INTRODUCTION:

One Sunday morning at a Texas prison, a group of inmates were being led to the Catholic and Protestant chapels. One prisoner didn't enter either chapel but kept on walking toward the main gate. A guard caught up with him and asked, "And just where do you think you're going?"

The prisoner replied, "I was told I could go to the church of my choice, and it's in Denver!"

Aren't we all just like that inmate? We all want our freedom and we don't want anyone to take it away from us.

This week we'll be celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence and celebrating our freedom. But what does it mean to be free? That's the question at the heart of this portion of Paul's letter to the Church in Galatia.

I. NOT SELF-INDULGENCE:

A. Paul says, "You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; but don't use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence."

So much of what we do in the name of freedom is nothing more than that, self-indulgence. Although it's protected under the First Amendment freedom of speech, I can't believe that pornography is anything BUT self-indulgence. That's the only purpose it serves. It certainly isn't spiritually or culturally uplifting. It's self-indulgence.

Paul writes, "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." In other words, we've been set free to remain free. Self indulgence is simply another form of bondage and slavery; slavery to our passions and desires. It's slavery to the limitations of self.

B. Some folks read this passage that says we're no longer bound by the Law and they go, "Whoa, cool!" They interpret it to mean that, now, they can do anything they want. They interpret it to mean that once they've accepted Christ they're no longer under any restraints. Anything goes. And no matter what they do, or what they don't do, all they have to do is ask for forgiveness because God's forgiveness is free. Unfortunately they're wrong.

YES! God's forgiveness IS free to all who ask. But in order to receive the free gift of God's forgiveness we must first repent of that which needs to be forgiven. Without repentance there can be NO forgiveness. Repentance is more than saying `I'm sorry.' Repentance assumes that the attitude or lifestyle or whatever is being repented of is wrong in God's eyes and opposed to God's will. As the kids found out at VBS, the word repentance literally means to turnabout or turn around; to go in the opposite direction. For us it means to change our way of life to God's way of life.

The person who sins and seeks forgiveness without any intent of changing is like the person on a diet who orders a double fudge chocolate sundae but tells them to hold the whipped cream because it's too fattening. They're only fooling themselves.

II. THE PARADOX:

Though it sounds paradoxical, true freedom comes only through surrender. For an athlete or a dancer it is surrender to the physical discipline of exercise. For a musician it is surrender to the discipline of practice. Christian freedom comes through the surrender of all we are and all we have to Christ, who surrendered all on the cross for our salvation.

Surrendering ourselves to Christ to be free may seem like a paradox but think of it in terms of boarding a cruise ship. Everybody knows the destination. The passengers have surrendered themselves to it. No one is in chains. Everyone is completely free to go where they want and do what they want. They can eat, sleep, play, lounge about on the deck, read, talk, whatever. They can do whatever they please within the environment of the cruise ship. And the whole time, the cruise ship continues to carry them toward the destination. Both freedom and surrender are present and they don't contradict. That's sort of what it's like when we surrender our lives to Christ. We give ourselves to God's will and God's destination for our lives. Within the environment of God's will, we're free to do whatever. In short, freedom is self-control, self-determination, and self-direction through self-surrender to Christ.

CONCLUSION:

Paul writes, "For freedom Christ has set us free." Like the inmate, we all want our freedom. A life of freedom begins with the recognition of who we are and what our situation is. The Biblical witness is that we're helpless to fill the emptiness within our lives by ourselves. The Son of God has already paid the price to free each of us from our bondage to sin. All we can do is receive and accept that which God freely gives through allowing Christ to turn us around. Our challenge is to accept the freedom which Christ offers.

As you come for Holy Communion this morning, think about those people who have gone before us and made the freedom we have possible. Then think about those things which keep you from giving your whole life to Christ. Think about them and surrender them to Christ. Leave them at the altar and leave unburdened and free.

"For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. Live by the Spirit. And be guided by the Spirit."

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www.SermonWriter.com (Copyright, Richard Niell Donovan, 2000)

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Preaching Magazine (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)

Circuit Rider, (The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN)

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The New Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995)

Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 2002) SermonPrep Version.

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