Jesus was the one who set us free

JESUS WAS THE ONE WHO SET US FREE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
GAL 5:1 It is for freedom that Christhas set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselvesbe
burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Christian Freedom
Galatians 5:1
W.F. Adeney
St. Paul concludes the arguments and expostulations of the two previous
chapters with a vigorous exhortation. This has, of course, its special
application to the condition of the GalatianChurches, and the liberty to which
it directly applies is deliverance from the bondage of Law. But it admits of
wider application to the circumstances ofour own day. We have here brought
before us a privilege, a danger, and a duty.
I. A PRIVILEGE. Christ confers freedom (see John 8:36).
1. Religious freedom.

(1) From servile terrors of superstition;
(2) from priestly tyranny;
(3) from mechanicalritual;
(4) from external constraints in moral and religious life; and
(5) from the rule of the flesh over the spirit.
2. Intellectual freedom. Unbelievers sometimes arrogate to themselves the
proud title of free-thinkers; yet it would seemtoo often that the only freedom
they allow is freedom for expressing ideas with which they sympathize. The
bigotry of Roman Catholic intolerance seems likelyto be equalled by the
bigotry that many leading opponents of Christianity show towards those who
decline to abandon their faith. It is Christ who breaks the fetters of the mind.
The Christian dares to think. The grounds of this liberty are
(1) loyalty to truth, and faith in its ultimate triumph;
(2) light and power to attain truth.
3. Politicalfreedom. This is the outgrowth of Christianity
(1) through the spread of the spirit of universal brotherhood, and

(2) through the cultivation of consciencewhichmakes the gift of liberty safe.
II. A DANGER. Christian freedom is in danger.
1. It is attackedfrom without. It has to face the assaults ofthe ambitious.
There are always those who desire to exercise undue influence over others.
There is dangerin officialism. The officialappointed as a servant of the
generalbody usurps the place of the master. The fable of the horse who
invited a man to ride him is thus often exemplified.
2. It is undermined from within. The force of habit wears groovesthat become
deep ruts out of which we cannotstir. The dead hand lies heavy upon us.
Creeds which were the expressionof free thought contending in open
controversyin one age become the bonds and fetters of a later age. Ritual,
which palpitated with living emotion when it first joined itself naturally as the
body to clothe the soul of worship, becomes fossilized, and yet it is cherished
and veneratedthough it hangs about men's necks as a dead weight. The very
atmosphere of liberty is too bracing for some of us. It will not allow us to
sleep. Therefore love of indolence is opposedto it.
III. A DUTY. We are calledto take a stand againstall encroachments onour
Christian freedom. Here is a call to Christian manliness. The freedom is given
by Christ; but we are exhorted to maintain it. He fought to win it; we must
fight to hold it. This is not a mere question of choice - a matter only of our
own inclination or interest; it is a solemn duty. We must stand firm for liberty
on severalaccounts.

1. That we may not be degradedto servitude. It is a man's duty not to become
a slave because slaveryproduces moral deterioration.
2. That we may have scope for the unhampered service of God and man.
3. That we may hand down to generations following the heritage of liberty.
Once lost it cannot be easilyrecovered. We owe to our descendants the duty of
maintaining intact the entail of a grand possessionwhichwe received from
our forefathers, and which was securedto them at greatcost. - W.F.A.
Biblical Illustrator
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewithChrist hath made us freer and be
not entangledagainwith the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1

