Freedom and Fruit: The Spirit's Work in Us

Rev. Brandon D. Buchanan
Freedom and Fruit: The Spirit’s Work in Us / Galatians 5:1, 13–25 / Ordinary Time 2025

It is wonderful to worship with you all this morning. I’m Brandon Buchanan, I am one of the associate pastor here at Madisonville First United Methodist Church. I’m grateful to be with you in person and with those of you watching online.

Let’s turn now to the Word of God, from Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

Galatians 5:1, 13–25 (NRSV)

1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery…

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

The Works of the Flesh

16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The Fruit of the Spirit

22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.[1]

THE WORD OF GOD, FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
Thanks be to God.

PRAYER:

Let’s pray.

Holy Spirit, fall afresh on us this morning. Break the chains of false freedom, stir the fruit of true life, and help us walk in step with you. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

SERMON:

I grew up off Princeton pike, at least I call it that to sound like an insider, truthfully, i have it memorized as Princeton road, cause that’s how I learned my address so long ago. I grew up right outside of the Chickasaw subdivision and if you’ve made your way over there lately, you probably know that it’s a rather busy street.

When learning to ride a bike, my mom and dad would take my sisters and I down Suthard Drive as it was a little less busy and had a good stretch of street where we could learn to ride our bikes. I remember the challenge that came with wanting to balance myself. The fear I had when one of my parents would take their hands off the back of my seat. I no longer had training wheels to balance myself or my parents to guide me. Instead there was this new found freedom. Something that was given to me, something that I trained for, something that I longed for, and something that I was so ready for.

A few weeks or months latter, this newfound freedom also led me down a tiny hill down Echo Lane. I was distracted and a little sure of myself and this new freedom that I closed my eyes, just for a second, and over I toppled my handlebar and skidded across the gravel. I remember the pain I felt when my mom cleaned that wound, oh did it burn.

You see, I had the freedom to ride wherever I wanted (within my parents limits)—but I didn’t yet have the wisdom or coordination to ride well. That’s how freedom works: it’s a gift, but it needs guidance.

This week, we’ll celebrate Independence Day—a holiday built around the idea of freedom. And we give thanks for the gift of liberty, for those who’ve fought for it, and for the blessings we enjoy.

But as Christians, we also remember that not all freedom is the same. There’s a kind of freedom that’s about rights, and a kind that’s about righteousness. Paul is speaking of a deeper, Spirit-formed freedom: not freedom from something, but freedom for something—freedom for love, for service, for bearing fruit in a broken world.

And when Paul says, “For freedom Christ has set us free,” he isn’t handing us a blank permission slip. Instead, he’s handing us the Spirit.

Paul is writing to the Galatians because they’ve started listening to voices telling them they need to add something to the gospel—that believing in Jesus isn’t enough, that they need to follow old boundary markers like circumcision to really belong to the family of Christ. But Paul says no. Christ has already set you free. Don’t go back to slavery—not to the law, not to sin, not even to the illusion that you have to earn your place in the family of God.

You are already in.

But now comes the deeper question: what do we do with that freedom?

FREEDOM FOR LOVE

Paul gives us a surprising answer. He says, “Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love become slaves to one another.” That’s a wild turn of phrase. You’ve been set free—to become a servant. Free people who serve.

And he roots it in that ancient commandment which Jesus called the second greatest: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:39)

You see, real freedom is not about getting our way. It’s about choosing the way of love. The world around us says freedom means being in control—getting ahead, being right, being seen. But the Spirit of God calls us to a different freedom. A freedom that looks like self-giving love. A freedom that kneels to wash feet. A freedom that listens instead of shouts. A freedom that forgives instead of condemns.

Oscar Romero put it this way: “Freedom is not license. Freedom does not allow me to do whatever I want.” Rather, freedom begins by accepting the unearned grace of God. Christ Liberates us from sin so we can be liberated for love–agents of God’s kingdom, never spectators.

Real freedom, then, is not autonomy; it is Spirit‑empowered love that builds up the body and blesses the neighborhood.

