Freedom, Vices and Virtues
Most people have the idea that "freedom" or "liberty" means you can do whatever you want, or more limited - whatever is legal. But is that correct?
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In Galatians 5:1, the Apostle Paul writes - "Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don't be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." There are two extremes of freedom or liberty. The first extreme is its limitation: in verses 2-6, St Paul the extreme limitation of legalism -
"Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace. For we, through the Spirit, by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love."
By mentioning "circumcision" St. Paul is referring to being initiated into Judaism and swearing to keep all the detailed ordinances of the Law of Moses as spelled out in the Talmud, hundreds and hundreds of items you can and cannot do. St. Paul, on the other hand, was preaching the Gospel of God's grace to all mankind, the Good News that the promise of blessings given to Abraham before the Law was given to Moses are now available to everyone through Christ. But Judaizers came around after Paul preached this Good News: they insisted that in order to be a Christian, you first must become a Jew and follow the Law of Moses.
The other extreme of freedom or liberty St. Paul mentions is in verses 13 and 14 - "For you, brothers, were called to freedom. Only don't use your freedom as an excuse to gratify the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" This tells us that freedom doesn't mean we can do whatever we want, whatever our passions and desires urge us to do. Rather, it means we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to be considerate of others, to love for them just as much as we love for ourselves. Paul write in verses 16-18 -
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."
So we can summarize the meaning of freedom this way: Freedom is the Holy Spirit-given ability and responsibility to follow just the two great commands: love God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
The Apostle Paul continues in Galatians 5:19-21 to explain the consequences of thinking that freedom means we can do whatever our desires urge us to do -
"Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, gluttony, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God."
When most people hear the word "sin," they think it only refers to adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, and lustfulness. Or they laugh it off as old-fashioned thinking, saying "Love is love, it doesn't matter who you love!" But St. Paul includes "uncleanness" - homosexuality and lesbianism - as sins, adding lustful thoughts to the list too, just as Christ taught.
Next comes idolatry and sorcery, to which most people say - "Well, that was then, this is now: we know those things don't really exist anymore!" But what do those words really mean? The Greek word "eidolatria" means the worship of false gods, not only gold, silver, bronze, or stone statues, but also anything other than the true God that becomes the center focus of our lives. And the word "sorcery" or "witchcraft" in some translations is the Greek word "farmakoia" taking chemical subsances that induce altered states of consciousness, which can open the door to evil spirits. This illustrates the interconnection of body, soul and spirit.
Then comes a whole laundry list of vices: "hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, gluttony, and things like these." Some of these - jealousy, anger, rivalry, envy - might seem not so bad, but they can lead to hatred, gluttony, and murder. If we open the door of our hearts to the former little demons, it's like letting the camel's nose into the tent: the bigger, fiercer demons can follow in after.
So here we have a whole laundry list of vices, 18 of them, that make our lives harder, baser, and uglier. But the antidote comes next, in verses 22-24 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts." Just nine virtues, making our lives beautiful and glorious. These nine angelic spiritual forces can overcome the 18 demonic forces... if only Christ has taken control and we have"crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts."
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Christ is among us! He is and ever shall be!
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