Galatians 4: 21 – end, John 6: 1 – 14
I wonder if you saw the first in the new series of Rev last week? It was almost required viewing when I was at theological college. We caught it on iplayer on Tuesday. I very much enjoyed the scenes between the Vicar and the local Imam who seems younger, better organised and altogether more successful than he is. Together they fundraise to refurbish the local playground. The Imam raises £12,000 from his large mosque congregation in a week, while the Vicar, despite all his efforts, only manages 68p. It’s all very good-humoured, but the Imam points out that it’s not just because he has a larger congregation that he has no difficulty raising this amount. It’s because his community are obliged to give. It’s one of the good deeds which will assure them of place in heaven.
As Christians we’re encouraged to give, to pray and to do many other things, but we’re never obliged to do so in order to earn our place in heaven. Our Christian freedom ensures that whatever we do for God comes out of our gratitude and love for Christ or our desire to serve others. In our epistle this morning, Paul is defending this same freedom. At the beginning of Chapter 5 he summarises his argument, saying “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” You can almost hear the exasperation in his voice.
The letter to the Galatians seems to have been written to a group of Christians who had converted directly from paganism. After conversion they’ve been confronted by some Jewish Christians who think they ought also to be circumcised to become part of the community. Paul, although a Jew himself, argues strongly against this. He bases his, to us perhaps somewhat obscure argument, on two stories from Genesis 16 and 21 and a passage in Isaiah 54. The point of the argument is that Christians, who rely solely on faith in Christ in order to be right with God, are in direct line of descent from Isaac, who was the child promised by God to Abraham and Sarah. He is the child of faith. Anyone who claims that any other observance is necessary is relying on their own efforts rather than just receiving God’s grace. They are therefore in the line of Ishmael who was born out of human scheming rather than trust in God.
This was a bold and radical argument for Paul to make, but Christian freedom was at stake here. As he saw it there was a real danger that the Gospel might be compromised. One of the standard features of Graeco-Roman religions was that there could be multiple initiations signalling stages of entry into a mystery; this would then lead to hierarchies of believers. Religions are very good at making hierarchies. Earlier in Galatians Paul is at pains to point out the equality of all (Galatians 3:28). We are all saved by the grace of God alone.
However, we perhaps take our Christian freedom for granted. How might it affect the way we live? Here are some very brief suggestions.
We’re freed from all attempts to work our way into God’s good graces. We know we are loved and accepted as we are. As soon as we are tempted to try to work our way into heaven we fall into the same sort of bondage as the Galatians who thought they ought to be circumcised. This diminishes our freedom.
We’re free to make our own choices in life, but we seek to make those choices in line with our faith and obedience to Christ. We have a high stake in freedom as the absence of social, economic or political oppression. The Bible directs us to identify with the poor, the helpless and the oppressed. We are indeed claimed for service by our loving God against all that oppresses and dehumanizes others. For some, coming to faith in Christ may also include the healing of psychological wounds and lead to personal growth. However, true Christian freedom leads beyond pre-occupation with the self and towards selfless concern for others. As Paul writes later to the Galatians, we’re not to use our freedom as an excuse for self-indulgence, but “through love become slaves to one another” (Galatians 5:13).
I was at a discussion a few days ago at the new JW3 Jewish community centre on the Finchley Road. The Jewish speaker was talking about the Exodus as the moment when the Jews gained their freedom. However, he added that their subsequent wilderness experience showed that they did not know how to use it. Sometimes they longed again for the security of bondage in Egypt or were tempted to put their trust in idols rather than accepting the insecurity of trust in God. Jacques Ellul writes this about the nature of Christian liberty:
“The freedom which is given in Christ is radical insecurity from the human standpoint or from that of social structures and technical and political forces. For our only security is Christ. If, however, we seek and even accept some other protection or security, eg that of the state, or wealth, or social security, or socialism, or violence, or revolution, or justice, this will be a repudiation of our security in Christ and consequently it will be an alienation of our freedom. There can be no compromise here….Freedom is both supreme insecurity and yet, as the whole of the OT reminds us, it is the only true security”1 .
We are called to trust in Christ alone, – and to enjoy our freedom.
Amen.
1 Jacques Ellul, The Ethics of Freedom, quoted in Interpretation Commentary: Galatians, page 110.