One Free, Loving Family (Galatians 5:13-15)

Paul has made it clear in Galatians that we are free from the Mosaic Law, not bound to its statutes and observances. But this does not mean we have no obligation! In fact, it means that we are now free to be servants to our original purpose, to "love God and love neighbor"!  Now that we have a new heart and have been gifted the Holy Spirit, we CAN properly love God and neighbor, living as one big, happy family in Christ!

  1. Freedom breeds service and love (v. 13)
    1. In what way are we free?
      1. 1 Peter 2:15- “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover up for evil”
      2. We are free from the constraints of the Law as the “family rules”
      3. We are free from the curse of the Law that kept us from being able to receive a new heart and the Holy Spirit. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
    2. Freedom isn’t an excuse for sin
      1. The Mosaic Law was a time-bound way of expressing God’s expectations for us as His image-bearers. Sin is still sin, because sin is failing to bear God’s image, and this is established in Genesis 1:26-27.
    3. True freedom serves and loves one another
      1. Because of our new heart and the Holy Spirit, we CAN live in harmony and unity, fulfilling “love neighbor”
  2. The spirit of the Law is accomplished in “love your neighbor”
    1. Paul quotes Leviticus to show that the foundation of the Law is “Love God, love neighbor”
    2. Many Mosaic Laws were focused on loving your neighbor
    3. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Law, as he “greater love has none than this…” (John 15:13)
  3. Contention is a powerful enemy to the Body of Christ (5:15)
    1. If we lack love, we will destroy:
      1. Our witness
      2. The impact of the local church