The freedom of the Christian
J. Vaughan, M. A.
It is necessarythat we first see generallywhat that "liberty" is, "wherewith
Christ makethHis people free." I cannot hold any one "free," so long as his
own consciencelockshim up into the fear of death and punishment. The mind
which has places which it is afraid to touch, cannever expatiate every. where;
and the mind which cannot go anywhere, never is "free." It is the sense of
pardon which is that man's emancipation. Have we not all felt the difference.
— to work that we may be loved, and to work because we are loved; to have a
motive from without, or to have a motive from within; to be guided by a fear,
or to be attractedby an affection? But, again, to obey any one isolatedlaw,
howevergoodthat law may be, and howeverwe may admire and love the
Lawgiver, may still carry with it a sense ofconfining and contraction. To do,
not this or that command, but the whole will, because it is the will of one we
love — to have caught His mind, to breathe His spirit, to be bound up with
His glory — that has in it no littleness; there are no circumscribing confines
there; and these are the goings out of the unshackledbeing in the ranges
which match with his own infinity. And yet once more. Such is the soul of
man, that all that in his horizon falls within the compass of time, howeverlong
— or of a present life howeverfull — that man's circle being small, compared
to his own consciousness ofhis own capability, through that disproportion, he
feels a limitation. But let a man once look, as he may, and as he must, on that
greatworld which lies beyond him as his scope and his home, and all that is
here as only the discipline and the school-work by which he is in training, and
immediately everything contains in it eternity. And very "free" will that man
be "among the dead," because his faith is going out above the smallnesses
which surround him, to the great, and to the absorbing, and to the satisfying
things to come. It will not be difficult to carry out these principles, and apply
them to the right performance of any of the obligations of life. It needs no
words to show that whateveris done in this freedom will not only be itself
better done, but it takes from that freedom a characterwhich comports well
with a member of the family of God; and which at once makes it edifying to
Him, and acceptable and honouring to a heavenly Father.

(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Spiritual freedom
J. Vaughan, M. A.
What is liberty? Obedience to one's self; obedience to a law which is written in
a man's own heart. If I obey myself, and myself is not a right self, it is, indeed,
"liberty," but being a bad liberty, it becomes "licentiousness."It is
compulsion; it is bondage. Liberty is when the outer law and. the inner law
are the same;and both are good.
1. Every one has a past which fetters him. The moment a man really believes,
and accepts his pardon, he is cut off from all his sinful past! He is at liberty —
free from his own bitter history — free from himself!
2. Now look to the "liberty" from the present. If I have received. Christ into
my heart, I am a pardoned man, I am a happy man, and I know and feel that I
owe all my happiness to Him — therefore I love Him; I cannot choosebut love
Him; and my first desire is to please Him; to follow Him; to be like Him; to be
with Him. My life is to become a life of love. In obeying God, I obey myself.
The new life and the new heart are in accord.
3. And what of the future? A vista running up to glory! But are there no dark
places? Chiefly in the anticipation. When they come, they will bring their own
escapesand their ownbalances. He has undertaken for me in everything. He
will never leave me. So I am quite free from all my future. To die will be a
very little thing. The grave cannothold me. He has been through, and opened
the door the other side.
(J. Vaughan, M. A.)

Christian liberty
Bishop Hall.
I. THE LIBERTYOF THE SUBJECTS THAT ARE FREED. Christian
liberty stands —
1. In immunity from evil.(1) From that which is evil in itself. Satan;sin
(a)in the fault,
(b)in the punishment — whether the inward slavery of an accusing conscience
or outward wrath of God, death, and damnation.(2) From that which is evil to
us, as
(a)burdensome traditions,
(b)the law, either ceremonialor moral, as regards either the obligation or the
curse.
2. Less than this is bondage, more than this is looseness.
II. THE PREROGATIVE OF THE KING OF GLORY THAT HATH
FREED THEM.
1. They could not free themselves.

2. Angels could not free them.
3. Only Christ could, whose ransom was infinite.
4. Only Christ has, whose love is infinite. How?
(1)By force; in that He hath conquered him whose captives we were.
(2)By purchase; in that He hath paid the full price to him to whom we were
forfeited. We could not be free by birth since we were sons of wrath; nor by
service since we were vassals ofSatan.
5. Christ has freed us from seven Egyptian masters.
(1)The bondage of sin by the Spirit of Christ (Romans 6:12; Romans 7:14; 2
Peter2:19; Romans 7:24, 25;2 Corinthians 3:17).
(2)An accusing conscienceby the blood of Christ (Hebrews 10:19, 22).
(3)The wrath of God by faith in Christ (Hebrews 10:27;Romans 5:1).
(4)The tyranny of Satanby the victory of Christ (2 Timothy 2:26; Hebrews
2:14).

