I plan to wrap-up our reading through Galatians this Sunday with a final message on the “Fellowship of Freedom.” What an amazing study this has been for me! To understand that I have been set free through the blood of Christ… set free from legalism, set free from my past and the sins of my past, and set free from my own sinful nature… what an inspiring message this book has been to me! Many Christians who have found themselves set free from these things of the world still struggle, though. Many flounder about in their new-found freedom trying to live the Christian life on their own, but the Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. It was meant to be lived in community… in a fellowship of other Christians… like-minded believers in Christ who are there to support one another, to love one another and to encourage one another. This world is a cold and harsh place, unfriendly to those who take the call of Christ seriously. It wants to devour us. It wants to crush us. Apart from the power of God, the only hope we have is to lean on one another through this life.
This has been an especially tough year for us at Washington Street. We have experienced much in the way of death, disease and family upheavals. Satan has used every tool at his disposal to come at us and at our families. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. Whenever he sees God’s people on fire for the Lord, he gets concerned and steps up his efforts to undermine what God is doing. That’s why it is more important than ever before for us as a church to stand together against Satan’s fiery darts! Its more important than ever before for us to lean on one another and to share each other’s burdens. That’s exactly the message that Paul concludes his letter to the Galatian churches with… an admonishment to be the “fellowship” of freedom that God has called us to be. I hope you’ll be here Sunday morning to study together this great message.
