July 1, 2012
Dear friends in Christ.
What I’m about to tell you, I’ve told you
before. What I mean is that four or five
years ago I began a sermon with the exact same introduction about the signers
of the Declaration of Independence. Yet,
even though I’ve already used this introduction, as the celebration of Independence
day draws near, I thought it was perfectly fitting to tell you again that back
on July 4, 1776, when fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence,
they knew that they would need to stand firm in their convictions for freedom,
because their signatures would cause untold sufferings for themselves and their
families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before
they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in
the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six
fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of
Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy.
He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. At the
battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas
Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George
Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. The home was destroyed and Nelson
died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.
Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were
destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forest and caves, returning home only
to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died
from exhaustion. Though most of these
men who signed the declaration of Independence never lived to see the freedom
which they had declared for themselves, they never the less stood firm in that
freedom for which they were fighting, and finally won the day, giving us the
freedoms which we enjoy today.
Well, as Christians, we need to stand firm in our
freedom, just as they did. We need to
stand firm in the freedom of the forgiveness of sins which we now have through
faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. We
need to stand firm in that freedom so that through faith in our Savior, we
might continue to live in the freedom of service to which the Lord our God has
called us. Just as the Apostle Paul
tells us in the first verse of our lesson today, “It is for freedom that Christ
has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again
by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1, NIV84)
Though freedom is something that we, as Americans,
have loved and cherished since we were little children, the freedom we have
through the forgiveness of sins is something we love and cherish even
more. For just as many of the signers of
the Declaration paid for our freedom with their very lives, Christ our Savior
paid for our freedom by giving his life in our place. Though we had been slaves of sin, captives of
satan, and bound for nothing more than eternal death and damnation, in his
great love for us, Christ Jesus took our place and paid the full price our sins
deserved. Christ our Savior willingly
took our sins upon himself, and placed his righteousness as he willingly gave
his body to the whip, the scourge, the crown of thorns, the nails, and
death. It was Christ our Savior who
dissolved the chains of our slavery with the acid of his blood, which he
willingly poured out for the forgiveness of all of our sins. Though we had once been destined for eternal
damnation, unable to pay the price our sins demanded, barter for our freedom,
or even get time off for good behavior, It was Christ our Savior who set us
free from our sins, so through faith we might continue to stand firm in the
freedom of the forgiveness of sins as we serve the Lord with our lives.
This is what Paul is talking about as he writes in
our text: “It is for freedom that Christ
has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again
by a yoke of slavery." …13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But
do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another
in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your
neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch
out or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, live by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful
nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary
to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not
do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and
debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of
rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies,
and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will
not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
(Galatians 5:13–25, NIV84)
As Paul writes these words to you and me, he is
calling on us to stand firm in the freedom we now have—the freedom of the
forgiveness of sins. He is calling on us
to stand firm in that freedom, to live in it, and to use it not as a license
for sin, but as an opportunity to serve the Lord with our lives. In short, Paul is calling on us to live in
the Spirit of God. He is calling on us
to live according to our new self—the spiritual nature—which the Holy Spirit
created in us when we came to faith. He
is calling on us to live love, in joy, in peace, in patience, in kindness, in
goodness, in faithfulness, in gentleness, and in self control.
The problem, however, is that each and every one of
us has two natures inside of us that are constantly in conflict with each
other. Each of us has two wild dogs
living inside of us, and they are constantly growling at each other, snapping
at each other, and trying to completely devour the other. Inside of us, we have two rival political
parties that are always trying to get their own agenda moved to the front so
that one of them might have control of it all.
In many ways we are like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who was never able to
do what he wanted. Though Dr. Jekyll was
always seeking knowledge and enlightenment, Mr. Hyde was always seeking murder
and mayhem. This is what Paul is telling us as he writes beginning in verse 17:
“For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit
what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so
that you do not do what you want." …19 The acts of the sinful nature are
obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn
you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19–21, NIV84)
Though we are Christians, who have been freed from
our slavery to sin, so often our sinful nature works to lead us right back into
those sins with which we are so familiar and comfortable. Though we are Christians who have been freed
from our sins to serve the Lord our God with our lives, so often our sinful
nature seeks to lead us into the false delusion that our freedom from sin means
that we are free to sin, without any real reprisals form our God. It is in this way that our sinful nature
seeks to win the day by convincing us that we are actually living according to
God’s will, when we are actually allowing ourselves to be burdened once again
by a yoke of slavery, and are allowing ourselves to be chained, once again, in
the prison of eternal death and damnation.
But it is then, in that moment of hopeless despair
that our spiritual nature once again asserts itself. It is then that our spiritual nature condemns
for the things that we’ve done. It is
then that our spiritual nature slaps us upside the head, rebuking us for
returning to our sins—a place from which we can never escape on our own. Then, when we have collapsed in sorrow over our
sins, and we cry out to the Lord in repentances for the things we have done,
our spiritual nature grows in strength as it calms our hearts and assures us of
the forgiveness of sins. Our Spiritual
nature, created in our hearts by Christ himself, rejoices in the freedom of
forgiveness that is once again restored to us.
Our spiritual nature, moved by Christ’s love for us, leads us to once
again stand firm in the freedom we have through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. It leads us to live according to the Spirit
of God, seeking to live according to God’s will for our lives. For each time we are brought back to the
freedom we have in Christ Jesus, it is our spiritual nature that seeks to stand
firm in that freedom as we live our lives in service to the Lord our God. As Paul tells us:
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the sinful nature." 17 For the sinful nature
desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the
sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what
you want." …22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such
things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the
sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit,
let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:22–25, NIV84)
So now, as you go from here today, stand firm in the
freedom that you now have. Stand firm in
your freedom, just as the signers of the Declaration of Independence did. Stand firm in the freedom you have through
faith in Jesus Christ living your lives in service to him. Service, not because you have to, but service
out of love for the one who freed you from the slavery in which you once lived.
Amen.
Pastor
David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN
