Freedom

Galatians 5:1 - 26 text in [brackets] and bold mine.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be bundended again by a yoke of slavery... if you let yourselves be circumcised [believe you have to follow part of the law], Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcided that he obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justifed by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ... The only thing that counts if faith expressing itself through love... You, my brothers , are called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a singel command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch our or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by [walk with] the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ... The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and evny; drunkenness, orgies , and the like. ... Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

NIV Commentary

Paul turned to more practical matters. Stressing freedom, not rules, left him open to criticism. Did his strong emphasis on freedom lead to loose morals? To answer this question, he ended Galatians, a letter devoted to Christian liberty, with a warning. "Why did Christ set us free?" Paul asks. To make possible a life of orgies, drunkenness, and witchcraft? Obviously no. Christ freed us from worrying about whether we are "doing enough" to please God and from uselessly following external forms. But we should use that freedom to serve one another in love and to live a Spirit-filled life

And though he thought he answered the question, the debate still rages on. What is freedom? Yes, it frees us from worrying about whether or not we are "doing enough". And why is that important? So we can get on with our life and serve one another. So we can stop spending our time concentrating on ourselves, and whether we are good or bad, right or wrong... and just live life and do what He wants us to do... which is love him and serve one another. Unfortunately, imo, many people focus on the first part of the phrase, rather than the second - "do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." They get so caught up in defining "sinful nature" that they fall into disord, dissensions and factions, and forget about "serving one another in love". I suspect that is why we are not to judge one another, but leave it to God. Otherwise we spend our time concentrating on who is right and who is wrong, forgetting that none of us is right outside of Christ, and all of us are justified under Him. Can we ever stop looking at ourselves long enough to serve each other and win the lost?

Yes we can... and we will, its just some days it looks a little more bleak than others.

And on that rather dark note... Be encouraged. Be there for each other. Serve and love each other. As always, the things of God are a mystery to man. Unlike the world's system of things... the more you serve, the more you are served. The more you serve, the better you feel. Keep your eye on others and how you can help them, serve them, get them through the tough times... and don't worry about your own problems. Take care of others and God will take care of you.

Love ya!