S3E152 – Galatians 4-6: I Choose Freedom

Transcript

Podcast Introduction

In our reading today we’ll complete the book of Galatians with the reading of chapters 4-6. I’m calling today’s episode “I Choose Freedom.”

Comments on Galatians

Paul’s biggest concern with the Galatian church was that some believed the teaching of the false teachers who were saying that it was necessary to follow the Mosaic Law. In chapter 5:2-4, Paul answered that teaching very succinctly. “2I, Paul, promise you that Christ won’t do you any good if you get circumcised. 3If you do, you must obey the whole Law. 4And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his gift of undeserved grace.”

Paul was saying that by attempting to follow the Law, they would actually be denying the message of the Gospel, and therefore denying Christ. Attempting to please God by following the Law is the exact opposite of placing your faith in Jesus. In following the Law, or “Legalism”, it is impossible to please God, because it is impossible to follow the whole Law. Our only hope of salvation is in Jesus. 

Paul said in verse one of chapter five, “Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the Law again.”

There are those who will wholeheartedly agree with Paul here because they are not Jews. But these same people have adopted their own list of laws. Don’t drink, don’t smoke and don’t go with girls who do. You get the idea. There are denominations within Christianity that have adopted, if not officially, certainly culturally, a whole host of forbidden activities. I know this because I have been involved with a few of them in my 50ish years as a Christian. You couldn’t go to a movie theater. You couldn’t go bowling. You couldn’t drink alcohol. You couldn’t smoke. Women were required to wear dresses to church. Men had to wear a suit and tie. You absolutely could not wear shorts to church. 

Which of those “laws” was biblical? Oh sure, you can give me reasons why some of these restrictions might make sense, but you can’t show me any scripture that supports even one. And I could have made the list much longer. With the same findings in reference to being scriptural.

And this legalism was just about as effective as the Jewish legalism. 

Don’t let legalism separate you from the freedom Jesus gave His life to gain for you. But don’t use that freedom to slap Him in the face, either. In chapter six Paul listed the things that the flesh would have us do, and the things that God’s Spirit grows in us. In other translations, these attributes are called the fruit of the Spirit. 

Remember, Beloved. Fruit grows naturally. An apple tree grows apples because that’s what an apple tree does. The tree doesn’t have to strain to grow them. They just grow. 

The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. If you belong to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is in you, and you will begin to show these fruit in your life. As the Spirit of God matures you, you will just naturally display the fruit of the Spirit. You will become  loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. If you don’t see these attributes growing in you, it’s time to take a close look at your relationship to Him. 

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 4-6 CEV

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Transcript

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Steve Webb 0:00
If you want to be legalistic, it is impossible to please God.

Steve Webb 0:12
Hello there, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible and I’m coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. I hope this is a great day for you. Welcome. In our reading. Today we’re going to complete the book of Galatians. With the reading of chapters four through six, and I’m calling the episode, I choose freedom. The show notes page for today’s episode is it Lifespring media.com/s 12 v 158. Let’s get started.

Steve Webb 0:48
Galatians chapter four.

Steve Webb 0:50
Children who are under age are no better off than slaves, even though everything their parents own will someday be theirs. This is because children are placed in the care of Guardians and teachers until the time their parents have said, This is how it was with us. We were like children ruled by the powers of this world. But when the time was right, God sent his son and a woman gave birth to him. His son obeyed the law so he could set us free from the law, and we could become God’s children. Now that we are as children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. And his spirit tells us that God is our father, you are no longer slaves, you are God’s children, and you will be given what he has promised.

Steve Webb 1:36
Before you knew God, you were slaves of gods that are not real. But now you know God, or better still, God knows you. How can you turn back and become the slaves of those weak and pitiful powers? You even celebrate certain days, months, seasons and years. I’m afraid I’ve wasted my time working with you, my friends, I beg you to be like me, just as I once tried to be like you. Did you miss treat me when I first preached to you? No, you didn’t. Even though you knew I’d come there because I was sick. My illness must have caused you some trouble. But you didn’t hate me or turn away because of it. You welcomed me as though I were one of God’s angels, or even Christ Jesus Himself. Where’s that good feeling? Now, I’m sure if it had been possible, you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me, am I now your enemy just because I told you the truth. Those people may be paying you a lot of attention. But it isn’t for your good. They only want to keep you away from me. So you will pay them a lot of attention. It is always good to give your attention to something worthwhile, even when I’m not with you. My children, I’m in terrible pain until Christ may be seen living in you. I wish I were with you now, then I would not have to talk this way. You really have me puzzled.

