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Galatians 5:1-15

Galatians 5:1-15 – The Slavery of the Law
April 14, 2013

  1.  For Freedom You Were Freed – This is profoundly important. We were not set apart so that we would return ourselves to bondage. Christ set us free so that we can be free indeed. It remains a ridiculous notion to then want to enslave ourselves again.
  2. Slavery removes the Advantage – He says if they accept circumcision (not just the act, but also its meaning) then Christ will be of no advantage to them. That shows us that Chris is an advantage. In Christ, we are justified by His righteousness, not our own. Paul reminds them (v. 3) that the person who accepts circumcision must keep the whole law, which was not possible. This removes Christ out of the equation. Without Christ there is no grace, grace that is the advantage of the Gospel. In Christ, the Spirit is working. There is no advantage to circumcision or uncircumcision. What matters is faith working through love.
  3. Slavery Prevents us from Obeying the Truth – It is very interesting how we might perceive our obedience to the Law. We can see ourselves as living a godly lifestyle. It may come across as godly to people who see our life and not our heart. However, for the Christian, obeying the truth involves obedience to the Law of Christ, that we love one another (Ga 5:14). The reality is that we are unable to do both. If we send our time concentrating on how we can better ourselves and live “godly” we will neglect the truth of the Gospel.  a. We will neglect the reality that we are incapable of pleasing God on our own. b. We will neglect the reality that the world is in desperate need of the Gospel. c. We will neglect the reality that the world is saved through the proclamation of the Gospel
  4. Our freedom is not a license to do whatever we want – Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Paul is shifting gears as he begins to conclude his letter. Some people have wrongly taken our freedom from the law as a freedom to do whatever we want. This is foolish thinking. It is obviously outside of God’s character for Him to instruct His people do to whatever they want. Christ has a law! He laid it out in Matthew 22:36-40

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Instead of feeling as if we have freedom to do whatever our heart’s desire, we must understand that the freedom of Christ, the freedom proclaimed in the Gospel is in fact submission to Christ and His Law.