In Zimbabwe, Team HULK had its fair share of preaching. We attended services almost every night, one of us shared a message, others shared testimonies, and we always sang a couple of songs. During the day, we spend time doing door-to-door visitations, or put on services for kids and youth. It was an exhausting month, but one jam-packed with lessons, challenges, and rewards. In order to give you a taste of my ministry, I’ve written out one of my sermons. I hope it resonates with you as much as it did for me while I preached it.
No More Shackles
My favorite passage in the Bible is Galatians 5. It’s a passage that talks about living in the freedom of Christ, a life marked by the fruits of the spirit, and warnings against the works of the flesh. It’s a passage that takes the gospel of salvation, and applies it to the life of a believer, so that even those who have been saved, can continue being sanctified and experience a life of fuller freedom. I believe that if you let the message of Galatians 5 sink into your hearts, it can radically transform the way you live.
Galatians 5:1 reads, “For freedom, Christ has set you free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Why would Paul need to warn the Galatians against submitting again to slavery? Why would anyone be in danger of choosing slavery after having been freed? And why is this warning just as relevant for us today as it was back then?
You see, the Galatians were Gentile converts who were being told by Jewish Christians that they needed to follow certain aspects of the law. The Jewish Christians did believe Jesus is the savior, but they were so used to their laws and customs, that they had a hard time giving them up. They liked the feeling of control the law gave them. The three main things these Jewish Christians were holding onto were food laws, Sabbath laws, and circumcision. They were teaching the Galatians that in order to receive the full blessings of God, and in order to elevate their status in the kingdom of heaven, they must be circumcised. The Jewish Christians were saying that the Galatians would be considered better Christians if they held to the traditions of the Law.
But this is not the gospel that Jesus preached. He did not say “Those who do good works will enter the kingdom of heaven.” On the cross, He did not say, “It is finished, but only after you fulfill the law.” What he did say was, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”
So this slavery that the Galatians are in danger of returning to, is the slavery of a False Gospel. A false gospel that preaches a message of “Jesus Plus.” I used to believe that attending a bible college and doing ministry would make me a better Christian. Make me Better than the people around me. I thought I could add to my righteousness by doing devotions every night and praying every morning. This is because I was buying into the same false gospel that the Galatians were. This false gospel says that you need Jesus PLUS circumcision, or Jesus PLUS fasting, or Jesus PLUS a bible degree, or Jesus PLUS good works.
But that’s not the truth. These good works add nothing to our salvation and all people are equal, none is better than the other. Paul is outraged at these Jewish Christians for polluting the gospel of Jesus Christ. He says to those who accept circumcision, “Christ will be of no advantage to you…you are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”
This is the last thing we want to happen. Falling from the grace of Jesus is the same as falling back into slavery. Believing that circumcision will guarantee that our name will be written in the book of life is the same as believing that good works will make us better Christians.
I am not saying to cease your good works or that good works are futile. What I am saying is that good works can not transform hearts, only Jesus can. You are not saved by works but by faith in Christ.
Who are we to think that we could ever add anything to the saving grace of Jesus Christ? How could we be so foolish to think our righteousness could be compared to the righteousness of Christ? We must hold fast to the truth of the gospel, for it rescues us. Jesus says in John 8:32 that we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. And Paul tells us in Galatians 5:13 that we were called to freedom.
Therefore, we must choose this freedom, and be released from the slavery of the false gospel. Let us stop trying to gain our own salvation, and instead trust fully in Jesus. Only under the purity of the gospel of Jesus Christ will we find the freedom to live in the fruits of the spirit.
And this is the exciting part. Once we cease our vain attempts to add something to our salvation, we can begin to apply the gospel to every aspect of our lives.
In the same breath that Paul says we were called to freedom, he delivers a warning. In 5:13, he writes “For you were called to freedom brothers, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.”
You see, people have a problem that never seems to go away. In our brokenness, we live according to our old spirit of our flesh. The old spirit that responds with angry defenses to insignificant arguments. The old spirit that pits everyone and everything against itself because of insecurity. The old spirit that is capable of twisting beauty and purity into ugly sin.
This old way of living is not the life god has called us to. What god has done for us is incredible. He took our old spirits and replaced them with a new one. We have the freedom to live in the very spirit of Jesus Christ, but when we take this freedom as an invitation to do whatever we want, we end up destroying our freedom and rejecting our new spirit along with it.
We are not doomed to this fate. There is a solution, a way of making freedom grow, and it’s that little four letter word called LOVE.
The love of God is what covers the rule-keeping system of the false gospel. The love of Jesus is what makes his sacrifice our only and ultimate salvation. And it’s the love of God inside of each of us that frees us to walk in the spirit rather than the flesh. This spirit-led love will develop within us the fruits of the spirit, which will enable us to live as new creations, rather than old.