Steve Webb 2:57
Some of you would like to be under the rule of the law of Moses. But do you know what the law says? In the Scriptures we learned that Abraham had two sons, the mother of one of them was the slave while the mother of the other one had always been free. The son of the slave woman was born in the usual way, but the son of the free woman was born because of God’s promise. All of this has another meaning as well. Each of the two women stands for one of the agreements God made with his people. Hagar the slave woman stands for the agreement that was made at Mount Sinai. Everyone born into her family is the slave. Hagar also stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia, and for the present city of Jerusalem. She and her children are slaves. But our mother is the city of Jerusalem in heaven above, and she isn’t a slave. The scriptures say about her. You have never had children. But now you can be glad you have never given birth. But now you can shout once you had no children. But now you will have more children that a woman who has been married for a long time.

Steve Webb 4:02
My friends, you were born because of this promise, just as Isaac was. But the child who was born in the natural way made trouble for the child who was born because of the spirit. The same thing is happening today. The scriptures say get rid of the slave woman and her son, he won’t be given anything. The son of the free woman will receive everything. My friends, we are children of the free woman and not of the slave

Steve Webb 4:28
Galatians chapter five.

Steve Webb 4:31
Christ has set us free. This means we really are free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the law again. I Paul promise you that Christ won’t do you any good if you get circumcised. If you do, you must obey the whole law. And if you try to please God by obeying the law, you’ve cut yourself off from Christ and His gift of undeserved grace. But the Spirit makes us sure God will accept us because of our faith in Christ. If you

Steve Webb 5:00
You’re a follower of Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether you’re circumcised or not. All that matters is your faith that makes you love others. You were doing so well until someone made you turn from the truth. And that person was certainly not sent by the one who chose you. A little yeast can change a whole batch of dough, but you belong to the Lord. This makes me certain you will do what I say instead of what someone else tells you to do. Whoever is causing trouble for you will be punished. My friends, if I still preach that people need to be circumcised. Why am I in so much trouble? The message about the Cross would no longer be a problem if I told people to be circumcised. I wish everyone who is upsetting you would not only get circumcised but would cut off much more. My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. All the law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you would better watch out or you will destroy yourselves. If you are guided by the Spirit, you won’t obey your selfish desires. The spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They’re always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should. But if you obey the spirit, the law of Moses has no control over you.

Steve Webb 6:27
people’s desires, make them give into immoral ways, filthy thoughts and shameful deeds. They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I’m telling you again, no one who does these things will share in the blessings of God’s kingdom. God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. God’s Spirit has given us life. And so we should follow this spirit. But don’t be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are

Steve Webb 7:29
Galatians chapter six.

Steve Webb 7:32
My friends, you are spiritual. So if someone is trapped in sin, you should gently lead that person back to the right path. But watch out and don’t be tempted yourself. You will obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand. If you think you’re better than others, when you really aren’t, you are wrong. Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don’t compare yourself with others. We each must carry our own load. Share every good thing you have with anyone who teaches you what God has said, You cannot fool God. So don’t make a fool of yourself. You will harvest what you plant. If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction. But if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. Don’t get tired of helping others, you will be rewarded when the time is right. If you don’t give up. We should help people whenever we can, especially if they’re followers of the Lord.

Steve Webb 8:32
You can see what big letters I make when I write with my own hand. Those people who are telling you to get circumcised are only trying to show how important they are. And they don’t want to get in trouble for preaching about the cross of Christ. They are circumcised but they don’t obey the law of Moses. All they want is to brag about having you circumcised. But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his cross, the world is dead as far as I’m concerned, and I am dead as far as the world is concerned. It doesn’t matter if you’re circumcised or not. All that matters is that you are a new person. If you follow this rule, you will belong to God’s true people. God will treat you with undeserved kindness and will bless you with peace. On my own body are scars that prove I belong to Christ Jesus. So I don’t want anyone to bother me anymore. My friends, I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you. Amen.

