Created
for Freedom!
Part 1
Sermon
Notes
July 4,
2010
Rev. Jim
O’Neal, Senior Pastor
(480) 895-8766
Galatians 5:1 NRSV
1For freedom Christ has set us
free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not
submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:13-14 NRSV
13For 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. 14For
the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.”
1 Peter 2:16-17 NRSV
16As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as
a pretext for evil. 17Honor
everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God.
Honor the emperor.
A. Introduction
1. Declaration of Independence
a.
A few years back a newspaper reporter in Madison, Wisconsin went out on
the street with a copy of the Declaration
of Independence. He interviewed 112
people trying to get signatures from people willing to endorse the views of the
document. Shockingly only one of the 112
people was willing to sign this most sacred document that spells out the rights
of our people. About the same time a
reporter showed 2,300 federal employees in twelve Washington agencies excerpts
from the Declaration of Independence.
Without telling them where the quotes came from, he asked them if they
would be willing to sign the document.
Sixty-eight percent refused to sign.
When asked where the words came from some claimed the quotes were from,
among other sources, the Christian
Science Monitor and the Communist
Manifesto!
b.
Hear again those words which I know you love and cherish: “We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We were created for freedom.
2. Today’s Scripture: Galatians 5:13
a.
That is what today’s Scripture tells us:
“My brothers and sisters, God called you to be
free.” (Galatians 5:13a NCV) That is the longing in every heart.
b. This
morning we will talk about how we struggle to understand just what it means to
be free. We will, also, talk about the
responsibilities of freedom and then next week the gift that Jesus gives us of
spiritual freedom.
B. Freedom means different things to different
people.
1. Missionaries of Charity versus New York
a.
Freedom indeed does mean different things to different people and that
includes well meaning persons. Mother
Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity have long desired to free people from
the worry and dread of hunger and homelessness.
They have done so not only in India, but around the world. In the early
1990’s the Missionaries of Charity bought two dilapidated buildings in the South
Bronx. They spent $100,000 refurbishing
these buildings to turn them into homeless shelters. Then they ran into trouble with the
city. The bureaucrats of New York City
told the nuns that under the city’s universal access law, they were forbidden
to open the shelter. The reason: One building lacked an elevator to accommodate
homeless people who might be unable to walk.
The sisters suggested that they could carry any such persons who might
be unable to walk to the upper floors themselves, as they do in Calcutta. No way said the bureaucrats. That would insult the dignity of the
homeless. So the Missionaries of
Charity, who couldn’t afford to spend an additional $50,000 to install an
elevator, scrapped the project and were forced to leave hundreds of homeless
people sleeping in the street.
b.
The stalemate happened because the city officials had a different
understanding of freedom. Yes, they wanted
people to be free of the worry and dangers of homelessness and hunger. However, they also wanted people to be
treated fairly, equally and with dignity.
No person with a disability or a special need should be embarrassed by
impediments to their ability to access a building. Everyone as much as possible should have the
freedom to enter a public building as they are be it on foot, on crutches or in
a wheel chair. In this case, one
person’s freedom was another person’s indignity. We all want this elusive thing called
freedom, but we wrestle with understanding just what it means.
2. Webster’s Dictionary
a.
So what is freedom? Webster’s
Dictionary defines this noun as follows: “Freedom is the quality or state of being
free, such as (a) the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice
of action, or (b) liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of
another.”
b. That may help some, but we all know that
such definitions of freedom which seem to define it as “doing whatever you want” have problems. Some people covet their neighbor’s car and
steal it. To do whatever you want to do
without regard to the rights and freedoms of others is not real freedom.
3. Jefferson and Lafayette
a.
As we struggle to grasp this thing called freedom, I encourage us to
look to Thomas Jefferson and his friend the Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette inspired by our Declaration of Independence wanted to
write a declaration for his own people in France. Lafayette turned to Jefferson to help him
write the Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen. And many see
the hand of Thomas Jefferson in this work, most especially point four: “Liberty
consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the
exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which
assure to other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights.”
b.
With the change of “man” to “person” in this document that is a pretty
good guiding principle for seeking this thing called freedom. True freedom is responsible and loving.
C. Freedom calls us to live responsibly.
1.
The Ten What?
a.
Our world is much changed from your childhood and my childhood. A recent survey indicates that only thirteen
percent of Americans still believe in all ten of the Biblical
Commandments. Nine out of ten citizens
admitted that they lie on a regular basis.
Seven percent of those polled said that they would kill a stranger for
ten million dollars.
b.
That’s scary. In this “land of
the free” there are a number of people who do not want to be accountable to
God’s Laws. Freedom has become an excuse
to do whatever one wants with out regard to the consequences to other adults or
the children of our world. As Doug
Larson of United Feature Syndicate put it a decade ago: “It took only fifty years for movies to go
from silent to unspeakable.” Too many in
our country have lost sight of the Biblical principles that once guided us.
2.
But I’ve got an excuse…
a. We live in an age where many people refuse to
be responsible and think that any old excuse justifies their failure to do the
right thing. A man told a judge: “I can’t pay my child support at this time,
because I had a big cable bill this month.”
A High School student told his teacher:
“I got mugged this morning on the way to school. I think he must have been on drugs, because
he did not want my money or my iPod or my cell phone. All the crazy guy wanted was my term
paper!” And a fellow made this claim to
his insurance company: “The telephone
pole was approaching me fast. I
attempted to swerve and get out of its path when it struck the front end of my
car.”
b.
Shame on us when we use our freedom as an excuse to do irresponsible,
selfish and hurtful things. Truly free
men and women live responsibly. They
care about others and want to do what is loving and kind.
3.
Today’s Scripture: Galatians
5:13-14 & 1 Peter 2:16-17
a.
Today’s Scripture lesson from Galatians says: “My brothers and sisters,
God called you to be free, but do not use your freedom as an excuse to do what
pleases your sinful self. Serve each
other with love. The whole law is made
complete in this one command: “Love your
neighbor as you love yourself.” (Galatians 5:13-14
NCV) And in the first of his two letters,
Peter states: “As
servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext
for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God.
Honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:16-17 NRSV)
b.
Clearly, God wants us to use our freedom in responsible ways. Freedom should never be an excuse to do
wrong. We are called to honor God and
other people. In the bit of Scripture
that says, “Honor the emperor” we are told that we have a responsibility to our
country. The most important thing we are
to do is to love God and others as God has loved us. When we do that we are using our freedom to
live responsibly.
D. Conclusion
1.
Today: On this beautiful Fourth of July, as we celebrate
Independence Day and the blessings of freedom that we enjoy in America, we have
talked about two things….
a. Freedom means different things to different
people.
b. Freedom calls us to live responsibly.
2.
Next Sunday: We add to these first two truths one more
truth:
a. Freedom means different things to different
people.
b. Freedom calls us to live responsibly.
c. True freedom is release from the bondage of
sin.
(4)
Created
for Freedom!
1.
Freedom means different things to different people.
2.
Freedom calls us to live responsibly.
3.
True freedom is release from the bondage of sin.
Galatians 5:1 NRSV
1For freedom Christ has set us
free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not
submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:13-14 NRSV
13For 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. 14For
the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.”
1 Peter 2:16-17 NRSV
16As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as
a pretext for evil. 17Honor
everyone. Love the family of
believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.