Standing Firm in Your Freedom

 “Standing Firm In Your Freedom”

 Message @ Jericho Ridge Community Church – Sunday, Nov 3, 2019

Text: Galatians 4:11-5:1 // Series: Galatians: Freedom Through Christ  

Welcome, friends.  My name is Brad Sumner, I’m part of the teaching and leadership team here at Jericho Ridge and it is our privilege and pleasure to have you here with us today.   

Over 3,000 years ago, King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 27:6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” What that verse reminds us of is that telling your friends something they really don’t want to hear, like warning them about a bad relationship or pointing out a character flaw or calling them on a bad decision, takes courage. It is never easy but it does mean that you care about the person.  If we made this into a meme, it would probably be something like “True friends say good things behind your back and bad things [or hard things] to your face”

NY Times opinion columnist Juli Slattery said “what a gift to have a friend who will risk telling you the truth to your face instead of chattering behind your back. You are doubly blessed if that same friend weathers the storms of life with you – even the storms you may have foolishly created yourself.”  

We have come in our study this fall to a part of the New Testament book of Galatians where that author, Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has some hard things to say to his friends who live in Galatia and worship together in the Christian community Paul founded there.  And he is going to say it to their face.  He is going to call them out but he is also going to do so with compassion and with a deep love & care for their soul. 

And as we come into this part of chapter 4, Paul is changing up his style.  He is moving from telling them what they should believe – he’s been explaining that it is weak and useless to try and earn favour with God by becoming a good rule keeper – and he is going to shift into telling them what they should DO.  What is great, because if you are like me, you might be a bit of a pragmatist.  I want to know, at the end of the day, if the Bible says something, as our authority for faith and practice, what do I need to do about it.  And Paul does not shy away from giving helpful instructions both to his original listeners and also to us as well. 

In this passage, we are going to see four characteristics of good friends who will say hard things to your face. The first characteristic of good friends come right off the hop in Galatians 4:12

1) Good Friends Tell Each Other the Truth.  

Paul jumps right into it in Galatians 4:12 where he says

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.” (4:12a)

What is interesting to me is that this is actually the first command or imperative instruction in the book.  We are two thirds of the way into the letter before we come across an instruction: BE LIKE ME. 

And here we might pause and ask a nuanced question: “um, Paul… shouldn’t we be calling people to imitate Christ and not to imitate you as a human leader?  Isn’t that, well, a little bit, arrogant and self-aggrandizing?”

I think that most of us are aware of our own limitations and inconsistencies and areas of weakness. And so we hesitate to set ourselves up as models for the Christian life for others to follow.  It seems presumptuous and risky.  So we say things in church-world like "Don't follow me, follow Christ!" But Paul says to the Galatians the very same thing he said to the Corinthians, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” (1 Cor 11:1).  Why would Paul or anyone else make such a bold claim & say “pattern your life after mine?”   

One of the challenges of the Christian experience is that it’s hard and frankly discouraging, to follow someone who is prefect like Jesus!   Even the little bracelets WWJD – What Would Jesus Do – can be disheartening. Because we think “well, I’m not sure what Jesus would do right now but I know Jesus would make the prefect decision and I can’t seem to figure out what that is!” so we become frustrated or discouraged.  Paul understood that the spiritual life needs to be embodied and lived out in a community.     

This is where mentors come in.  People who are further along in one or more aspects of their lives who you can watch and pattern your life after them.  In my own life, I can think of mentors in various areas of life. 

• In the area of parenting, we have some wise friends Phil and Noni who are missionaries and who raised 4 kids who all grew up to love God and love others well & so we have sought advice from them
• When it comes to generous living or being wise with the resources God has entrusted to us, I have been mentored by people like Al & Herta  

You probably have your own list of people who have modelled well what it means to follow Christ.  Mentors are not perfect, they are just people who are further up the road than you are.  I have also found this kind of mentorship in books.  I am just finishing up a biography of Wesley I’ve found it has given me things to put into practice in my own prayer life. 

In his excellent commentary on Galatians, Walter Hansen says “the imitation of Christ needs to be illustrated in the experience of our peers. Without mentors who show us what it means to follow Christ in the rough-and-tumble of our contemporary world, imitation of Christ often seems an otherworldly, unattainable ideal. But when someone like ourselves gives us a living model to follow, we have a tangible, realizable pattern to guide us.”

Question: Who Are You Imitating?  Take a learning posture. If you are a person who has been following Jesus for a long time, your role is to be a mentor. Not in a formal way, but perhaps by being a youth sponsor. Coming to Pre-Gathering Prayer & modelling what it looks like to talk to God in a non-stuffy way. Perhaps it’s informal: Get together over coffee and ask another mom “how do you handle discipline in your home?” and put a few tips into practice this week.  We are all imitating someone. Make sure you choose wisely, a good model that will lead you deeper to Jesus. 

