Galatians 5:1
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage”
Paul now focuses on the practical appeal of living by the grace principle (Galatians 5:1-6:10). The last two chapters challenge the believer to practice the principle of grace.
First, he says that legalism enslaves the believer (Galatians 5:1-2). The whole epistle argues grace more from the Christian viewpoint than the non-Christian. Liberty characterizes the Christian life. But just not any liberty. Christians have liberty in their position with Jesus Christ. Jesus gave them a life that sets us free from sin and the responsibility to gain God’s forgiveness for their sin.
Stand fast
It is important for believers to take a firm stand on the grace principle. It is not enough to float along. Christians must persist in their understanding and application of grace. It takes attentiveness to sustain our freedom in Christ. Legalism will creep back into our Christian lives if we are not on our toes spiritually.
therefore
The “therefore” harks back to chapter 4, where Paul used the word “free” in relation to Sarah, the freewoman. We take our stand in liberty because of our freedom in Christ.
in the liberty
“Liberty” is our license to walk with God freely (Galatians 5:13). The Christian has manumission from the bondage of trying to measure up to God’s standards. In the Roman Empire, slaves could not purchase their freedom. Their masters paid for their freedom to the temple treasury. A god then set them free. No one could enslave them again, for they were the property of the god. Freed slaves received a document to certify their liberty. Christians have their certification of liberty by the cross of Christ.
The word “liberty” is first in the sentence making it very emphatic. The gospel of grace brings the Christian into new privilege and position before God. The emphasis in this chapter is living the Christian life by God’s grace.
by which Christ has made us free,
The combination of “liberty” and “free” (from the same root) stresses the completeness of our authorization to walk with God. The Greek tense (aorist) indicates the totality of our liberty. We owe our liberty to Christ’s finished work on the cross. He did all the suffering necessary to forgive us and place us in a position of rights with God. We cannot add to that suffering by feeling guilty for our personal sins. Christ made us free from the penalty of sin at the cross.
Principle:
The principle of liberty is our right and pass to access the presence of God.
Application:
The liberty that Christ gives is not civil liberty but personal liberty from paying for our sins. Christ acquired a liberty of the soul for us. We no longer fear God’s wrath because Christ took that wrath already for us. It cost Him His human life.
Christians should stand on their liberty. They should hold to God’s grace. If they do not stand on the principle of grace, the Christian life falls into legalism, a self-effort approach to gaining God’s favor. That is why we must come to grips with the fact that we have God’s favor already. The principle of grace can slip from us very easily; it is necessary to hold it fast.
Christian liberty is not liberty to sin or to indulge selfish desires. It is the liberty to live a life of godliness.
“But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).
The liberty of being right with God is the greatest liberty of all. When our heart possesses assurance with God, our heart is free to live with God forever. We are free to serve the Lord without compulsion. We serve Him because we want to do it. This is the polar opposite of serving the Lord in a straightjacket of legalism that throttles our walk. We do right because it is right, not because of some extrinsic reason.
God saves us by grace; we live by grace, and we will die in God’s grace. One day God will free Christians from the very presence of sin.
The basis for all freedoms is grace. Grace is the provision God makes for us based on His Son’s personm and work. Jesus provided a way that we might have eternal salvation, the power to live the Christian life and be in the presence of God eternally. God provided these things totally by Himself. We did nothing to get them or earn them. We cannot add anything to get them or do anything to take away from them.
Isaiah 61:1 -
The Good News of Salvation - "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Isaiah 48:9, For my own name's sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely.
ISAIAH 52:2, Shake thyself from the dust Or "the dust from thee" , in which she had sat, or rolled herself as a mourner; or where she had been trampled upon by her persecutors and oppressors; but now being delivered from them, as well as from all carnal professors and false teachers, she is called upon to shake herself from the dust of debasement and distress, of false doctrine, superstition.
Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free , and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage”
• focus on the practical appeal of living by the grace principle.
• legalism enslaves the believer.
• Liberty characterizes the Christian life. But just not any liberty. Christians have liberty in their position with Jesus Christ.
Galatians 5:1–6
NKJV
Christian Liberty
5:1 Stand a fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.
4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Galatians 5:1–6:10
Christian Liberty
5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.
4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Love Fulfills the Law
7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.
11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.
12 I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!
13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an qopportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
Walking in the Spirit
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
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