The fruits of the Spirit are our greatest defense against falling back into slavery, and when we produce the fruits of the spirit, we will see transformation.
There is a version of the bible called the message, and it takes scripture and puts it into modern language. I love the way the message version describes the fruits of the spirit in 5:22-23, it says, “but what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard. Things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, and a sense of compassion in the heart. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”
This passage has transformed my life. It has given me a new perspective and allowed me to see myself and the people around me with God’s eyes.
Choosing to display the fruits of the spirit is great. Its a powerful thing when a person is facing trials and can choose love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Displaying these fruits is the obedient thing to do.
But I believe there is even more freedom available to us when we take the fruits of the spirit a step further.
I was caught up in the works of the flesh as described in 5:20. I was prone to enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, and envy. I turned everyone into my enemy because I was insecure and I allowed the opinions of others to determine my identity. I grew incredibly jealous of the girls around me who seemed to have it all together. Instead of celebrating their good qualities, I despised them and sought to tear them down with gossip. At the same time, I grew judgmental of the people who didn’t seem to measure up to me. In my pride, I puffed myself up so that I looked better than others. And a lot of times I used church attendance, bible studies, and good works to make myself look better.
I am ashamed of how I acted before. I am ashamed of being judgmental and full of misplaced pride. I had not built my identity on the foundation of Christ, but instead I had turned to the schemes of the world to build up my ego and mask my insecurity. This lack of security in Christ had awful consequences. My heart grew cold, and I was full of anger. My relationships were stained with jealousy, enmity, and divisions. I did not turn to the Lord for help, but I made desperate attempts to fight my own battles. Instead of experiencing victory in Christ, I experienced slavery in my sin.
Maybe you’ve experienced similar feelings. Maybe there is someone you trusted that has hurt you or betrayed you, and now your heart is angry and cold towards them. Or maybe you’ve been abandoned by someone you loved, and now you feel jealous and turn everyone into a rival. Perhaps people in your family or church have disagreed over something small, but the argument turned into personal attacks, and now your community is full of division.
Whatever it is, believe me when I say there is hope. There is freedom from these ugly sins. And this freedom is found by those who live in the Spirit.
I said earlier that good works can not transform hearts, that only Jesus can. This is true of the fruits of the spirit too. What good is it if we say something kind to our enemy, but on the inside we are overwhelmed by anger and hatred? Our good work of kindness has not changed our hearts. But when we plead to God to change our hearts, he has the power to transform our hatred into love, and our anger into genuine kindness.
After a long season of living under the slavery of the false gospel, God woke me up, opened my eyes, and changed my heart. He taught me to find my security in him and give up my attempts to prove my worth by working for my own righteousness. His love, joy, and peace moved into my heart and it completely changed everything. I no longer saw everyone as my rival, instead I saw them through Gods eyes, as his unique creations, worthy of love.
Paul writes in Galatians 5: 26, “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” And he tells us in verse 13, “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but in love serve one another.”
We are often enslaved by the affects of a broken or injured relationship. When we are hurt, its easy to turn to envy, anger, and divisions. These things tear apart families and communities all the time.
But when we let Jesus in and ask him to transform our hearts, he can also transform the situation. We have to seek the fruits of the spirit in order to experience the transformation.
God has made each and every single one of us. No matter how mean or sinful a person is, they still bear the image of God. No matter how much someone has hurt us, they are still beautiful, unique, interesting, and worthy of love. We must begin to see the people around us as God does. Who are we to determine whether someone is worthy of our love and attention? Who are we to judge anyone? Do we have the right to show the fruits of the spirit to some and withhold them from others? Absolutely not. Jesus died to save his friends and his enemies. He wants to deliver every person from their old spirit and give them a new spirit. He desires to take every violent and angry thing and make them right.
We may think that our efforts to defeat our enemies is time well spent. But how much better would it be if we worked towards peace. Rather than winning an argument, we could win a friend. And instead of struggling to act with kindness and love towards those who hurt us, we could let Jesus transform the relationship and mend the brokenness. We will start to believe the best in everyone. This sort of life lends itself to a far greater freedom.
So what is it that you need to be released from? What relationship needs to be transformed by the love of Christ? What mindset have you slipped into that goes against the life of the Spirit?
Spend some time with God this week and ask him to show you where you have fallen into slavery.
Are you attempting to add something to your salvation?
How does your perspective need to changed in order to see everyone around you through Gods eyes?
God can change everything for the better if we let him. So get rid of your old sinful attitude and move into the fruits of the spirit. By truly loving those around us, we will see freedom grow. So as you go on with your day, remember the message of Galatians 5: For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm in his freedom and never fall back into slavery again.