Let’s keep reading. Galatians 4:12b-16 [2 slides]

Paul has a tender moment with them… reminds them of their first encounters together.  He says he was not well when he came.  We don’t know what this is about – endless speculation – but we do know that there was a tenderness, a kindness to their friendship that allows Paul to exercise some spiritual authority in their lives.  This is the second component of Good Friendship we see modelled in this passage: 2) Good Friends practice Vulnerability.

Author’s such as Brene Brown and Andy Crouch have written extensively about the dynamic that opens up when we balance authority and vulnerability in a healthy way that leads to the flourishing of other people. 

Paul says to the Galatians, “listen, when I came into your lives, I didn’t come shouting or demanding.  I came and I was not well.  And we developed a sense of mutual dependence on each other but also on God.  This mirrors his writing to the Corinthian church were Paul says that God told him: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul’s point in sharing his story and his life with the Galatians is not to elicit sympathy.  It’s to make his theological point. That God’s strength is perfect in weakness.  When we are weak, God is strong.   

This is a point for us to take seriously Jericho.  We are taking a big hill presently – finically, spiritually, emotionally – and it can be a place where the evil one wiggles in and we can think to ourselves “that’s right.  We’re the little church who could.  We did this awesome thing of buying a building. We were so strong we raised over 1.4 million in 14 months. We are doing amazing at renovations. Look at all the stuff WE are doing because we are so amazing!”  Paul reminds us again and again not only in his teaching but also through his autobiographical recollections that weakness and humility is soil in which and through which God does God’s best work.  So I would ask you Are you realistic about your weaknesses with God & trusted others?   Vulnerability is a powerful spiritual practice because it opens us up to places where the power of God is our only hope.  

Paul keeps going with a very tender and pointed illustration. Let’s look at Galatians 4:17-20 [2 slides].

Paul is downright maternal in his feelings toward this group of Christ-followers.  He is concerned about these false teachers who are advocating that favour with God can be found only with observance of the laws contained in the Jewish Torah. Things like observing certain days or eating only certain foods or circumcision as the mark of separational from the world.  And Paul says these people are pointing you in a direction that is not healthy and helpful.  These people are violating a core principle of friendship.  You see, Good Friends Point You in the Right Direction. 

• The false teachers are wanting the Galatians to attach themselves to them
• Paul wants them (and us) not to attach to the messenger BUT to Jesus!

 Paul is not speaking maternally to them so that he can stir up empathy, he is asking them for loyalty.  But it’s not blind loyalty to a brand or a leader or in our day and time, a denomination or a pastor.  Paul is saying a nuanced version of what he said before about following him.  That is that ultimately, following another person needs to lead you deeper to Jesus.  If you hear things like “Pastor so and so says that” versus “the Bible teaches that” you want to dig into that a big and do some thinking and clarifying. Because here at Jericho, when it comes to preaching, the goal is NOT to have you say “wow, Brad is awesome. He has good thoughts about some stuff.” No. The goal is to point you to the Living Word of God, Jesus, as revealed in the written word of God, the Bible, so that you can grow and become a fully developed, mature disciple.  That’s the direction we are pointing you in.  In Galatia, the false teachers were creating an unhealthy dependency on them as the sources of truth.  It’s always about the message, so don’t get stuck on or focused on the messenger.        

For the rest of this chapter, Paul tells a story.  And he sets it up as an allegory painting a sharp contrast between two women, two mountains, two covenants.  Paul has been talking about the promise that God made to Abraham that God would bless the world invite people from every tribe and nation and tongue to be part of God’s one family. And yet rival false teachers were saying “nope. In order to be part of God’s family you have to practice the laws God gave to Moses at Mount Sinai.” And when the non-Jewish background believers in Galatia started asking questions, the false teachers appealed to the leaders of the church in Jerusalem saying things like “well, don’t ask us – this is just how it is. The apostles and all of the really important people in this new Jesus movement are all Jewish and think you should stick with that plan. It would be safer and better for everyone, you know.”  We even have some evidence that will come up in chapter 5 of Galatians, that these false teachers and their followers were using physical violence to bring people into line with their way of thinking. 

So Paul tells them a little story from their own history to help them see the dangers of following the pathway of law-based observance as a way to win favour with God.  Let’s dig in then we’ll close with what this means for us. 

Galatians 4:21-31 – 4 slides

Paul sees a very real correspondence between the situation of the two sons of Abraham and the situation the Galatians find themselves in.  This is a story about two covenants.  The Galatians are being forced to choose between the Old Covenant, the way of the Law, the way of human effort, and the way of freedom and life, what we would call the new covenant, inaugurated by Jesus.  Paul sets his story up to help paint the contrast so starkly that the intended outcome is very, very clear.    

