Galatians 5:1-6

                                                                     Galatians 5:1-6

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.  Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.  I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.  You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.  For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Our lives and standing are dependent upon Christ.  What we do with Christ will determine every aspect of our present and future.  Since Christ is so vital, this is where false teachers will take aim.  They will do all they can to diminish the work of Christ and to promote self-reliance.  The only way to combat this is by pointing out reality.  This reality check from Paul is helpful to all of us.

  

THE TRUTH OF FREEDOM IN CHRIST: It is a wonderful blessing to have freedom in Christ.  This does not simply mean freedom from the Law; it means that we have freedom from sin.  In Christ, we are set free from the penalty, power, and presence of sin.  The Law was only effective at convicting of sin but has no power to set us free from sin’s grip.  In fact, the Law ended up inadvertently promoting sin because sinful men are stimulated to sin by the prohibition of anything.  Freedom has already been purchased by the blood of Christ; our responsibility is to stand firm in that freedom.

 

THE DANGER OF FALLING FROM CHRIST: Exclusivity in our faith in Him is the only demand of Christ.  The minute we try to add to faith in Christ by means of the works of the Law or circumcision; we make the Gospel of no effect.  We cannot simply try to add Christ to whatever we already believe.  Paul’s concern for the believers in Galatia was that they would fall away from Christ back into the pit of self-reliance.  This does not mean a loss of salvation; it simply demonstrates the lack of true salvation in the first place.  It is impossible for someone to be saved by grace while at the same time striving to earn salvation through the works of the Law.  Those who are exposed to the Gospel of faith in Christ but choose to reject Christ in favor of legalism have fallen from grace.  Since man is attracted to earning his own way; falling away from Christ is a real and present danger.

 

THE HOPE THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST: All those who have placed their faith in Christ alone for salvation have the blessed hope of righteousness.  The Spirit of God makes us alive in Christ and He indwells every believer as a guarantee of our freedom in Christ and hope of glory.  Whether or not a person is circumcised or has followed the law; all who believe in Christ as their only hope for salvation will be forgiven and have the promise of eternal righteousness.  What the Law was powerless to produce has been freely offered through faith in Christ.

 

APPLICATION: Rejoice in the freedom we have from sin on every level through faith in Christ.  Be extremely careful not to fall away from the glorious grace of God by thinking that we can add to the Gospel through human effort of religious ritual.  Enjoy the hope of righteousness we have in Jesus.

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