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Galatians 5:1-6
In Ephesians chapter three, Paul explained that the Mystery of Christ was not known in previous generations, but was now revealed. This mystery brought a new dispensation from God. God’s new dispensation was one of grace through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of his Son. Israel had rejected their Messiah, but until God would bring about all his promises to that nation he would be offering salvation to whosoever would accept this grace gospel.
V.1 - Christ Hath Made Us Free
The Body of Christ, the congregation of believers, lives in this age of grace. There is a liberty and freedom that is in this dispensation that was not known in the age of the law. The Mosaic Law was given to Israel and contained very clear and specific instruction. The nation of Israel had obligations they were responsible to keep.
In Leviticus 18:1-5, the Lord spoke to Moses, instructing them to not practice the ways of other nations. Instead, the Lord was providing statutes and ordinances that Israel was to keep. God’s judgements were not only to serve as a guideline, but an actual means by which God would bless the nation of Israel. According to verse five, if Israel wanted to live, they would do so by obedience to the law.
In Leviticus 26:14-17, the Lord explained that Israel would be cursed and judged for not keeping his law. This was the means by which God would deal with Israel. When they were obedient, he would bless them. When they were disobedient, he would judge them.
But now, in this age of grace, Paul was explaining the freedom from the law. Those who are reconciled to God by grace through faith are not under the law. Men are not obligated to keep the statutes God gave to Israel. However, there were some who had been deceiving the Galatians, making them believe they were still obligated to keep the law.
VV.2-3 - The Law Profits You Nothing
If Paul would have said these words in the days of Moses he would have been stoned and rightfully so. Circumcision was the very sign of the covenant between God and the nation of Israel. Abraham was circumcised confirming the promise God had made to him. Exodus 12:48 even included that if one wanted to enter into the Israel covenant as an outsider, he must be circumcised.
However, Paul was not violating the law or the covenant. Instead, Paul was proclaiming this new age of grace. This gospel did not require obedience to the law. In fact, a man could not be found righteous under this new gospel if he kept the law.
Paul was making the case that if a person was inserting even a single part of the law into our salvation, that person was placing himself under the whole law. Salvation is either by faith alone or it isn’t.
V.4 - A Man Who Seeks Justification Through Works Abandons Grace
If someone places any law or ordinance within the obligations of salvation, that person has alienated himself from the grace of God. A person cannot receive grace from the Lord if he strives to obtain righteousness from works. This means that none of the law is a part of salvation according to our grace gospel.
When preachers and churches overlook this fact problems begin to arise. There are two broad paths these people often go down; either legalism or prosperity theology. Both are common within American Christianity and both are from the result of failing to rightly divide scripture according to the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15.
Legalists like to incorporate the law into the church. Some of their personal favorites are tithing and church attendance. Leviticus 27:30-32 describes the tithing ordinances for Israel. The legalist will use this to insist that a true and faithful Christian will always give a tenth of their income. A Christian who doesn’t tithe or make it to church every Sunday is at least disobedient. At the worst, such a person may not even be saved at all. One of their famous passages will be Malachi 3:8-9.
On the other side of the coin are the prosperity gospel preachers. They love to quote Malachi 3:10. For these preachers, the law is a means by which God will bless believers. If someone is a true, obedient Christian then they will be healthy, wealthy, and wise.
For both the legalists and the prosperity preachers, they fail to understand the mystery of Christ. We are no longer under the law. We are under grace!
VV.5-6 - Paul Triples Down
As if Paul wasn’t clear already, he reaffirmed the believer’s righteousness through faith. Through this faith, there is a hope of eternal life with our Lord. The Lord is not measuring your giving, attendance, or volunteer hours. Faith is the only metric that God is considering.
Therefore, circumcision profits a man nothing. The law will not make a man right before God. On the other hand, salvation is not universal to every man already. Those who are saved are only those who place faith in the completed work of Christ.
When we understand the liberty in Christ, the Bible is so much easier to understand. The guilt and confusion surrounding the law goes away. In times past, the path to God’s blessings went through the law. Now, as Paul said in verse one, we are not under that burden anymore. God is offering us the greatest gift he has ever presented; salvation by grace through faith, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
There may be some who say, “What about Christians living obedient lives!” Certainly, as believers, we should strive to glorify God in all that we do. In fact, Paul even addresses this very matter in verse 13. Christ has paid the debt for our freedom. Let us honor and thank him by using our freedom to glorify his name.
