The Freedom of Grace

Galatians 3:3 “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect in the flesh?”

The book of Galatians was written to a church that was being misled. Paul started this church himself. He taught them the Gospel, brought them into the faith, and raised up leadership in their congregation. These were people who understood salvation by grace through faith – they were genuinely born-again.

But after Paul left, new teachers (false teachers) came in that began to teach different doctrines – things that sounded good and even made sense. They declared that Paul's gospel of grace was a good start – but now that the Galatians were a part of God's covenant people, they had to conform to the law. In other words, they were being taught, “God did save you by grace, through faith. But now that you're saved, He expects you to get to work and keep His laws.” This makes sense, right? Shouldn't someone obey God's commands after they've been saved?

These Galatian brothers and sisters truly did have a heart for God. So when they heard that they needed to do more, they dug in and tried their hardest to make God happy. Unfortunately, there were disastrous consequences to their attempted obedience. Let's read Galatians 5, verses 19-21:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Remember who Paul was talking to? This wasn't a wild group of sinners – it was a church that was doing their best, trying to obey God's commands! But no matter how hard they tried, these works of the flesh became more and more common. The false teachers used these manifestations of the flesh to prove their point: "See what you're doing? There needs to be some law and order here! Here's the rules - follow them!"

And right here is where we see truth that has plagued mankind since Eden: The more you try to obey, the more disobedience creeps in. Paul explains this paradox further in Romans 7 – a well-known passage to anyone who has struggled with sin.

Romans 7:15-21 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I want to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I don't want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for the want is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I want to do, I do not do; but the evil I don't want to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I don't want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Can anyone relate to this struggle? How often have you been trapped in a sin – knowing that's it's wrong, hating it with every ounce of your spirit, and yet constantly going back to it? Does it ever seem like the harder you try to keep away from sin, the quicker you fall right back into it? If so, then I have amazing news for you – God never intended to leave you in this struggle!

You see, what the false teachers were telling the Galatian church – and what many believers are misled to think today – is that God saved them by grace, forgave their sin, and then said “Go try again. Good luck!” Too many Christians believe that Grace is about forgiveness and being let off the hook when you sin. It's like they believe that God knows that you're only human and there's no way for you to really be free from sin - so He gives grace to cover you when you inevitably mess up. But that is not what grace is about!

Colossians 2:6 tells us “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him...” Friend, how did you receive Jesus? It was by grace, through faith! So how are you supposed to walk in Him? By grace through faith! You weren't meant to be saved by grace, and then perfected by trying to do what's right. You see, God's grace isn't only the forgiveness of sins – it's the freedom from sin! Let me show you what I mean:

Hebrews 12:28 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

Do you see? When you have faith in the grace of God, it will empower you to serve Him in an acceptable way! Grace isn't about what you can get away with - grace is the power to do what you can't do on your own! This is living by faith. This is walking in the spirit! And when you walk in the spirit (that is, when you put your faith in the grace of God, knowing that grace will empower you to do what's right), you WILL NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh!

Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

There is a way out of the sin that you're trapped in. There is a way to live a righteous life like you've always wanted. And that way isn't by trying to do what's right. When you try to obey God, you'll fail - we've proven that time and time again. No matter how hard you work at keeping God's commands, the result will always be the works of the flesh. But when you place your faith in God's empowering, glorious, amazing grace – it will break every trace of sin's power off of your life!

The Life Of A Believer - Craving

Numbers 11:4-6 “Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. ‘Oh, for some meat!’ they exclaimed. ‘We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!’”

For a believer, the Israelites’ time in the wilderness is symbolic of the spirit’s struggle with the flesh. From their first test of faith at Marah, to their desire to have a god that fit their convenience, they were always their own worst enemies.

In Numbers 11, their ugly side began to show again. It started among the mixture of people they had with them - the Egyptians that were impressed with the way God rescued Israel and followed them out to the wilderness. As they journeyed through the desert, these Egyptians began to crave their favorite foods from Egypt. Apparently this craving became a continuous topic of conversation and eventually the Israelites picked up on it. The miraculous provision that God poured out for them every morning became the object of complaint. They began to long for what they saw as the luxuries of Egypt; meat, fish, and a few vegetables. Ignoring the hardships of slavery, they began to dream of going back!

These complaints and cravings became rampant throughout the camp. Whenever two people talked to each other, this craving eventually wormed its way into the conversation. Whenever they came to see Moses, this was what they always brought up - we want meat to eat!

Finally, Moses got tired of dealing with their whining and moaning. Look at his conversation with God in verses 10-15, “Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”

Whatever complaints these people had, they weren’t valid. They were rescued from a harsh life of slavery and were on their way to a land of their own. Their lives weren’t in danger - it wasn’t as if they were starving. And even though they may have a temporary shortage of meat, they did have meat to eat. They raised their own livestock, so manna wasn’t all they had to eat! Their problem was their own craving.

These people wouldn’t stop craving the things of Egypt, so God gave them over to it. He said in verse 18, “Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, ‘Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.’ Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?’”

