A message preached by Pastor Andrew Ray while preaching at the 2020 Bible conference at Faith Baptist Church in Chelsea, Michigan, titled, "Liberty in Christ" taken from Galatians 2:4.

You can also learn more about our pastor (Pastor Andrew Ray) by visiting http://www.pastorandrewray.com.

For more information on this sermon, see the outline below:

Liberty in Christ
Galatians 2:4

I. LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

A. The Details of the Meeting (Galatians 2:1-3)

1. The timing of the meeting (Galatians 2:1)
a. Relative to Paul’s life—fourteen years after
b. Relative to scripture (see Acts 15)
1.) The audience (Galatians 2:1; Acts 15:2)
i. Paul and Barnabas (Galatians 2:1; Acts 15:2)
ii. Apostles (Galatians 2:9; Acts 15:6)
iii. False brethren (Galatians 2:4; Acts 15:5)
2.) The events
i. Declared what God was doing with the Gentiles (Galatians 2:2; Acts15:4)
ii. Opposed by some (Galatians 2:4; Acts 15:5)
iii. Private meeting (Galatians 2:2; Acts 15:6)
2. The motivation of the meeting (Galatians 2:2)
a. He went up by revelation.
b. He went up to communicate his gospel.
c. He went up to protect the saints.
3. The companion for the meeting (Galatians 2:3)

B. The Cause of the Meeting (Galatians 2:4-5)

1. The people (Galatians 2:4a)—“false brethren”
a. Give no place (Galatians 2:5)
b. Expound the way of God more perfectly (Acts 18:26)
c. Let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8, 9)
d. Don’t keep company (1 Corinthians 5:11-13)
2. The problem (Galatians 2:4b-5)
a. Their spying out (Galatians 2:4b)
b. Their attempt for bondage (Galatians 2:4b)
c. Their attack of the truth (Galatians 2:5)

C. The Conclusion of the Meeting (Galatians 2:6-10)

1. The presence of powerful men (Galatians 2:6)
2. The agreement of separate ministries (Galatians 2:7-9)
3. The thread binding all (Galatians 2:10)
a. Abstaining from… (Acts 15:20, 29)
1.) Pollutions of idols
2.) Fornication
3.) Things strangled
4.) Blood
b. Remembering the poor (Galatians 2:10)
II. AN UNDERSTANDING OF LIBERTY

A. The Appearance of Liberty

1. The word liberty is found twenty-seven times in the Bible. Nine of these uses are found in the Old Testament and eighteen uses are found in the New Testament.
2. Two types of liberty are mentioned in scripture:
a. Physical
b. Spiritual
3. The greater portion of the uses are in reference to physical liberty.

B. The Definition of Liberty

1. Simply put, the word liberty means deliverance. The easiest way to prove this from scripture is to compare Isaiah 61:1 with Luke 4:18.
2. This definition is confirmed by the word’s contrast with bondage (Romans 8:21; Galatians 2:4; Galatians 5:1; 2 Peter 2:19).
3. Liberty is connected to the freedom of choice (1 Corinthians 7:39).
4. Contrary to popular belief, liberty is not:
a. The absence of rules or law (Psalm 119:45; James 1:25; James 2:12)
b. An occasion to the flesh (Galatians 5:13)
c. The absence of servitude (Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 2:16)
d. An allowance to be a stumblingblock to the weak (1 Corinthians 8:9)

III. THE ASPECTS OF LIBERTY

A. Positional Liberty

1. There is one aspect of liberty in which we have already been delivered. This would be as a result of our position in Christ.
2. The Bible alludes to this liberty in Galatians 5:1 where it testifies of “the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.”
3. The Bible confirms this truth when it says that we have already been made free from or delivered from:
a. Sin (Romans 6:18, 22)
b. The law (Romans 7:6)
c. The law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
d. The power of darkness (Colossians 1:13)

B. Practical Liberty

1. While we have liberty in Christ that cannot be taken from us, there is a practical liberty that we must exercise on a daily basis or it will be lost.
2. This liberty is both set forth and explained in Galatians 5.
a. The importance of liberty (Galatians 5:1-6)
1.) The danger of liberty (Galatians 5:1)
2.) The replacement of liberty (Galatians 5:2-4)
3.) The facilitators of liberty (Galatians 5:5-6)
b. The enemies of liberty (Galatians 5:7-12)
1.) Their plan of attack (Galatians 5:7-9)
2.) Their judgment to come (Galatians 5:10)
3.) The present distress (Galatians 5:11-12)
c. The practice of liberty (Galatians 5:13-15)
1.) Serving one another (Galatians 5:13)
2.) Loving one another (Galatians 5:14)
3.) Preserving one another (Galatians 5:15)
d. The walk of liberty (Galatians 5:16-26)
1.) The work of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18)
2.) The works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21)
3.) The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
4.) The life of the Spirit (Galatians 5:24-26)
e. Note: We are IN CHRIST and therefore have liberty. If we want to maintain practical liberty, we must WALK IN THE SPIRIT (Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:16, 25).