What Really Counts - PDF

It might be a surprise to some modern day people, but Christianity is a liberating faith. Instead, many people today look at Christianity as a bunch or rules and regulations representing anything but freedom. To the First Century Jew, Christianity looked very much like freedom. It meant they didn't have to observe all the Jewish laws. But today, at a time when people are pretty free to ignore any religious laws, Christianity looks like entrapment and oppression. So in what way is the Gospel truly a message of freedom? Perhaps more than any other thing, we can see that followers of Jesus are free from the captivity and slavery of sin. By this I mean that while people today relish their freedom, so often they use that freedom to enslave themselves to the many vices that are so prominent in our culture. Addictions, phobias, and compulsive disorders are rampant in our culture, because freedom can be a dangerous thing. It can often lead to enslavement in a variety of forms.
In our text the Apostle warns the Galatians to use their freedom to love one another. In other words, instead of using their freedom to indulge themselves, they should use it to serve one another. Freedom brings a certain kind of potential; a certain new-found capacity for the once held captive. One could use that freedom to indulge oneself by wildly abandoning any moral law or by throwing off any authority or ruling administration or simply by becoming lazy and ignoring the world's problems. And Christians down through the ages have opted for these kinds of liberties. Paul wouldn't recommend it. Nor will the Spirit pull us in those directions. Instead we will make our lives count for something by loving our neighbor and serving those in need. This way of living pays dividends in the end. It stores up treasures in heaven. It avoids all the negative consequences of sin and it allows us to live the way Jesus lived. This is what really counts.

Questions for Discussion:
1. Slide 2-3. What are some examples of supposed freedoms that lead to slavery? Why do you think Christianity is so often not associated with freedom in Postmodern North America?
2. Slide 4-5. Have you recognized your own tendency to slide into this abuse of freedom? Why does it happen and what did you do to arrest your slide? How would you advise others who are abusing grace?
3. Slide 10. Discuss freedom as a launching pad for neighbourly love? How does our freedom allow us to love others?
4. Slide 11-12. If we use our freedom to enslave ourselves to loving others, how is that different from the slavery out of which Christ saved us? How does the idea that "loving one’s neighbor fulfills the law" nullify the argument of the Judaizers who were so concerned about the law?
5. Slide 13. How would you explain this idea of freedom to a brand new Christian? What would you warn him or her about and what would you encourage him or her to focus on?