Origin
Origin
Galatians 5, No Other Way
Paul is on fire with legitimate, righteous, holy indignation through much of the book of Galatians. He does not mince words. He is direct. He repeats himself. His language and cultural references are rather . . . . spicy! Join us at the table of Origin to discuss Chapter 5 of Galatians, No Other Way.
We are back around the Table of Origin, and we're in the thick of it. So much is going on, but we are nearing the end of our discussion. We've got this week and one more week that we'll be recording. This season's podcasts have started to drop. It's been a lot of fun. This season, we're discussing the book of Galatians, and we're in week five, chapter five, with my friends around the table, Kyli Rose and Jina McAfee. We're entitling this week's conversation, "No Other Way." So let's set the stage.
Jina McAfee:As we've mentioned in the past, Paul is on fire with legitimate, righteous, holy indignation through much of the book of Galatians. He doesn't mince words either, like he just says it like it is. He's direct. He repeats himself. His language and cultural references are rather "spicy." Think about a parent, maybe with a young adult or a teen child, and they're back and forthing between strong words of caution and soft words of encouragement. That is how a parent often is. You don't want to close the the channels of communication. You want to encourage them. You want to lift them up. But at the same time, you want them to get it, because it's life, and you want them to have life. It's like a parent saying, "This is the worst thing ever. Do you realize how serious this is?" And then switching to,"I know you have a firm foundation in Christ. Let me remind you. Let me encourage you. You and Jesus have got this." So now imagine this same dynamic as we go through the Scriptures today. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, cares so much that the church, that believers, who are like his kids, get this message that he is willing to speak the truth. He's willing to write the truth in love, even if it's a little bit abrasive at times. He just wants it for us. He wants us to have life.
Kyli Rose:We saw a spicy Paul last week in Galatians 4. These were letters written to people with no chapter breaks. Those came later. Last week, in chapter four, we saw Paul focus on freedom. He is trying to remind them, let them know their position in Christ, their freedom in Christ, knowing that they are adopted, knowing that they're loved, knowing that they're His. The tension that we're going to be delving in today is even though they knew the truth, they knew that they were free in Christ, they hadn't filled that chasm between knowing and living. There is oftentimes a big gap between knowing and living. We all have those gaps, right? So today, we're going to be looking at the other half of that battle. Last week, we talked about our freedom, knowing that we're free in Christ, and today, we're really going to be honing in on the other half of that battle, which is living it out, the day-to-day grind of not only knowing that we're free, but staying free. Have you all seen the movie called Braveheart? Mel Gibson is playing the Scottish freedom fighter, William Wallace. If you haven't seen the movie, you would probably still know the scene I'm referencing. His face is painted blue and white, and he's rallying his troops, right? He's on his horse, going before the soldiers, and he's trying to rally them to fight for freedom. They're outnumbered. They're out-manned. But he said, If you fight, it will be worth it. He looks like this wild man in the movie, but actually it's based off of a real life character, and in real life, William Wallace was a Christian. So as we're going through chapter five today, we want you to keep in mind that freedom came at such a high cost. Jesus died on the cross for us to be free. But as we're walking this out, as we're living it out, sometimes that call to action will feel like a battle.
ReGina Johnston: Galatians 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that
Jina McAfee:We were talking about this last week. We were Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be [you almost see a finger going back and forth like do not, do not talking about freedom from the power of sin and freedom from the mindset that our good works can save us or earn us favor be] encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery." Another version says, "Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you." So who set us free? Jesus! And for what purpose? For with God. We've got to know that outside of Christ, we don't even freedom! The Greek word for freedom, Eleutheros, means "not a slave, liberated, unbound, unshackled, free to realize one's destiny in Christ." have good works. Not really. So the issue in the Galatian region at the time was that Jewish believers were trying to convince Gentile believers, and Gentiles were pretty much everybody but the Jews, that in order to be saved, they needed repentance and faith in Jesus PLUS circumcision, Jesus PLUS something else. Never mind that there were 10 commandments, really 613 mosaic laws. Can you imagine? They just kept adding.
