GALATIANS 5:1-15

Free at last!  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Galatians 5:1 what is christian freedom?

Free at last!  “The common sense definition of freedom is to be able to do what you most want to do and only in the power of the gospel are we able to do what we now want to do as new creatures in Christ: please, obey and glorify our God.  (Rom. 7:22) This is the very purpose for man’s existence and at last our new desires conform to the realities of the universe.” (Tim Keller) “I have made them (man) for my glory. It was I who created them (man).’”  (Isa. 43:7 NLT)

Paul argues that Christ’s work set the Jews free from the law (faith in Jesus vs. Moses) and the Gentiles free from paganism and the chains of sin. Being free means free from the curse of the law (3:10-14; 5:1, 13) because we are now accepted by God through Christ’s work (and this alone) and are in relationship with Him. But does this freedom mean we can sin boldly since we are saved and have our ticket to heaven? No, as Paul explains in this section. “Christian freedom is described as a life apart from Law, apart from license (sinning boldly), according to the Spirit, and a life of love and service.” (Walvord and Zuck – New Testament Commentary)

As Christians, instead of (external) rules (the law) telling us what to do, we have God Himself indwelling us by His Spirit (internal) guiding and empowering us to obey Him as we submit to His leadership. So we are free through Christ (His substitutionary work) and free in the Sprit. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3:17) The Holy Spirit is God Himself, like the Father and like the Son. The Spirit gives us freedom from the power of sin, eternal death (hell) and the condemnation of the law. We are not free to do what we want independent of God but free to do God’s will in dependence upon God.

We are also free from the power of Satan and evil spirits that had power over us before we were in Christ as we call upon His power and authority over them. Jesus says, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions (i.e., evil spirits) and to overcome all the power of the enemy.”(Luke 10:19; See Eph. 6:6-18; Col. 2:15)

And we are set free from the power of the flesh – independence, autonomy and self-centeredness in order to be in relationship with God and man. “Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature (flesh) rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Gal. 5:13, 14)

So we are set free from all the above in order to be set free for and set free to; set free for God to be His child and to do our Father’s will, His “good pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:2) We are set free to become slaves of Christ as we choose by our own free (freed/empowered) will to submit to Him – “like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. (i.e., it is now our heart’s desire to obey God). Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.”(Eph. 6:6)

But as Paul warned the Galatians we need to, “Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”(5:1) i.e., go back to performance based acceptance with God. Religion, moralism, or our idols (comfort, approval, control or power/success) can put us right back into bondage again. “Any idol is a curse because if I fail my idol it will not forgive me. If it is threatened by circumstance I become uncontrollably anxious. If it is blocked by a person I become uncontrollably resentful. If I lose it through personal failure I become self-loathing. And even if I succeed with my idol it will not fulfill me for it is a non- god.” (Tim Keller)

 Only God can satisfy our soul (Ps. 63:5) and only pleasing Him will fulfill us. For example, if as a parent your greatest desire (idol) is your children’s happiness you will be in bondage to this and even if they are happy it will not give you total fulfillment. Or if success in your work is your highest desire (idol) even if you are very successful you will not be fulfilled. Solomon’s lament in Ecclesiastes proves this. He was eminently successful and had all a man could want in abundance (money, sex, power) and said, "Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless." What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?” (Eccl. 1:2-3)

In summary, in the gospel, love replaces law as our hearts motivation to obey God. The law says if I don’t obey God I will not be accepted by God and I will be punished; so I serve Him only out of fear and only to get what I want from Him.  The gospel says in spite of my great sins against God past, present and future, God loves me and will not punish me for my sins because Jesus paid for all my sins. So now my motivation to obey God is out of love and gratitude. Now I obey God’s Word and truth out of an entirely different motivation: because I want to please the One who loves me so much by serving Him and others.

 GALATIANS 5:1-15              

Discussion Questions FOR APPLICATION OF GOD’S WORD

As Christians, instead of (external) rules (the law) telling us what to do, we have God Himself indwelling us by His Spirit (internal) guiding and empowering us to obey Him as we submit to His leadership. Discuss how we live this out in our relationship with the Lord and other people. For example, how can we discern God’s “internal guidance”? How can we appropriate God’s enabling power within us?

“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions (i.e., evil spirits) and to overcome all the power of the enemy.”(Luke 10:19; See Eph. 6:6-18; Col. 2:15) How do we appropriate Jesus’ power and authority over evil spirits? (See Luke 10:17; Acts 16:18; Phil. 2:9-10)

“Serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Gal. 5:13, 14) We are set free from the power of the flesh – independence, autonomy and self-centeredness in order to be in relationship with God and man. Andy Stanley says that one goal of his church is to get people out of rows (sitting in seats listening to the pastor preach) and into circles (small group meetings where each person is both listening and sharing his thoughts, needs and encouragement to help others). In light of this, discuss Hebrews 10:24-25 and ask where are you applying this in your life?

See Gal. 5:1 – We can lose our freedom by looking to our idol(s) to meet our need for self-worth/significance, etc. “Any idol is a curse because if I fail my idol it will not forgive me. If it is threatened by circumstances I become uncontrollably anxious. If it is blocked by a person I become uncontrollably resentful. If I lose it through personal failure I become self-loathing. And even if I succeed with my idol it will not fulfill me for it is a non-god.” (Tim Keller)

Where may you get back under the law (performance based acceptance) by looking to an idol for your self-worth?

           (Paul had been set free from these idols – Comfort, Approval, Control, and Power and had freedom and joy in Christ versus bondage to rules.)

Scripture memory verse: "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."  (Gal. 5:6) What does the word “faith” mean here?