Galatians Chapter 5

Galatians 1:1-5:12 have largely dealt with Christians who have been saved by grace not going back to the Law.  This really describes the seed sown on stony ground from Jesus’ parable of the sower.  This person hears the gospel and receives it and is born again.  But he is not rooted in righteousness apart from our works.  When tribulation or persecution arises because of the gospel, he stumbles or falls away from grace back to law.  

Starting in Galatians 5:13, Paul describes the seed sown among thorns in the parable of Jesus.  This person receives the gospel and is born again.  But the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires or lusts of the flesh enter in and choke the word and the person is unfruitful.  He does not experience the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy and peace that he is meant to experience.  The pain and sting of these things choke out the love, joy and peace.  

 

Galatians 5:1-6 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. ² Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. ³ And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. ⁴ You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. ⁵ For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”

Paul wrote this book to both Jews and Gentiles who had become Christians in the region of Galatia.  He told them to stand fast in liberty or grace and not to be entangled again in the law.  Paul told them that if they were circumcised, Christ would profit them nothing.  This would have been highly offensive to the Jews who wanted to mix the Old Testament law and grace under our Lord Jesus.  If we attempt to be justified by the Old Testament law, we have fallen from grace back to the law.  He did not say they fell from grace back to sin.  Falling from grace means we have fallen back to the Old Testament law in an attempt to be justified before God.  Falling from grace also does not mean we have lost our salvation. This falling away in Galatians chapter 5 is the same "fall away" described in Hebrews chapter 6.  Many have taught that Hebrews chapters 6 and 10 show how a mature believer can lose or reject their salvation and go to hell.  Those who teach this do not recognize that Hebrews 6 and 10 are discussing this same falling away from grace back to an Old Testament law mindset.   

Whether we are circumcised or not, the important thing is trusting in Jesus and His death on the cross for our sins.  It is of utmost importance that we receive the life of Christ in our hearts, not whether we have been circumcised or not.  

When we see how much God loves us and has forgiven the sins of our entire lifetime by grace, our faith will be effective.  Faith works by understanding God’s love and grace for us.

Galatians 5:7-12 “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? ⁸ This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. ⁹ A little leaven leavens the whole lump. ¹⁰ I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.  ¹¹ And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. ¹² I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!”

Paul said that a little leaven leavens the whole lump.  He meant that when we try to mix grace and law, it is no longer grace.  If we have to add circumcision or any other part of the Old Testament law to what Christ did upon the cross, then we are no longer saved by grace alone.  Persecution arises because people who are self-righteous are offended by righteousness by faith apart from our works.  That is why the cross is offensive to some people.  They think they should be accepted by God because of their good works.  This is prideful and not dependence upon God and His grace and love.

Paul made a crude reference to circumcision when he wished that those who preach circumcision would even cut themselves off.  It demonstrated how strongly he felt about trusting in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ alone instead of in our own works or religious rituals.   

Galatians 5:13-15 “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!”

Paul will now switch to describing the seed sown among thorns in Jesus’ parable of the sower.  We are called to liberty or grace, but we are not to use grace as an opportunity for the flesh.  Even though Jesus bore the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime, we are not to use this grace as an excuse to sin and run wild.  We are to love one another.  Before God, we are justified by His grace apart from our works.  But before men, we are justified by our works.  Men will reject us and our message of God’s love and grace if we don’t walk in love and holiness.  

Galatians 5:16-18 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Walking denotes action.  Our actions are to be guided by who we are in the Spirit.  If we walk in love and holiness, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  Our spirit has been born again and is made in the likeness of God.  Even though Jesus has paid the price for the redemption of our body, our body is not yet redeemed.  The body still has lusts and sinful desires.  The flesh and the spirit are contrary to one another, so that we should not obey the dictates of our flesh.  We should be led by the Holy Spirit within us and learn to walk in love and holiness.  

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”  

These verses have been used to say that we, as Christians, can lose our salvation and will not go to heaven if we practice the works of the flesh.  Most all ministers have tried to make a difference between do and practice.  If you do one of these sins and get it confessed, you are safe.  If you persist in practicing the works of the flesh, you will not go to heaven.  What is the truth?  

Jesus said in Luke 17:20-21 that the kingdom of God is within us when we are born again.  So inheriting the kingdom of God is not talking about going to heaven when we die.  What Paul meant was that if we practice the works of the flesh, we will not inherit or walk in or experience the kingdom of God which is within us when we are born again.  We will not experience the love, joy and peace that God has for us.  The pain and sting of sin will choke out the joy and peace we are meant to inherit.  That is why the next verse describes the fruit of the Spirit that is within us when we are born again.  This is exactly what Jesus meant in the parable of the sower when he described the seed sown among thorns.  The cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires or lusts of the flesh choke out the word and we are unfruitful.  Paul was saying the exact same thing that Jesus said.   

  

Galatians 5:22-26 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

The first three fruit of the Spirit is love, joy and peace.  This is what takes place on the inside of us when we hear and believe the gospel.  Jesus bore the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime and set them all aside.  When we believe this, it produces love for God, joy and peace on the inside of us.  When we see how much He loves us and has forgiven us, we extend that same grace to others.  The rest of the fruit is then manifested in our lives over time.  We begin to be longsuffering, kind, good, faithful and gentle toward others.  Lastly, we learn to exercise self-control.  We learn to no longer live by the passions and desires of our flesh, but allow His nature of love to be expressed through us to others.  We do live in the Spirit after we are born again.  Let us learn to also walk in the Spirit in our outward actions.  

This is all a process in the lives of believers.  It first begins with understanding His grace toward us.  If we believe our past sins are forgiven, but our present or future sins are somehow held against us by God, we will not be secure in our relationship with God.  We will struggle with understanding His love for us.  These types of ideas will lead us to think that God is harsh with us; therefore we will be harsh toward others.  Let us settle in our hearts that Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever, past, present, and future sins.  God is not counting our sins to us.  This will cause us to relax and love God because He first loved us and gave us His Son to pay for our sins.  We will experience the joy and peace of God.  We will learn to love others as He loved us.  It is difficult to do this if we feel like we could lose our salvation as some have taught.  It is difficult to love God when we are told that we are out of fellowship with Him each time we sin.  These ideas are not scriptural and will leave us insecure.  

Keith Oliver