YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH AND BE SET FREE
Galatians 5:1-17
SET FREE IN JESUS
V:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
Christ set us free from the burdens of our sins with His death on the cross. We are not
Justified by what we refuse to do but by the Grace of God. The law is judgment.
No one is justified by keeping the law. The law is the yoke of slavery. Therefore we
must stand firm in our faith in the atonement of our sins through the blood of Jesus.
The Greek meaning of the word circumcise means to cut off. The male Jews were
circumcised as a sign of the covenant with God according to the law.
Believers in Christ Jesus are not under the law but under Grace. Jesus fulfilled
all the requirements of the law with His blood on the cross relieving us from
the burden of the law. To be circumcised as a means of justification is to deny
the work of Christ.
JUSTIFIED BY FAITH
V:3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
The Apostle Paul makes the argument to be circumcised as a means of justification
places one under the burden of the whole law. I am told, I have not counted them
that there are over 600 commands under the law. No man has ever been able to
keep the law except Jesus the author of the law.
Galatians 3:10-11
\”Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.\” 11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law,
We are justified by faith in Jesus, who is the author of our faith. Any man who denies
Jesus closes the door to his eternal salvation.
John 6:43
Jesus answered. 44 \”No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
KNOW THE TRUTH FOR YOURSELF
V:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 \”A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.\” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
We have to watch who we listen to. There are some who preach a message
different from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every believer has the responsibility
to study the Word of God for themselves. We have been given the gift of the
Holy Spirit who indwells us and is our teacher of the scriptures. How will you
know who is misleading you if you don\’t have knowledge of the truth?
A mind without the knowledge of the truth can easily be led to believe
another person\’s truth. In religion, there are many schools of thought, but
only one leads to Jesus. Many religions teach a god without Jesus.
John 14:6
Jesus answered, \”I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
A religion without salvation through Jesus cuts you off from the Father.
I encourage each of you to study the scriptures for yourself.
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
NIV
Those who deny Jesus will answer to God on judgment day.
THE LAW IS A TUTOR, NOT A JUDGE
V:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: \”Love your neighbor as yourself.\” 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Those who believe in Jesus are free from the burden of sin. We are free to live a
life of service, peace, and joy. Our freedom does not give us the liberty to disobey
God\’s commands. While we are not judged by them, they were given as our tutors
to God’s righteousness.
Galatians 3:24-25
So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day of His life on earth, not as a matter of faith,
but so the law would be fulfilled in Him. Jesus summed up the entire law in one
command. “Love your neighbor as yourself”. If we love each other we will not
fight each other but find peace which leads to joy. If we love Jesus, we will
follow His examples.
SUMMIT TO THE INDWELLING SPIRIT
V:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They conflict with each other so you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
God gifted us with the indwelling of the Spirit so we will know the depth of His
love through the study of His Word. The death of Jesus on the cross was an
extreme example of His sacrificial love. It is the love in us for Jesus that should
keep control of our sinful nature. We must be conscious of the war that rages within
us.
Romans 7:22-24
For in my inner being, I delight in God\’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
While we have been justified by faith, Satan is busy trying to influence us to
Deny the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accept the view of nonbelievers.
Because we are aware of our sinful nature, we must plead the blood of Jesus to
strengthen us to be righteous before God and man.
Rev. M. Mitchell