(5)The curse of the law by the satisfactionofChrist (Galatians 3:10, 13).
(6)The law of ceremonies by the consummation of Christ (Romans 8:2;
Ephesians 2:14-16).
(7)Human ordinances by the manumission and instruction of Christ
(Galatians 4:10, 11; 1 Corinthians 7:23).
III. THE MAINTENANCE OF THE LIBERTY WHICH THE POWER OF
THAT GREAT PREROGATIVE HATH ACHIEVED.
1. How strange that such an exhortation should be necessary. In the case ofa
liberated bird or an emancipatedslave it would be superfluous.
2. Yet facts prove it necessaryin the case ofChrist's freemen.
(Bishop Hall.)
Christian believers exhorted to the maintenance of their spiritual liberty
H. H. Chettle.
I. THIS EXHORTATION IMPLIES —
1. That attempts will be made to deprive us of this liberty. This is discovered
soonafter its first enjoyment.

(1)By Satan and sin.
(2)By companions.
(3)By pleasure.
(4)By persecution.
(5)By deceivers who attempt to undermine the doctrine on which salvation
rests.
2. The awful possibility of losing this liberty, as testified
(1)by Scripture;
(2)by the history of the Church;
(3)by observation;
(4)by experience.

3. That there is no necessityto lose this liberty. When lost it is most frequently
by
(1)a culpable ignorance of spiritual duties and privileges;
(2)a presumptuous self-confidence leading to unwatchfulness;
(3)a weak and wickedself-indulgence.
4. Yet while there is no necessityto forfeit their liberty, Christians are exposed
to greatand peculiar dangers
(1)from constitution and temperament;
(2)circumstances;
(3)difficulties and sorrows;
(4)spiritual exercises.
II. THE DUTIES IN THE OBSERVANCEOF WHICH SPIRITUAL
FREEDOMMAY BE MAINTAINED.

1. The devotional reading of Scripture day by day in connectionwith religious
biography and kindred works.
2. A regular and conscientious attentionto private prayer.
3. A spirit of watchfulness.
4. Constantself-denial.
5. Unceasing cultivation of holiness. In conclusion:Remember —
1. The price paid for your redemption.
2. The wretched state of the re-enslavedbeliever.
(H. H. Chettle.)
Christian freedom
W. Perkins.
I. IN THE VOLUNTARY SERVICE OF GOD (Luke 1:74; 1 Timothy 1:9).
II. IN THE FREE USE OF THE CREATURES OF GOD (Titus 1:15; Romans
14:14).

III. TO COME UNTO GOD THROUGH CHRIST IN PRAYER. (Romans
5:2; Ephesians 3:12).
IV. To enter heaven(Hebrews 10:19).
(W. Perkins.)
Liberty not lawlessness
NewmanHall.
Liberty is harmony betweenthe law and the nature and inclinations of its
subjects. Law is essentialto freedom, but freedom requires that the law shall
be such as comports with the best interests and highest reasonof those who
have to obey it; for then their best desires will concur with their obligations,
and, wishing to do only what the law requires them to do, they will be
conscious ofno restraint.
(NewmanHall.)
Spiritual and related freedoms
NewmanHall.
Let me remind you of the arrangement of the ancienttemple. In the centre
was the sanctuary, with the altar of sacrifice before it, and the altar of incense
within; and beyond the veil, the Holy of Holies and the mercy seat. Here
worship was offered, atonement made, the presence of God manifested. Let
this representliberty-spiritual — the union of the soul with its Maker. Beyond
the sanctuaryand enclosing it, was the Court of the Jews, through which
access was obtainedto the inner shrine. Let this representliberty-doctrinal —
that revealedtruth by which the soul obtains admission into the liberty of
God's children. Beyond was the Court of the Gentiles — further from the

