Life Together – Week #1
Set Free to Serve
Life Together 2026 – Galatians 5:13-6:2 (CGS #1)
INTRODUCTION – This fall, we’ll be jumping around the New Testament looking at some of the “one another” commands. And there are a lot! The Greek word translated as “one another” is used 100 times in 94 New Testament verses. This week we’re zooming in on a passage that accounts for 7 of those 100 uses, and it has some powerful instruction for us. But let’s start where Paul starts: Freedom.
Freedom means a lot of different things to different people. Some people think, “I can do anything I want!” Others think, “I don’t have to do what anyone else tells me.” Others think of the American Revolution. Still others think of political, civic, or economic liberty today. None of those ideas quite grasp what Paul is getting at here. Look at what he says in verse 13: “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.” He seems to have in mind the idea of a freed slave, and he’s exhorting his readers (including us) to use their freedom wisely.
When the letter of Galatians was written, slavery was a very common socioeconomic status in the Mediterranean world. Scholars estimate that 10-20% of the Roman Empire’s population was in some form of slavery at any given point, so the original audience would be extremely familiar with it, and some of them may have formerly been slaves themselves. Paul is encouraging them (and us) to consider the absurdity of a former slave using his freedom from slavery to walk right back into slavery. He may also have had in mind the ancient Israelites, who, after being set free from slavery in Egypt, started to miss Egypt whenever the wilderness road got tough (see Exodus 15:24; 16:2-3; 17:3; Numbers 14:2-3; 16:41).
The freedom he’s talking about is even more powerful than freedom from Rome or Egypt, it’s freedom from sin. Jesus Christ set you free from sin by taking the consequence for your sin on the cross. He died the death you deserved to give you the life he earned. Sin is such a terrible task-master because it lives in your head; it’s part of your DNA as a son or daughter of Adam and Eve. And it’s so sneaky! It can be like a Judo master and use your own freedom against you. We’ve all seen it: In our desire to not be ruled by anything, we end up being ruled by our desires. An example of this tragically ironic twist is the rebels in the ‘90s who only smoked cigarettes because “the man” told them not to, but now they find they can’t stop. Freedom, when used to satisfy selfish desires, always turns into slavery. We see it in several places in this passage: ambition turns into devouring one another (v 15), a longing for love turns into sexual sin (v 19), correction turns into fighting (v 20), and pursuit of skill turns into conceit and envy (v 26).
But Paul is showing us a better way: Use your freedom to pursue the good of others. How countercultural is that? You’ve been set free…to serve. What?! The beautiful paradox is that pursuing your own good makes you a slave to your desires, but pursuing the good of others sets you free from yourself. True freedom, and true love, is expressed when someone says, “I don’t have to do this, and I don’t really want to, but I care about you, so I’m going to do it for you anyway.” It’s the only way we can experience what Timothy Keller calls “the freedom of self-forgetfulness.” Once we take our eyes off ourselves and look to others, we see and experience the love of Christ, who gave himself up for us, enduring the agony of the cross, to pursue our greatest good. The result is everything we see in our passage. You will, over time, cultivate a life that abounds with the fruit of the Spirit.
GETTING STARTED – What are your favorite and least favorite household chores? What do you like and dislike about those chores?
IN THE WORD – Let’s dig back into the passage. It’s important to strengthen our muscles in reading God’s Word. On Sunday, we walked through the passage in the sermon. Hopefully, that helped you to see the landmarks of the passage with fresh eyes. Now, with your group, go back through it and see what God is saying to you specifically.
First, before you read the passage, take a moment to ask God’s Spirit to quiet your mind and heart and to illuminate the text to you. Second, read the passage aloud to the group. Then, follow the simple method below (O.P.A.).
Observe: Make 8-10 observations from the passage. Pay close attention to observe and note repeated words and phrases, names, places, and themes.
Principles: From your list of observations, what patterns or big ideas do you see emerging? Can you distill it down into 2-4 big idea truths?
Apply: Moving from your list of principles, it is time to apply God’s Word. Remember, we believe that God’s Word is living and active and that it can change the way we live Monday-Friday. What is one tangible way to apply a truth from your list above?
DISCUSS – Another way to approach your time together is to talk through the following discussion questions:
- What did you hear God’s Spirit say to you through the passage this week? How does it encourage you? How does it sharpen you?
- How have you seen God at work in your life this week? Have you enjoyed him? Have you heard his voice and the leading of his Spirit? Big ways or small ways.
- How have you seen freedom turn into slavery when it’s used for selfish purposes?
- How does this passage contrast “the old you” (the one in the flesh) from “the new you” (the one in the Spirit)?
- Why is life in the Spirit better?
- How can you tell when someone is bearing fruit of the Spirit? What does it look like? How have you seen that fruit in yourself and in those around you?
- How does bearing one another’s burdens “fulfill the law of Christ”?
- Do you have anyone in your life who helps you carry your burdens to Christ (a.k.a. a “tough stuff” person)? If not, pray for God to bring someone to mind.