The Rock Church

Galatians 5:13 - 17

1. Freedom is a great road to walk on - just watch out for the ditches.

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”   – Galatians 5:13

“My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit.”   - Galatians 5:13, The Message Bible

We are freed in order to love, serve, give, and walk in the Spirit.  Free means being free to be all God has called me to be.  Free to be an authentic me.  Free to be truly human.  Free to breathe.

Freedom is a great road to walk on - just watch out for the ditches on the side of this road.   Legalism is on one side, but license to indulge – to do whatever I want  - is on the other side. 

Freedom is not the license to do whatever I want – freedom is being free to do what I know is right.  It’s being free to say yes to what I know is right and to say no to things I know are wrong.

2. Don’t get your flesh started – it doesn’t know when to stop.

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”  
– Galatians 5:13

Don’t use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh – in other words, don’t use your freedom as a starting point.

The reason we teach no dating – but instead, the building of real relationships – is out of this idea.  The flesh of even the godliest person… is still flesh.  If you get it started, it doesn’t know when to stop!

3. Freed up people make the best friends.

“Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom.”   – Galatians 5:14

Freed up people make the best friends.  Hung up people are hard to be friends with. 

A sign of a truly liberated person is their capacity to love and to serve.   We don’t get liberated from that – we get liberated to that! 

If we can’t get along with other people, there is still something locked up on the inside.   If we can’t make and keep relationships, we haven’t experienced true freedom in our lives yet. Jesus wants to set us free so we can get along.

4. No Biting Allowed.

“But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another.”   – Galatians 5:15

You bite with your mouth – and  you can bite with your words.  Enough biting at something, and you eventually devour it. 

You’ve heard the question – how do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  Well, how do you destroy a church?  A marriage?  A family?  A friendship?  One bite at a time. 

Our words have to power to wound or heal, bring peace or strife, encourage or discourage.  Our words can create an atmosphere of peace, acceptance and encouragement.  Before you say something – stop, and consider its effect. 

5. The opposite of love is not hate – it’s selfishness.

“My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness.  For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness.”   - Galatians 5:16, The Message Bible

The more self centered we are, the worse chance we have of developing real, healthy relationships. 

God is not advocating we become door mats for others – but He does want to set us free to build healthy relationships with each other.  He wants to liberate us from possessiveness, bitterness, jealousy, and pettiness.  He wants us free from being easily offended, touchy and high maintenance!

He wants to liberate us to love, serve, give, encourage, express affection – this is a free spirit!