Holy of Holies — but connectedwith it, surrounding and defending it. Let this
representliberty-ecclesiastical, by which doctrinal truth is best conservedand
thus spiritual liberty bestattained. Beyond all these were the outer walls and
gates, and the lofty rock on which it was upreared. Let this representliberty
national, by which ecclesiasticalfreedomis guaranteed.
(NewmanHall.)
Freedomand slavery
Milton.
Know that to be free is the same thing as to be pious, to be wise, to be
temperate and fast, to be frugal and abstinent, and, lastly, to be magnanimous
and brave; so to be the opposite of all these is the same as to be a slave; and it
usually happens that that people who cannot governthemselves, are delivered
up to the swayof those whom they abhor, and made to submit to an
involuntary servitude.
(Milton.)
The soul's rebellion againstits thraldom
NewmanHall.
As the lark, imprisoned since it burst its shell, though it has never sprung
upward to salute the rising sun, will often manifest how cruel is its captivity
by instinctively spreading its wings and darting upward, as if to soar, but only
beats its head againstthe wires and falls back on its narrow perch; so the soul
of man, designedto soarand utter its raptures in the rays of the greatcentral
sun, will sometimes, evenin its cage, attemptto rise and breathe a loftier
atmosphere, but falls back vainly struggling againstthe bars which sin and
death have framed around it.
(NewmanHall.)

Standing fast in liberty
H. H. Chettle.
The phrase alludes to the duties of soldiers on military service. When
marshalled in the ranks they must stand firm, without yielding their ground,
without bending their knees;when placedas sentinels they must stand upon
their guard and permit no enemy to surprise them. You are soldiers of Christ,
and must stand fast — be valiant for the truth — and look to yourselves.
(H. H. Chettle.)
Liberty from law unconscious obedience
H. W. Beecher.
No man has reachedliberty until he has learnedto obey with such facility and
perfection that he does it without knowing it, If I step upon a little bit of plank
in the streetI walk along over it without thinking. Although it is only four
inches wide I can walk on it as well as I can on the restof the pavement. But
put that plank betweentwo towers one hundred feet high in the air and let me
be called to walk over it. I begin to think, of course, of what I am called upon
to do. And the moment I begin to think I cannot do it. When you try to do a
thing you cannot do it as well as when you do it without trying.
(H. W. Beecher.)
Christian liberty
Emilius Bayley, B. D.
The apostle now enters upon the more practicalpart of the Epistle. Freedom
is the link which connects the two parts together.

I. CHRISTIAN LIBERTY IS THE LIBERTY OF FAITH. Faith receives the
truth, the whole truth, concerning sin and redemption; and it is the truth,
believed, that makes men free.
II. CHRISTIAN LIBERTY IS THE LIBERTYOF HOPE.
1. A hope which maketh not ashamed, for it is based on Christ's accomplished
work.
2. A hope which patiently waits for that which it knows it will assuredly
possess.
III. CHRISTIAN LIBERTYIS THE LIBERTY OF LOVE. The Saviour's
love to the sinner draws the sinner's love to Himself.
IV. CHRISTIAN LIBERTYIS THE LIBERTY OF HOLINESS. The
safeguards ofpolitical liberty lie not in the laws which regulate, or the armies
which defend it, but in the spirit which animates a people, in their respectfor
law, in their mutual toleration, in their recognitionof others' rights, and,
above all, in their hearty devotion to the government under which they live.
Where these prevail, a nation is already free, and a liberty so founded will
never degenerate into license. So also Christian liberty is best securedfrom
abuse, not by the threat of penalties, or by an appeal to fear, but by the
operationof those principles which lie at the foundation of Christian
character. The gospelsets man free from a bondage beneath which a loving
obedience is impossible, in order that, being free, he may serve God in the
spirit of Christian liberty.

