“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” - Galatians 5:1 NLT
Here's the context. The Galatians knew the gospel, they'd had it preached to them, they repented and believed, they had a thriving church and everything was seemingly going well. But there were teachers who came and tried to make them believe that Christ wasn't enough for their salvation and righteousness. That they'd only heard half the story, and that they needed to go back to strictly following the law in order to truly be saved. Sure enough, these false teachers deceived many of the Galatians so that they reenforced circumcision, isolated and shunned Gentile converts and turned from the gospel they'd once been so fervent about.
Enter Paul, here he writes them this letter, essentially as a plea to see the error of their ways. He reminds them of the gospel. He reminds them of the freedom that comes from following Christ, and that by limiting themselves to the law, they were binding themselves back into the chains that once held them.
I've been studying this book for the last few weeks and honestly at times I've felt like I've been going in circles and that Paul is just saying the same thing over and over again in different wording, wondering if there's something I'm missing.
But Paul is saying the same thing over and over though to really put meaning on what he saying. Nowadays we'd use bold font or underlining or exclamation marks but back then they repeated themselves for important points.
Here's a quick run down of some of the main points:
Do not believe false teachers, believe the gospel of Christ (1:6-7)
Christ paid the price for sin, he rescued you in His death (2:16)
Because of that, we are not ruled by the law (3:23-29)
Now, live a life full of faith and love (5:6)
I've loved reading this. I've never read Galatians start to finish before but it's been such a gospel reminder in my life. The world we live in is hard, everything comes with add ons and things we need to do to seemingly be the best person we can be.
But how often do we actually believe and live as though Christ and Christ alone is our righteousness?
We often believe it because we know it’s the right thing to believe, but we still doubt. We work harder and try to do better, thinking it will solve our problems, bring us closer to God or to set us free from sin. We just can’t help it. The human condition says it’s all on us.
That’s what Paul is saying to the Galatians. In taking the issue back to the root, he exposes their need for a Saviour. It's the repeated story of the entire bible, God rescues the poeple, the people believe, slowly they turn back to old ways, God steps in to correct.
So what is it in your life that you think you need to do/believe in order to ‘stay saved’?
What false teachings are you believing to make you somehow think that Christ alone isn't enough?
“Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith."" - Galatians 3:11 ESV
Believing truly that Christ alone is our righteousness gives us the freedom we need to understand and let the gospel transform our hearts.
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” - Galatians 5:25 ESV
So pray earnestly, "Lord make clear to me what is from you and what is from man. Show me the lies I'm believing, give me eyes to see them before there is destruction. Make me more reliant on you alone."
As we seek God more passionately we become more like His son Christ. As we become more like Christ we are led more and more by His Spirit. In being led by the Spirit we stand firmer in the righteousness of Christ.
By: Caitlin Cousins
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