Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective.

What should we do in the face of the coronavirus pandemic?

We should be very cautious in how we use our freedom.

True freedom is not defined by “rights” (i.e. me getting what I want without interference from others) but by obeying God’s command to sacrificially serve my neighbor.

Listen to Galatians 5: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1)

In the context, St. Paul is commanding us to fight for the full freedom that Christ has won.

But what exactly does that full freedom look like?

Well, Galatians 5:13 explains it:

“For you were called to freedom…; only do not use your freedom to satisfy yourself, but through love serve one another.”

Do you want to assert your freedom? Then, you need only to sacrificially love and serve your neighbor. Put their interests, their perspective, above your own. Sacrifice your “rights” and “concerns” for their good. Be more concerned for maintaining unity with them, than maintaining your comfort or convenience.

When we are driven merely by our “concerns” or our demand for “rights”, we tend to stand in judgment of one another. And if we stand in judgment of one another, then we stand in judgment of God and His commandment. This is a bitter and dangerous place to be. As Paul reminds us in the very next verse: the opposite of loving your neighbor is judging and verbally attacking them. In such a case, “if you bite and devour one another, watch out lest you be destroyed by one another.” (Galatians 5:15).

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

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. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”

~ Galatians 5:1, 13-15