(Emilius Bayley, B. D.)
Spiritual liberty
C. Buck.
Spiritual liberty consists in freedom from the curse of the moral law; from the
servitude of the ritual; from the love, power, and guilt of sin; from the
dominion of Satan;from the corruption of the world; from the fearof death
and the wrath to come.
(C. Buck.)
Christian liberty
Canon Ince.
The liberty wherewith Christ has made men free is a deliverance from a
system of rules, positive and prohibitory — a temporary and provisional
system which had an educationalvalue, training men to the full privileges of
religious manhood. It is an abdication of privilege, when men fall back upon
the old standpoint of Judaism, and fence themselves in by rigid rules as if of
primary importance. There is a perpetual tendency to make men subject to
ordinances, whose language is, "Touchnot, taste not, handle not," after the
commandments and ordinances of men; and not only to adopt these precepts
as useful helps for their own moral progress, but to impose them upon others,
almost as if they were of Divine origin; and to make them the standard of
their judgment upon the spiritual condition of their fellow men. Every school
of religious thought exhibits proofs of this temptation to representas
commandments of God, precepts of man's own devising. This Judaising
temper displays itself whenevermen try to narrow down eternal principles of
conduct into minute rules, which canprefer no higher claim than to be
deemed useful to some, whilst they may be positively injurious to others In
vindicating the freedom brought to us by the gospel, we throw ourselves back
on the primary truths of Christianity — the Fatherhoodof God, and the

reconciliationwrought out by the atoning work of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate
Son of God. Fully believing that God is a righteous Judge, we shall yet not feel
towards Him as if He were a hard taskmasterorrigid lawgiver, but as the
Infinite Being whose love first createdus, and subsequently devised our
redemption; we shall exercise anunreserved faith in the completenessofthe
sacrifice for sin which has been made by our Saviour, and the present
forgiveness whichhas been obtained for us; and we shall rejoice in the
glorious liberty of the children of God. But this sense ofliberty will not
degenerate into licentiousness andunrestrained self-indulgence. Becausewe
are not under the law, but under grace, we shallsee ourselves calledto a
higher and nobler type of holiness. We shall certainly not be without law to
God. Our religion will be displayed, not in a punctilious attention to external
rules, but in a life-giving spirit, which will penetrate into every department of
actionin relation to others. In daily societyit will impart a kindliness, a
charity, a justice, in cur estimate of the words and conductof those around us;
it will teachus a Divine tolerance and a modest humility. It will make the best
of both worlds, not in the low commercialsense, whichtries to strike a
balance betweenthe claims of secularexpediency and devotion to the service
of God, but in the spirit of the apostolic exhortation which bids men "use this
world as not abusing it." Spite of all the manifold temptations on the plea of
piety, or on the plea of the necessarysubordination of the individual to the
society, it will firmly refuse to descendto a lower level of Christianity than
that which Christ its Founder intended. It will uphold the banner of freedom
by maintaining, alike in theory and in practice, that Christianity is not in its
essencea systemof doctrine or a code of precepts, but a life and a spirit, a
communion with God in Christ, manifesting itself in the power of true
godliness.
(Canon Ince.)
Personalliberty of the Christian
H. W. Beecher.

The doctrine of St. Paul is not that a Christian man has a right to liberty in
conduct, thought, and speechin and of himself, without regard to external
circumstances, interests,organizations, andwithout reference to his own
condition. Paul's conception of the rights and liberties of men stands on the
philosophical ground underneath all those things. Rights and liberties belong
to stages orstates ofcondition. The inferior has not the right of the superior.
A stupid man has not the right of an educated or intelligent man. He may
have the legalrights; but the higher ones, that spring out of the condition of
the soul, must stand on the conditions to which they belong. A. refined man
has rights and joys that an unrefined man has not and cannot have, because
he cannot understand them, does not want them, could not use them. Rights
increase as the man increases — increases, thatis, not merely in physical
stature, or in skill of manual employment or material strength, but in
character. So, as men work up higher and higher towards the Divine standard
of character, their rights and liberties increase. The direct influence of Christ
is to bring the human mind into its highest elements:. The powerof the Divine
nature upon the human soul is to lift it steadily awayfrom animalism or from
the flesh — the under-man — up through the realm of mere material wisdom
and accomplishment, in the direction of soul-power, reason, rectitude — such
reasonand such rectitude as grow up under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
When love has permeated the whole man, he then has perfect liberty —
liberty of thought, liberty of speech, liberty of conduct. A perfect Christian is
the one and only creature that has absolute liberty uncheckedby law, by
institution, by foregoing thoughts of men, by public sentiment. Becausea
perfect man is in unison with the Divine soul, he has the whole liberty of God
in himself, according to the measure of his manhood. But he has liberty to do
only what he wants to do, and he wants to do nothing that is not within the
bounds and benefit of a pure and true love. He becomes a law to himself; that
is, he carries in himself that inspiration of love which is the mother of all good
law. He is higher than any law. His will is with God's will. He thinks what is
true; he does what is benevolent.
(H. W. Beecher.)

