Gal 5:13-14 | KingComments | STEP | . When Paul says “you were running well”, he uses the picture of a race. The Galatians made a good start to running the race. Without any reservation they had accepted the gospel. But now obstacles were put on the race course which had tripped them up. They no longer obeyed the truth of the gospel. . They had listened to other voices and stopped listening to the voice of God Who had called them through the gospel Paul preached. In that call of God no trace could be recognized of what the Jewish false teachers wanted them to believe. Paul doesn’t name these people. It is enough to know that what they preached did not come from God. Likewise the Lord Jesus speaks in John 10 ( ). His sheep know His voice. If a stranger comes, they will not follow him because they do not know that voice. They will flee from him. It is not necessary to examine all kinds of false teachings, unless you have an order from the Lord to do so. If you do not hear the voice of the Lord – that is, if it is contrary to the Word of God – you can reject it immediately. . If you allow wrong doctrine, as we see here, or sinful practice, as in 1 Corinthians 5, and don’t judge it, your life and the church where you are, will finally be destroyed. Evil which is not judged works like leaven – it permeates everything. . When Paul looks to the Galatians, he is perplexed ( ). But when he looks up, to the Lord Jesus, he is confident that He will not abandon His own. Paul knew how to bring his concerns to the Lord. This is an important lesson for me. If I'm worried and there seems to be no way out anymore, I must be aware of the way upward to the Lord. Paul was convinced that the Galatians in their final evaluation of these things would come to the same conclusion as he had proposed to them from the beginning. As far as those who had brought them into confusion were concerned, he commits them to the judgment of God. . Now they had also said something about Paul, which he had to respond to. They said that Paul still preached circumcision. Of course that was a trick of the opponents to deceive the Galatians. Even today it still happens that things are put into Paul’s mouth that he never said or meant that way. As to circumcision, it was clear that he didn’t preach that practice. Otherwise, why would the Jews chase him like that? And if Paul preached circumcision, it would mean that there would still be something left of own works – and that would be completely contrary to the preaching of the cross. The cross shows the depravity of man right to the very roots of his existence and it demonstrates that man is an enemy of God. Therefore the cross and the complete salvation by grace are always a stumbling block for someone who wants to give a little credit to the flesh. Anyone who adds something to the gospel of Jesus Christ by giving man the possibility to do something for his salvation, will surely gain appreciation, but not with God nor with those who hold to God's truth. . Paul sees here how through the deception of Judaism the gospel is robbed of its power and souls are ruined. That causes his strong exclamation in this verse. But what do we see since the days of the apostle? Legalism has got a grip on a great part of professing Christianity. And where do we hear now the righteous indignation that marked Paul? The exclamation of the apostle is an allusion to circumcision. Thereby he seems to mean that he wished that the false teachers would cut themselves loose from the Galatians and the Christian churches in general. The attempts to bring God's people back into bondage of any kind of law are still going on. . Again Paul points to the truth that you are called to freedom. That does not mean you're now free to sin. The Christian may have been freed from the law, but that does not mean that he is no longer under authority. Christian freedom does not allow sin, but rather encourages us to serve through love. Real freedom can only be found within the limits set by God. The perfect example is seen in the Lord Jesus. If you serve one another through love, you fulfill what the law requires. Now you might think: so I do have to keep the law after all? No, Paul doesn’t return to the law. What he shows is that the law’s demands – which man could not accomplish – will be achieved in the practice of Christian freedom. . Love endures weaknesses, does not demand, does not put on conditions and longs to serve. The law knows nothing of mercy; it is not compliant and must condemn anything that is not in accordance with the perfectly righteous requirements. Where the law, or something derived from it, becomes standard in the relationship to God and to each other, the inevitable result is the arising of conflicts. The law requires us to love one another, but with the Galatians at that time, and in Christianity today, the opposite happens. Whoever keeps the law builds up his own righteousness and cannot have pity on others. It requires a tough attitude; otherwise the law is not law anymore. The fighting resulting from legalism – and the fighting resulting from countering legalism as well! – leads to destruction. First there is biting, then devouring and finally consuming. It looks like John 10 where the Lord Jesus speaks about the thief coming to “steal”, then “kill” and finally “destroy” ( ). Now read Galatians 5:7-15 again. Reflection: Do you feel free? How do you use your freedom?

