Passage: Galatians 5:13-16 Speaker: Pastor Jon Kopp Series: Community
Speaker: Jon Kopp - This morning, we continue our series on community. In Galatians 5, Paul tells believers that they have been called to freedom. Freedom comes in Jesus Christ. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” That is the manifesto of Christianity. Jesus makes us free. But, is that possible? Because there are times when we definitely don’t feel free, or we don’t live in it, especially when it comes to living around others in community. People threaten our freedom more than anything else. Doesn’t the old adage say, “The freedom to swing my fist ends where another man's nose begins”? Our text this morning reminds us that we have freedom, but, we all know that we don’t always live in that freedom. Something puts us in bondage. Paul says as long as we have this thing called a flesh, our freedom is threatened. True freedom always seems to get gobbled up by what we want, doesn’t it? As odd as that sounds, it’s true. We can’t really be free in relationships, because what we want always seems to consume us. So, can we ever freely love others? Basically, can we ever enjoy community in a free and loving way? That’s the question the text answers for us. How can Christians freely love one another if they still have sinful desires? May God help us to live in the freeing power of Jesus’ love in our relationships.