ReGina Johnston:We talked about that last week. We're doing that even these days. In the past so many years, so many laws have been added to the code.
Jina McAfee:In this country, to our law in this country. They were mainly focusing on one big one--circumcision, plus a few minor dietary laws. Paul's point here is clear. Do NOT--like ReGina just said--do NOT go back to relying on the rules to try and earn your salvation in God's favor, because that going back and trying to earn it, THAT is the yoke of slavery. That is slavery. Our job is this. Not only do we need to know the truth, we have to actively, intentionally, and purposefully stand firm in that truth, because you will be challenged. Legalism, rules, checkboxes are tempting, and you will stumble if you're not careful.
Kyli Rose:So how do we do that? We have to stand firm in the liberty of Christ. It's a positional thing. It's not something that we waver in. That's actually our job as believers. Christ made us free, and then He gave us a power source to stay free. It does feel like a battle. We've talked about that. But it's a battle that you are well equipped to fight. He gave you everything that you need in order to stay free. I find so much encouragement in that, because I know me. I know my weaknesses, and I know the places that I'm just not firm in. The Holy Spirit comes alongside me. It's like He shores up those weak places. He helps me. So we stand firm in our liberty of Christ. Then we see Paul continue in verses two and three, "I am emphatic about this. The moment that any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered.[It's wasted.] I repeat my
warning:The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law. I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off and alienated from Christ, you fall out of grace."
Jina McAfee:I don't like that phrase, "fall out of grace."
Kyli Rose:We're going to kind of peel back the layers here. Paul is not saying if you were to get your baby boys circumcised for health reasons, or, if you choose to wear a head covering, for example, that there's anything wrong with that. What he is saying is, don't do it thinking that it's going to earn you salvation or favor with God. The NASB basically says, and this is paraphrasing a bit, that those who seek to be justified by the law are obligated to keep the entire law.
ReGina Johnston:Most people don't wake up and say, "Today, I think I'll act like a Pharisee." Or "Today I'm feeling quite legalistic." Although sometimes I do wake up with that sense of, okay, let's get the rules in order here because I'm kind of a rules person to some degree. I like order. I like things to happen the way I expect them to happen. So maybe I do wake up with a little bit of that, but not to the degree of legalism, but somehow it happens. There's something comforting about that checklist, that the guardrails are in place, and really, not necessarily, in my mind God's guardrails, but mine. But it doesn't work when we're talking about salvation and favor with
God. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith--and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."(paraphrased) Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Period. There is no dash. There is no comma. There is no plus. Jesus is the only way. He's the only checkbox for salvation, repentance and faith. In Jesus, plus anything else, and you can fill in the blank, is not the
gospel. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." That's it! That is the offense of the cross--that Jesus paid the penalty, and there is nothing I can add to it. So Jesus fulfilled the law, all the rules, all the checkboxes, so we don't have to. Because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, we are free from the Old Testament law of works, and now live under the New Testament law of grace.
Jina McAfee:So here's the risk. The risk of going back to the law is great. It means alienation from Christ. We don't want that. We do not want to be separated from or alienated from Him. It means falling from grace. So what does that even mean? That little phrase"falling from grace"? Maybe you don't even quite get what the word grace means. Here's a really simple definition. Grace means the favor of God when we don't deserve it and we haven't earned it. I've heard it's what you need when you need it. I need that grace. There was a time in my life that I did not really understand the grace of Christ. Before that, I tried to save myself but I couldn't do it. Nobody can. His sacrifice matters. It changes everything. Why would we ever want to go back? Galatians 5:5-6 says, "But by faith we eagerly await, through the Spirit, the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith expressed through love." I love that. Faith expressed through love. Paul is really loving the Galatians and us when he's talking to us so strongly. Our encouragement is in Christ. What counts is faith expressed through love. As we abide with Christ, as we learn to walk in faith. It's a learning process, right? We have to learn to walk in faith. The natural thing is just to try to do it on your own and fall, but learning to walk in faith is a process. It's a journey. And we keep in step with the Spirit. If you will do that, your behavior does change, not overnight or as fast as we may like, and sometimes we don't even see it. Other people see it more easily than we do. But it does change. So get this. Have faith. It will change. That's part of your faith. It will change. You will change. You have changed.
