Galatians 5 — Walking in Freedom

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This message is from Galatians chapter 5 and is entitled "Walking in Freedom."

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

It was delivered to Ecclesia churches on Sunday, April 6, 2025.

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Today we're going through all 26 verses in chapter 5, and that's a lot of text.

So I want to start by kind of helping you to see what Paul is doing overall,

but also what he's doing within each section.

The big idea of Galatians that we've seen is that salvation is given only by the grace of God.

It's received only by faith in Christ, and specifically it's only through faith in Christ alone.

So we would say it this way, that salvation comes to us by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Paul has argued with the opposition on every one of those points, right?

On the grace alone front, he's argued against those who think they've received salvation for their bloodline,

the people who think they're saved because they're Jewish.

He said, "No, it's not by your family bloodline, but by the shed blood of Christ.

It's the grace of God, and it's always been the grace of God that salvation was coming to you through."

He's argued against those who think that they can somehow earn salvation, right?

That somehow their good works, their religious faithfulness, or any other way will earn them salvation.

Their salvation is obtained by putting faith in Jesus.

And finally, he's argued that it's Christ alone that has to be the object of that faith.

So do you see this progression?

Those people who think that they were earning salvation have confused Christians by saying,

"Well, okay, it's 99% Jesus, but you still have to work for it, or you still have to be circumcised, or whatever.

Fill in the blank."

No, it's not mostly Jesus and a sprinkle of something else.

It's a one ingredient cure, and it's Christ alone, or it's all on you.

God's grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone.

So what does that mean?

Well, that means it results in a tremendous amount of freedom, right?

When the solution has been made so simple, you end up with people who are free in a way that neither religious rules nor license to sin has ever made them.

In John 8.36, Jesus declared, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

This echoes the message that Paul is conveying here, that the freedom we receive through Christ is true and complete freedom.

So what do we do with that?

What does living with that kind of freedom look like?

When I went to Israel a number of years ago for a study abroad class, our schedule was really tight.

And most of the time we were either traveling in a bus from one archaeological destination to another, or we were on campus listening to lectures.

And for about a week, that's all we did.

And a week into this two week course, we had a Sunday that was just free.

And they said to us, "You can go explore Jerusalem on your own today, or take a day of rest, do whatever you like."

And I think anybody, I can't think of anybody that left the campus for at least an hour that morning.

But not because everybody wasn't up.

We all were up and just kind of sat around and looked at each other because most of us, after a week of being in a bus or on a campus in a foreign land,

didn't know what to do when we were turned loose.

We could walk anywhere in the city, but we didn't know where to walk or where to go.

And I can't tell you how grateful I was when our instructor came out and recommended a local church for worship that morning, which we went to.

And how ecstatic I was when he asked that afternoon if we would like to walk with him to a few of his favorite places that weren't part of the course.

So we had freedom, but we didn't know how to live in that freedom.

So Paul is going to use a very similar analogy in this passage.

He's instructing us how to live in this newfound freedom.

And he's going to talk about where to stand firm.

He's going to talk about how to keep running the race of following Jesus.

You see the theme and how to walk in step with the spirit of God.

So let's start by reading those first six verses.

"For freedom Christ has set us free.

Stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

Look, I, Paul, say this to you.

If you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.

I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

You are severed from Christ.

You who would be justified by the law.

You have fallen away from grace.

For through the spirit by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything,

but only faith working through love.

Okay, where does Paul go first in his instruction on freedom?

He starts with the boundary.

Here's what you can't afford to compromise on.

He says, "You've got all this freedom, so stand firm on this.

This thing that gives you that freedom, stand firm on Christ alone."

Verse 3 says that salvation is through Jesus alone, or you have no salvation, right?

He even says, "If you think a little law-keeping will save you,

then you may as well try to save yourself by keeping it all."

With Jesus, we know it's all or nothing.

And Paul says, "If your hope is in your performance, you don't have grace,

and grace is your only hope."

So for our Catholic friends and family, for the lost Mormons that are down the street from my house,

verse 6 is key.

Your religious observance does nothing to save you.

Not eating meat on Fridays, not drinking coffee, your two years of missionary service,

right? None of that counts for anything when it comes to salvation.

You cannot earn one bit of salvation.

There is no penance other than the price that's been paid by Jesus for you.

There's only faith.

If you are going to have the freedom to run in verses 7 through 12,

you better be able to stand first, right?

Have you ever seen a child who is just learning to walk,

step out in too much confidence, and go flat on their face?

It's kind of hilarious and also a good illustration.

You have to know what you're going to stand firm on before you can exercise that freedom.

And Paul says, "We stand firm on Christ alone."

That's the truth that we stand firm on.

So church, there are a lot of things that we can compromise on.

There are preferences.

There are personal tastes.

But there is one thing we cannot compromise on.

And that is this statement we opened with today.

Any sense of freedom is only free when we stand firm on Christ alone.

You compromise on that and it's a step back towards slavery.

And apparently the church in Galatia was doing well to start,

but they were struggling.

Paul even says, "You were running well."