Paul also knows how easily freedom can turn on itself. He warns: “If you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” You can almost hear the heartbreak in his voice. Because this isn’t just about singular behavior—it’s about community. Left unchecked, the flesh turns freedom into faction—strife, jealousy, selfish ambition. The Galatian church is fracturing. People are dividing into camps. They’re fighting to be right. And Paul is pleading: Don’t let your freedom become fuel for the flesh.

The works of the flesh fracture community; But as Paul argues, the fruit of the Spirit heals repairs and rebuilts and restores through love.

THE FLESH AND THE FRUIT

When Paul says “the flesh,” he’s not just talking about private sin. He’s talking about the forces that fracture relationships—envy, strife, factions, selfish ambition. It’s the way of living that turns the self into the center of everything.

But then comes the contrast: the fruit of the Spirit.

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Generosity. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.

These aren’t just private virtues—they’re public fruit. They are what hold a church together. What heal families. What push back against the divisions that try to define us.

I love art, and the processes that go into it. And when I think of art and reconciliation I’m drawn to the japanse art of KINT su Gee – where broken pottery is mended with Gold. These cracked vases become whole. That is what the Fruit of the spirit is. It is this inward reconciliation that is driven by love. And from love the gospel, the goodnews, pours out of ourselves and into our communities, cultivating life-change and healing.

One commentator calls this “the visible shape of the gospel.” The Spirit doesn’t just improve us; the Spirit makes us into witnesses. We are a Pentecost People, guided by the Holy Spirit to bring grace and reconciliation to all we come in contact with.

To borrow from Brennan Manning: the Holy Spirit doesn’t wait for us to get cleaned up to be loved. The Spirit meets us in where we are, wither it’s in piety or in sin, Manning calls it our ragamuffin places, our contradictions, and still no matter if it’s in holy perfection or in the lowest of low states God begins to grow fruit right where you are.

WALKING IN STEP

Paul says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Another way to say that is: keep in step. Not a sprint. Not a leap. A walk.

And that means each day, each conversation, each decision—we’re invited to slow down and ask: Am I walking with the Spirit here? Am I sowing the fruit of the Spirit? Or something else?

Because we all know that old saying, “we reap, what we sow.”

So, I want to invite you into a simple practice this week: choose one fruit. Just one. Maybe it’s patience. Maybe it’s kindness. Maybe it’s gentleness—especially with yourself. Ask the Spirit to grow that fruit in you. Not by your willpower, but by grace. Ask the Holy Spirit every morning to grow that fruit in you. Pause at lunch and ask, How’s the crop? Celebrate small sprouts; surrender the weeds.

And remember: the Spirit’s gardening is never merely private. Romero said the responsibility for God’s kingdom “lies on all our shoulders—no one is a spectator.” Freedom calls us into the arena—into forgiven, forgiving, fruitful living for the sake of Hopkins County and beyond.

Because friends, you have been set free. Not to do whatever you want, but to become more like Christ. You are already loved. Already claimed. And now, by the Spirit, you are being transformed.

INVITATION:

So I’ll ask you: What are you doing with your freedom?

Is it building bridges—or burning them?

Is it producing fruit—or creating friction?

Are you walking with the Spirit—or riding with your eyes shut?

If today finds you nursing road‑rash from self‑made spills, hear the good news: Christ has already set you free. The Spirit stands ready with cleansing grace—not the sting of condemnation, but the healing that sends us riding again, wiser and guided.

Walk in love. Bear good fruit. Let it be so among us.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

BENEDICTION:

People of God, you are free—free to love, free to serve, free to walk in step with the Spirit. Go now and bear fruit that lasts. In the blessing of Almighty God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—amen.

Bibliography

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Ga 5:1, 13–25.

González, Justo L., ed. The Least of These: Writings from the Church, Writings for the Church. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2017.

Keener, Craig S. Galatians: A Commentary. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2019.

Manning, Brennan. The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out. Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2000.

Romero, Óscar A. "Responsibility for God’s Kingdom." ​ Homily delivered on the Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 26, 1977.

Wright, N. T. Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004