This is exactly what happened! God sent an enormous flock of quail. This flock covered the whole camp and extended for miles on either side of it. God held the birds fluttering about three feet above the ground. All the Israelites had to do was reach out and pull them out of the sky! No one gathered less than 30 pounds of meat - that is a lot of quail!

But this wasn’t a reward for their whining, it was a consequence of it. While they were gorging themselves, unrestrained in their craving, they began to die. Verse 33 says, “but while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the Lord blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.” Many people died and were buried there, all because they “yielded to intense craving” (verse 4 NKJV). When they moved on, they named that place Kibroth Hataavah - the graves of lust.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6 “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.”

Everything that happened to the Israelites after the Exodus happened as a spiritual example for us. The things they went through are a picture of what we go through on our spiritual journey. Some of these examples are good to follow, more of them are warnings to avoid. This is one of those warning.

We all had things that we really liked to do while we were in the world. It could be drinking, it could be partying, it could be pornography - it could be anything. Before we received salvation, we were slaves to all kinds of sin. But when we were rescued by Jesus, we were delivered from the power those sins had over us. Now we no longer have to submit to it. However, now we have to diligently remove any trace of our old life from our new one.

Our flesh will still desire, or crave, the things we once did. Sin is so sneaky! It will convince you to remember all the fun you had when you behaved that way - all the while forgetting the bondage you were in and the freedom you longed for! It will pant thoughts like: “Do you remember all the fun you had?” “Don’t you remember how good those tasted?” “You know, before you were saved, you didn’t feel bad about doing that!” If you don’t respond properly, you’ll find this thing worming its way deeper inside.

Eventually, if you don’t stop that craving (that lust), you’ll have the opportunity to go back to it. But just like there were consequences for the Israelites, there will be consequences for gratifying that lust. Stay away from that “meat”!

How should we respond to these ungodly cravings? The same way the Israelites should have - by focusing on what you have, not what you don’t have! These people had their freedom! They had a promise! They were being supernaturally provided for! If they would’ve filled up on what God gave them, they wouldn’t have hungered for what they used to eat. Remember, manna is symbolic of God’s Word - our spiritual food from Heaven. So...you’re answer to these cravings is to keep your nose inside the pages of your Bible.

Cut out those things in your life that are stirring up your lusts (like those Egyptians that were traveling with the Israelites) and replace their thoughts with what God’s word says! Whatever you do, never allow yourself to return to the things that held you in bondage!

Romans 6:16-18 “Don't you know that when you give yourselves to obey someone you become that person's slave? You can be slaves of sin. Then you will die. Or you can be slaves who obey God. Then you will live a godly life. You used to be slaves of sin. But thank God that with your whole heart you obeyed the teachings you were given! You have been set free from sin. You have become slaves to right living.”

The Life Of A Believer - The Exodus

Have you ever tried to teach someone what not to do by telling them your mistakes? Your hope is that by telling them where it went wrong for you, you could help them avoid the same problems. We would be more likely to avoid major problems in life if we would just listen to how other people got into those problems. I believe this is why - speaking of the nation of Israel - Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:11, “These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.” Everything that happened to the Israelites in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua were recorded and given to us as a pattern for our spiritual life. Some of the examples in those books are for us to follow, some of them are there to avoid.

1 Corinthians 10:1-2 “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea...” Did you know that the Israelite exodus is a type of salvation? It’s a picture of what everyone of us goes through in our spiritual life. And this story begins with Pharaoh.

Pharaoh was the king of Egypt. He was a wicked man; a brutal tyrant that feared and hated the Hebrews. He tried everything he could to oppress and destroy the Hebrews. But even when these people were a part of his kingdom, he simply couldn’t wipe them out - God was watching over them!

Egypt is a picture of this world’s system. In the same way that Pharaoh was king over Egypt, Satan is king over this world’s system. Before we were saved, we were bound as slaves under his control. While we were in His kingdom, Satan tried everything he could to destroy us. But even though we legally belonged to Satan, God was still watching over us! Most of us could tell stories of times we should have died before we got saved. God’s mercy was stretched out to us long before we gave our lives to Jesus!

Enter Moses. Moses was by nature a Hebrew, but raised as an Egyptian. His name means “to draw out” - describing the way he escaped Pharaoh’s infanticide. This proved to be a play on words, since God used Moses to “draw out” His people from Egypt. Moses was the savior that God sent to rescue His people.

Moses is a picture to us of Jesus. Although He was God by nature, Jesus was raised in this world as a man. Just like he did with Moses, Satan tried his hardest to kill Jesus as a child - and failed! God sent Jesus into this world to draw us out; to be our Savior.

Fast forward to the final plague on Egypt, the death of the firstborn. This was the first Passover for the Israelites. Each family was to take a perfect lamb, kill it, and put its blood over their doorposts. The blood of that lamb did two things: it separated the Hebrews from the Egyptians and it exempted them from the punishment that was poured out on the Egyptians. In a very real sense, the blood from those lambs saved the Hebrews from Egypt - that very night they were set free.

