***Galatians 5:1-6

Galatians 5:1–6 (NRSV)

1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. 4 You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.

Christ Has Freed the Believer from the Law’s Power

CHRIST, JESUS

Galatians 5:1–6

(POSB, note 1, point 2.)

Christ has freed the Christian believer from the power of the law. With that truth stated, keep yourself free. In Who Will Deliver Us?, Paul F.M. Zahl writes:

A duck hunter was with a friend in the wide-open land of southeastern Georgia. Far away on the horizon he noticed a cloud of smoke. Soon he could hear cracking as the wind shifted. He realized the terrible truth: a brushfire was advancing, so fast they couldn’t outrun it.

Rifling through his pockets, he soon found what he was looking for—a book of matches. He lit a small fire around the two of them. Soon they were standing in a circle of blackened earth, waiting for the fire to come.

They didn’t have to wait long. They covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and braced themselves. The fire came near—and swept over them. But they were completely unhurt, untouched. Fire would not pass where fire had already passed.

The law is like a brushfire. I cannot escape it. But if I stand in the burned-over place, not a hair of my head will be singed. Christ’s death is the burned-over place. There I huddle, hardly believing yet relieved. The law is powerful, yet powerless: Christ’s death has disarmed it.

Practical Illustrations: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians (9-315: Man Cannot Add One Thing to Salvation (Salvation))

Man Cannot Add One Thing to Salvation

SALVATION

Galatians 5:1–6

(POSB, note 2, point 3.)

Accepting the grace of God at face value is difficult for many Christians: “How can God be that good to us? What is the catch? Surely, we have to add something to what God has done to be saved.” J. Vernon McGee illustrates this point for us:

Years ago a tonic called Hadacol was advertised. I don’t think it is sold any more. I am not sure of the details, but they found it was about seventy-five percent alcohol. A lot of people were using it. The company that made it was giving out glowing testimonials about its product.

Now suppose a testimonial read something like this: “I took 513 bottles of your medicine. Before I began using Hadacol, I could not walk. Now I am able to run.… I really have improved. But I think you ought to know that during that time I also concocted a bottle of my own medicine and used it also.”

Now, my friend, that final sentence certainly muddied the water. There is no way to tell if it was the 513 bottles of Hadacol that cured him or his own concoction. The minute you put something else into the formula, you are not sure.

Now notice carefully what Paul is saying. If you trust Christ plus something else you are not saved … How can He profit you anything when you have made up a bottle of your own concoction rather than trusting Him alone for your salvation?

The Law Serves As a Tyrant

LAW

Galatians 5:1–6

(POSB, Introduction)

It was the American patriot Patrick Henry who said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Henry knew what it was like to live under the thumb of a tyrant. Along the way, he had the good fortune to get a small taste of liberty. And once he tasted liberty, his taste buds exploded with flavor. The bland taste of bondage would never satisfy him again.

In the same sense, the law serves as a tyrant. It shows no mercy and hates anything related to freedom. Anyone who weds himself to the law will be entangled in the chains of bondage. What is the alternative for the Christian believer? Liberty in Christ.

Appeal Four: Stand Firm in the Liberty of Christ, 5:1–6

(5:1–6) Introduction: straightforward and direct, a much needed appeal is given to backsliding churches and their people—stand fast in the liberty of Christ.

1. Stand firm because Christ has freed the believer (v. 1).

2. Stand firm because the law is not God’s way for man to be justified (vv. 2–4).

3. Stand firm because the hope of righteousness is by faith (vv. 5–6).

1 (5:1) Jesus Christ, Work—Liberty, Spiritual: stand firm because Christ has freed the believer. Note two points.

a. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, he is freed from the law and its enslaving power. He no longer has to worry if he is good enough, if he has done enough good works, or if he has kept enough laws to be acceptable to God. Why? Because Christ has fulfilled the law for him. When Christ was on earth He was sinless; He obeyed the law perfectly, never violating it a single time. Therefore, He secured the Ideal Righteousness and stood before God as the Perfect Man. But Christ did something else much more wonderful. It was not enough for the Ideal Righteousness to be secured for man. There was also the problem of the penalty of the law; once the law had been broken, the penalty had been enacted; it had to be paid. This is the glorious message of the cross—what the death of Jesus Christ is all about. Jesus Christ not only secured the ideal righteousness for us, He took the penalty for our trespassing upon Himself and bore it. Jesus Christ bore our judgment and punishment for having broken the law which was death.

If righteousness has been secured for us and if the punishment for our transgressions has been paid, then we stand before God perfect—absolutely righteous and free from transgression—and acceptable to Him. Does this mean everyone is accepted by God and covered by the life and death of Jesus Christ? No! And the reason is easily seen: not everyone accepts what Jesus Christ has done for him—not everyone believes in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has set us free; we do stand in liberty free from the bondage of sin and death wrought by the law—but only if we believe it. Naturally—it is as obvious as can be—if we do not believe and accept a gift freely given, then the Giver still possesses it. We do not receive the gift; therefore, we do not have it.

