TAWG - September 24, 2022 - Galatians 5:1-15
September 24, 2022

Galatians 5:1-15

When the Galatians trusted Christ, they were freed from the law’s yoke of bondage - in which people try to gain God’s favor by carefully heeding His rules - and could accept Christ’s invitation to rest (Matt. 11:29-30; Acts 15:10). It seems that our default position is to try to work our way to salvation, expecting reward for being good and doing good. But no matter how many laws we keep, we will still fall short (Rom. 3:23; James 2:10). In contrast, Christ’s message which Paul restates here, is that salvation is a gift - by grace alone (Eph. 2:8-9). We are saved by grace through faith, and we live the Christian life the same way.

5:2 | The sacrifice of Jesus was perfect and complete, but it cannot benefit (profit) a person who trusts in something else.

“Christ will provide unlimited help to those who place their undivided trust in him, but no help at all to those who bypass his saving work.” -F.F. Bruce

5:3 | By turning to one element of the law (circumcision), the whole law had to be kept perfectly in order to merit salvation - and such perfection was impossible.

5:4 | Fallen from grace means “fallen out of the sphere of grace” or “to have lost one’s grasp of grace.” When we fall from grace, we do not lose our salvation; however, we do close the door to Christian growth and God’s blessing, becoming estranged from Him.

5:6 | Christianity is faith working through love not the flesh working through self-effort. Paul’s letters often describe the correct relationship between faith and works: good works are the product of faith, not a substitute for it (5:14; Eph. 3:8-10; Titus 3:8).

IMPORTANT: False teachers plagued the church in Paul’s day, and they will continue to multiply as we move toward the end times (1 Tim. 4:1-2; 2 Pet. 2:1). Paul lists five things we should know about false teachers:
1- False Teachers contradict the truth (5:7)
2- False Teachers are contrary to God (5:8)
3- False Teachers contaminate the church (5:9)
4- False Teachers condemnation is certain (5:10)
5- False Teachers criticize teachers of the truth (5:11)

5:8 | The false teachers were misusing the OT to prove their arguments, but Paul is clear that the doctrine of leagalism does not come from God or the OT. Every false teacher - even the devil himself - tries to use the Bible to support his or her heresy (Matt. 4:5-6).

5:9 | Throughout the Bible leaven is often a symbol of corruption that spreads powerfully and secretly until it permeates everything (Matt. 16:6,12). Paul cautions that false doctrine can enter a church and be absorbed into every area until it takes control of the entire body.

5:10 | After expressing confidence that the Galatians will ultimately choose the right path, Paul promises that those who had troubled them would face the judgment of God. False teachers incur stricter judgment because they lead people into sin (2 Pet. 2:1-3,9).

5:13 | The phrase opportunity for the flesh comes from a word used to describe a base of operations for an attack upon the enemy. Paul’s imagery is vivid: we should never use our freedom as a beachhead or springboard to indulge the flesh and be lured into sin. Instead, our Redeemer frees us to serve one another. We are saved to serve!

5:15 | The progression of the words here is significant: bite… devour… consumed. Instead of living in loving unity, the Galatian church was moving from dissension to destruction. Left unchecked, selfish controversies and petty disagreements divide a church and harm its testimony.