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You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other (Galatians 5:13–15).
If we are free, why should we have to serve anyone?
This question masks a common misunderstanding of human destiny. Human destiny is not to live as isolated individuals. It is to live as a community that works together to accomplish amazing things, blesses everyone, and glorifies God. This is what we were made for, and this is how we flourish.
On the other hand, if we are not free, then we cannot develop our potential. We cannot serve other people well or freely. Coercion is not conducive to cooperation.
So, there is irony here. We have to become free in order to be able to serve. Paul expressed this irony in 1 Cor. 9: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (1 Cor. 9:19).
It is only when we are free that we can truly serve. It is only when we serve that we can build a community that thrives rather than destroys. So, how do we use our freedom to humbly serve one another in love?
The Freedom of the Christian
This section in Paul’s letter to the Galatians begins in Galatians 5:1. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” It’s just what he says in this passage: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free” (Gal. 5:13).
Why do we need a calling to freedom? What is it that keeps us in bondage?
We are in bondage because of fear of death. We fear death as if it were the ultimate evil and must be avoided at all costs. Jesus has liberated us from the fear of death by removing the sting of death so we can be free. We can face death because we know that it is not an ultimate evil and will even bring us to a better life.
We are in bondage because of fear of guilt. We are afraid because we have sinned and because our sin actually makes us guilty and incurs God’s wrath. Jesus has liberated us from the guilt of sin and nailed it to the cross. We can stand before him forgiven, freely justified, and declared righteous.
We are in bondage because of fear of rejection. We fear that we will not experience love. We are afraid what people will think of us. So, we let people’s reactions rather than principle, reason, and Scripture govern us. God has liberated us from fear of rejection by offering us free acceptance in Christ. So, we can face the loss of acceptance without fear.
We are in bondage because of fear of loss. We are afraid that we will lose possessions, prestige, or position. These losses keep us in bondage to anxiety. We fear the losses that we will experience. God has liberated us from fear of loss by promising to take care of us and promising an eternal inheritance which will neither perish nor fade. We can let go of things we can’t hold onto because we know that everything will turn out well.
As believers, we are free. We can lay down in sleep because God will make us lie down in safety. We know that we are in His hand. Not even a hair can fall from our head without the will of our heavenly Father. We are forgiven, cleansed, freed, renewed, and destined to glory! This is the freedom of the Christian. Revel in it! Stand fast in it! Rejoice in it! And don’t misuse it.
False Freedom
It’s easy for people to hear the word freedom, though, and think that it means: “I can do whatever I want.” So, the Apostle tells us, “But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh.” By flesh, he means human nature in its sinful manifestations. In other words, do not use your freedom to serve your pride, your lusts, or your anger. Don’t use your freedom to refuse to restrain your tongue. Don’t use your freedom to indulge to excess. Don’t use your freedom to mistreat others. Don’t use your freedom waste your time or money.
To say we are free and then indulge in sinful acts is actually a contradiction. If we can’t let go of harmful words, actions, pleasures, and emotions, then we are not free. We are actually still slaves. Consequently, I think it is with some irony that God tells us here, “But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh.”
In its beautiful chapter on Christian freedom, our Confession says it well: “They who, upon pretence of Christian liberty, do practice any sin, or cherish any lust, do thereby destroy the end of Christian liberty; which is, that, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life” (20.3).
When I think of this, I think of a young man who was trying to live on his own. He had a girlfriend and a young child. He had a lot of talents. But he was addicted to pain medication. He sacrificed his family of origin, his relationships, his job, and his girlfriend and child to these drugs. This is what the flesh does to us. It enslaves us and makes us sacrifice everything for it. As the late Ravi Zacharias put it, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” This is not freedom.
When it comes to community, when everyone pursues their own agenda, overvalues their own thoughts, and demonizes others, there is one clear result: “If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (Gal. 5:15). Paul is saying that the Galatians are living in a situation where everyone is seeking their own way. No one is listening. Everyone is demanding their voice be heard. There is indulgence in pleasure and pride. This will destroy them.
We need to understand that this was all done in a very religious way. Religious pride is the worst sort of pride. It takes something that is obviously absolute, God and His Word, and identifies them with our own very fallible agenda. It’s so easy to do! We need humility, humility, humility to avoid the sort of religious pride that leads us to bite and devour one another and even be destroyed by one another.
True Freedom
True freedom is very different. The liberating power of the Spirit leads us in an entirely different direction. That’s what God tells us here. “But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Gal. 5:13). When we know that are forgiven, accepted, empowered, and taken care of, we can move in an entirely different direction. We can move in the direction of service.
It’s important to see how closely these things are connected. We need freedom in Christ in order to be able to serve. It’s rather ironic, but it’s true. “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (1 Cor. 9:19).
Until we experience freedom in Christ, we are so wound up with concern for our own honor, prestige, and survival that we can’t serve others well. As American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr put it, “Without freedom from anxiety man is so enmeshed in the vicious circle of egocentricity, so concerned about himself, that he cannot release himself for the adventure of love” (The Nature and Destiny of Man, 2.272). And this is what a knowledge of freedom in Christ does for us! It releases us for the adventure of love.
And what does this look like? “Serve one another humbly in love.” Paul says. It begins with humility. Humility is not primarily lowering our evaluation of ourselves. It is raising our evaluation of others. It is closely connected to love. Love has an affection for others with a desire to be in union and communion with them. Love and humility go together.
With this humble attitude, we look at what other people’s interests and needs are. We then seek to fill those needs. It may mean that we listen to them, that we befriend them, that we supply their needs, that we help with their projects. It may mean watching young children so young married people can get a date night. It may mean visiting people in a nursing home. It may mean that we take money we had planned for a vacation and give it to a relative who needs it more than we do. That is using our Christian freedom to serve one another.
I’m not trying to place a burden on you. Just take in God’s love for you and honor of you deeply, and go where He leads you! That’s what it means to use our freedom to serve one another in love. If you didn’t serve well today. Serve tomorrow. You are free! Make use of your freedom to serve one another humbly in love.
Conclusion
There is no better example of this than Jesus at the end of His life. He and His disciples gathered in a room to eat the Passover. There was a towel and a water basin, but none of them made the slightest effort to perform the common courtesy of that time in washing the feet of those present.
Then, Jesus got up, took the towel and washed the feet of each of His disciples. It was an astonishingly humbling experience for the disciples. Imagine Jesus showing up at your house and asking to clean your toilets! That’s what it was like! It’s almost inconceivable!
How was Jesus able to serve when others could not? Jesus had a clear sense of His destiny. He was freed from all people because His confidence was placed squarely on His Father’s shoulders: “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father” (John 13:1). He knew who He was and where He was going. That’s freedom, my friends.
And so Jesus sets the pattern. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:15–17).
That is how our Lord Jesus built community: humble service. That’s how we can do the same. Wherever Jesus is at work, that’s what we will see. This mark will follow His true disciples: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34b–35). They will build community because that’s what God is doing. He is raising up people like you and me to serve others. In that way, He builds the community that reflects the eternal glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus may it be.