Let Freedom Ring

7-4-21Sermon Notes“Let Freedom Ring”
These are my “non-sermon” notes for Sunday, July 4! We will have a fabulous musical presentation this coming Sunday called, “Let Freedom Ring.” We will have One United Service at 11:00, so make sure you join us and invite a friend!
Since neither Pastor Andy nor I will be preaching Sunday, I wanted to just share some thoughts with you about freedom. Galatians 5: 1 reads, “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.” Christ died in order to set us free from two heavy “yokes:” the yoke of sin; and the yoke of legalism. We may not be as familiar these days with the concept of a “yoke,” but it is not hard to grasp. A yoke represents slavery, service, and control…by someone or some “thing” in our lives. When God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, it was described as the breaking of a yoke (Lev. 26: 13). Farmers use the yoke to control and guide their oxen, because they would not naturally go and do their work if they weren’t yoked.
Before we come to Christ, we wear a yoke of sin. Paul describes it as being “slaves” to sin in Romans 6. John 8:36 says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Great! But freedom doesn’t mean we are not “yoked.” Jesus invites us to come to him, and put on his yoke in Matt. 11: 28-30. The yoke of sin is deadly. Christ’s yoke gives life. The yoke of legalistic religion is heavy. Christ’s yoke is “easy,” and his burden “light.” The word “easy” in the Greek means “kind, gracious.” So, we trade the deadly, heavy yoke of sin or religious legalism for the life-giving, easy, kind and gracious yoke of Christ – not freedom FROM service, but freedom TO serve a different master…not sin or the law…but Christ! By grace, Christ sets us free to fulfill his will.
Speaking of grace – just because the Lord’s grace sets us free from sin and legalism doesn’t mean that we are free to just go on doing whatever the heck we want to. Galatians 5: 13-14 reads, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
We are free to choose, but not free from the consequences of our choices. We are free from legalism, but not free from serving one another, and not free from the law of LOVE.
As we celebrate our national freedom this July 4, let’s also take the occasion to be thankful for the freedom Christ gives us. It is for freedom Christ has set us free! Let’s not let ourselves become tangled up again in the yoke of sin or legalistic religion.
Let Freedom Ring!
Pastor Sam