Sermon on Galatians 5:1, 13-26, for the 4th of July, "Three Kinds of Freedom"
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Happy Fourth of July! I want to preach this Independence Day on the meaning of freedom. But definitions always matter, as words are constantly redefined or changed, and you can’t take for granted that your words mean what someone else thinks, without clarification. You need common meaning to really communicate. So, what is freedom? What freedom does St. Paul mean in Galatians 5, when He says: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery… For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Freedom gets many definitions. Do we mean the same thing? Martin Luther describes three kinds of freedom. Spiritual freedom; political or civil freedom; and freedom of the flesh. Let’s consider these three freedoms and what they mean for our nation’...