in verse 15.
John Quincy Adams also realized how important are the Christian principles, he said: “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: that it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.” Those principles have been reminded to us this morning.
One last example. At the beginning of this nation, the principles of civil government and Christian principles were part of the United States lifestyle. They were part of the society as well as the government. After visiting the new country in 1831, French writer Alexis de Tocqueville wrote: “I sought the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, fertile fields, and boundless forests and it was not there. I sought it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public-school system, and higher learning institutions and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness, did, I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!” What Alexis de Tocqueville saw, were Christians leading by example, what he saw was Christians practicing the righteousness described in the Bible.
“America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!” This statement goes according to Paul’s message in Galatians 5:13, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; instead, serve one another in love.” We are good when we care for one another, when we work together building bridges and tear down the wall of hostility that separated us, as Jesus did. Ephesians 2:14 reminds that. We are good when we understand what Alexander the Great said, “Remember upon the conduct of each depends on the fate of all.”
Real freedom is not the right to do anything we want just because the bill of rights says we could; that what our Christians Principles teach us. Listen1 Corinthians 8:9 “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the week.” If the exercise of my freedom becomes a stumbling block to any of my brothers and sisters, is not freedom anymore. if our liberty is used just to indulge our flesh, is not freedom anymore.
As we celebrate freedom on this 4th of July, I invite you to keep in your mind and in your heart Galatians 5:13, Use your freedom to serve one another in love. I invite you to celebrate and practice Freedom in such a way that will lead you and us to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” not just for you or me, but for all.
Happy Fourth of July.