So let's go into 7 through 12 next.

"You were running well.

Who hindered you from obeying the truth?"

This persuasion is not from him who calls you.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

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.

But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?

In that case, the offense of the cross has been removed.

I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves.

So let's look at 7 through 11 first and then we'll get to the awkwardness of verse 12.

All right, I promise we won't just leave it.

"Running the race looks like obedience to Christ."

Right?

That's the comparison he's making.

"You were running well.

Who hindered you from obeying the truth?"

"Running looks like obedience."

It's not just running wherever you want.

It's obedience to Christ.

We stand firm on Christ alone and we run in obedience to him.

Paul says that we were, or they were running well,

but there are people hindering them from obeying and proclaiming what is false.

So the main problem isn't that everyone had turned aside from the gospel.

It's that there are a few influential teachers who are tripping everybody up.

These are the few but loud minority who are causing trouble for everyone.

These are the people that are tripping the baby.

Paul introduces another metaphor used by Jesus when he warned of the leaven of the Pharisees.

His disciples didn't understand what he meant and so he explained.

Jesus was warning his disciples about the impact of the religious teaching of the Pharisees

and how a little bit of self-righteousness influenced the whole bunch.

You had yeast, leaven, to a little bit of flour and before long that whole lump of dough is leavened.

Paul is worried about the exact same thing with these loud teachers in the church.

He says, "God isn't going to change how the gospel works."

Remember, Jesus was always the plan.

It was never Jesus plus a little of something else and then it became Jesus.

It was never something else for the Jews and Jesus for everyone else.

Which means that these people who are teaching a little bit of self-righteousness,

a little bit of righteousness through works, a little bit of religion,

a little bit of license to sin in addition to the gospel,

they aren't preaching the gospel at all.

And Paul says, "For his part, he only wants to be accused of one thing

and that's standing on the truth of the cross of Christ."

So, before we accuse Paul of being gross, let's look at verse 12 where he says,

"I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves."

Okay.

Paul is known for being straightforward.

But he is not known for being unnecessarily crass or crude.

So, why does he say this?

Let's provide kind of a family-friendly definition here, "to emasculate."

Means to remove the source of your masculinity.

Okay.

I'll let parents get into that with kids, however, at the depth that they want to.

What is it that these problem-causers are trying to teach?

Among other things, one of their kind of pet issues that they make the biggest deal

is that you have to be circumcised to be saved.

Okay.

You need Jesus, but also just a little Jewish ritual at eight days old.

Okay.

Or a little Jewish ritual at however old you are when you come to Christ.

So, Paul is not being crass, but he is being blunt.

He's saying that if you think a little circumcision can save you,

you may as well go the rest of the way.

Right?

If you think that a little Jewish law is going to buy you a little salvation,

you may as well try to follow the whole law for your whole salvation,

which we already know is never going to work.

Only Jesus could do that perfectly.

So, Paul is saying you can either embrace the complete freedom in Jesus and in Jesus alone,

or you can live like a slave.

And he's urging his audience, do not listen to these people who are trying to trip you up.

Instead, run in obedience to Christ.

So, by now, the picture that Paul is painting is becoming pretty clear.

He's told us to stand firm in Christ.

He said to keep running the race and don't be tripped up by these false teachers.

But what do you have to do before you can run?

You have to walk.

So, Paul is about to get very practical, okay?

Because the life of a Christian isn't a wandering existence.

It's the pursuit of Christ.

And we have a lot of freedom in that pursuit, but it is a pursuit.

There is a finish line.

The road is narrow and there is a purpose to our steps.

And crucially, this is a journey that is directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We are not on our own in this pursuit.

And Paul wants his audience to understand that the implications or meaning of that freedom

are very real and very practical.

How do I walk free so I can run the race to completion?

When we walk, we're basically making two decisions at the same time, right?

I'm stepping toward this and I'm stepping away from that.

Walking is moving in one direction.

The whole race is really just a series of steps, a series of adjustment.

And so, how is the spirit directing me in this?

So, we have two sections as Paul finishes out this conversation.

So verse 13 and 21 are basically the step away from these things.

These are the things that we are turning away from and turning to Christ.

And verse 22 and 26 are these are the things that you're actually stepping toward

through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Okay, let's read 13 through 21.

"For you were called to freedom, brothers.

Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,

but through love to serve one another.

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

But if you bite and devour one another,

watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

But I say, walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit

and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh.

For these are opposed to each other.

To keep you from doing the things you want to do.

But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law."

Now the works of the flesh are evident.

Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,

fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness,

orgies, and things like these.

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things

will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Walking in the flesh tends to lead toward a lack of love for one another.

And to a situation where you are picking each other apart, right?

Without the Holy Spirit at work in us stirring up love for one another,

we will become a bunch of people who have a lack of love for each other,

become hypercritical of one another, and we will tear each other down.

But people with their eyes on Jesus and who are filled with the Spirit

tend to be gracious toward one another.

Interesting, isn't it that Paul's first warning isn't about how we feel inside

but how we treat one another?

He says, "Serve one another."

