We hear a lot about protecting our rights these days. Gun rights. The right to free speech. Reproductive rights. Women’s rights. Animal rights. You name it, there’s a right for it!
Sometimes rights are a good thing.
It’s a good thing to protect the right to life, for God created life.
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)
It’s a good thing to protect the right to worship, for God commands us to worship Him.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)
It’s a good thing to protect the rights of the poor, for God is honored when we do.
He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him. (Proverbs 14:31)
But what if sometimes God asks us to set aside some of our rights for the benefit of others? What if someone can only hear the Gospel if you’re willing to give up some rights?
Ouch! This might hurt, but here I go…
I want to tell you about my friend, Mary. We met 10 years ago at a nail salon. Mary is not a Christian. I’ve learned a lot about her spiritual beliefs over the years, and Mary has learned a lot about Jesus!
Several months ago, I invited Mary to my Thursday night Bible study. The women I study with are an amazing community of Christian friends. Honestly, I thought Mary would say “No,” but she was actually kind of interested in coming. She had a big concern, though…COVID. This was 2022—2 years since the start of the pandemic. But Mary wanted to know if everyone would be wearing a mask. I assured her there would be no problem…
Well, we actually didn't wear masks to our Bible study! We were a small group of about 10 women, and we enjoy really deep spiritual conversations. Masks make that extremely difficult and uncomfortable. But I let my friends know Mary might come and the concerns she had.
Thursday night came and every single lady showed up with a mask on and didn’t say a word about the inconvenience. Mary also came and loved it! She felt safe and comfortable in this strange new environment.
My friends definitely had the right to refuse to wear a mask. By this time in 2022, we had (mostly) moved beyond mandatory mask wearing! Had any one of my friends refused to wear a mask, Mary would have been uncomfortable and probably would not have stayed. But my friends chose to set aside their rights and love Mary instead.
Our group had a great conversation about John chapters 7 and 8. Mary heard about Jesus and the Gospel all night, and she loved what she heard!
I’m reminded of Galatians 5:13-14 where we see that Christ frees us so we can serve. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? We are freed to serve!
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:13-14)
Galatians is possibly the earliest of Paul’s letters in Scripture. He is writing to a group of new believers who have quickly deserted the true Gospel of salvation by grace and have instead adopted a Gospel of salvation by works…namely, circumcision.
Paul begins in verse 13 by saying we were called to be free. Free from what?
We are freed from our slavery to the Law. In other words, the Law is no longer our master.
Some false teachers had infiltrated the Galatian church and were teaching these vulnerable believers they must be circumcised, like the Jewish law said, in order to be saved. Paul vehemently responds in Galatians 2 that not even Titus was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. These false teachers were suspicious of the church’s freedom in Christ and were trying to make them slaves again to the law.
The Old Testament law pointed out our sin. “Thou shalt not covet” was like a bright neon sign flashing in the darkness. This neon sign highlights the covetousness in our hearts. The law cannot free us from our sin. It just highlights our need for Someone who can. Jesus came to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law. Circumcision and all other religious rules can never do what only Christ can do.
Christ frees us from our burdensome slavery to the Law. This is the freedom Paul is talking about. God’s amazing grace displayed in Christ has freed us. But, Christ did not free us from the Law so we could take advantage of His grace.
In the next phrase of verse 13, Paul says don’t use your freedom to indulge the flesh.
We learn in the Gospels that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where the Spirit would battle the flesh in Jesus. The same is true for us…the Spirit and the flesh are in constant conflict with each other.
We know as believers that we are no longer under sin, so why do we sin? Do you struggle, like me, with giving in to the temptation to specific sins? Maybe it’s gossip, gluttony or griping? That’s the flesh! Paul is telling us, don’t indulge that! We are now controlled by the Spirit, and like Jesus, we don’t have to give in to the flesh. Freedom from the Law is not a license to sin. Freed people don’t indulge the flesh. But, if freed people don’t indulge the flesh, what do they do with their freedom?
Paul says at the end of verse 13 that we serve one another humbly in love. And to emphasize but also broaden his point, Paul quotes Leviticus 19 when he says to love your neighbor as yourself.
Serving one another means to serve our fellow Christians. When you bring a meal to a Christian friend whose husband just died, you are serving one another in love.
But Paul adds we should also love our neighbor. We learn from the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 that our neighbor is anyone we see in need. When you pay for the groceries for the single mom in line behind you, you are loving your neighbor.
Paul is telling us to humbly serve in love both Christian and non-Christian alike.
God is asking us to lay down our rights in order to become slaves in love to others.
What personal rights have you been hanging onto that are preventing you from serving others in love? Is it the protection of your Saturdays from outside interruption? How about that difficult neighbor you try to avoid? Or maybe it’s the right to use your God-given gifts and talents to serve in the place of your choosing instead of allowing God to send you to somewhere or someone uncomfortable?
Friends, Christ has freed us from our slavery to the Law. But we should not use our freedom to indulge our flesh, instead let’s become slaves to others in love. Don’t forget, we are freed to serve.