September 2026

Called to Liberty, Not Left to Ourselves

Greetings, saints.

Our text today is at Galatians 5:13, which reads as follows (quoting): “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

Paul’s declaration that believers are “called unto liberty” is a statement of profound importance. Liberty is not a secondary blessing added to salvation, but part of the very calling of God upon the believer. If God has called the saint unto liberty, then that liberty must be holy, purposeful, and governed by his will. It is not freedom to drift, nor freedom to please the flesh, but freedom to live before God in love and service.

With that in mind, as we consider Galatians 5:13, we will see three truths: the danger of spiritual vacancy, the purpose of Christian liberty, and the warning that the flesh will always seek to misuse what grace has given.

The danger of spiritual vacancy

This danger exists where deliverance from bondage is not followed by active occupation with God’s will. A person may be free outwardly and yet empty inwardly. If liberty is not filled with faith, worship, obedience, and purpose before God, it does not remain neutral; the flesh soon finds room to reclaim influence.

We see this danger illustrated repeatedly under the Old Testament. When Israel was brought out of Egypt, they were not merely delivered from Pharaoh; they were brought unto the Lord. Exodus 19:4 says (quoting): “I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.”

Israel’s liberty had direction. Yet while Moses delayed on the mountain, and his visible leadership was absent, the people treated that space of waiting as an opportunity for the flesh. In Exodus 32, they made the golden calf and turned deliverance into idolatry. The problem was not that God had failed to free them, but that freedom was being exercised in a spiritual vacuum. Their hearts were not filled with faith, worship, and obedience, and so liberty became an occasion for the flesh.

A similar lesson appears in the wilderness generation. Israel had left Egypt behind, but Egypt had not yet left Israel’s affections. Again and again, they murmured for the old bondage, remembering the food of Egypt while forgetting the misery of Egypt. Their outward deliverance exposed an inward vacancy: they were free from Pharaoh yet not gladly occupied with the Lord’s purpose. Stephen sums up the situation in Acts 7:39, saying that the wilderness generation (quoting): “in their hearts turned back again into Egypt.”

That is the danger Paul warns against in Galatians 5:13. Liberty may be real, and yet if it is not actively occupied by love, service, and the will of God, it leaves unguarded ground where the flesh can quickly move, making what grace has given serve its own desires.

Paul develops this same truth doctrinally in Romans chapter 6, where Christian liberty is shown not as independence from all authority, but as deliverance into a new and holy service. In Romans 6:17–22 Paul teaches that being made free from sin does not leave the believer masterless. Rather, freedom from sin makes the believer a servant of righteousness and servant to God. The point is that grace does not produce self-rule but delivers the believer from the cruel dominion of sin into the blessed service of God. The believer changes masters. Once he yielded himself to uncleanness and iniquity; now, being made free, he is to yield himself unto righteousness, with the fruit of that new service being holiness and the end everlasting life.

In other words, Galatians 5:13 warns us that liberty is never safe as an empty space; it must be occupied by the Lord, governed by love, and expressed in willing service.

The purpose of Christian liberty

We see in our verse that Christian liberty has a holy purpose. Paul does not merely say, “ye have been called unto liberty”; he immediately adds, “but by love serve one another.” The believer is set free, not to live independently from God, but to live wisely, willingly, and fruitfully unto God in loving service to others.

Such liberty is possible only because it rests upon the finished work of Christ. The believer is not released from law and left to himself, but is brought into a new sphere of grace, where freedom is ordered toward life in Christ and loving service to others. Believers are not under the law but under grace (Romans 6:14). The law could restrain outward conduct, but it could never produce inward righteousness. Grace liberates the believer from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13) and places him in a new sphere of life: life in Christ.

This liberation gives the saint a new standing, a new power, and a new direction. He is no longer bound to serve sin, nor condemned under the law, but is now free to walk in the Spirit and bring forth fruit unto God.

For that reason, liberty must be understood positively as well as negatively. It is not only freedom from bondage; it is freedom for worship, obedience, love, holiness, and service. Christian liberty reaches its proper end when it produces humble ministry toward others. This is the very direction of Christ’s saving work, for Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:15 that Christ died so that believers (quoting): “should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him.” The same purpose is seen in Ephesians 2:10, where believers are described as God’s workmanship (quoting): “created in Christ Jesus unto good works.”

Such service, however, must not be confused with servitude under compulsion. It is voluntary, Spirit-produced service. The flesh demands to be served; love desires to serve. The flesh insists upon rights; love lays them down. The flesh seeks advantage; love seeks the good of others. Thus, the liberty of the believer is not diminished by service but displayed through it.

The flesh asks, “What may I take for myself?” but grace asks, “How may I serve for Christ’s sake?” In this way, liberty becomes the arena in which the life of Christ is displayed through the believer.

The occasion of the flesh

Paul’s warning – “only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh” – is necessary because liberty can be misunderstood and abused. The flesh is always looking for a foothold. If the believer treats liberty as independence from God rather than freedom unto God, then what grace gave for holiness becomes an opportunity for self-indulgence.

Nor does the flesh always appear in openly shameful forms. It may call self-will “liberty,” impatience “discernment,” harshness “faithfulness,” or indifference “peace.” The believer must therefore ask not only, “Am I free to do this?” but “Does this serve Christ, edify others, and accord with the Spirit?”

This is why Paul guards liberty without denying it. The answer to abused liberty is not a return to legal bondage, but a Spirit-filled use of liberty. Paul had already answered this abuse of grace in Romans 6:15, where he says (quoting): “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” Grace does not make peace with sin, nor does it leave the flesh in command.

Paul gives the settled reality in Galatians 5:24, where he says (quoting): “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” The flesh has already been judged on the cross and has no rightful claim to govern the believer. But this settled reality must be answered by daily dependence upon the Spirit. That is why Galatians 5:16 says (quoting): “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” The believer does not overcome the flesh by putting himself back under law, but by walking in the power of the Spirit. Liberty is safest when it is kept close to the cross and exercised in dependence upon the Spirit, where freedom is never used to excuse self, but to express Christ.

Brethren, Galatians 5:13 is a concise yet comprehensive statement of Christian liberty. It captures the essence of grace living in the present dispensation. Believers are called unto liberty – freedom from the law, freedom from the flesh, freedom unto the Spirit. But liberty must never be misused. It must never become a base of operations for the flesh. Instead, it must be expressed through love – love that serves, love that sacrifices, love that reflects Christ.

Liberty is not the right to do as we please. It is the Spirit‑given ability to do as we ought. It is freedom to serve. It is freedom to love. It is freedom to walk in the Spirit.

Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Grace to you all,

Amen