Paul says “if you want to live under the law, that’s fine. Just know where that pathway will ultimately lead you.  It will not lead you to life. 

You might think to yourself, well, that’s a nice little history lesson for Paul’s readers there in Galatia in the first century I’m so glad they got it and close the book and walk away.  But friend, that isn’t really possible here. Because this story and in fact the book of Galatians, isn’t about becoming Jewish in order to become Christian, something you & I will not struggle with. It’s about [baby pic] “two ways of being in relationship with God”.

And these two ways are still on the table and still wrestle for mental and emotional and spiritual space in my heart and soul each and every day.   

Paul is NOT saying that legalists are not real Christians.  He is saying that anyone who relies on keeping the rules as a way of proving how much they love God has failed to realize the truth of the gospel.  I find this tension present in my own life.  Sometimes I use how much activity I do or have done to assess how much I love Jesus or how much Jesus loves me. For example, I might think “how many times did I read my Bible and pray this week? Missed a few days, well, I should have done more / better. I’ll try harder next week.”  That aspiration and intention in and of itself is noble and healthy BUT when I start tying my actions or inactions to God’s love for me in Christ, I am starting to live out an Ismael-Hagar story of slavery to rules as the basis for my belovedness.  And that story ends poorly in that it leads down a pathway to more slavery and slavish action and self-regret and loathing and feeling like you and I could never, ever measure up.  And ultimately, Paul and the writers of the New Testament let us know that if we want to walk down that pathway, we cannot share the inheritance with those who are living and walking in the freedom Christ offers. 

The summative point of the story comes in chapter 5:1 where Paul says:

4) Good Friends Don’t Let Others Stay Stuck

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” (Gal. 5:1)

Friend, you may have been a Christian for decades and you may have unconsciously or consciously absorbed the message that the way to deepen your Christian life and get close to Jesus is by doing stuff.  And this is partly true.  Just like any good friendship, you can’t’ get close to a person unless you do stuff together.  But the point of the friendship isn’t what you do, per say, it’s that you are together.  The activities are just a vehicle to deeper life together.  If you made it about the activities instead of about the person or people you are doing them with, you would kill the friendship.  But some of us have slipped into places where the things we do for God or things we think we should do to get and stay close to God have replaced or supplanted a genuine & deepening friendship with God. 

This is the shadow side of Spiritual practices.  We must never make them into the things that are going to grow us.  They are always a means, not ends.  One of my mentors from a distance has been Dallas Willard.  A philosophy professor at USC and a proponent of the spiritual disciplines, Willard would often say ‘grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning.  Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action”. 

That’s Paul’s argument - that if you are a person who has been set free and has begun to experience the grace and mercy of Almighty God, do not get tied up again under the yoke or the slavery of the law! 

Live like a person who has been set free.  Invite others into the life of freedom.  As the worship in song team comes, we are going to respond to God this morning.  And I want you to think is there any part of me that feels like I need to earn God’s favour?  Any part of me that feels bound up by lies of legalism? If that is you, spend time talking to God about that.  Confess that to God. Invite God to speak freedom into those places where shame and sin and slavery have taken hidden roots. 

The Scriptures reminds us that those who have been set free are free indeed. But that we can also slip backward into living like slaves again. 

Our prayer team is making their way to the back.  Today that is Wally and Sylvia, Mike and Miriam.  These are staff and elders who are people who would love to pray with you.  Perhaps today you have an area of burden that is weighing your down.  A place in your heart that feels heavy – you’re not sure what to do or which way to turn. You need to come for prayer. Let’s lift our eyes to Jesus together and invite King Jesus to speak lovingly into your life.  Perhaps you have never made that choice to throw off the chains of spiritual slavery and embrace the grace and forgiveness offered by Christ. Today is your day to decide to follow Jesus. To trust Jesus with your life. To give up trying to earn favour with God but to simply trust and receive grace and freedom offered.  I would invite you if you are able to stand with me as we respond in worship with two songs.  The first one is a prayer that invites us to turn our eyes to Jesus and to receive again gracious mercy.  Let’s worship together. 

Benediction:

And now, dear friends, rejoice in the freedom of God, a freedom which sweeps you into an ever-changing reformation of self and the world around you. A freedom that is an invitation to intimacy with God. A freedom that demands action. A freedom that makes you different: Christ-like, rather than world-like. A freedom that enables you to step out of the norm into the extraordinary” And remember each day that the ones whom the Son of God has set free, are free indeed. Go live out that truth this week.