It's not about you, right?

Love one another.

Watch out that you don't tear each other to pieces.

Paul knows that our first temptation is toward an absence of kindness for each other.

Paul knows that we sometimes lean toward being hypocrites.

Okay, then Paul goes more internal, more personal, and kind of lists

a bunch of other activities together, particularly in 19 through 21.

There's this horror list of all the things our flesh would lead us into

if it weren't for the work of the Spirit in us.

He closes 21 by saying, "If you do these things, you won't inherit the kingdom."

Pause.

Paul told us that we don't earn our salvation, right?

He's been very clear on that.

So what's going on with verse 21?

Can I lose my salvation if I sin?

If I lose my temper?

If I lust?

I mean, that list was extensive.

At what point should I be worried?

Do I need to live in daily fear of losing my salvation?

One clarification from the Greek really does wonders for us with that verse.

The word "do" is a tense that suggests ongoing action.

So a better translation, I believe, of this particular verse would read,

"Those who continue doing such things."

We're going to talk more about temptation and struggling against sin in House Church this week

and get practical and look up some other verses that are going to be helpful to us.

But for now, I just want you to see how Paul started this section in verse 16.

Verse 16 says, "But I say, 'Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.'"

What that doesn't say is that if you're walking in the Spirit, you won't be tempted.

What it does say is that you won't gratify those temptations.

You won't give yourself over to fulfilling those temptations.

That's not your priority any longer.

One of the roles of the Spirit is to point out those temptations to us,

to point out those areas of sin, and to convict us over them.

Not to condemn us as guilty, but to convict.

To convict means the Spirit is saying, "That is sin.

That is death to you."

Beloved son or daughter, turn from it and turn to Christ.

Repent and turn to the Gospel.

Listening to the Spirit both as he convicts you of sin in your life

and as you read God's word is how we step away from those things that are death to us

and how we step toward those things that are life in Christ.

I am so grateful for the work of the Spirit in me,

which includes that uncomfortable but essential conviction of sin.

And I'm also grateful for the way that allowing the Spirit to work

in that he produces new fruit in us.

The kind that replaces all of the broken desires of the flesh.

Let's read this list.

22 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such things, there is no law."

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

At the end of the day, we rejoice in the work of the Spirit in us, producing this new character in us.

Jesus doesn't say, "The way is narrow, follow me, don't stray, good luck."

When Jesus calls us to follow, he says, "It's better that I go because I'm going to send to you a helper that will be with you always."

He's talking about the Holy Spirit.

The work of the Spirit is actually to produce this new kind of spiritual fruit in us.

That happens when we continue turning to Christ.

These are not this list of often well-memorized qualities that really describes a wonderful new existence.

These are not qualities that we can force or manufacture in us.

Maybe you've been taught that accidentally.

I was that, have you ever heard a passage like this preached and it's about being a good Christian?

And how good Christians will choose to be faithful and good and kind and self-controlled, etc.

And if you don't feel that way in your heart, you might just not be trying hard enough to be like Jesus.

And if I just try harder to feel loving and try harder to feel patient and try harder to feel kind, then I'll be a better Christian.

Do you feel the weight of that on your shoulders?

That doesn't feel like a light burden.

Question, does it say in that passage that this is the fruit of my forced feelings?

Does it say this is the fruit of good religious performance?

Does it say that it's the fruit that I'm producing at all?

Does it say it's my fruit?

No.

It's the fruit of the spirit of God at work in us.

Why do you think Paul closes verse 26 with "Don't be conceited or envious"?

Because just like salvation, we are not producing the fruit.

God is.

So what is our part?

Do we just sit back and wait for this fruit to happen within us?

When we memorize verses like 22-23, with that lovely list of fruit, we tend to leave out verse 24, which is our part.

Our part is to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires.

Our part is actually quite practical.

Our part is about responding to the Spirit one step at a time.

Choosing to turn away from those things that are death and turning to Jesus.

Choosing to be obedient to Jesus and trusting the Spirit to do the work that we cannot do,

which is to change our hearts to be more like Christ.

We have the ability to control our actions, but only God can work in my heart to change my desires.

So you want to see the fruit of the Spirit in you?

I do.

Turn away from sin and turn to Christ.

And let him begin the work of producing the desires in your heart that align with the desires of his heart.

So the practical work of walking as a Christian and of running the race well is this daily recognition

that my sinful flesh is a liar and doesn't actually want what is good for me.

But because I am free in Christ, I don't have to listen to my lying sinful flesh anymore.

I am a slave to it no longer.

I have the free choice to turn from those things to my Savior and say, "Jesus, I am weak, but I trust you.

Would you work in my weakness and be my strength?"

And you can believe that in the midst of those moments,

the Spirit of God is at work transforming your heart and mind to be more like Jesus.

Ecclesia is a church of house churches gathering weekly in Councilbluffs, Iowa and in homes throughout the week.

We are a Bible-centered church focused on preaching from Scripture and making disciples of Jesus.

You can learn more about our statement of faith and contact a pastor by visiting ecclaseachurches.org.

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