Kyli Rose:So how does that happen? It happens by abiding just day in and day out, abiding. I think this is such a plug for the community aspect of doing life with the body of Christ. People come alongside you and they encourage you. You don't always see that growth becuse you're so close to it. You're so close to your failures, every single one of them. You're fully aware of them every single time. So when the body of Christ comes alongside you, they speak things into you, and they see things about you that you don't even see in yourself. And I think that's such a cool thing. Battles are not won by yourself, but in the context of community. As we abide, you will find that you cannot spend time with the King of kings and the Lord of lords and not be changed. His presence changes us. You can't spend time in the living Word of God, getting to know His character and not be changed. He changes us. The Word says that you and I are a new creation in Christ. So you might not be where you need to be, but you are definitely not where you were. I'm not where I need to be, but I am not where I was. Christ is doing a work in me. He's changing me. I'm not who I was. But that change is a change that's born out of relationship and not rule keeping. Checking boxes has never changed hearts. They've never transformed hearts. And honestly, I think we all have a different shelf life. We can all abide by the rules for so long, until you realize this is not living. This is so dry. I was made for more than this. And you were. And I was too. So what counts is faith expressed through love. Moving on, we see Paul's words get a little bit more heated. This is like the good cop, bad cop. As a parent, he's about to hold the kids to task. Here, Paul has really strong words for those who agitate and who sow confusion in the battle. And not just others, but maybe also ourselves.
Galatians 5:7-12 says, "You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn't come from the One who you called you into the race in the first place. And please don't toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment. As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then--it would be so watered-down it wouldn't matter one way or the other. Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!"
ReGina Johnston:I mean, can you imagine their response to that?
Kyli Rose:Yes. Then he wraps up, "As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!" So please, Regina, help us understand that.
ReGina Johnston:I don't know, but I can just see their faces. They have to be communicating pain through the looks on their faces. Paul starts with, "You were doing so well. (You were saved in Christ Jesus! Amen!)" And he ends with, "I wish the ones who were obstructing the truth for you would go all the way with this nonsense." There's a big difference between circumcision and castration. It's the difference between a little snip and a big chop. He wrote this under the inspiration of Holy Spirit. I mean, this is Holy Spirit inspired talk. And it's not just hyperbole or Paul being over the top or extra. He is that serious about defending the truth of the gospel and the completeness of it. It matters to him.
Jina McAfee:He wants to get their attention and he's got it. There was something going on in the culture of the Galatian region that Paul's audience would have caught the reference to, like maybe we don't, but they did at the time. There was a pagan cult to a false Phrygian goddess, Cybele. She was considered the mother of all gods, the mother of all humanity, basically mother earth. In Roman culture she was called Maga Marter (the Great Mother). She was served by these male eunuchs, and their initiation into her priesthood consisted of [if you've got any little ones in the room, you might want to cover their ears. And if there are any guys in the room, they might not want to hear it either.] It's self-castration at the height of self-gratification while the blood of a simultaneously slaughtered bull was poured over them. So it would have been a bloody mess. I do not recommend you Google this. I did not want to Google it. After this ceremony, these "priests" would then present themselves as women through their dress and mannerisms.
ReGina Johnston:This is sounding a little like some of the culture that we're experiencing today. Some of the strangest, fringe portions of our culture are entertaining some of these activities in some way. It's sounding similar.
Jina McAfee:I wonder what causes you to go an extreme like that.
ReGina Johnston:I don't know, but you're about to go there.
Jina McAfee:So why am I sharing this awful historical footnote? Well, for one thing, people still cut off body parts today and they present themselves as another gender.
ReGina Johnston:There's nothing new under the sun.