The point is this: Christ has freed the believer from the bondage of the law. Therefore, we must stand fast in the liberty He has provided for us.

b. The Galatians were about to become entangled again with the yoke of bondage. False teachers had arisen who were teaching that the basic work of Christ was to live as a great example and to bring us the great teachings of God. That is, they accepted Jesus Christ as the Son of God, but they did not accept the message of salvation by grace (the righteousness and death of Jesus Christ). They taught that Jesus Christ had not come to give us a new approach to God; He came to add new teachings to the law. Therefore, a person was still to approach God …

• by undergoing the basic ritual of Jewish religion (circumcision, baptism, church membership, etc.)

• by committing himself to the law

• by observing all the rituals and ceremonies of Jewish religion

All of this of course sounds familiar to every generation, for if we simply omit the word Jewish, the three stipulations are seen to be present in so many teachings, religions, and churches of society.

Again, the exhortation is that a person must not become entangled with approaching God by law or works, for no person can do enough good to ever become perfect before God. Our perfection and acceptance before God has already been secured for us—in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, let us stand fast in the liberty of Christ. For the only person who will ever be acceptable to God is the person who stands before God free of sin and condemnation, a person who has been set free by God’s very own Son. (See note—Ga. 4:4–7.)

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Ro. 8:2–3)

2 (5:2–4) Circumcision—Law—Apostasy: stand firm because law is not God’s way for man to be justified. Three significant warnings are strongly issued.

a. If a person is ritualized, Christ shall profit him nothing. Ritualized means a person is depending upon some religious thing to make him acceptable to God. In the case of the Galatians, it was the ritual of circumcision; but it can apply to anything: ritual, ceremony, works, law, goodness, church membership, baptism, last rites, prayer, religious services, ministry, or even religion itself. If a person approaches God and tries to secure God’s acceptance by any means other than Christ, then Christ shall profit him nothing. What Christ has done for man will have no effect upon the man whatsoever. The righteousness and death of Jesus Christ will be of no avail to the man, for the man is trusting his own works and goodness, not the righteousness and death of Jesus Christ.

b. If a person is ritualized, he has to do the whole law. Think for a moment: if a person trusts a ritual to save him, really depends upon a ritual to make him acceptable to God, then he had better keep the whole law. Why? Because he is accepting the law (works, religion) as the way to approach God. He is subjecting himself to ritual, walking the way of law in order to approach God. Therefore, he must continue to approach God by law. He must keep the whole law.

In a summary statement: if a person approaches God by ritual, any ritual, he assumes responsibility for doing the whole law.

c. If a person seeks to be justified by law, Christ can have no effect upon him—he is fallen from grace. What does this mean?

Remember: Paul is warning the Galatian believers by issuing a strong warning. False teachers were saying this: a person could be saved only by obeying the law and by doing as much good as possible. They were teaching that the righteousness and death of Jesus Christ was not what it took to approach God and to receive eternal life. They said more than Christ was needed: one’s own righteousness, goodness, works, and efforts, were also needed.

Keep this in mind: we can readily see why Paul issued such a severe warning to the Galatian believers. They must not follow the false teachers, must not turn away from Christ and become apostates.

The point is this: not only the Galatians, but we also, must heed the warning lest we begin to deny Christ. To deny Christ, His righteousness and death, is bound to lead to the doom of the apostate. We must always remember: Paul himself said that he was to be accursed if he ever preached any other gospel than that of God’s glorious love in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Eternal security is not the issue here, as it is so often made to be. The issue is God’s own dear Son, His righteousness and death—His very life and work—His honor and Person. No person is living or ever will live who will be allowed to tamper with the righteousness and death of God’s dear Son. We are fools to think so, even if we are trying to defend and explain a doctrinal position. This was certainly the thought and position of Paul when he said he was to be cursed if he became apostate.

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mt. 7:22–23).

“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” (Ro. 3:20)

3 (5:5–6) Faith—Righteousness—Law—Ritual: stand firm because the hope of righteousness is by faith. The hope of the believer is for righteousness. Hope does not mean the uncertainty of worldly hope, that the believer might—but then again he might not—secure righteousness before God. The believer’s hope is in Jesus Christ, and it is as assured as God exists. Hope in the Bible means the focus, the concentration, the longing, the craving, and the desire for righteousness—the privilege of being redeemed and spending eternity with God. Note the source of such an assurance and secured hope.

a. The hope for righteousness comes through the Spirit of God. It is the presence of the Spirit who dwells within the believer that stirs the hope. The Holy Spirit stirs hope and gives absolute assurance that God will take His faith and count it for righteousness.

b. The hope for righteousness comes through Jesus Christ alone, not by a ritual (circumcision, law) nor by the lack of a ritual. Note exactly what this is saying:

⇒ neither undergoing a ritual (circumcision) nor being without a ritual brings hope

⇒ neither having and keeping the law nor being without law brings hope

⇒ neither working for righteousness nor not working for righteousness brings hope

Nothing, absolutely nothing, can provide the sure hope of righteousness within a person except Jesus Christ: His righteousness and His death alone can offer hope to man.

c. The hope for righteousness comes by faith wrought by love. It was God’s love that sent His Son to secure our righteousness to die for us. When a person really sees this, it breaks him; and he bows and surrenders his own love, faith, life, and loyalty to Christ. The love of God stirs us to love Him and to believe Him. We love Him because He has loved us.

“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” (Ro. 8:24).