Introduction

Are you still enslaved by a curse, or are you saved by grace?

And he will turn. The hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. - Malachi 4:6 NKJV

• The old testament ended with God calling the nation of Israel to repentance. Paul also stated in Chapter 3:10-11, For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith. Not that we should not live by the law, but if we go back to Jesus at the Sermon, He said so Himself that He came to fulfill the law. The law has already been fulfilled through the blood of Christ, and we only need to take up our cross, follow Him and have faith. That is grace.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. - Rev 22:21 NKJV

• We are looking at the final verses of the last books of the Old and New Testament. At the end of the Old Testament, God calls Israel to repentance, otherwise they shall not enter the Kingdom of God. This left God’s people under the curse of the law, which they are to obey in order to maintain holiness and identity in God. In Revelation, in contrast, we see the word grace — for it is finished. Our debts are paid by the blood of Christ, and we are saved by grace. Question is, are you still under the curse, or are you saved by grace?

Galatians 5:1-4

• Paul reminds the church that through Christ, we have been set free. In this passage, God pleads with us to take the strength and walk in that freedom (KJV and NKJV uses the word liberty so will be used interchangeably), and to no longer be entangled with the yoke of slavery. To stand firm means to stay in the place of liberty, and here Paul emphasizes the challenges and effort to remain in that place.
• In verses 2 to 4, Paul shows us the dangers of embracing the laws as our primary means to draw ourselves closer to God. And if the law has become our rule of walking with God, we are already denying the righteousness we have received from Christ. We deny the gospel, and we depart from Christ’s saving grace. Christ will be no advantage of you. Jesus no longer is our righteousness, for we attempt to earn it ourselves. We no longer trust God but instead we trust ourselves to earn our salvation through works, thus severs us from Christ for by it we fall from grace.
• A theologian once said, Tongue cannot express, nor heart conceive what a terrible thing it is to make Christ worthless.
• Paul stated in verse 3 that to accept circumcision is to oblige to keep the whole Jewish Law. And to willingly undergo circumcision means you have made a compact to fulfill each and every single law.
• The Jewish Law was given specifically to the nation of Israel. Comprising 613 laws, its purpose is to set the nation of Israel apart, and to reveal the holiness and sovereignty of God to His people. It also provides worship, forgiveness, and God’s direction for the physical and spiritual well-being of Israel.
• With that said, the law also reveals that it is impossible for man to keep the law, for we all fall short in the glory of God. It leads us to realize that we should fully rely on God’s grace and mercy, otherwise we descend back to bondage. A theologian stated, “Even to remember them all was a burden, and to keep them bordered on the impossible. Small wonder that Paul referred to subjecting oneself to them all as entering into slavery.”

Galatians 5: 5-6

• Faith must walk through love. Those walking in the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For we have been saved by grace through faith through the love of Jesus Christ and neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love, of which a legalist lacks.

Galatians 5:7-12

• Paul emphasizes the damage of falling from grace. Paul says in verse 7 that they were running well, meaning they started in their faith steady. But indeed, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. If we trust in legalism, we believe that we can save ourselves, because legalists can’t truly handle the offense of the cross. They can’t accept the fact that they need a Savior in order to become righteous, they believe that the law can earn their way to the Kingdom, which denies the heart of the gospel.
• For Verse 12, Deuteronomy 23:1 Sacred castration was known to citizens of the ancient world; it was frequently practiced by pagan priests of the cults in the region of Galatia. Paul’s idea here is something like this: “If cutting will make you righteous, why don’t you do like the pagan priests, go all the way and castrate yourself?” Morris rightly observes, “This was a dreadful thing to wish, but then the teaching was a dreadful thing to inflict on young Christians.

Galatians 5:13-15

• Christian life is a life of freedom, as opposed to the assumption that to be a Christian means to be tied down to rules and restriction - that is legalism. And God’s law is never legalistic, it is freeing. For by the Spirit, we become more holy and discerning thus leading us towards the path of righteousness that keeps us from running the endless cycle of despair and thirst for worldly approval. If that doesn’t sound like freedom, I don’t know what freedom truly is. Jesus came to set the captives free, not to keep them in bondage, nor put them in bondage all over again.
• Paul also pressed that we should never use our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. John says in 1 John 3:6, No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Yes, we have a good, faithful God. But if we truly love Him, we don’t abuse His mercy and graciousness.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

- 1 Corinthians 13:13

If we can’t love as God loved us, how can we fulfill the law? Paul says, you can fulfill the law with just one word: Love. This is Paul’s final clap back to all legalists: If you want to keep the law, then here it is: love your neighbor as yourself, and you have fulfilled the law in one word.

It’s not God’s greatest commandment for nothing.