THE AUDITORIUM SUNDAY
SCHOOL CLASS
JULY 3RD, 2005
CHRISTIAN LIBERTY IN
CONTEXT
I. In context, Christian Liberty is freedom from the Law’s
bondage (13).
A.
The main subject of Galatians is salvation by grace alone - apart
from the Law.
1.
The Law is a set of stipulations that dictate the physical and spiritual
lives of people.
2.
Grace is the unmerited favor of God towards us, in spite of our
inability to live by the Law.
B.
The Law condemns us but God’s grace sets us free (Galatians 3:11).
1.
The Grace that saves us is a grace that calls us to Liberty (13).
2.
It would be a contradiction for Grace to set us free from the Law and
then turn us over to the Law for the completion of salvation.
II. What does it mean to “have been called
unto Liberty? (13)
A.
It is a calling of Holy Spirit leading (I Corinthians 3:17).
B.
It is a calling of love for others over love for self (13-14).
1.
We are saved to serve, but our service is not to be performed out of
duty - but out of love.
2.
A Spirit-filled and Spirit-led man serves others because of love.
3. The modern idea of Christian
Liberty that lives as close to t he world as possible, thrives in t he shaded
areas, and cares little about being a stumbling block to others, is foreign to
the Bible.
III. Paul gives an explicit command that
Christian Liberty is not to be abused (13).
A.
“...only use not Liberty for an occasion to the flesh.”
1.
Christian Liberty is not a license to indulge in fleshly pleasures.
2.
It is the antithesis of Christianity to live
for one’s self, or to construe a Biblical principle into a license to sin.
B.
Modern Christianity is filled with abuse of this Biblical principle.
-
We are sacrificing fellowship with God for worldliness.
IV. “...but by love serve one another (13).
A.
The Apostle Paul makes it clear that the Law is fulfilled when we love
others like we love ourselves (14).
1.
Notice the term “all the Law is fulfilled” in the command to love others
(13).
2. The Galatian
Christians were being taught, falsely, that they were to focus on keeping the
Law to save themselves; yet, Paul reveals that the essence of the Law is to
serve others.
B.
Modern Christian Liberty advocates want us to cheapen ourselves, and our
families, in order to conform to indecent patterns of fashion and trends.
C.
We are to
“stand fast....in the Liberty” (5:1), not fall for anything in the Liberty.
Conclusion: In this modern society, we should take heed to the words of the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15:58.