Jina McAfee:Nothing new. Many people in Paul's day would have caught the nuance and I think we should too. Legalism was not a small matter then, and it is not a small matter now. Although not explicitly stated, there's the suggestion, based on cultural context of that day, that legalism was as offensive as what the pagans did.
Kyli Rose:You hear it, and it's so twisted and so perverse and so broken, that it makes you want to look away.
Jina McAfee:Basically, they're saying that legalism is just as bad as that. It's just as crazy. But then we can step into legalism too. We don't want to do that. Why would we do that?
Kyli Rose:Jesus came down and He literally stood in the place for you. Why would you ever choose anything else? He loves you so much that He took the punishment that you deserve. He's saying to choose something else would be just as profane as this pagan practice. So Paul's using very descript, very telling and explicit language, because he's trying to catch their attention. He wants them to understand it's not worth it. Paul is referred to as a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was steeped in the Scriptures. He knew them. He was an expert on this topic. Some biblical scholars actually believe he was essentially saying the way they mutilated their bodies is essentially what you do with the gospel whenever you add something else to it. So do not mutilate the gospel. Don't cut yourself off from the life source of Christ. We're getting personal here, and we want to make it personal to fill that gap between knowing we're free and living free. We want that chasm to close. So how do we do that? We need to self-evaluate. What are we justifying that maybe we shouldn't? What have we said is okay when the Holy Spirit is saying it's not okay? That's between you and Holy Spirit, but it's something to think about. What do we justify? Then we see Paul switches his tone again to this milder warning mixed with some encouragement in verses 13 through 15. He says, "It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything that we know about God's Word is summed up in
a single sentence:Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom." Verses 13 and 14 in another version say,"For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree:'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
ReGina Johnston:Freedom is a tenuous thing. There's this tension, right? The purpose of our freedom is to serve one another in love, but freedom in the hands of fleshly man is a risky business. We run the risk of indulging our flesh, our sinful desires. We have to manage that tension daily. lt's not like I managed it once by accepting Jesus. We are actively managing that tension in our Christian walk on a regular
basis. Galatians 5:16-18 says,"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you don't do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." So I mean, we have to choose. How are we going to live? If we're not supposed to live under the law, then won't that be anarchy? And it actually could be, because it's a risky business. This freedom in the hands of fleshly man. So isn't freedom taken to its fullest extent just an excuse to do and be whatever we want?
Jina McAfee:I'm remembering verses from Romans that we
shared last week. The answer is:Absolutely not! That is not what it is. God forbid. When Christ becomes your Savior and Lord, His law is written on our hearts. In other words, He's changing you from the inside out to want to do His will, to want to be pleasing to Him, to have His character, to be like Him. It's a supernatural work that He does. So how shall we live? We walk by the Spirit. When you walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of your sinful nature. You won't. So what does a sinful nature look like, practically speaking? Paul is so practical. We could all probably write a book, but Paul gives us a few verses and really he's wanting us to see everything that's included with it. Galatians 5:19-21 says, "The acts of the flesh, the works of the flesh, are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, [and then you get things like:] discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." That's strong language. You "will NOT inherit." So look at this list. It's not just obvious big sins, right? It's common, familiar sins, too. What would you call the obvious big sins? Sexual immorality, sorcery, orgies. What might be some more common or familiar ones? Jealousy, division, rage. They're all mixed in there, right? They're all sins. They're all walking by the flesh. It says, "and the like," which means it is not an exhaustive list. Your pet sin and my pet sin probably belong on the list too. When I was a little girl, I had heard that some lies were white lies, like making one lie better than another. He is saying, "No. Sin is sin."
