Galatians 5:1-12

Rob Armstrong

Galatians • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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Galatians 5:1–12 (CSB)

“For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Take note! I, Paul, am telling you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. 3 Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to do the entire law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we eagerly await through the Spirit, by faith, the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love. 7 You were running well. Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth?, 8 This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough. 10 I myself am persuaded in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. 11 Now brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish those who are disturbing you might also let themselves be mutilated!”

Galatians 5:1-4

Christ did not set you free to make you a slave to the law. Christ set you free from your sin, and the law was the guardian that made you ready for the grace of God.

When you are tempted and tried you can stand firm with God’s help.

You are either submitted to the yoke of Jesus, or you are submitted to the yoke of slavery. Your obligation is either to grace, or it is to the law. Keep in mind what Paul wrote in Galatians 4. You are either a child of grace or a child of works. You either trust in the works of your hands, or you trust in the work of Christ.

There is a third category that Paul is not speaking of, and that is the person who doesn’t believe in God and as a result is simply living according to his flesh and his works. The truth Paul is speaking still applies. You are either with Christ, or you are apart from Christ. But, Paul is speaking directly to those who want to be right in the eyes of God. And, you can only be right in the eyes of God if you trust in Christ. To seek to be right in God’s eyes through own works is to ignore Jesus and try to save yourself.

This is why Paul questions why they would go back? Why would they go back to what Christ has saved them from? When you are saved, you are saved from one kingdom to another. Trying to keep the law is seen as a burden or load that you are trying to bear. Paul calls it a yoke. The yoke is what connects you to another and also to the load.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28–30 (CSB), 28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

When you take on Jesus’ yoke you are linked to Him and you are carrying the load He has for you with His help.

When you take on the yoke of the law, you are linked to the law and you are carrying the load the law requires without judgment rather than help.

When you come to Christ you take off the yoke of the law and flesh and you take on the yoke of Christ.

To take on the yoke of the law requires taking off the yoke of Christ.

Verse 4 does not mean that you have lost your salvation. Though in the end it could reveal that you were never saved. Paul is demonstrating the extreme difference between living by the law and living by grace. To take up the law after having been saved by grace is compared to giving up the grace and salvation that God has given you. The act of taking up the law as the source of your justification and your confidence before God is seen as alienating yourself from God.

There is a real temptation of the flesh to be saved by grace and then live and grow by the law. But, three points to make as we look at the next 2 verses:

1. You weren’t saved by works.

2. You won’t be made more righteous by works

3. You don’t keep your righteousness by your works.

Galatians 5:5-6

“5 For we eagerly await through the Spirit, by faith, the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love. 7 You were running well. Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth?”

1. You weren’t saved by works

This truth is the basis for what you depend on in your life. Paul said in Galatians 2:20 (CSB), “20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

2. You won’t be made more righteous by works

Your works did not make you righteous before you received God’s grace and the Holy Sprit, and your works won’t make you more righteous.

3. You don’t keep your righteousness by your works.

We await a fulfilled righteousness from God when Christ returns.

We eagerly look forward to it with the presence and help of the Holy Spirit.

Paul points out that circumcision doesn’t accomplish anything. Obedience reveals what God has accomplished, but obedience doesn’t earn anything.

Israel declared who they belonged too when they were circumcised. After God delivered Israel from Egypt through the Red Sea the men were circumcised. The order of this matters because it points toward our salvation through Christ.

If God had them circumcised in Egypt and then saved all who were circumcised then you could say that your works saved you. But, God saved them, and then they were circumcised.

The same held true when God brought Israel into the promised land under Joshua. After they crossed the Jordan river, on dry land just like on the Red Sea, God had them circumcised. After they crossed the Jordan the entire Israelite army and all the men had to wait a week to heal. This further demonstrated that they were there under God’s power and His protection and not their own. They had to trust Him to protect them in the new land while they healed. This further aims us to understand that our salvation comes from God.

We are baptized after our conversion as a demonstration of what has already happened. Baptism doesn’t earn or accomplish anything, but it does demonstrate the work of Christ.

You don’t lose your righteousness because Christ doesn’t lose His.

Our obedience and faithfulness don’t earn our righteousness, but they do reveal the work of God in our lives.

And, you cannot lose your salvation through actions because you didn’t earn it through your actions. But, as John writes in 1 John 2:19 (CSB), “19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.”

Actions don’t save, but they do reveal, and in the end some who continue to live unfaithful lives will be revealed as having never belonged to God in the first place.

Paul isn’t trying to get people to keep their salvation, but he is leading them to

Galatians 5:7-10

“7 You were running well. Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth?, 8 This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough. 10 I myself am persuaded in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty.”

Running well had to do with hoping and trusting in Christ and the grace of God. It is right to connect running well with living faithfully. But living faithfully mean being rooted in the grace of God not the works of the law.

Any deviation from the truth has disastrous implications. “A little leaven...” A little wrong teaching, or in many cases a little wrong application actually does great harm.

Guarding the gospel in the church through teachers who are equipped, tested, committed, and multiplying.

1. Equipped

Teachers in the church must be prepared and equipped for the task. We like to say things like God won’t call you without equipping you. And this is true, but He has made it clear that the church is called to equip its members for the work. (Ephesians 4) Those who desire to serve by teaching will be committed to preparing themselves for the task rather than leaning on their desire and talents.

Teaching is not a ministry for new converts, not teaching what they don’t understand)

2. Tested

They should prove they are able to lead and disciple others from Scripture. This means they get feedback on their effort to teach, and they are evaluated on their way of life and faithfulness. Both pastors and deacons are called to be tested, and the same level of requirement should be placed on everyone who teaches the Bible in the congregation. (This is a personal and a public requirement.)

(You don’t have to be a pastor to be a teacher in the church, but you do have to be able to teach- which is one of the things that sets pastors apart in their calling. Able to teach isn’t just understanding worldly principles for the classroom. It’s the ability to clearly communicate the gospel in ways that are faithful to Christ and His Word.)

James 3:1 (CSB) says, “Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.” A stricter judgement requires equipping and comes with testing.

As stricter judgement also requires that a teacher be committed and humble.

3. Committed & Humble

Committed to the task, the church, and the beliefs of the church

Humble and willing to be held accountable and corrected when necessary to maintain the truth of the gospel.

4. Multiplying

it’s my experience that those who are focused on passing the gospel and leadership on to others are more prone to stick to the truth than to wander into unsound directions.

Those who teach are serving as an example to others of what faithfulness looks like. If a teacher isn’t multiplying disciples then he reveals that he is missing a huge part of what Jesus calls us too.

Investing in others is a natural God given accountability to keeping the main thing the main thing.

Paul’s language about a little leaven doesn’t mean grace is gone. But it does help us to understand that in the same way we cannot tolerate sin in our own lives, we cannot tolerate wrong teaching in the church. Just like we can repent of our sin, w can be corrected in our teaching. But, where toleration exists sin will reign, and where you tolerate false teaching unfaithfulness will grow.

Galatians 5:11-12

“11 Now brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish those who are disturbing you might also let themselves be mutilated!”

Paul is being persecuted because he is still preaching the cross and not the law. If he was to preach the law then it would be to the detriment of the cross.

Pursuing righteousness through the law is the same thing as demoting and ignoring the cross of Christ. Everyone who seeks to be right with God through his or her works tells Jesus they didn’t need the cross.

It’s not the cross plus your effort. It’s Jesus plus nothing equals everything.

Questions for application:

Where does your comfort come from?

What is your hope?

What is your motivation for being faithful to God?

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