‏ Galatians 5:13-14

Called to Be Free

Gal 5:7. When Paul says “you were running well”, he uses the picture of a race. The Galatians made a good start to running the race. Without any reservation they had accepted the gospel. But now obstacles were put on the race course which had tripped them up. They no longer obeyed the truth of the gospel.

Gal 5:8. They had listened to other voices and stopped listening to the voice of God Who had called them through the gospel Paul preached. In that call of God no trace could be recognized of what the Jewish false teachers wanted them to believe.

Paul doesn’t name these people. It is enough to know that what they preached did not come from God. Likewise the Lord Jesus speaks in John 10 (Jn 10:4-5). His sheep know His voice. If a stranger comes, they will not follow him because they do not know that voice. They will flee from him. It is not necessary to examine all kinds of false teachings, unless you have an order from the Lord to do so. If you do not hear the voice of the Lord – that is, if it is contrary to the Word of God – you can reject it immediately.

Gal 5:9. If you allow wrong doctrine, as we see here, or sinful practice, as in 1 Corinthians 5, and don’t judge it, your life and the church where you are, will finally be destroyed. Evil which is not judged works like leaven – it permeates everything.

Gal 5:10. When Paul looks to the Galatians, he is perplexed (Gal 4:20). But when he looks up, to the Lord Jesus, he is confident that He will not abandon His own. Paul knew how to bring his concerns to the Lord. This is an important lesson for me. If I'm worried and there seems to be no way out anymore, I must be aware of the way upward to the Lord.

Paul was convinced that the Galatians in their final evaluation of these things would come to the same conclusion as he had proposed to them from the beginning. As far as those who had brought them into confusion were concerned, he commits them to the judgment of God.

Gal 5:11. Now they had also said something about Paul, which he had to respond to. They said that Paul still preached circumcision. Of course that was a trick of the opponents to deceive the Galatians. Even today it still happens that things are put into Paul’s mouth that he never said or meant that way.

As to circumcision, it was clear that he didn’t preach that practice. Otherwise, why would the Jews chase him like that? And if Paul preached circumcision, it would mean that there would still be something left of own works – and that would be completely contrary to the preaching of the cross.

The cross shows the depravity of man right to the very roots of his existence and it demonstrates that man is an enemy of God. Therefore the cross and the complete salvation by grace are always a stumbling block for someone who wants to give a little credit to the flesh. Anyone who adds something to the gospel of Jesus Christ by giving man the possibility to do something for his salvation, will surely gain appreciation, but not with God nor with those who hold to God's truth.

Gal 5:12. Paul sees here how through the deception of Judaism the gospel is robbed of its power and souls are ruined. That causes his strong exclamation in this verse. But what do we see since the days of the apostle? Legalism has got a grip on a great part of professing Christianity. And where do we hear now the righteous indignation that marked Paul?

The exclamation of the apostle is an allusion to circumcision. Thereby he seems to mean that he wished that the false teachers would cut themselves loose from the Galatians and the Christian churches in general. The attempts to bring God's people back into bondage of any kind of law are still going on.

Gal 5:13-14. Again Paul points to the truth that you are called to freedom. That does not mean you're now free to sin. The Christian may have been freed from the law, but that does not mean that he is no longer under authority. Christian freedom does not allow sin, but rather encourages us to serve through love.

Real freedom can only be found within the limits set by God. The perfect example is seen in the Lord Jesus. If you serve one another through love, you fulfill what the law requires. Now you might think: so I do have to keep the law after all? No, Paul doesn’t return to the law. What he shows is that the law’s demands – which man could not accomplish – will be achieved in the practice of Christian freedom.

Gal 5:15. Love endures weaknesses, does not demand, does not put on conditions and longs to serve. The law knows nothing of mercy; it is not compliant and must condemn anything that is not in accordance with the perfectly righteous requirements. Where the law, or something derived from it, becomes standard in the relationship to God and to each other, the inevitable result is the arising of conflicts.

The law requires us to love one another, but with the Galatians at that time, and in Christianity today, the opposite happens. Whoever keeps the law builds up his own righteousness and cannot have pity on others. It requires a tough attitude; otherwise the law is not law anymore.

The fighting resulting from legalism – and the fighting resulting from countering legalism as well! – leads to destruction. First there is biting, then devouring and finally consuming. It looks like John 10 where the Lord Jesus speaks about the thief coming to “steal”, then “kill” and finally “destroy” (Jn 10:10).

Now read Galatians 5:7-15 again.

Reflection: Do you feel free? How do you use your freedom?