Are You Living in the Freedom Christ Gave You?

Introduction

The preacher opens the message with a smile: if there were a small group at Tokyo Christ Church called "Galatians 5," it would surely be a fiery group, a group of brothers and sisters wanting to stand before God with nothing held back. Not because this chapter contains the famous list of the works of the flesh, but because it carries a message infinitely greater than that catalog of sins: the freedom Christ won for you on the cross.

This Sunday, February 8, 2026, at Tokyo Christ Church, the question at the heart of the service is simple and direct: are you living the freedom? Not freedom in the sense of the right to choose whatever you want, but the freedom of a freed slave. Christ has broken the chain. The problem is no longer whether it still holds you back: it is broken. The problem is knowing how you are now going to walk, today, as a free man, as a free woman.

Outline of the message

1. Christ broke the chain: you are already free

Galatians 5:1-2: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all."

Paul's argument throughout the letter to the Galatians is remarkably consistent: you are justified by faith, not by the law. And this justification by faith, in Christ, is what freedom is. Paul insists with an almost burning passion: never, ever let yourselves be put back under the yoke. The opposite of freedom is a way of life in which Christ ends up having no value to you at all.

The freedom Paul speaks of is not philosophical. It is the release of a slave. A release from bondage. It is a status, a state of being. Paul is telling you: "You have come out of the state of slavery. You are no longer chained. You cannot be chained again."

The preacher returns to the image of a drawing: on the left, a chain. No matter its depth, its size, its strength, its hardness, that chain is already broken in Christ. Whatever difficulties you are going through right now, the power of the slave master no longer has any legal hold on you. You no longer need to be a captive.

Since the first chapter of Galatians, you have learned just how quick the human heart is to let itself be bound up again. Looking at your own life, you know how easily you fall under other authorities, how easily you become legalistic. The serious, meticulous character of the Japanese is especially exposed to this trap, the preacher says. But today, you need to place your confidence in your actual status in Christ, not in your own weakness. You are free. The chain is broken. No amount of superglue will ever put it back together.

So the question of this message is not "how enslaved do you rate yourself." It is: since you are free, how are you going to live out that freedom by faith?

2. Faith is relational: it expresses itself through love

Galatians 5:6: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

Here is a jaw dropping statement. Paul, who has just spent chapters discussing circumcision, suddenly declares: circumcision no longer matters. What counts, the only thing that counts, is faith expressing itself through love. When Paul says only one thing counts, stop and listen.

The word faith is not mysterious: put simply, it means trust. Faith toward God is, first of all, a relationship. When circumcision, law, religious practice become boxes to check, faith stops being a relationship. It becomes religious mechanics. Paul refuses this outright.

Two things stand out from this verse. First, faith is not solitary. We sometimes think that believing is simply "believing." But Paul says faith is accompanied by love. Believing does not end in itself. Faith is fulfilled in the act of loving, which is by nature relational. Some theologians go so far as to say that faith dwells within and that love is that same faith overflowing outward. Faith and love are almost a single movement.

Second (and this is staggering), the Greek word translated "expressing itself" comes from the root energeo, which gave us our word energy. Paul describes a faith that releases energy through love. The only thing that counts is a faith which, in real relationships, releases the energy of love outward.

This is an enormous encouragement: since you are in Christ, since you are free, you already possess this faith which, by nature, releases the energy of love. You do not have to manufacture it. It is there, in you. Love is entirely free; a chained slave cannot love. Because Christ has set you free, you can, in every place of relationship, let the energy of his love flow out.

The preacher shares two memories. Not long ago, a Christian called him one day: a family member had just died suddenly. He cancelled everything and rushed over. When he arrived, the person was collapsed, unable to get up. What do you say in a moment like that? "God is here. It's going to be okay." Those words are worth nothing. The theology we carry is put to the test in places like that.

Two weeks ago, he visited an elderly brother, alone in a nursing home. The time spent together was good. But this brother lives alone, easily withdraws into his room, can go a whole day without speaking to anyone. How do you encourage him? How do you help him stand firm in the faith? The preacher admits honestly: in many situations, he does not know. The answer is in God, but the path to bring it about is not always visible.

And this is where the verse becomes good news. Even if you don't know what to do, even if you can't find the right words, you can come. You can stand in the place of relationship, and let the energy of Christ's love pass through. Faith is relational. Love is relational. These are not forms, they are presences. Stay in the place of relationship, and Christ will reveal himself through you, in ways you never imagined.

3. Faith is intentional: you choose to love and to serve

Galatians 5:13-14: "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Love does not happen on autopilot. To love is a decision. Faith expressing itself through love is an intentional faith. Paul tells people who have been set free: you are free, but do not take that freedom as an excuse for the flesh, instead, serve one another through love.

The Greek word behind "serve" (douleuo) shares the same root as doulos, the word for slave. Paul, who has spent the whole letter crying out "never become a slave again!" now says: "Make yourself a slave, out of love, to others." This is obviously not a contradiction: it is the free bondage of a disciple who has the right to choose, and who chooses to love.

This voluntary choice is at the heart of Christian freedom. You are not saved by your works, above all don't confuse the two. But because you are saved, because you are free, you can take every situation as an opportunity to love. This is an active freedom.

4. The works of the flesh: don't read them as your fate, read them as a choice

Galatians 5:19-21: "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."

