Gal 5:1: "For freedom Christ frees us! Stand firm, then, and be not again enthralled with the yoke of slavery."
Man, I love this now that I understand it. When I was in christianity (most of my life) I was under a yoke of slavery imposed by those who claimed to be spokesmen for God and Christ. “Believe, and God will save you” they said, “Do this for God and He will be pleased”. This is contrary to the true evangel and just more of the “elements of the world”. The truth is God through Christ has saved you, just believe it. God has already set you free, just believe it and rest in the freedom!
Gal 5:2-4: "Lo! I, Paul, am saying to you that if you should be circumcising, Christ will benefit you nothing. Now I am attesting again to every man who is circumcising, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Exempted from Christ were you who are being justified in law. You fall out of grace."
Seeking to fix yourself or show yourself righteous through a work of the flesh is counter to grace. The fact is that we are “justified gratuitously in His grace” (Rom 3:24) through Christ’s death, entombment and resurrection (1 Cor 15:1-4). If one then seeks to perfect themselves through law, they will fall out of grace.
Gal 5:5-6: "For we, in spirit, are awaiting the expectation of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision is availing anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith, operating through love."
Rom 4:5: "Yet to him who is not working, yet is believing on Him Who is justifying the irreverent, his faith is reckoned for righteousness." See also Gal 3:6. Believe God, who says He justifies the irreverent (while you are still a sinner Rom 5:8). He does not justify after you accomplish an act, such as “making a decision for Christ” or “asking Jesus into your heart”. He saved you before you were even capable of making such a decision.
Gal 5:7-9: "You raced ideally! Who hinders you not to be persuaded by the truth? This persuasion is not of Him Who is calling you. A little leaven is leavening the whole kneading."
When the Galatians initially heard the truth from Paul, they believed and raced ideally, according to the truth in Christ Jesus. The judaizers were beguiling the Galatians with persuasive words (Col 2:4, see also the rest of chapter 2 in which Paul is warning against this). God is not calling the members of the body of Christ to perform for Him, on the contrary, He calls them into believing in what He has already done. Paul doesn’t put up with false teaching that compromises the evangel, a little bit of lies spreads and turns the evangel into one that is no evangel at all. Throughout Paul’s ministry, he defended the truth without compromise: Tit 1:10-11: "For many are insubordinate, vain praters and imposters, especially those of the Circumcision, who must be gagged, who are subverting whole households, teaching what they must not, on behalf of sordid gain."
Gal 5:10-11: "I have confidence in you in the Lord that in nothing you will be disposed otherwise. Now he who is disturbing you shall be bearing his judgment, whosoever he may be. Now I, brethren, if I am still heralding circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? Consequently the snare of the cross of Christ has been nullified."
Telling someone to be circumcised for God does not bring persecution, nor does promoting any other works based righteousness. All of the religions of the world tell its adherents to “do things for god”, this includes christianity, which is the most deceptive of all as it has stolen the name of God and Christ. The “snare of the cross of Christ” is this, that the justification, conciliation and eventual vivification of all was accomplished at the cross, with no effort at all from the ones benefiting from this work done by Christ. Religionists do not believe this, and they persecute those that do.
Gal 5:12: "Would that those who are raising you to insurrection struck themselves off also!"
Paul gets a bit graphic here, saying that the judaizers might as well cut off their entire male member, if circumcision is that important. God might be more pleased if they removed it entirely!
Gal 5:13-15: "For you were called for freedom, brethren, only use not the freedom for an incentive to the flesh, but through love be slaving for one another. For the entire law is fulfilled in one word, in this: "You shall love your associate as yourself." Now if you are biting and devouring one another, beware that you may not be consumed by one another."
Believers are free in Christ, and realization of this freedom in Christ, and realization of the love and grace of God and Christ for the believer leads one to love others. Attempts to follow the law do not lead to love, go down to your local church and get on the gossip train for real life proof of this.
Gal 5:16: "Now I am saying, Walk in spirit, and you should under no circumstances be consummating the lust of the flesh."
What does walking in spirit look like? Like this: Rom 8:1-4: "Nothing, consequently, is now condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Not according to flesh are they walking, but according to spirit, for the spirit's law of life in Christ Jesus frees you from the law of sin and death. For what was impossible to the law, in which it was infirm through the flesh, did God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sin's flesh and concerning sin, He condemns sin in the flesh, that the just requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who are not walking in accord with flesh, but in accord with spirit." Believing God’s testimony about what He has done through Christ is walking in spirit. Understanding that nothing can condemn you because you have been justified gratuitously in His grace (Rom 3:24) and you are free from the law of sin and death. You have God’s righteousness and are justified (Rom 3:21-28), you have not been merely atoned for or forgiven. How can one with God’s righteousness be condemned?
Gal 5:17-21: "For the flesh is lusting against the spirit, yet the spirit against the flesh. Now these are opposing one another, lest you should be doing whatever you may want. Now, if you are led by spirit, you are not still under law. Now apparent are the works of the flesh, which are adultery, prostitution, uncleanness, wantonness, idolatry, enchantment, enmities, strife, jealousies, furies, factions, dissensions, sects, envies, murders, drunkennesses, revelries, and the like of these, which, I am predicting to you, according as I predicted also, that those committing such things shall not be enjoying the allotment of the kingdom of God."
Resting in the grace of God and Christ will not lead one to commit the works of the flesh. Focusing on law and trying not to do the things listed here leads to a fixation on them, in the weakness of our flesh. Rom 7:7-8: "What, then, shall we declare? That the law is sin? May it not be coming to that! But sin I knew not except through law. For besides, I had not been aware of coveting except the law said, "You shall not be coveting." Now Sin, getting an incentive through the precept, produces in me all manner of coveting. For apart from law Sin is dead." Ignore the flesh; walk in spirit.
Gal 5:22-23: "Now the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control: against such things there is no law."
Walking in spirit leads to the fruit of the spirit. It is the fruit OF the spirit after all, not of men. God will produce these things in a believer. The saving grace of God is the best teacher: Tit 2:11-14: "For the saving grace of God made its advent to all humanity, training us that, disowning irreverence and worldly desires, we should be living sanely and justly and devoutly in the current eon, anticipating that happy expectation, even the advent of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who gives Himself for us, that He should be redeeming us from all lawlessness and be cleansing for Himself a people to be about Him, zealous for ideal acts."
Gal 5:24-26: "Now those of Christ Jesus crucify the flesh together with its passions, and lusts. If we may be living in spirit, in spirit we may be observing the elements also. We may not become vainglorious, challenging one another, envying one another."
The old humanity was crucified with Christ and the body of Sin has been nullified (Rom 6:6). Rom 6:7-8: “for one who dies has been justified from Sin. Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall be living together with Him also.” Rom 6:11-12: "Thus you also, be reckoning yourselves to be dead, indeed, to Sin, yet living to God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Let not Sin, then, be reigning in your mortal body, for you to be obeying its lusts." Those of Christ Jesus simply believe these truths. Reckon yourself dead to sin. In other words, ignore it! Trying to fight sin makes you a slave to an already defeated enemy.
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The snare of the cross, written by James Coram from the Concordant Publishing Concern is a great read.
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