God’s Declaration of Freedom
A Sermon by Brent J. Eelman
Abington Presbyterian Church
July 1, 2007

Galatians 5: 1, 13-25
     ¹For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
     For 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 neighbour as yourself.’ ¹⁵If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
    16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, ²¹envy,^* drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
    22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.*

This week our nation will celebrate the Declaration of Independence. It is an amazing document, which in a few words declares the principles that are the foundation of our common life. It states that we were created equal and endowed by our creator with the inalienable right of liberty. The picnics and the parades; the fireworks and speeches all have their origin in this 231 year old document.

Presbyterians need to be reminded of our heritage in regard to this declaration. Only one clergyman signed it, a Presbyterian named John Witherspoon. In the House of Lords in England, the war for independence was called the “Presbyterian Rebellion.” Why? The philosophical foundation for this declaration developed from the Scottish Calvinism of the New World Presbyterians. The words: “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it; and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” This is vintage Calvinism, similar to his writings on the obligation of the state and citizens.

The message of freedom courses through our Bibles. God frees the Hebrew people. God frees them from the Babylonians. Jesus frees us from bondage to sin. Paul declares to the Galatians: “For freedom Christ has set us free.” On this 4th of July week, I want to look at the subject of Freedom. First, I want to examine the biblical witness, particularly Paul’s words to the Galatians. Second, I want to look at Christian freedom in our age. Third, I will ask two questions: Freedom from what? And. Freedom for what?

I

The Bible often speaks of slavery and bondage. Israel was enslaved to Egypt and later to Babylon. In our own age, the abolishment of slavery has diminished our ability to understand this term. Slavery, as it existed throughout the Mediterranean world, referred to the harshest human condition known. A slave was owned, body and soul, by another. Being a slave was the denial of being human. The charge against Babylon was that they trafficked in the “souls of human beings.” Slavery involved the whole person.

A slave had one opportunity for freedom. They could purchase their freedom by depositing money in the temple of his god for the priest to transfer to the slave owner. He then became a slave of his god, freed of his master. When Paul wrote: “For freedom Christ has set us free.” He was referring to this ancient practice, but with one difference. The price of freedom was not paid by the slave, but by Jesus Christ on the cross.

Those who read or heard these words of Paul in the first century would realize the extreme language that he was using. Slavery was a horrible reality and it was both social and spiritual. They were not slaves, and yet Paul spoke of them as living like slaves. The gospel was indeed a “declaration of independence” from the powers that held both body and soul in captivity.

II

We may protest that we are not slaves. Indeed we live in a free land, and we have choices and opportunities that few societies have ever known. Slavery in our country was abolished almost 140 years ago. We are not slaves. Does this text speak to us today? From what are we freed? Our modern slavery takes the forms of alienation and necessity. Since the mid 60’s, one the common themes in rock music has been alienation. Perhaps that is why we older types don’t like it… there is a raw freshness to it: The words of John Lennon in “Day in the Life”

Woke up, got out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head.

He writes of the absurdity of life and how it captures and controls us. These themes run through many of the songs of the last 30 years, hitting their painful nadir in the words of Kirk Cobain.

Our modern slavery is marked by four experiences: 1) the experience of powerlessness. The feelings that we can neither modify the world, nor escape it. “That’s the way things are.” 2) The experience of the absurd. This is when we perceive events of our lives and see no meaning or value in them. 3) the experience of abandonment. This is the belief that no help can be expected and that there is no support in others or in society. 4) the growing experience of indifference to oneself. This is the loss of desire and zest for life itself.

Why is this slavery? Because it owns us body and soul. When B.F. Skinner produced his classic book, Beyond Freedom and Dignity, he characterized human beings as nothing more than organisms that respond in predictable patterns to their environment. The dignity of one created in the image of God…. The belief that we are created with spirit that rebels against that which will enslave… are lofty, but seldom recognized as the foundation of modern human life.

The modern soul cries for freedom. We desire freedom from the tyranny of alienation, freedom from meaninglessness, freedom from the lack of community and support, and freedom from absurdity.

III

The freedom of the Gospel is not merely freedom from tyranny.. it is freedom for…. Let me share three possible expressions of this freedom. There are many others.

    1. It is the freedom to serve. The call of Jesus is “take up your cross and follow me.” It is a strange invitation. Jesus was telling us that the person who is truly free, is the one who lives totally for God and for others. The person who is truly free is the one who knows the joy of serving and relating in love to God and others. It is an amazing paradox. Paul, in Galatians exhorts us to be “slaves to one another”. When we serve others, when we extend beyond our comfort zones and reach out, we also break the bonds of enslavement. The Hebrew people were not freed from Egypt to dance around a golden calf and have a good time. They were freed to serve God and the nations. The Church of Jesus Christ was not created by the spirit to meet our needs… The church was created to call us to love and serve God, to love and serve others, to share what we have received. In giving our lives through service… we rediscover them.

    2. The freedom to love. Love is an act of freedom…it is never compelled or manipulated. You cannot make another love you… nor can you be made to love. It occurs in freedom. We were created to love. We were created to Love God with our entire being… We were created to love others, to support them and live in community with them.

    3. The freedom to hope. Hope is not wishful thinking, nor is it blind optimism. Hope has its origin in Christian freedom. It is the recognition that life is not ultimately controlled by necessity, but is in the hands of God. It is the belief that whatever happened in our lives… does not control what has to happen today… Hope is the declaration of freedom from the servitude to necessity.

A number of years ago, a young woman who was involved in exploitive behavior came to my office for help. She wanted to change her life. She wanted to stop what she was doing. I could feel the grip of slavery on her life when she stated that “I have always acted this way. People expect me to be this way.” The Good News of the Gospel is that there is hope to break the bonds of this servitude. We are not Lemmings headed for the sea.

This holiday is one where our voices should shout; “Let freedom ring.” Indeed let it ring in our lives. Let it ring in the lives of others. Let the bells of freedom ring.. calling us from the despair of alienation and conformity… calling us to the joy of service, love and hope. AMEN.

*The New Revised Standard Version Bible, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, Pennsylvania,  www.apcusa.org