Christian liberty a trust
C. W. H. Kenrick, M. A.
When a man is in slaveryhe is not his own master; he acts and lives under the
direction of others, and the responsibility of life is in a greateror less degree
shifted from him on to some one else. When a man becomes free, he assumes
the duties of life, and recognizes that it rests only with himself whether those
duties are performed or not. And so man living under the Christian covenant
stands in a direct personalrelation to God, a relation of trust. Gifted with
freewill, he is answerable forhis conduct; subjectedno longerto the
ordinances of the Mosaic Law, he claims the liberty of the gospel;but he dares
not forgetthat there still is a law limiting and controlling the freedom which
he enjoys, and that every action of his carries responsibility with it. The soul
of the old law is enshrined and quickened in the body of the new. The spirit,
not the letter, of Sinai is met with againin the Sermon on the Mount. All
Christian duties are summed up there and enforcedwith the authority of One
who taught not as the scribes and Pharisees, andwho spake as never man
spake (Matthew 22:37-40). Our liberty is a limited one. No man can do as he
likes. He has a Masterin heavenwhom he must serve. He is indeed set free by
the death of Christ from the ordinances of the old covenant, and he is no
longera slave;but he has been placedin a societywhich is governed by laws
eternal in their force, and the measure of the liberty he enjoys is the goodof
his ownsoul and the well-being of his brother's, for none of us liveth to him-
self, and no man dieth to himself As Christian members in the commonwealth
of Christ we possess, indeed, in its highest and holiest sense, the triple right of
liberty, fraternity, equality; but the religion to which we belong is neither
reactionarynor revolutionary, and our liberty must be controlled, our
equality sanctified, and our fraternity blessed, by the Holy Spirit of God.
(C. W. H. Kenrick, M. A.)
Stand fast
C. H. Spurgeon.

Brethren, I cannot be of any other faith than that which I preached nearly
twenty-nine years ago on this platform. I am to-day what I was then. That
which I preached here then I preach here now. You know the story of the boy
who stoodon the burning deck because his father said, "Stand there," and he
could not come away. Other boys, much wiserthan he was, had gone and got
out of the mischief. I am standing where I stoodthen; I cannot help it, so help
me God. I know no more to-day than I knew when first I believed in Jesus as
to this matter. I know by grace. Are ye savedthrough faith and that not of
yourself — "it is the gift of God?" You shall leave this :Rock if you like; you
may be able to swim; I cannot, and so I stop here; and when the crack of
doom shall come I shall be here, God helping me, believing this self-same
doctrine. There is something in our very adhesivenessand pertinacity which
represents the spirit of the gospel. I am sure that steadfastnessin these
particular times has its value, and I urge you,, to it that the gospelwhich you
have received, the gospelof the grace ofGod, you stand fastto as long as you
live.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The secretofsteadfastness
W. Arnot.
Standing on the shore of an estuary, one sees a boat riding in the tideway,
when sea-weedand other things float by, over the self-same spot; and whether
the tide ebbs or flows, whetherit steals quietly in or comes on with the rush
and roar of foaming billows, the boat always boldly shows its face to it; and
turning its head to the current receives onits bows, to split them, the shock of
waves. This, which to a child would seemstrange, is due to the anchor that lies
below the waters, and, grasping the solid ground with its iron arms, holds fast
the boat. It seems no less wonderful to see a tree — no sturdy oak, but slender
birch, or trembling aspen — standing erectawayup on a mountain brow;
where, exposedto the sweepofevery storm, it has gallantly maintained its
ground againstthe tempests that have laid in the dust the stateliestornaments
of the plain. But our wonder ceases so soonas we climb the height, and see

