Free in Christ Jesus (Study on Galatians)

Free in Christ Jesus

This is the first sermon in a series from my pastor's study on the book of Galatians.  Today we focus on the freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus.  Our passage is Galatians 1:1-10.

Image Credit:  Fotorech - CCO Public Domain Image via Pixabay

The following are my notes based on my pastor's sermon.  You are invited to watch and worship with us here.

Free - Free In Christ - May 5, 2019 (Message) from Christ Place Church on Vimeo.

Introduction

Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), ² and all the brethren who are with me, 

To the churches of Galatia:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

Perversion of the Gospel

⁶ I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; ⁷ which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! ⁹ As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

¹⁰ For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. - Galatians 1:1-10

The key verse for the entire book / theme of Galatians is Galatians 5:1.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. - Galatians 5:1

 The key word for Galatians is FREEDOM.

God wants us to live in freedom.  Looking at freedom through a Biblical lens, freedom is a gift from God.  This freedom is not earned.

What are we free from?

We are free from the slavery of sin.  

Who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. - Galatians 1:4

 Slavery  -------  Rescued ------  Freedom

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. - Matthew 1:21

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed. - Luke 4:18

³¹ So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ³³ They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. ³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. ³⁶ So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. - John 8:31-36

⁵ For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; ⁷ for he who has died is freed from sin. - Romans 6:5-7

¹¹ Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, ¹³ and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. - Romans 5:11-14

¹⁷ But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. - Romans 6:17-18

Whatever has chained you down, Jesus can set you free from it.

We have been freed from religious performance.

⁶ I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; ⁷ which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. - Galatians 1:6-7

Some of you are still trying to check of a list, trying to be "good."  You are free from this.   

² Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³ And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. ⁴ You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. ⁵ For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. - Galatians 5:2-6

No one can fulfill all the rules of the law.  That's why we need a Savior.  The gospel is about Jesus.  What God did through Jesus Christ, we cannot possibly do ourselves.  We are not saved by works BUT, when we are saved, we work.

⁸ Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. - Romans 13:8-10

 We've been freed from incorrect thinking about what freedom is.

This freedom is not about doing what we want and when we want it.

What is Biblical freedom?

True freedom is in the love of God and the freedom to serve Him.  Freedom is worship with a pure heart.  

A train is only free to run properly when it is on the track.  A fish is only free to live when it is withing the environment of the fish bowl.  

Have you been set free by Jesus Christ?  Learn more about how to be set free in Jesus here.

Read all posts in the Galatians Bible study series here.