189. Liberty to Serve
Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
The believer is called unto liberty. The promise of freedom is a call that we should take seriously. Liberty means we are free to do what we want. But since we have been saved we no longer want to break the Law of God. Our wants have changed. Of course, Paul states the obvious: we do not use liberty for an occasion to the flesh. Instead, we use the freedom to overcome the sinful desires of the flesh. The flesh is the sinful soul and body. Deeper within is the spirit which is filled and given life by the Holy Spirit. The flesh and the spirit are at war. Freedom from the flesh provides the energy and desire to do what is right instead of what is wrong.
Before conversion, and outside of faith in Christ, the human soul is not free, but the human will is bound. We are not able not to sin. But the new man, the Spirit within, is now free to choose to do the good works and overcome the sinful desires of the flesh. Liberty means overcoming the flesh, not giving in to it. The freedom comes from the power of the Gospel. The previously bound will of man is now free to choose God and the Good. This is true liberty.
Liberty involves the new man’s ability to choose good or evil, grace or sin. Liberty means: “not bound.” I can listen to the spirit or to the flesh and choose one or the other. Love, by definition, is free to choose good or evil, God or Sin. If I am forced or coerced to love it is not really love. Love without a choice is not love. Love will always have the choice to spurn, neglect, hate, or harm the loved one. This is frightening, but it is real. If the choice for bad is not present the choice for good would be meaningless. Therefore, for love to be love, for choosing God and the good, it would have to be freely chosen or it would be meaningless. Freedom to choose is clearly a very important promise to believe and to live by. What actually happens, whether consciously or unconsciously, is that by love we serve one another. Serving is the way we love. Serving means that we willingly and gladly come underneath another person in order to bless him and to do or say something good to him. Liberty chooses to serve. When all are servants of others life is beautiful. The promise: you are free to serve.