Kyli Rose:Paul differentiates a little bit here. He helps us have a clear understanding. You can hear this and be like, "I don't stand a chance. Am I going to inherit the kingdom or am I not?" So who's in danger here? He's talking about those who practice such things. We're going to be unpacking what it means to practice sin. We see this difference between committing a sin, which we do, daily, and actually practicing a sin. So this is referring to someone who is continuing in their sins or ignoring the voice of the Holy Spirit telling us to stop. You have that check, and you keep toeing that line, and eventually you cross it, and then you do it again, and you do it again, and you do it again. You're not putting action steps in place to stop. You're not pulling in community, doing what you need to do, getting really serious with your sin. The tense of the verb practice actually indicates a habit. This isn't an isolated lapse. Paul is actually talking about the idea of conversion, right? When we come to Jesus to have our sins forgiven and our soul saved, He changes our lives. And it doesn't happen all at once. We've talked about that in detail. It's this continual, day by day, moment by moment work that will never be perfected on this side of eternity. But there will be real change. There should be real change. Charles Spurgeon said, "The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul." So the idea isn't that a Christian would never commit these sins, but really that they would never stay in these sins. I think that's even a cultural tension that we're living in now. Jesus, don't judge me. Jesus didn't and He doesn't want us to stay stuck in the things that kill us, because He loves us.
Jina McAfee:If He changes your heart, which Scripture says He does, He puts His law in your heart, then inside you shouldn't even want to stay in that sin.
Kyli Rose:Maybe you're at the place where that desire isn't taken away, but you're still fighting the good fight day by day, that's winning the battle. I think sometimes we feel so much shame, even in the things that we want to do. Over time, God will change your desires, or maybe He won't, and that will be the thorn in your flesh for your time here on earth. But are you actively fighting against it? I want to do this, but I'm choosing not to anyway. And you're not alone. You're fighting in the context of community. You're openly naming it and calling it. I will not do it, because that's no longer who I am. This is what the old Kyli wanted to do. But the new Kyli, who is made new in Christ, who is a new creation, who is brought out of darkness and into light, that's not who she is anymore.
Jina McAfee:And Holy Spirit's there.
Kyli Rose:If that is you, you're winning. So you go, right?
ReGina Johnston:So now the pendulum swings the whole other direction. Paul has discussed, very bluntly, the works of the flesh, and now he's saying, "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" (Galatians 5:22-23). He's showing that there's this tension between the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit. The works of the flesh seem overwhelming. And I think sometimes we treat them that way. Sometimes we treat them like we cannot become free from them. But I have good news. The fruit of the Spirit can overcome the works of the flesh. So Paul's encouragement is not to free yourself by not being a part of the works of the flesh as much as it is to free yourself by being a part of or receiving the fruit of the Spirit. And how do we receive the fruit of the Spirit into our lives? We position ourselves closely to Him. You know, Kyli, I do believe, because I have lived a little longer than you have, what I think I have seen over time is the longer that you position yourself close to the Lord and allow Him to basically develop His fruit in you, the more the works of the flesh fade, they just begin to fade. Things that you felt so drawn by early in your walk with the Lord have so paled that you don't even find a taste or a hunger for those things anymore. There is this supernatural process that takes place when we allow the Lord to develop the fruit of His Spirit in us, and it just crowds out the works of the flesh. Are we perfect? Not this side of heaven. But I'm telling you, there is growth. There is growth, and I love that. So the Lord just does that work in us where we can overcome the works of the flesh because of the Spirit that lives in us.
Jina McAfee:We're talking about the works of the flesh, and the fruit of the Spirit. So on one hand, you've got works, and on the other hand, you've got fruit. So what's the difference? Fruit is fragile, but it also reproduces itself. It produces more fruit. When fruit falls to the ground, a new fruit is produced. It reproduces itself. I've heard it said that the Lord instituted the laws of the harvest that if you plant, you will reap more than you plant. He intended that for blessing. But the same is true for the works of the flesh. If you sow to the flesh, you'll reap more of the flesh as well. You don't want to go that direction. Spiritual fruit isn't achieved in our own strength. That's really good to know. It's birthed by abiding in Christ, by being close to Him, by living in Him, by being in the Word. So here's a statement: Fruit grows through trials and testing and abiding. So the abiding sounds good, right? The trials and the testing don't sound that great. Have you ever heard somebody say, "Don't ask for patience"? The way God works patience in you is He puts you in situations where you need patience, until you can react with patience, you can act with patience. So He does work that in you. He'll work the fruit of the Spirit in you. Paul concludes chapter five of Galatians with this, and I love it. It says, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh [already done] with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit" (verse 24). Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit. Let's be who we are.
