Galatians 5:1-12

Law, License, or Liberty?

Pray

Intro

√ Law, license or liberty

Having presented his theological arguments for the Gospel of Grace, Paul now turns his attention to the defense of a life lived under Grace.

Specifically Paul addresses the accusation of the legalist who claimed that if a person actually tried to live without the law…

…that would give a person license to sin!

Paul argues in this next section that that accusation is without merit because a life lived under Grace leads to liberty, not license!

Ap. Argument to application

The next two chapters are important for Christians in every age because Paul moves from the theological argument to the personal application of how we are to live out Grace in our daily experience.

What that means for us is that he takes us from the doctrine of justification by faith to the practice of Grace in our daily lives.

That’s important because people often wrongly conclude that since we’re saved by Grace then we can do anything we want because God doesn’t care.

So, Paul is now going to show us how to walk the balance between legalism and license…

…that’s a life of liberty beginning in these verses by telling us what we stand to lose if we go back to the Law.

A Slave ~ You Lose Your Liberty (vs. 1)

Gal. 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.

√ A slave ~ you lose your liberty

In response to Paul’s arguments for the Gospel of Grace he now calls the Galatians to…

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free…”

That is, now that they have been reassured of the truth of the Gospel message, that it is by Grace alone that they are saved…

…they needed to make a strong stand for truth and place all their faith and hope for salvation on the Grace of God.

Ex. Repelling ~ you’ve got to trust the rope!

The practical application is that the Galatians were to reject the teaching of the Judaizers and stop trying to live like Jews!

Specifically they were not to submit to the rite of circumcision, which we’ll see was the main point of contention between Paul and the Judaizers.

If on the other hand they rejected Paul’s teaching and embraced the Law then Paul tells them that they will become slaves!

“…and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

A slave yoke was a collar at the end of chain, or pole.

Once a person had that collar around their neck they could be controlled, guided, and forced to go wherever their master wanted them to go.

It’s not too difficult to see how that vivid picture illustrates life under the Law!

Those who live under the Law are compelled to try and keep it, yet find themselves unable to do so!

Yet, their “master” (the Law) will not relent or lessen the burden of the requirements so the “slave” becomes filled with guilt and condemnation.

So, the person under the Law tries harder to please his master but finds that the harder they try the more they fail!

It’s an endless cycle of guilt, effort, failure, and more condemnation!

So, Paul tells them to stand fast in the Grace of God or else they will lose their liberty and become slaves to the Law.

Ap. The yoke of Christ

When the believers in Galatia, and you and I, place our faith in Jesus Christ, He removes our yoke of slavery and gives a new yoke…

…not of slavery but a yoke of fellowship that has two distinct advantages over the yoke of slavery.

Jesus said…

Matt. 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matt. 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matt. 11:30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

1) Jesus’ yoke is easy

The yoke that Jesus talks about is the kind that is placed on an animal to plow a field.

Notice that He describes it as “easy” and “light”.

The word “easy” means…

“Kind and gracious”

The idea that Jesus is communicating is that when we come to Him in faith He frees us from the heavy burden of the Law…

…and now guides us by the gentle leading of His Holy Spirit.

The point is that Christians no longer need the external force of the Law to keep us in God’s will…

…now we have the internal leading of His Holy Spirit that directs us away from sin and toward Jesus.

2. Jesus’ yoke is light

Jesus shares His yoke with us taking the heavier burden so that we can walk side by side with Him only bearing what He knows we can handle.

Ex. A pair of oxen

So, be careful that you don’t place yourself under some self-imposed Law lest you become a slave and lose the liberty that Christ has given you!

A Debtor ~ You Lose Your Wealth (vs. 2-6)

Gal. 5:2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.

Gal. 5:3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.

Gal. 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

Gal. 5:5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

Gal. 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

√ A debtor ~ you lose your wealth

Through a relationship with Christ we have access to every spiritual blessing of God! (ref. Eph. 1:3).

However, those like the Galatians who turn from Grace to the Law lose all that Jesus has won for us on the Cross!

What do they lose? Paul writes that those who practice the Law will find that…

“Christ will profit you nothing.” ~ vs. 2

You will become…

“a debtor to keep the whole law.” ~ vs. 3

And that…

“You have become estranged from Christ” ~ vs. 4

That is the person who attempts to keep the Law loses everything that they had in Christ, or as Paul describes it…

“you have fallen from Grace” ~ vs. 4

In effect the Christian who turns to the Law not only loses their liberty…

…they lose the wealth of God’s spiritual blessings!

Ap. You lose

If you return to the Law you lose…

The ear of the Father ~ because we can’t approach Him or appeal to Him for assistance on the basis of our own merit of works.

The ear of the Father is only open to those who come to Him on the basis of His Son’s sacrifice.

You’ll lose the joy of your salvation because when you try to keep the Law you will always be under condemnation.

Lose fellowship with Jesus because you’re no longer walking on the same path that He is.

That’s a lot to lose!

√ A debt we can’t pay

The difference between the Law and Grace is dramatically demonstrated for us in the story of Jesus’ encounter with a “sinful” woman at Simon the Pharisee’s house (ref. Luke 7:36-50).

Jesus’ story of the two debtors illustrates the spiritual truth that we are all sinners who cannot pay the debt we owe to God.

No matter how religious, or moral a person is, like Simon the Pharisee, even if their debt is small they will still come up short of God’s standard of righteousness.

Yet, the wonderful truth revealed in the parable is that God freely forgives the debt of those who come to Him in faith.

That night the sinful woman went away forgiven and saved because of her faith!

“Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” ~ Luke 7:80

What she could not find in the Law, and what Simon could not give her, she found in Jesus Christ…

…the cancellation of her debt to God!

