The Book Of Galatians Chapter 5 Part 1 Don't Listen To Other Voices. Listen To God!

Strong censure by Paul of the Galatians deviation from gospel truth.

Galatians 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 

The Holy Spirit moved the apostle Paul to take the first half of this chapter to issue a strong warning and spiritual ultimatum to the Galatian churches.

What he communicates to us is based upon what he said in the previous chapters.

An imperative is a command given by God for those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. 

An imperative is not optional or suggestion from God. 

He expects His children to obey them, just as for proper behavior.

This is the first imperative in this chapter. It tells us what to do and what we must not do.

What we are told to do is to "stand fast" which means standing firm in the faith of Jesus Christ. 

It means persevering when our faith is challenged by false teachers. 

It means refusing to yield up what the Bible teaches us about the gospel of Christ, the grace of God and our glorious salvation.

Guided by the Spirit of God, Paul emphatically tells all Christians to stand fast in the liberty of the gospel of Christ.

Under the gospel we are brought into a state of liberty and are freed from the yoke of the ceremonial law and the curse of the moral law. 

We owe this liberty to Jesus Christ. Christ has made us free. By His merits He has satisfied the demands of the law. 

By His authority as King, Christ discharged us from the obligation of those carnal ordinances imposed upon the Jews.

Come to Jesus Christ for His yoke is easy and He will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28-30  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29)  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30)  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

Christ satisfied all righteous demands of the law which we can never do. His righteousness under the law is imputed to us. 

Jewish rabbis imposed severe man made restrictions and duties upon the people. 

By faith in Christ, Jesus frees us from the curse of the law and from man made religious tyranny.

Christ promises rest for the soul of all who trust Him. He will give a new heart and a new spirit so that we can walk in newness of life and obey His commands.

Christian liberty includes obeying Christ's commands.

1 John 2:3-6  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4)  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5)  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6)  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 

The apostle John wrote near the end of the first century, about 60 years after the birth of Christ's church.

Some people professed faith in Christ but they did not obey Christ's commands. 

Proof that we are a child of God is found when we do keep Christ's commands.

This is a powerful spiritual litmus test. Many professed faith in Christ but John called them liars because they did not obey their Lord.

If we claim to be born again and "in Christ", then we ought to walk as Jesus walked. 

He was meek and lowly, longsuffering and forbearing, and always did that which was good and right.

He exposed sin and pointed people to the gospel for salvation. He always obeyed His Father and faithfully served Him.

Thus, true Christian liberty is living as God tells us to live, rather than doing as we please. 

True Christian liberty does not excuse us from keeping Christ's commands as our rule of life.

What we are emphatically told not to do is not to become entangled in the yoke of bondage from law keeping.

The words "entangled again" is like an animal snared by a trap, being held captive against its will. 

A "yoke of bondage" are words referring to slaves who are forced to labor for their master.

This metaphor is taken from oxen that are harnessed together by a yoke, from which they cannot free themselves. 

Some Galatian Christians were Jews who were under the yoke of the law, and the rabbis rigorous rule. 

They seemed ready to return to their former state of bondage. 

Christ is the end of the law for all who hear and heed the gospel. 

This means Galatian Christians receive no spiritual benefit by trying to keep the law, in order to gain God's favor.

In fact, Paul will show that they are in danger of apostatizing from the truth of Christ and His gospel.

Such a viewpoint disparages the work and person of the Lord Jesus Christ and greatly displeases His Father.

Keeping the law instead of obeying the gospel is the same as rejecting Christ's sacrifice.

Galatians 5:2  Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 

The word "Behold" is always a word meant to rivet our attention upon what the speaker is communicating from God to us.

Paul used his name to emphasize his authority as Christ's apostle. 

He did this so that his readers clearly understood the gravity with which the apostle addressed them.

Those that listened to Judaizers and were thinking about circumcision were in danger of yielding up all the spiritual blessing that we have in Christ (See Ephesians 1:3).

Circumcision was abolished by the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross for us.

Submitting to circumcision rendered Christ unprofitable to them, made his death to be in vain, his sacrifice of no effect, and his righteousness useless.

It is as if they put aside the sacrifice of Christ and decided to put their faith in circumcision and law keeping.

God will judge all who reject His Son. Paul tells us He will come in flaming fire to take vengeance upon all who do not obey the gospel of Christ (See 2 Thessalonians 1:8).

The act of circumcision was also a commitment to keep all of the law in order to gain God's favor.  

Those who are law keepers are obligated to obey all of it, and they will fail.  The flesh will always fail.

Galatians 5:3  For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 

By circumcision they took on the whole obligation of the Jewish law, and were seeking salvation by means of its observances. 

Therefore Christ cannot benefit them by seeking justification by the works of the law, they renounced justification by faith in Christ.

"I testify again" is the form of a solemn oath, a calling the living God to witness that they are rejecting Christ's sacrifice in favor of law keeping.

The fulfilling of the whole law cannot be done by any man. Yet everyone that is circumcised in order to obtain righteousness is required to keep the whole law. 

The law is his only source and hope of righteousness when he perfectly observes all that is required in it. When he fails he will find himself accursed.

To transgress a single part of the law, it is being guilty of breaking all of it. 

James 2:8-10  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9)  But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10)  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 

James rebuked some Christians who were showing respect of persons based upon their wealth or status. 

If they managed to keep all aspects of the law but they showed favoritism to certain people, then they were condemned as transgressors of the law.

He tells us that to violate one single part of the law makes one guilty as if he violated all 613 commands.

Those who hope in law keeping, reject the gospel and are dead in their sins. 

Galatians 5:4  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 

The phrase "Christ is become of no effect unto you"  means it is vain to attempt to unite the two systems. 

You must have the law and no Christ, or have salvation in Christ and no law, for your justification.

Because they were seeking justification by their own works, it was as if there was no Christ, and no righteousness in Him, and no salvation by Him. 

Law keeping meant that they had nothing to do with Christ and His gospel and He had no part in them.

They were doomed to condemnation because the just shall live by faith. They were trying to gain God's favor by their works. 

We can see how offensive this is to the heavenly Father. 

He sacrificed His beloved and only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish in their sins but shall receive eternal life.

They had been brought into the grace of the Gospel. 

However, by readopting the Mosaic ordinances, they apostatized from the Gospel and had lost the grace God sent to their souls, by which they granted salvation. 

The peace and love of God, received by faith in Jesus Christ, could not remain in the hearts of those who had rejected Him. 

They had, therefore, in every sense of the word, fallen from grace.

A guilty world. A glorious Savior. A life changing gospel.  Hear and heed it.

Romans 3:19-20  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20)  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The law condemns every man, woman or child because we all are born with a sin nature inherited from Adam.

The whole world is guilty of sin before God and no flesh (people) will ever be justified by keeping the law. 

All people of all generations in all places are condemned under the law because we all sin. 

Christ died for the sins of all humanity for all history. 

All can be saved by responding to the gospel of Christ with repentant faith.

Let us soberly reflect upon these truths.

What are we trusting in for salvation? 

If we think that we can do enough good works to outweigh our sins, then we are doomed to eternal condemnation.

No flesh shall ever be justified and declared righteous by God through their own works. 

Our best efforts are still like polluted rags in the sight of holy God.

Isaiah 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 

Isaiah tells us that the very best that we can do in our flesh is as vile as polluted rags. 

God will reject those who try to come to Him through faith in their works or morality.

God will always accept those who come to Him with repentant faith in His Wonderful Son, Jesus Christ.

Bob