Steve Webb 9:38
Well, to sum up the book of Galatians, I’ll say Paul’s biggest concern with the Galatian church was that some believed the teaching of the false teachers who were saying that it was necessary to follow the Mosaic law. In chapter five verses two through four Paul answered that teaching very succinctly. He said, I Paul promise you Christ won’t do you any good if you get circumcised. If you do, you must obey the whole law. And if you try to please God by obeying the law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and His gift of undeserved grace. Beloved, Paul was saying that by attempting to follow the law, they would actually be denying the message of the gospel, and therefore denying Christ. Attempting to please God by following the law is the exact opposite of placing your faith in Jesus, in following the law, or another word for that is legalism. If you want to be legalistic, it’s impossible to please God, because it’s impossible to follow the whole law. Our only hope of salvation is in Jesus. Paul said in verse one of chapter five, Christ has set us free, this means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom, and don’t ever become slaves to the law again. Now there are those who will wholeheartedly agree with Paul here because they’re not Jews. But the same people have adopted their own list of laws. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, and don’t go with girls. Who do you get the idea. There are denominations within Christianity that have adopted if not officially, then certainly culturally, a whole host of forbidden activities. I know this because I’ve been involved with a few of them over my 15 years as a Christian, with some of these groups, you couldn’t go to a movie theater, you couldn’t go bowling, you couldn’t drink alcohol, you couldn’t smoke. Women were required to wear dresses to church men had to wear a suit and tie, you absolutely could not wear shorts to church. Now admittedly, some of those things aren’t being practiced anymore. But there are other versions of the same thing. Now which of these so called laws or cultural practices are biblical? Oh, sure, you can give me reasons why some of these restrictions might make sense. But you can’t show me any scripture that supports even one. And I could have made that list much longer with the same findings in reference to being scriptural. This kind of legalism was just about as effective as the Jewish legalism. Beloved, don’t let legalism separate you from the freedom Jesus gave his life to gain for you. But also don’t use that freedom to slap him in the face either. In chapter six, Paul listed the things that the flesh would have us do and the things that God’s spirit grows in us. In most Bible translations, this last set of things, the things that God’s spirit grows in us. That’s called the fruit of the Spirit. Now, in reference to the fruit of the Spirit, remember, fruit grows naturally, an apple tree grows apples, because that’s what an apple tree does. The tree doesn’t have to strain to grow them, they just grow. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. If you belong to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is in you and you will begin to show these fruit in your life. As the Spirit of God matures you you’ll just naturally display the fruit of the Spirit. You will become loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self controlled. If you don’t see these attributes growing in you, then it’s time to take a close look at your relationship to him. Love to hear your reaction. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 158. And leave a comment. Tomorrow we’re going to complete another book. The book of Exodus will read chapters 37 through 40 Boost.

Steve Webb 13:52
On this date in church history, February 6 1924, radio station KFSG goes on the air. KFSG…F.S.G. stands for Foursquare gospel. It was one of the earliest licensed radio stations and it broadcasted the services of Angelus Temple, the flagship congregation of the International Foursquare Gospel Church, founded in 1923, by Aimee Semple McPherson. KFSG operated out of Los Angeles and it went off the air after 79 years of broadcasting in Los Angeles on the night of February 28 2003, just before the clock struck midnight. Now, if you’d like to read an article about the station, don’t go to Wikipedia. There is an article there about a radio station with those call letters, but it is not the original KFSG and there’s no reference to the original on Wikipedia, which I consider to be just a travesty. Of course I used to work at a radio station so this kind of stuff means something to me, and the radio station I worked at was a Christian radio station, so I feel some kinship to KFSG.

Steve Webb 15:00
If you’d like to read a story about KFSG, I’ll have a link on the show notes page.

Steve Webb 15:05
And I’d like to share another on this date in church history with you. February 26 1931, American missionary and literary pioneer Mike Laubach, wrote in a letter, quote, there is a deep piece that grows out of loneliness and a sense of failure. God cannot get close when everything is delightful. He seems to need these darker hours these empty hearted hours to mean the most to people.” Yes, I have to agree with Mr. Laubach. It’s been in my darkest hours that I’ve grown closest to God. And I’ll bet you could say the same thing.

Steve Webb 15:51
All right prayer requests. Speaking of dark hours, Lexington Edmonson needs healing. He’s the grandson of a family friend on Leann side of the family she used to babysit one of his parents, which tells you a little bit about how old we are. Lexington was in a head on collision a couple of days ago. The other driver was killed. And Lexington has head trauma, chest trauma, both legs are broken. And to give you an idea about the violence of the accident, is diesel four by four was totaled. Those diesel’s are big, heavy trucks, and it was just completely totaled. So let’s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we love you. And we thank you that Jesus came to set us free. Help us Lord to live in that freedom. But at the same time, I asked that you grow the fruit of the Spirit in us. We don’t want to abuse the freedom you gave us because we want to glorify you and everything we do. And now I pray for Lexington Lord, heal his body in Jesus name. I don’t know anything about him or his relationship with you. So I just ask that you’d work in his life in your perfect way. And we pray for the family of the person who was killed in the accident to show them that you’re with them and may they reach out to you now. I asked Lord that you be with each Lifespring family member today. Bless them and help them to see your work your hand in their life today. Thank you for bringing each one of them to the Lifespring family. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. sent in your prayer requests and praises at prayer dot Lifespring media.com.

Steve Webb 17:33
Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. I’m Steve Webb go celebrate your freedom. Bye

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