Liberty and Love

Introduction

Monthly Focus: True liberty in Christ empowers us to love others deeply and genuinely.

Text Passages:

• Galatians 5:13-15 (NIV): “You, my brothers, were 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 single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”
• 1 Peter 2:16 (NIV): “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”

Connecting Liberty to Love: Celebrating freedom in Christ leads to a greater capacity to love.

1. Called to Freedom

• Early Morning Reflection:
  • Bondage to Sin: Prevented us from passing the righteousness test.
  • Jesus’ Role: Passed the test and paid the penalty of death for us. Now, we are no longer being tested.
  • No Test, No Bondage: The law of the Old Covenant, including the Ten Commandments, was nailed to the cross.
  • Faith in Jesus: The new test requires faith, not performance.
  • High School Analogy: Once graduated, no need to re-graduate.
  • Indwelling Spirit: Our diploma.
  • Glorious Status: We are blameless, righteous, eternally beloved, citizens of heaven, and members of God’s household.
  • Need for Transformation: Moving from intellectual grasp to internal transformation.
  • Support Required: God’s word, Spirit, and one another.

2. Liberated to Love

• Ambition to Please: Motivated by awareness of God’s favor, not performance.
• Greatest Commandment: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
• Complexity of Love: Requires discernment and fellowship with the Lord.
• Actions Guided by Love: Love is patient, kind, not jealous, and keeps no grudges.
• Personal Example: LaVern’s sweet and considerate love.
• 1 Corinthians 9:19 (NIV): “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.”
• Community Reflection: Commendation for love shown last year and elder leadership.

Conclusion

• Theme Recap: Called to Freedom. Liberated to Love.
• Need for Supernatural Help: To clothe ourselves in the truth of God’s grace.
• Forward into the New Year: Embrace liberty in Christ and let it fuel our love for one another.

Other verse references:

• Matthew 22:37-40 – First and Second Greatest Commandments
• Romans 8:1-4 – Righteous requirements fully met.
• Acts 17:24-31 – Paul in Athens: Explains the “Unknown God”
• Hebrews 10:1-18 – The old test versus the new.
• John 3:36 – The only question on the new test.