The preacher looks at this list with honesty and confesses: he still encounters sexual temptation, he knows his own misplaced desires, he sometimes spends too much time on his smartphone. He does not bow before any statue, but his culture and his values sometimes take up more room than God does, a modern form of idolatry. He wants to love, and he catches himself becoming aggressive at the slightest annoyance. Jealousy, anger, envy, refusal to let go... all of that still touches him. Only drunkenness is foreign to him, because he does not drink. The rest, unfortunately, remains very present.

Faced with this list, we tend to say: "That's just our nature." That's not wrong. Knowing yourself deeply is necessary. But in Paul's context, this list is not first of all about nature. It is about choice. Whoever has received Christ's freedom is no longer a sinning machine. He has received the power to choose differently, to turn every situation into an opportunity to love. That is what is so staggering. Faith is intentional because it gives the power to choose.

5. The fruit of the Spirit: one single life reflecting Christ

Galatians 5:22-24: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

Notice a detail many commentators point out: Paul writes "fruit" in the singular, not "fruits." Whereas he used the plural for the works of the flesh. The fruit of the Spirit is not a collection of separate items, it is a whole, a unified character, the character of Jesus himself. Some say the first word, love, contains and gives birth to the other eight. Where the love of Christ is manifested, everything else falls into place.

In other words: you don't need to tell yourself "I'm lacking patience" or "I'm no good at gentleness." Focus on one single thing: letting Christ be reflected in the place of relationship, with intention. Where you deliberately choose to represent Christ, the energy of love is released, and the fruit of the Spirit forms little by little, in a single movement. The more you practice, the more you grow into his likeness, and the more the fruit becomes visible.

6. One single mission: making every place of relationship a place where Christ appears

Two weeks from now, Tokyo Christ Church will host the three day All-Japan conference, with representatives from regional churches. On that occasion, a mission course open to everyone will be held after the service. The preacher frames it like this: we are disciples of Jesus, and our mission consists, above all, in making every place (every relationship, every conversation, every encounter), a place where Christ is made manifest.

You don't need to have enormous faith. Jesus spoke of faith the size of a mustard seed. If every single person in the church let themselves be carried by that small faith, telling themselves in every relationship: "This place can become a place where Christ is made manifest. It may be hard, but I choose to love," then a whole church would be changed. One single decision, one single turning point, one more step toward the brother, the sister, the visitor, the coworker, the neighbor.

Key takeaways

• The chain is already broken. Your freedom is not a future goal; it is your present status in Christ. Don't base your confidence on your own weakness, base it on his finished work.
• The only thing that counts: faith expressing itself through love. Paul says it without hedging in Galatians 5:6. Not circumcision, not the law, not religious performance, but faith that releases the energy of love.
• Faith and relationship go together. To believe is to trust; and that trust expresses itself in a "we." It is not proven alone.
• Loving is a choice. It is not automatic. Every situation can be turned into an opportunity to love, and that is precisely what your freedom allows you to do.
• The fruit is one. Don't worry about a missing item on the list. Focus on Christ; the whole character will form, unified in love.
• Mission begins in the nearest place of relationship. You don't need giant faith. Just mustard seed faith, turned with intention toward the person in front of you.

Personal application

1. Where in your life this week are you tempted to put yourself back under a yoke (religious, cultural, family, professional), as though Christ had not already set you free?
2. Which relationship feels difficult right now because you "don't know what to say"? Can you simply come, without an answer, and let Christ pass through you?
3. When an annoyance arises, is your first reflex to attack, defend, flee, or make the conscious decision to love?
4. Which work of the flesh from Galatians 5:19-21 shows up most often in your life? Do you view it as your fate or as a choice you now have the freedom to reverse?
5. Which ordinary "place of relationship" (family, work, neighborhood, church) could you, starting this week, decide to treat as a place where Christ must appear?

Verses cited

• Galatians 5:1-2 · It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
• Galatians 5:6 · Faith expressing itself through love.
• Galatians 5:13-14 · Serve one another humbly in love.
• Galatians 5:19-21 · The acts of the flesh are obvious.
• Galatians 5:22-24 · The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...
• Matthew 17:20 · If you have faith as small as a mustard seed...

FAQ

"I'm free in Christ," really? So why do I still fall into the same sins?

Your freedom is a status won at the cross: the chain is broken. But you can still choose to act as though it were holding. Paul himself writes to Christians who "let themselves be put back under the yoke." The good news is that your relapse does not undo your freedom. It calls you back to your true status in Christ, and to choose, in the next situation, to love, to serve, to let the energy of love flow out instead of the flesh.

What does "faith expressing itself through love" actually mean?

It means your faith is not proven alone, but in the places of relationship where you find yourself. It takes the shape of a concrete step toward someone else: coming when someone is crying, staying when you don't know what to say, serving without being paid back, choosing gentleness where anger was boiling. It is a faith that releases energy, as the Greek word suggests, and that energy settles into the other person's life.

There's so much missing from my "fruit of the Spirit." Where do I start?

Paul writes "fruit" in the singular, and that's not a small detail. Don't make a checklist: "love [check], joy [x], peace [x], patience [x]." Choose one single place of relationship this week, and intentionally decide to reflect Christ there. Where his love is at work, the rest of the character falls into place little by little. The fruit is not nine items to collect, it is one single life transformed into his likeness.