Freedom!

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm

 therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of

slavery.” Galatians 5:1

As Americans, we are privileged to live in a nation that is one of the freest in the World. In 2026 we will celebrate our 250^th anniversary as a free nation. During that time, we have experienced a freedom that most countries or people have never experienced. God has truly blessed us, and He has used this nation to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the World.

However, as our nation continues to turn its back on what God loves, we are starting to experience the norm for most believers for two millenniums. When Paul     wrote to the church in Galatia, the freedom that he was referencing was far greater than personal freedom. He was referring to being free from slaves to sin, death, and hell. He also reminded the church that they were free from the law. Jewish religious leaders from Jerusalem had gone to the church in Galatia to add to what Paul taught them. These men said that it was good to believe in Jesus, but they also said men must be circumcised    and all must follow the law of Moses to truly be included in the family of God (Galatians 2:4). They had taught wrongly that without the works of the law, nobody could be saved. Paul taught them that the law’s purpose was to reveal that the law could save no one. Those who come to God by faith in Christ are free.

Here Paul repeats that message with a call to be free against sin and slavery. He tells all Christians that Christ has set us free, so we ought to stand firm. We should not retake that yoke of slavery. As we steadily march towards the second coming of Christ, let each of us remember our freedom in Christ against sin, death, and hell.

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark