*This Section is effectively a Poem in the middle of Paul’s letter

• Galatians 1-4 is Paul telling us how to think about the kingdom and the church
• Galatians 5-6 Paul tells us how we should live in that proper frame of mind

*Galatians 5:1-12 is the conclusion of Paul’s section on the proper way to think about the family of Abraham and the freedom Christ brings as it pivots to how to live in that family and freedom

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.

• Notice…Christ HAS set us free. It’s a reality. We are free, but its up to us if we walk, standfast, and think in that freedom

Example: Prisoners who have been set free after a long time in prison

• • Our freedom exists, not because we did good things or earned that freedom, but because CHRIST SET US FREE!!!

*How do you define freedom? Freedom is NOT doing whatever you want and never saying no to a desire or inclination. If you can’t say no to yourself, then your not free at all! Rather, a freedom to control

• Couple notes from last week:
  • Remember, Galatians is not a book about salvation, it’s a book about the church
  • When Paul leads the Galatians to “send the child of the flesh and woman of slavery away” from them, he is not making a judgment about salvation
    • Paul’s analogy of the Torah in Galatians 3 assumes an inheritance
    • Here in vs. 10, Paul says the “one who is throwing you into confusion” will “pay the penalty” (Greek is “stand in judgment”)….hence, they are not in judgment now
  • He is making a judgment on shepherding and discipleship of a healthy church

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. 

Greek=Per-ree-tem-o (Circumcision, to be cut off/around)

• “Christ will be of no value to you at all”
  • He is not saying if your circumcised your out, rather, if circumcision is the entry point into salvation, then Jesus is no use to you
  • Ex: If you come up under the Sabbath, then Christ profits you nothing

*Paul associates the value of Christ to our trust in Christ.

Example: Jesus died between two thieves. For one, the death of Jesus profited Him paradise, for the other, it profited him nothing!

³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

• There is no such thing as obeying “some of the law.” If circumcision is required, then the whole, 613 commands of the Law is required

*No amount of obedience makes up for one disobedience. Example: You get caught speeding. It doesn’t matter you obeyed the speed limit for 30 years, pay taxes, and are a good husband. You still get the speeding ticket. 

 ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 

• “Alienated” = (kat-arg-eh’-o)
  • The Greek word means “to be severed” or “cut away from”

*Paul is saying, if you “cut yourselves in circumcision” than you are “cutting yourselves away from Christ”

• “Falling from grace”
  • Modern use of this phrase means a moral travesty, and thus, you have fallen away from grace
  • This meaning, assumes then, that you earned the grace to begin with and no longer deserve it

*Its actually sin that causes to FALL INTO grace!

• • Paul means, if you begin trusting ANYTHING or ANYONE other than Christ
• Examples:
  • If you confess Christ as Lord, but believe you must do (sabbath, church attendance, etc.) or believe (open/closed communion, baptism, etc.) to be saved, you’ve fallen from grace
  • If you confess Christ as Lord, but you trust alcohol, porn, money, etc. to resolve your problems…you’ve fallen from grace. NOT BECAUSE YOU SINNED, BUT BECAUSE YOU NO LONGER TRUST JESUS

*Many people are morally pure, faithfully attend church, no scandal, but have fallen from grace because they trust what THEY do, and not what CHRIST did to justify them

⁵ For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith 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.

• “Faith expressing itself through Love”
  • You may have the right faith but be wrong in love
  • You may love people but the wrong faith

*Love alone is not enough. Faith is not enough. Only Faith working through love matters!

⁷ You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 

• Paul was there when they started in faith. They started well. On fire. WHAT HAPPENED?
  • You started thinking different. You started walking different. You started trusting yourself. How?

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.” 

• Why is he so passionate about removing this person? Because ONE person can spoil the ENTIRE church. Summary of Paul’s unity emphasis:
  • United in Message, Mission, Love, Freedom

*One person can disrupt the unity of church in message, mission, love, love, and freedom

¹⁰ I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ¹¹ Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 

• If circumcision (sabbath, your theology camp, etc.) is necessary, then why is the cross so offensive? Why does God still use believers of an alternative view? Why do believers who hold different views still suffer for Christ?

¹² As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

• He concludes with a Triple-pun:
  • First pun: the pagan priests in that region in Galatia was known for castrating themselves. He is saying, if Christ won the victory and freed you, then those who are trying to enslave you are as confused, wrong, and offensive as the weird pagans, that’s how far they are from the grace and point of the gospel!
    • These priests were called Galli who worshiped the goddess Cybele
    • They would wear long hair, women jewelry, etc. after emasculating themselves. They were effeminate, and separated themselves in their cross-dressing
  • Second pun: He wishes that these people would cut themselves off completely from the Galtian church, but since they won’t, they must be brave and standfast for freedom (vs.
  • Triple Pun: The Galli were a huge pun in Rome as even they thought they were weird

Ultimate Pun: The “Galli” priests with a temple by the “Gallius river” in Galatia. The root “gall” is a pun for “rooster” as associated to a man’s appendage.

Questions for Guided Discussion

1. In 5:1, Paul reminds us that one of the most important things for us to standfast in and remember is that it was Christ who set us free, who saved us, and who justifies us. Nothing you did or didn’t do had any part of it. In reflection of that fact, how does that change how you approach the Christian life?
2. How do you define freedom? What does living in the freedom of Christ really mean? What restricts us from living in that freedom?
3. In 5:4, Paul defines “falling from grace” as falling from trust in Christ. What elements of your life are you not trusting Christ? Where are you not living in His freedom and grace?
4. Paul associates the value of Christ to our trust in Christ. What is Jesus worth to you? Has His value increased or decreased in your life the longer you’ve walked with Him? Share how His value and your trust in Him has increased over time. Share times when He seemed less valuable and how you corrected it.
5. In 5:6, Paul says that your position on non-essential doctrine (circumcision or uncircumcision) has no value, rather, the only thing that matters is the balance of “Faith working through love.” Sometimes we become unbalanced in this regard. What are the consequences of possessing a faith without love, or love without a solid faith?
6. As mentioned in 5:7, the believers in Galatia started their Christian walk well, but have since started thinking and living different. What distracts us and changes our thoughts about the gospel? What knocks us off pace from how we started the race?