ReGina Johnston:So we began this chapter with, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery." That is the overriding theme for this chapter. It's really the first verse and the last verse combined. Now I don't want you to just read the first verse and the last. You need to take the journey with Paul, but the overriding theme is that first verse and last verse combined, the verses that Jina just read, ending with, "Since we live by His Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit." It's almost like a wash rinse, repeat, wash rinse, repeat. Walk in step with the Spirit, Stand firm in Christ and Stay Free. Repeat. Walk in step with the Spirit, Stand firm in Christ and Stay Free. Repeat. Walk in step. I mean, this is our daily life. So if Christ is our Lord and Savior, we've been rescued. And we've asked this question: Why would we ever want to go back? Freedom is so much better. People fight battles for freedom. They wage war for freedom. Why would we ever want to entangle ourselves with some sort of law that we can never live anyway? So we need to tell each other, "Let's not go back."
Kyli Rose:D.L. Moody, a famous evangelist in the 1800's, described freedom in Christ this way. He tells the story of a former slave woman who was in the south shortly after the Civil War. Being a former slave, she was really confused about her status. It took a while. They didn't have Facebook. They didn't have this constant news cycle, so it took a while for the news to trickle down, especially to some of the southern states. And this particular woman, she was confused about her status, and she asked, "Now am I free, or am I not? When I go to my old master, he says, 'I ain't free.' And when I go to my own people, they say that I am, and I don't know whether I'm free or not. Some people told me that Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation, but Master says that he didn't, that he didn't have the right to." I think that this story is so pertinent. It's a really sad part of our national history, but it happened, and we can acknowledge that. But like her, like our history, we have history too. Our country has history, and we have history too. Some of us have the scars that still affect our view of a loving God, of a loving Heavenly Father, and our view of freedom in Christ is a little bit skewed. Are we free, or are we not? And the enemy loves to come and say, "He doesn't have the right. You are not, and he does not have the right." We can acknowledge our scars too, right?
ReGina Johnston:The picture you're drawing here is this picture of being aware of our freedom, and then applying it.
Kyli Rose:Technically, she was free, but she was living like a slave.
ReGina Johnston:She didn't know it, and either her master didn't know it or he took advantage of it.
Jina McAfee:We have that kind of enemy.
ReGina Johnston:He takes advantage. He fully knows. I think he fully knows that if we just live the way the Lord wants us to, we are free. He doesn't want us to know it.
Jina McAfee:He wants to be over us, right?
ReGina Johnston:But Jesus Christ changed our history, and He does have the absolute right and authority to do so. In effect, He's delivered an emancipation proclamation to whoever will believe in Him, to be free from sin, free from the Old Testament ways, free from having to check all the boxes in order to be accepted, free from having to perform and having to be perfect, having to please people in order to be loved, or even just to be safe. See, we make the Christian walk hard. We do it, but it doesn't have to be. It is for freedom that we've been set free. Wash, rinse, repeat. Walk in step with the Spirit, Stand firm with Christ and Stay Free. So let's pray. Lord, thank You for Your Word. Your Word is a freedom tool in and of itself. Your Word sets us free. So Lord, for every area of our lives where we want to hold on to some form of something that enslaves us or maybe we don't want to, but we unintentionally end up doing that by not walking in your Spirit, I pray Lord Jesus, that by the power of your Spirit, you would help us to recognize it, to turn from it, to let go of it, and to position ourselves near You so that You can develop the works of the Holy Spirit in us, so that the works of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, can crowd out the works of the flesh. It's Your work to do, if we'll just move, if we'll just let You do the work, if we'll just pursue, draw near. Then Lord Jesus, You give us the ability to walk in step with the Spirit, even more, to stand firm in Christ and to stay free. And we speak that over all the listeners today in Jesus' name, amen. Amen.