I’m tired today; last week wore me out. No witty banter for you!
Luke 9:51-62; Galatians 5:1,13-25; Psalm 16; 1 Kings 19:15-21
By all accounts, I should have some deep-seated anger at the letter to the Galatians; I swear it did more harm to the pronunciation of my last name when I was growing up. People I’ve known for years have been surprised to learn that my name is not pronounced like the letter, which is always a cause of some frustration. Then again, when my name isn’t pronounced at all like it’s spelled, there is only so much frustration one can really have.
But no, even though this letter has brought me untold name distress, it’s one of my favorites from Paul. Chronologically, it’s pretty much accepted that it was the earliest of Paul’s letters that he wrote, and, let’s be honest for a bit, he’s kind of angry in it. I mean, really, the letter begins “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all.” Usually Paul takes a bit more time before he jumps right into chastising his readers.
After that he defends his position as an apostle, mentions that he called Peter out for being a hypocrite, calls out the Galatian church for being hypocrites, and then wraps up by saying that we are free in Christ so stop being such idiots. It’s a really quick summary of the letter, but that’s what it comes down to.
Today I want to focus on that last bit – we’re free in Christ so stop being an idiot. This “freedom in Christ” concept has been misinterpreted many times over the years, so it’s important to know what’s going on. He sets up a contrast between life with Christ and life without Christ. In this contrast, life without God is seen as slavery, but life with God is freedom.
This is something that Paul continues to run with – the difference between a life in the Spirit, as he describes it later, and a life in the flesh. Without God, Paul seems to view sin not as something voluntary, but something involuntary. It’s why in our confession we say that we are “in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.” Without Christ, our life is stuck in sin with no way out on our own accord. But with Christ, everything changes. Sin is no longer something that can’t be avoided, because as Christians we are no longer slaves, but free – even children of God.
Then Paul asks the question of the Galatians, “Why are you throwing away your freedom?” That’s really the question we should ask ourselves every time we sin, because while we are free in Christ, it’s not so that we can carry on sinning, but instead so that we may live in the Spirit, in the way that Jesus himself lived, primarily through service to one another.
Paul writes, “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Sadly, this is happening still. We haven’t loved our neighbors as ourselves, and we are being destroyed by each other. Instead of being led by the Spirit, we’re led by the sinful nature.
But the thing we often forget is that it’s not really about avoiding the “acts of the sinful nature” that Paul lists off. That kind of attitude only leads back to slavery under the law. Instead of simply avoiding “sin”, it’s about living in the Spirit, and the rest will follow along.
Yes, Paul warns the Galatians about these sinful things, but he says more strongly to be led by the Spirit. Our focus should be on these things: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” When we spend our time following the Spirit and focusing on the fruits of the Spirit, we will avoid sin.