Holiness as Freedom

As a native of West Virginia, I have a special affinity for Paul’s letter to the Galatians. There are several similarities between my native state and Galatia, including size, topography, and being called “mountaineers.” Phillips Brooks once referred to Galatia as “a fierce, untamed nest of barbarians” – which is how some have described my kinfolk! Perhaps the most notable similarity is the motto of West Virginia, Montani Semper Liberi – “Mountaineers are Always Free.” Freedom is the theme of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. 

By the time Paul gets to Galatians 5, he has reached full voice in his description of the freedom we have as believers. It’s as though Paul considers freedom to be a coin, and is writing about the two sides of the coin—freedom from and freedom for.

First, Paul shows us one side of the coin—freedom from the sinful nature (often the emphasis of the American Holiness Movement). The sinful nature is a pocket of resistance in the heart—and what it resists is the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  The sinful nature is referred to by other names—original sin, flesh, depravity, carnality. It is the attitude of self-sovereignty we all come into this world possessing, which causes us to resist the Lordship of Jesus in our lives. This “orientation toward sin” is the default setting of our lives until our lives are transformed by God’s grace.

Paul reminds us of the great danger and potential for destruction when the sinful nature produces its malicious fruit in our lives. He says the only cure for the sinful nature is crucifixion. We become so sick and tired of our self-centeredness that we surrender it to Jesus Christ to be put to death. The call of the Spirit of God to every child of God is to be free from the sinful nature. The cure for sin—all sin—is the Cross of Jesus Christ. 

Then, Paul shows us the other side of the coin—freedom for loving service (often the emphasis of Wesleyan theology).  “Serve one another in love,” Paul writes in verse 13. When we yield our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Spirit is able to produce delicious fruit in our lives—the Fruit of the Spirit—and a life lived loving God and loving neighbor.

To be truly free in Christ is to reflect both sides of the coin—freedom from the sinful nature and freedom for loving service. 

Brothers and sisters, we are called to be free.