Freedom in Christ
Galatians 5:1-6 NLT
5:1 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.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
Examine the scriptures:
Galatians 5:1-6 NLT
Freedom in Christ
5:1 So Christ has truly set us free.
Galatians 5:1 is a summary of chapter 4.
Galatians 4:4-7 NLT
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
John 8:36 NLT
36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
- Christ has truly set us free.
- Christ is the great liberator who sets the believer free from bondage.
Now make sure that you stay free, (Our part)
1 Corinthians 16:13 NLT
13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.
Philippians 1:27 NLT
27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
Philippians 4:1 NLT
4:1 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.
1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 NLT
7 So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. 8 It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 NLT
15 With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.
Christians are in a battle.
Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Don’t listen to false teachers.
- Make sure that you stay free.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.
- Anyone who believes that they need to be circumcised in order to be saved is adding works to faith.
- The atoning sacrifice of Christ cannot benefit anyone who trusts in law and ceremony for salvation.
3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses.
- If a person believes that they are saved by obeying the Law of Moses, that person is obligated to obey the whole law.
Galatians 3:10 NLT
10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”
James 2:10 NLT
10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
- Salvation is by faith alone!
4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ!
- Any attempt to be justified by the law is to reject salvation by grace alone through faith alone.
You have fallen away from God’s grace.
Think of the acronym for grace.
G God’s
R riches
A at
C Christ’s
E expense
5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.
Romans 8:23 NLT
23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
Romans 8:25 NLT
25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.
1 Corinthians 1:7 NLT
7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 5:5 NLT
5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.
Philippians 3:20 NLT
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
Hebrews 9:28 NLT
28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
- Scripture tells us to wait eagerly, patiently, and confidently to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.
Enjoy the process of sanctification that is taking place within you.
6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised.
- It really doesn’t matter if we are circumcised or are not circumcised.
What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
James 2:14-18 NLT
Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead
14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
- What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
- Faith without good deeds is dead.
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- Christ has truly set us free.
- Christ is the great liberator who sets the believer free from bondage.
- Make sure that you stay free.
- Anyone who believes that they need to be circumcised in order to be saved is adding works to faith.
- The atoning sacrifice of Christ cannot benefit anyone who trusts in law and ceremony for salvation.
- If a person believes that they are saved by obeying the Law of Moses, that person is obligated to obey the whole law.
- Salvation is by faith alone!
- Any attempt to be justified by the law is to reject salvation by grace alone through faith alone.
- Scripture tells us to wait eagerly, patiently, and confidently to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.
- It really doesn’t matter if we are circumcised or are not circumcised.
- What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
- Faith without good deeds is dead.
