Liberty without License - Gal 5:13-18

I am preaching through Galatians currently, and this week I am reflecting on Galatians 5:13-26 in order to speak on it a few weeks from now.  While I inherently have an understanding of what Paul is saying about not using our freedom to sin, actually expressing this without it sounding like a new form of legalism is a hard thing.  One can speak experientially of their own life, but not be able to convincingly articulate that reality to others. Convincing articulation is what sets apart great writers and orators.  I am neither, but I believe the following quotations are excellent food for thought in this regard.

"Anyone who uses freedom to indulge the flesh is not really free at all.  Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin"(John 8:34). In other words, license is the very opposite of liberty.  It is really a form of slavery.  Real liberty comes when Christ frees me from sin, not to sin...[but our newfound] freedom to serve others...is actually a new from of slavery.  the word "serve"[Gal 5:13] is the Greek word for 'be a slave'- the kind of person who washes the dishes and takes out the trash.  So here is the paradox: By setting us free to serve, the Holy Spirit enslaves us to one another in love." -Ryken, REC: Galatians, chapter 18

These words wonderfully articulate the new Christian life to serve and love.  But how does one serve and love.  This is where the law of God comes in.  We are not freed from the law, but from its demands for becoming righteous through the law.  Now that we are righteous in Christ, we can live out the law by the empowerment of the spirit and truly love one another.  Granted, we will still sin, we will love imperfectly, we will fail along the way, but we can continue to walk in this way and learn what it means to love our God and love our neighbor.  This is our calling in the Christian life.  To be free to love.  Let us press on toward the goal of heaven where love will be the rule of the day.