For Freedom (Galatians 5:1-6)
In our study of Galatians, we have seen a thread. Paul wants the Galatians to know they aren’t saved because they were good enough or righteous enough to deserve it. He wants them to stop believing these false teachers who claim that doing the works of the OT Law makes you a child of Abraham. The law was given to help us understand our failures and sin. It was not given as part of the initial promise to bless mankind. The law resulted in a greater curse, not a blessing.
In the last Chapter, Paul pointed out that those who think of the law as something they must do to please God are enslaved to elementary principles and under the curse. They are not children of promise like Isaac. They are children of slavery like Ishmael.
What is your attitude toward God and toward the work that God has given you to do? Do you often dread attending church services, reading your Bible, preparing to teach a class, or serving others? Is this more like a chore than something you enjoy doing? Do you do whatever it is that you hate out of a sense of obligation, as though you would be condemned if you didn’t?
What does that sound like to you? Does that sound like slavery or freedom? Some of us struggle to get out of this funk. We constantly seek the approval of our Heavenly Father. The text tonight will help us understand this better and, hopefully, get us out of this funk.
Christ Has Set Us Free (5:1)
Galatians 5:1 (ESV) --- 1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
The first verse is an interesting one. The basis for this series is “The Gospel Sets You Free.” It’s crucial to pay attention to the wording. Why did Christ set us free? Paul says, “For freedom.” In other words, he hoped that sets us free would give us freedom. Jesus’ desire for you in your life is to be set free, and experience freedom like you have never experienced before. He gets pleasure out of setting us free from our captivity to sin and our captivity to self-righteousness.
This means that the last thing Jesus wants us to do is run back into the arms of sin and be taken captive again! He wants us to be free and enjoy our freedom. I remember catching a fish once, and as soon as I got the hook out, he jumped out of my hand and landed on the rocks. He ended up in a place where I couldn’t get him and set him free. Under the law, we are like fish on dry land, unable to breathe and destined for a slow and cruel death. But Jesus has put us in the water so we can move and be who we were created to be.
Falling Away From Grace (5:2-4)
Galatians 5:2--4 (ESV) --- 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
Circumcision represents obedience to false teachers, and Paul says that if they were to accept these Old Testament laws, something awful would happen. It’s so awful that Paul describes it in four different ways.
“Christ Will Be of No Advantage To You”
The first catastrophe he says is that Christ will not be advantageous to you. Consider how much of an advantage Christ is to one who trusts in him as their savior. Does he not give us every advantage? Where would we be without Christ? We cannot consider ourselves a child of God without the redemption we find in the blood of Christ. He makes it possible for us to be a part of this spiritual family. Yet, he says that Jesus is no advantage to these Christians if they were to accept circumcision. They will move from having the greatest advantage anyone can have to have no advantage at all. That’s like a ten-foot basketball player cutting off his legs!
“Obligated To Keep The Whole Law”
The second catastrophe is another way of saying the first. These ideas are all connected. He says we would have to keep the whole law. Trying to be righteous by the law is not congruent with receiving the grace of God through Christ. You can’t do one and the other. They are two different means of justification and righteousness.
“You Are Severed From Christ”
Earlier in 3:27, he said those baptized into Christ have put on Christ. The relationship described is extremely intimate. We are one with Christ, and he is one with us. He is not ashamed to call us “brother” (Heb 2:11-12). Jesus loves and cares for those who put their faith and trust in him. But when we decide to be justified by the law, we are severed from Christ. He no longer knows us or accepts us.
“You Have Fallen Away From Grace”
The fourth and final statement reveals how dangerous this is again. He says that those who were once trusting in grace for their salvation have fallen away from grace. They no longer believe and trust in God’s gift. They have moved on from the gift of God and decided to save themselves.
Consider the imagery that is given here. One who falls away reminds me of someone sliding down a hill or falling off a mountain. The grace of God puts us on a pedestal that we could never reach on our own. So we need to see trust in the grace of God as the pinnacle. We will never come closer to being what God wants us to be than when we entirely rely on his grace to save us. That faith in God’s compassion and love draws us as close to him as we will ever get.
Waiting... (2:5-6)
Galatians 5:5--6 (ESV) --- 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
The last phrase lets us know the reason why so many people are struggling with the acceptance of circumcision. He says, “For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly await for the hope of righteousness.” Notice that these Christians are trying to become righteous instead of waiting for it to be developed in them. Just like Abraham and Sarah refused to wait for the son of promise (Isaac), these Christians are trying to devise their means of being truly righteous.
Righteousness is not something that we can force to happen by our own will. God will give us righteousness through spiritual growth in Christ. Our hearts and spirits are transformed as we take in God’s grace with faith and become filled with love.
Romans 5:3--5 (ESV) --- 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Notice the words of Paul in Romans. He says that God’s love has been poured into our hearts and that knowledge changes us to suffer, endure, and develop the character God wants us to have with even greater hope and assurance of life after this life is over. These Christians in Galatia are trying to increase their hope and assurance. They are suffering for Christ, but they took a wrong turn. They got hung up on circumcision. But God doesn’t care about circumcision. He wants their heart. He wants faith working through love!
Titus 3:3--8 (ESV) --- 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
What Do We Learn?
Faith in God’s goodness is supposed to create hearts that love God and others. God should see us responding to his grace with a zeal for good works. He isn’t interested in seeing the Galatians circumcise themselves. He’s not interested in Christians studying the Old Testament to see what they need to do to please God. The Old Testament is valuable to us. It helps us understand who God is and what God has done for us. It is full of instructions and examples to follow. But we must never go to it to become righteous. Righteousness comes through faith in Christ alone. The only thing that counts is faith working through love.
Throughout the New Testament, there are many places where falling away is alluded to. Hebrews 10 points out that people who go on sinning willfully no longer receive a sacrifice for their sins. Some people commit a sin leading to death, according to 1 John 5. But here we read that we can sever ourselves from Christ by attaching ourselves to legalistic views about righteousness and salvation. Any attempt to be righteous apart from the grace of God will result in a lost state.
People who do not have hearts full of love are not experiencing the freedom, joy, and zeal Christ died to bring about.
Application
God doesn’t want you to think about him as a debt collector. He doesn’t want that to be the extent of our relationship. Good works are not supposed to be some business transaction where we calculate how much God has done for us and subtract from how much we do for God.
We must not see our work as anything more than the painting of a child for a parent. Naomi and Joseph give me those from time to time, and they warm my heart, but they aren’t paying for every meal, rent, or toy. They most certainly aren’t paying for the privilege of being my child. I would be offended if they were. Our children aren’t slaves, and they don’t consider themselves to be slaves. If they did, something was wrong with my training or their way of thinking.
We are now children of God. What he does for us, he does out of love. All he expects from us is the love and respect that is due. Do you enjoy our freedom in Christ, or are you constantly beating yourself up for not being righteous enough? Paul says Jesus set you free because he wanted you free. We can’t return to slavery and think that will make him happy.
Does the love that God has revealed to you make you feel indebted? That’s normal and right. We should feel indebted. If we didn’t, we would be spoiled brats. God wants us to be thankful, but we shouldn’t try to pay him back. Instead, we should use our gifts to magnify God’s name. That’s what “faith working through love” is all about. It’s not working to be saved. It’s working because you are in love with God, who has given you every benefit in Christ. We are free to work as much or as little as we want. We are free to sew good seeds with faith in the powerful working of God, and we know that we will receive much fruit if we sew the good seed.