The document summarizes a passage from Galatians about living freely by faith rather than being bound to rules and laws. It discusses how legalism robs Christians of their spiritual riches and freedom found in Christ by trying to make them responsible for their sins again. The legalists want believers to think they are missing out and need to follow the Law to be more spiritual, but Paul says that nothing can be added to what is found in Christ alone.

1. Stop! Thief!
Galatians 5:1-12
Based on Be Free by Warren W. Wiersbe

2. Turning from doctrine to the practical
• Christians who live by faith experiences the inner discipline of God
that is far better than the outer discipline of man-made rules.
• You cannot be a rebel when depending on God’s grace.
• The legalist eventually rebels because he is living in bondage,
depending on the flesh, living for self, and seeking the praise of
man instead of God.
• The surrendered Christian who depends on the power of the Spirit
is not denying or rebelling against the Law; rather the Law is being
fulfilled in him through the Spirit.

3. The Slave: You lose your liberty (5:1)
• Paul now compares legalism to the yoke of slavery. Peter did this in
Acts 15:10.
• A yoke represents slavery, service, and control by someone else over
your life.
• When you accept Christ as your Savior, you lose the yoke of servitude to
sin and put on the yoke of Christ (Matthew 11:28-30).
• The word “easy” in Greek means “kind, gracious.”
• The yoke Jesus gives us frees us to fulfill His will.
• This means we no longer need the external force of the Law to keep us
in God’s will because we have the internal leading of the Holy Spirit.

4. The Debtor: You lose your wealth (5:2-6)
• The Bible teaches that when we were unsaved, we owed God a
debt we could not pay.
• Luke 7:36-50
• No amount of morality or “goodness” can come close to the glory
of God (Romans 3:23)
• Because of what Christ did on the Cross, God is able to forgive
sinners no matter how large their debt may be.
• When we trust Christ, we become spiritually rich.
• Ephesians 1:7, 18; 3:8; Romans 11:33; Colossians 2:3

5. • The Judiazers (legalists) want us to believe we are missing something,
that we can be more spiritual if we practice the Law.
• Paul makes clear that the Law adds nothing because nothing can be
added.
• The Law comes in as a thief and robs the believer of the spiritual riches
he has in Christ and tries to make him responsible for his sin debt again.
• V.4 “Fallen from grace” means they are fallen out of the sphere of God’s
grace. They are still saved, but living in disobedience.
• V.5-6 Describe the life of the believer inside the sphere of God’s grace.
• You depend on the power of the Spirit, not your own efforts.
• The efforts of the flesh can never accomplish what faith can through the
Spirit.
• Faith works through love – love for God and others.

6. The Runner: You lose your direction (5:7-
12)
• Paul really liked athletic illustrations, and used them to describe living
the Christian life.
• Note: You had to be a citizen of Greece (and later Rome) to participate
in the Olympic games.
• Paul never uses the image of a race to tell people how to be saved.
• We don’t run to be saved; we run because we are already saved and
want to fulfill God’s will in our lives (Acts 20:24).
• They started the race well (v7), but then someone cut into their lane
(hinder).
• V.8 It wasn’t God that cut in, so whoever detoured them was wrong.

7. • V.9 is a cooking example. Leaven is yeast.
• Leaven is always used to represent sin because it’s small, but if left
alone will grow and permeate everything.
• Legalism is the same way; the motives are usually good, but the
methods are not scriptural.
• Standards are good, but standards don’t make anyone spiritual or
count as evidence of spirituality.
• V.10. Paul is sure that they will figure this out and remove the
legalists and that they will be judged for leading people astray.
• V.11-12. Paul wishes that the false teachers would operate on
themselves so they could not produce any more children of
bondage.
• The only way to be free is to purge out the leaven of false doctrine.

8. • God’s grace is sufficient for every area of our lives.
• We are saved by grace – Ephesians 2:8-10
• We serve grace – I Corinthians 15:9-10
• Grace enables us to endure suffering – II Corinthians 12:9
• Graces strengthens us so we can be victorious– II Timothy 2:1
• Our God is the God of all grace – I Peter 5:10
• We can come to the throne of grace and find grace to help in every
need – Hebrews 4:16
• How has God demonstrated His grace in your life?