GALATIANS 5
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. – Galatians 5:1-10
GALATIANS 5 YOU ARE FREE INDEED!
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When Jesus died on the cross, he rescued us from bondage
We are no longer slaves to sin but to his own righteousness
Do not revert back to your slavery because you are free indeed
Continue to wear your new nature in Christ by staying pure and holy.
Paul warns the Galatian church to continue to live under grace and let go of following laws for the sake of just following them. In Jesus, we are no longer bound to follow our old nature because when he died on the cross, he gave us the ability to wear our new nature in him.
It is sad to watch some believers who still continue to walk under the law instead of living under grace. The old life has a grasp of them and they aren’t able to embrace the new nature that Christ has given them when he died on the cross for them. The world system became ingrained in them that they succumb to the flesh instead of to God’s Spirit. They continue to self-soothe instead of obeying the laws of the Lord. No wonder, they fail to grow their faith and miss out on the calling that the Lord has in store for them. They go back to the prison of fear, doubt, anxiety and double-mindedness.
REFLECTION
- What can you say about Christians who do not live free lives?
