you shall know the truth: collapsing false freedom

How do we know truth or freedom? We are struggling with the connection between truth and freedom in our series You Shall Know the Truth. It is an important connection because Jesus said that when we know the truth then it will set us free. The problem for humanity is our lust for the wrong freedom. Freedom for us is at times exclusionary and competitive. One person’s freedom may make terrible demands on another person’s freedom. This can lead to all sorts of bad behavior: hurt, violence, and lawsuits! Wouldn’t it be nice if we could live with each other in peace and respect without getting in each other’s way? When Jesus spoke these words the people hearing them struggled to recognize how they were enslaved. Very little has changed since the time of Jesus! We still argue, fight, criticize, cancel, and try to dominate one another, rather than love, forgive, encourage, and sacrifice for one another. Which world do you think is better the “dog eat dog” society, or the “love your neighbor as yourself” society? Jesus came to show us the depth of our slavery and to share with us the amazing freedom of grace. If we are going to find this freedom, it begins with accepting God’s truth in Jesus and choosing God’s freedom over our personal exclusionary and competitive freedom. How is this possible? We turn to Galatians 5:13-26 and to Paul’s struggle to get the Galatian church to stop fighting with each other by choosing God’s freedom over their own. These believers were contemplating going deeper into self-slavery and it was seen in their dissolving relationships, their anger, their lack of compassion, and their lack of unity. God inspires this Apostle to share with them the path of healing, hope, and transformation. It was not just for the Galatians but it is a possibility for every believer who desires to be free from the burden of death and desires the freedom of love, joy, and peace! As you read Galatians 5:13-26 we pray that you will sense the power of the Holy Spirit lifting you from the cave of condemnation into the warm light of liberating grace!   

Galatians 5:13-26: You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. ¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh 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, forbearance, 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 flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (NIV)