√ Taking back the debt

Paul’s point then is that the person who has been forgiven of their debt, if they then go back to the Law, are in effect are saying to God…

“I want my debt back so I can pay it off!”

The problem is that they’re not any better equipped to pay their debt to God now than before they came by faith to Christ!

Ap. God’s economy

Legalists will tell you that if you don’t practice the Law (or their twist on it) then you’re missing out on some of the blessings that God has for you.

The truth is that the Law can’t add anything to our spiritual treasure chest because Jesus has already given us everything He has by faith!

As Paul wrote to the Colossians…

“…you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” ~ Col. 3:10

Every blessing of God is available to us as a gift of God’s grace.

Ex. Don’t buy into the blessings for sale

The modern-day “Prosperity” teachers claim that you aren’t entitled to God’s blessings unless you “sow a seed” of financial investment into their ministries.

These people are not much different than Johann Tetzel who sold indulgences for the building of St. Peter’s in Rome.

Tetzel used to say…

"As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs".

Sounds a lot like many of the TV preachers who promise everything from financial freedom to perfect health if you’ll just write a check to their “ministry”.

But the Bible declares that all of God’s blessings are freely given to those who come to Him in faith.

Remember, the acronym for Grace is “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”…

…if you chose to back to the Law you lose the wealth you had in Christ and become a debtor to an a debt that you cannot pay!

√ The emptiness of legalism

Before we move to our last point it’s important that we expose the emptiness of legalism.

That is, those who promote legalism as the path of godliness do so because they wrongly believe that rituals…

…make us godly.

For example, in Galatia and throughout the Roman Empire the main issue concern of the Judaizers was the issue of circumcision…

…the sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham and his descendants.

Gen. 17:10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;

The legalist’s missed the whole point of the ritual, which was never intended as a means of salvation…

…rather it was to be a symbol, a reminder that human effort could not bring about the promises of God!

Ex. Timing of Abraham’s circumcision

After Abraham and Sarah’s misguided effort to produce a son!

So, as a “sign” or symbol circumcision was a reminder to Abraham and his descendants that just as they could not produce the son of promise by their own efforts…

…so all works of the flesh cannot produce the righteousness of God!

Fast forward to the time of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

The Judaizers weren’t concerned with spiritual reality like growing to maturity in Christ…

…they were hung up on the ritual of circumcision because they could boast to their friends about how many people they’d converted to Judaism.

But, the reality is that rituals don’t bring about spiritual change!

Ap. Baptism

Baptism is the symbol, or sign, that a person has given their life to Jesus and that they have been saved by faith in Jesus Christ.

But Baptism can’t save you! (ref. I Cor. 1:17)

There are plenty of people who have been baptized who have no love for Jesus at all!

Yet, you’ll find in the Church today many people who are more concerned with getting people baptized into their church…

…so that they can boast to their friends about how many people they baptized, than with actually bringing people to a saving knowledge of Christ.

A Runner ~ You Lose Your Way (vs. 7-12)

Gal. 5:7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

Gal. 5:8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.

Gal. 5:9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

Gal. 5:10 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.

Gal. 5:11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.

Gal. 5:12 I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!

√ A runner ~ you lose your way

In this section Paul has compared the Galatians to…

Slaves who lost their liberty

Debtors who lost their wealth

Now he compares them to runners who have lost their way!

“You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” ~ vs. 7

Ex. El Camino College race

The poor guy ahead of us was running well but didn’t see a spectator who crossed in front of him!

They collided hard and the runner wasn’t able to regain his form and lost the race.

That’s what Paul has in mind here as he describes how the Judaizers had interfered with the growing faith of the believers in Galatia.

One point of clarification, Paul isn’t saying that the folks in Galatia weren’t saved or had lost their salvation.

Keep in mind that Paul often used Olympic events as a illustration of the Christian life, not of as an illustration of how to be saved.

For example, only citizens of could compete in the Greek games!

The application is that we are made citizens of heaven by faith in Jesus.

He then puts us onto the course so that we can run the race.

How we run the race equates to how we live our Christian faith.

Back to the example of the Olympics in the race each runner had to stay in his lane.

If he were knocked out of his lane he would be disqualified from the race.

Still a citizen, but no longer in the running for the prize.

So, what Paul is saying is that the Galatians had started well in the lane marked “Grace” but had been knocked out their lane by the Judaizers and were in danger of losing their reward. (ref. Phil. 3:12-21)

Ap. Running for the prize

Once we’re saved the Lord calls us to grow in our faith and to reproduce that faith in the lives of others by using the gifts He has given us.

That’s how we “run” the race.

But we have to stay in the “lane” marked Grace so that we don’t lose our way and find ourselves disqualified.

√ Leaven

In vs. 9 Paul writes…

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump. “

It doesn’t have anything to do with running, rather, Paul’s point is that just as a little leaven (yeast) will work through a whole batch of bread dough

…so a little false teaching will work through the whole church and corrupt it!

Ex. Circumcision

The Judaizers were pushing the ritual of circumcision claiming it was the sign of their “club membership” and entitlement to salvation.

Paul’s point is that if the Galatians agreed to this one aspect of the Law that it would spread to the point that they would be eventually try to keep the whole Law!

Paul’s solution?

Get the leaven out!

That is, get the Judaizers out of the church and don’t submit to circumcision.

Ap. Baptismal regeneration

False teaching based in part on a wrong interpretation of the English translation of Acts 2:38.

1Cor. 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

Close

√ Legalism, license, and liberty

Don’t fall prey to legalism! Don’t believe anyone who tells you that you have to…

Join their church

Get baptized “their way”

Participate in secret Temple rituals

Keep the Sabbath

If you do then like the Galatians you’re at risk of falling from Grace and will become a…

Slave to the Law

Debtor to God

Runner in the wrong lane

Stand strong in God’s Grace!