Spiritual freedom versus law-bound living
Daily Scripture
Galatians 5:1-6
1 Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again.
2 Look, I, Paul, am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, having Christ won’t help you. 3 Again I swear to every man who has himself circumcised that he is required to do the whole Law. 4 You people who are trying to be made righteous by the Law have been estranged from Christ. You have fallen away from grace! 5 We eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness through the Spirit by faith. 6 Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn’t matter in Christ Jesus, but faith working through love does matter.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Few if any of us have ever been slaves—but in the Roman Empire, quite a few of Paul’s readers either had been or were still slaves. “No one would tolerate the reversion to become a slave again, once redeemed and set free. A person’s spiritual condition is similar (cf. Galatians 4:8–9), Paul argues. Christ has paid a high price in redeeming sinners and setting them free (Galatians 1:4; 3:13). No one should therefore return to the state of slavery.” *
- Some first-century Christians thought God couldn’t accept uncircumcised Gentile men. They had Genesis 17:9-14 to “prove” their view. The apostle Paul disagreed: “… all that mattered was faith which works through love…. the essence of Christianity is not law but a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. The Christian’s faith is founded not on a book but on a person; its dynamic is not obedience to any law but love to Jesus Christ.” ** How has Jesus’ grace freed you from trying to earn God’s love by rule-keeping?
- Paul passionately urged the Galatian Christians to never give up their freedom in Christ. Required circumcision is not a big issue for Christian men today. What are other ways you have seen “rules” pressed as crucial to salvation? How can living in Christian freedom produce “faith working through love” better than rules? Have you ever honestly thought you were right on a secondary point, but let it go out of love rather than pressing it on other believers?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, like all your children, I miss the mark at times. I’m so thankful you died to set me free from guilt, and that you empower me to keep living into your love in the freedom you offer. Amen.
GPS Insights
Justin Burnett
Justin Burnett serves as a Missions Engagement Program Director for Resurrection's Leawood location and is a Declared Candidate for ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. Justin graduated from Drury University with a B.S. degree in Emergency Management. He later moved to Overland Park, Kansas to answer God's call to professional ministry and is a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology. In Justin's spare time, he enjoys nature, travel, film, games, and music—singing with the Leawood modern worship team on occasion.
In Galatians 5, Paul writes about the early church’s struggle to let go of the old covenant. This internal battle prevented Christians from fully accepting the grace of the new covenant. While change is difficult, Hebrews 8:6 declares that “… Jesus has received a superior priestly service just as he arranged a better covenant that is enacted with better promises.” Once embraced, the new covenant’s outward focus—love for God and others—brought spiritual renewal to the early church and continues to inspire us today.
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Ralph P. Martin and Julie Wu, comment on Galatians 5:1 in Romans to Philemon: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Volume 3. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002, p. 288.
** William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 43.