The Passover is yet another picture of Jesus. In the same way that the lamb was killed, Jesus was sacrificed for us. His blood was poured out for our separation and salvation. Jesus’ sacrifice broke Satan’s hold on our life and set us free to serve God. But remember, the Passover sacrifice had to be applied to each person - if they didn’t, they would face the same judgement as Egypt. In the same way, the salvation that Jesus purchased for us only applies if we receive it!

Finally, Pharaoh let the Hebrews leave. He really didn’t have a choice, his own people came to him and said, “How long will you let this man hold us hostage? Let the men go to worship the Lord their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?” Egypt was never the same after God delivered His people!

The Hebrews left Egypt and walked right into their first obstacle - do you remember what it was? The Red Sea! Now they were trapped between an enormous body of water and the army of an enraged king. Because Pharaoh still viewed the Israelites as his property, he was completely unwilling to release his hold on them. He mustered his entire military and set out after them. The Israelites were sure that they were going to be killed. But once again, God showed His power for deliverance. With a breath from His nose, God split the sea in two - drying out a path through the center. The Israelites passed through safely, the Egyptian army - led by Pharaoh himself - drowned.

According to what Paul has already said, the Red Sea crossing is a picture of Baptism. Even though the people were free, their freedom had to be openly confirmed. You see, even after salvation, Satan is convinced that he still owns us. Water baptism is an open confession of our salvation. We’re publicly confirming the freedom that Jesus gave us. We’re also making a statement to our former ruler that he has no place in us any longer! This is the beginning of our spiritual life!

The story of the exodus is important to us - it walks us through our own salvation. It’s also important because, as we’ll see later, everything from the Red Sea until Joshua happened after salvation...

I Couldn't Stop Myself!

Have you ever heard someone say that? Or maybe,  “I just can’t help it!” These are usually excuses kids make when they do something wrong. A lot of times, after getting caught hitting another child, they’ll say something like, “But they made me so mad!” We all know this: it’s a sign of maturity to accept responsibility for our own actions. Right? There has to be a day in everyone’s life when they realize that they can control themselves!

This is even more true for believers! Galatians 5:22-23 says: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” The more time we spend driving our roots into God’s presence, the more we will be competent enough to control ourselves.

Self-control is vital for a believer. In the New Living Translation, Proverbs 25:28 says; “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.” Apparently, self-control works like a defense for your life. We all know someone who’s life look like it’s been broken apart. Many times, they’ve fallen apart because they never took control of their life. Granted, not every problem in life is caused by the lack of self-control. But trust me on this, if you don’t learn to control yourself, your life will break down!

Just like the world has a counterfeit of joy (called happiness), a counterfeit kindness (called tolerance), and a counterfeit goodness (bigotry) - it also possesses a counterfeit self-control. When the world speaks of self-control, it is often referring to a gym attendance or to denying your appetite for something sweet. That’s certainly a great place to start, but Christian self-control goes far beyond the physical realm.

When the world speaks of self-control, it’s referring to your soul controlling your body. When the Bible speaks of self-control, it’s referring to your spirit controlling your soul. When this fruit of the Spirit starts to manifest in a believer’s life, he begins to understand that he is in control of his desires, his emotions, and even his thoughts. As the Holy Spirit produces self-control inside our spirit, we’ll be able to stop our soul from running away with our lives.

If there was ever a time to manifest this fruit of the Spirit, it’s now! In today’s society, there are fewer and fewer roadblocks to doing whatever you want. Without self-control, you may find yourself on the other side of some very wrong decisions, wondering what happened. Why? Because it’s easier than ever to let your soulish emotions and carnal desires rule your life. In fact, American culture has degenerated so far that believers who keep their soul in check are often considered strange.
“What? You’re waiting till you get married? No one does that anymore!”
“Are you going to let him walk all over you, just because he’s the boss?”
“Be serious - you’ve never had a drink?”
“It’s not tax evasion, it’s a ‘loophole’ - besides, they never check these things anyway!”

You see, 2 Timothy 3 gives a clear picture of what will happen to the world in the end times. Read this and see if you notice these things in the world right now. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

Notice, right at the center of this list is “without self-control.” Isn’t that what’s happening now? Hasn’t our society done everything it can to avoid personal responsibility for people’s actions? It isn’t rebellion, it’s Attention Deficit Disorder - they can’t control themselves. It isn’t drunkenness, it’s alcoholism - they’re sick. It’s not immorality (it’s not even a choice) - they were born that way. It isn’t an outburst of wrath - their genetic code gives them a predisposition to violence.

Even in the church - where freedom should reign - we’ve locked people into their “problems”. We’ve kept people in depression, lust, addictions, and anger by telling them that they don’t have a choice, they’re sick. We’ve tried to hold support groups, but they still live in fear of returning to the bottle. We’ve tried medication, only to have it make their depression worse. We’ve been afraid to confront, for fear of driving them away.

When are we going to understand? The world struggles with these things - but Jesus came to set us free! When you gave your life to Jesus, He broke the hold that these things had on you. The old you may have been addicted, but that man died when you got saved. That other kid may have been diagnosed as ADD....but now you’re a new creation in Christ Jesus! Now the fruit of self-control is growing in your life! Now you can stop yourself! Now you have nothing stopping you from living the life that Jesus died to give you!