“In matters of equity between man and man, our Savior has taught us to put my neighbor in place of myself, and myself in place of my neighbor.” (Source: Isaac Watts. Mr. Watts wrote songs like “Joy to the World,” “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” “At the Cross,” and “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” Mr. Watts wrote hundreds of hymns and had a strong understanding of Bible doctrine.)
John Wesley said, “One of the principal rules of religion is, to lose no occasion of serving God. And, since he is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve him in our neighbor, which he receives as if done to himself in person, standing visibly before us.” (Source: John Wesley. Mr. Wesley was an 18th century Methodist preacher, theologian, and traveling evangelist.)
The church must return to the biblical understanding of serving one another.
FREEDOM SERVES (Gal. 5:13)
The Jewish believers were no longer subject to the law of Moses (Gal. 3:28; 4:9). They were free from the rites and customs because Jesus cleared the way through His death, burial, and resurrection! However, false teachers were insisting on certain laws or customs (i.e. – circumcision) to be required for salvation and good standing in the church. In essence, Paul says, “Enough! No more bondage! These false teachers must be removed!”
In 2013, CBS News reported the story of 3 women who had been found after being abducted as teenagers. They had been missing for 10 years. These adult women shared their horrific story, speaking of spending a lot of time tied up in a man’s basement. Their families, as you can imagine, were overcome with emotion. (Source: Kidnap victims freed in Cleveland - Photo 6 - CBS News)
These ladies were literally bound and now they are free! Galatians 5 reminds the church that before salvation we were bound to sin and now as believers, we are free in Christ!
So church of God, do not go back looking for the shackles from which you were freed – instead, serve one another in your new freedom.
LOVE FULFILLS (Gal. 5:14)
These false teachers wanted the churches in the region of Galatia to continue upholding laws and rituals for right relationship with God. Paul then alludes to the law in relation to our fellow man and says in Galatians 5:14 that loving your neighbor fulfills all the law! In other words, loving your neighbor embraces and comprises the substance of the whole law. True genuine love will counteract the evil self-centeredness of our flesh. The problem is that we often do not view self-centeredness as evil.
Two children came to their mother asking for the last piece of cake. Both insisted they saw it first. The mother quieted them down and then wisely instructed one of them to cut the cake in half and the other one would get to choose which piece he wanted (insuring the cut would be fair). Our flesh is self-centered at its core. That self-centeredness then drives us to do two things: fight for self and be consumed with the opinions of others.
Our flesh will drive us to gage our choices based on the approval of our peer groups. Would my boss fire me if I post this on social media? Will my spouse be okay with these charges on our credit card? Will my parents punish me if get home late? These are the wrong questions to be asking.
Here is the right question: will this choice demonstrate genuine love or will it demonstrate self-centeredness to others?
The need we all have is to learn discernment between GENUINE LOVE and — pride…self-indulgence…and self-centeredness.
AGGRESSION DEVOURS (Gal. 5:15)
The warning given to the church -- “if ye bite and devour one another” – is meant to be a parallel to “as wild beasts do.” Keep in mind that there are Jewish, and Gentile converts in the church. The Jews would often view the Gentiles as beneath them…as scum. This reference to biting and devouring is most likely in reference to the strife and contention that would arise between these two people groups. Here is the warning: if you engage in such contention, you will not only destroy one another and your own character, but you will also destroy the testimony of the church.
We are not strangers to this contention and strife. Are we? One mention of political views or medical opinions and you will find people in your own peer group that strongly agree and disagree with you – to the point of argument, hurt feelings, anger … and sometimes worse.
A swift way to destroy the church is through contention within the church…”friendly fire” is not so friendly — and it is a great weapon of the enemy.
So, spiritual freedom does not give license to our self-centeredness. Freedom points us to serving one another because of love for one another. If we embrace self-centeredness, we will devour one another and accomplish very little gospel living.
7 Targets to Serve Others
1. SERVE YOUR FAMILY.
Start with living the gospel at home (Eph. 5:22-6:4). Your home is the most important place to serve one another and demonstrate true love for others. This impacts your neighborhood, your extended family, your church, your community, and even your job! We all do better in life when our home life is awesome!
2. SERVE YOUR CHURCH
Living the gospel is more than attending a church service. The church was meant to impact the community with the gospel through direct and indirect means, modeling, and mentoring (Gal. 6:10). Volunteer where the Lord is burdening your heart…but volunteer to serve out of love for others and not out of a desire for recognition or for positions of power. Keep the motives pure.
3. SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY
Living the gospel will lead you to get involved with the community in which you live. Show up to council meetings, volunteer for water stands at races, and engage in conversation with neighbors. Guard against being an island of isolation. Living the gospel requires involvement.
4. SERVE THOSE IN NEED
Living the gospel sees those in need (sick, sad, fatherless, widows, etc.) and reaches out to them (Jas. 1:27). This could be a meal, a phone call, an email, a card sent through snail mail, a personal visit, investment of your time, or simply a listening ear and time of prayer.
5. SERVE THROUGH YOUR ABUNDANCE
Living the gospel allows me to see my abundance to help meet the needs of others (Lk. 6:38; Eph. 4:28). If you know of a family that could use your growing kids’ smaller clothes, offer them. If you know of a family that might benefit from your used furniture that you replaced, offer the furniture in love to serve their needs. (One reminder: Once an item is given away, it is no longer yours to decide its use.) Be sure to focus your service through the lens of love and not control, pride, or manipulation.
6. SERVE OTHERS THROUGH FRIENDSHIP
Jesus developed strong relationships with John, Peter, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Living the gospel requires genuine friendship relationships (II Tim. 2:2; Prov. 27:17).
7. SERVE OTHERS THROUGH CHILDREN
Jesus highly valued children (Lk. 18:16). When some thought them to be too insignificant to bother the Master, Jesus rebuked them. Living the gospel will lead us to invest heavily in the next generation.
Recently, a well-known Danish soccer player (Christian Eriksen) collapsed on the field when going into cardiac arrest. It was reported that Eriksen “was gone” before he was resuscitated by on field medics. The doctors later said that having CPR begun so quickly is what prevented long standing brain damage…and even saved his life. How exciting to think one person had such an impact in another’s life – simply through the act of service called CPR.
The Lord has called us to assist in the work of the gospel. Jesus would often use simple acts of service to live the gospel before mankind. Embrace this honor, live the gospel, love others and serve them. O church of God, reevaluate your understanding of serving one another.