Slaves Made Free
It’s a common misunderstanding that we’re on a “this-for-that” relationship with God—that God takes our religious works in exchange for his salvation. The nightmare of this “legal” kind of religion is the nagging fear that God never can be “paid off” this way. That’s the awful truth! So Satan keeps on collecting our ransom of works and dead formalities—but he never frees our enslaved souls. Jesus has paid your ransom. All you owe now is “your faith that makes you love others” (v.6).
Christ Has Set Us Free
Gal 5: 1-15
Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the Law again.
I, Paul, promise you that Christ won’t do you any good if you get circumcised. If you do, you must obey the whole Law. And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his wonderful kindness. But the Spirit makes us sure that God will accept us because of our faith in Christ. If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether you are circumcised or not. All that matters is your faith that makes you love others.
You were doing so well until someone made you turn from the truth. And that person was certainly not sent by the one who chose you. A little yeast can change a whole batch of dough, but you belong to the Lord. That makes me confident that you will do what I say, instead of what someone else tells you to do. Whoever is causing trouble for you will be punished.
My friends, if I still preach that people need to be circumcised, why am I in so much trouble? The message about the cross would no longer be a problem if I told people to be circumcised. I wish that everyone who is upsetting you would not only get circumcised but would cut off much more!
My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. All that the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out, or you will destroy yourselves.
