Galatians 5:1-7

Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.

Bible Reading

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. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith, we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?

– Galatians 5:1-7

Devotion

In this passage we see liberty versus bondage. Any legal system puts you under bondage, and you must follow it meticulously. Paul begins this passage by declaring the liberty that we have in Christ. His point in the first part of this chapter is “saved by faith and living by law perpetrates falling away from grace.” This is what it means to fall away from grace: you are saved by faith, then you drop down to a law level to live. Paul is declaring that we are not only saved by faith, but the law is not to be the rule of life for the believer. We are not to live according to the law, but we are to live according to the Spirit of God. God’s grace supplies the indwelling and filling of the Spirit to enable us to live on a higher plane than the law demanded. We have liberty in Christ. He does not put us under some little legal system. We have liberty in Jesus Christ, and that liberty is not a rule but a principle. Faith expressing itself through love is the great principle of all conduct. Paul then chides the Galatians. He is giving them a gentle rebuke. They were doing well until the self-righteous legalizers came along. They were replacing the truth of salvation by grace through faith (Christ’s righteousness) with the old lie that one must earn God’s love through keeping the law (self-righteousness).

The Big Question

Paul writes: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!” What does this freedom look like for you, practically? Do you ever fall back into the old habit of self-righteousness? If so, how do you find your way back to the truth regarding Christ’s righteousness? How does this passage shape your character as a child of God?

Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.