wherein its greatstrength lies;how it has struck its roots down into the
mountain, and wrapped them with many a strong twist and turn round and
round the rock.
(W. Arnot.).
Stand fast
J. Harding, M. A.
1. In Christ to whom you have been brought.
2. In adherence to the doctrines which the gospelhas setbefore you.
3. You will find your strength and dependence only in the grace ofChrist.
4. In the service ofyour Masterto the end.
(J. Harding, M. A.)
The bounds of Christian freedom
Canon Fremantle.
When we speak offreedom, we are apt to think only of the removal of
restraints. But though it is important to getrid of all needless restraints, it is
much more important that we should possessandtrain the powers for which
the absence ofrestraint is demanded. If there is no life, the removal of
restraints will be of no use. If the life is feeble, and tied down by inward
restraints like those of superstition or of fear, the removal of outward
restraints will not setit free. But if there is vigorous life, it demands for its
development a constantly expanding freedom: and this spiritual powerhas in

itself both its proper energy and its proper bound. It is a tree which has an
innate capacity of growth. Give it air and light; remove whatever confines and
overshadows it. It may need pruning and guiding; but it can provide its own
symmetry for itself. I do not propose to dwell verse by verse upon the passage
(Galatians 4:1-16)which I have takenfor a starting point, but to illustrate and
enforce its central principle. Whereverthere is a just demand for freedom, it
is because there exists a living powerto be liberated; and this living power, if
it be kept pure, contains in itself the true limit of its exercise. First, take the
revival of Christian liberty at the time of the Reformation. Luther's first great
treatise was Concerning Christian Liberty. The liberty he claims presupposes
the establishmentin the soul of the Divine life of faith. You do not work, he
says againand again, so that you may live. Life comes first; works,
afterwards. The fruit will never make the root or the sap, but the root and the
sap ensure the fruit. But, since this Divine life of faith exists, he demands that
it should be free from the fetters of the clericalsystemof the Middle Ages. But
let us come to more commonplace examples of freedom; we shall still find that
it is the growthof the inner life or capacitywhich determines and controls the
external conditions. Take the familiar case ofa boy who wants to leave school
and go to sea. If his father is wise, he will watch carefully, and try to estimate
the meaning of this wish. Is it mere unruliness or restlessness, ordislike of
study? If so, he will give it no encouragement. But, if he finds the boy in his
leisure moments reading about the sea, and haunting about the seashore, and
studying intelligently the boats and sails and machinery, after a time he will
begin to recognize in the boy such a bent as indicates a genuine call. And when
this is so, he may assure himself that the freedom will not be abused. The boy
will be free from the constraints of the shore life; but that very zestfor
seamanshipwhich has won its freedom will be most likely to ensure the right
use of that freedom. There is a fine expressionin the speechin which Pericles
contrastedthe free system of Athenian life, "the trustful spirit of liberty,"
with the narrowersystemof Sparta. It might be thought that, unless such
constraints as those imposed at Sparta existed, eachman would try to impose
his ownwill or tastes upon others. But the contrary, Pericles declared, was the
case atAthens; each man respectedthe feelings of his neighbour. The slavish
system is that of mistrust. Mutual confidence is the offspring of freedom. We
might illustrate this by the experience of two greatEnglish schools some sixty

years ago. When Keate was head-masterof Eton, his systemof discipline was
one of terrorism. He never took a boy's word, and, on the suspicionof a fault,
he floggedhim. At the same period, Arnold was head-masterat Rugby. He
always believed a boy; and it was only on rare occasions, whenthe proof was
indubitable, that he punished. It might have been supposed that, under the
severersystem, boys would be afraid to do wrong, and that they would take
advantage of the more lenient system to deceive. The contrary was the case. At
Eton, under Keate, it; was thought quite fair to deceive a master. At Rugby,
boys said, "It is a shame to tell Arnold a lie, he always believes you." Thus
freedom and trustfulness begetthe sense ofresponsibility. To conclude:We
have spokenof freedom first as an inward and spiritual state, secondlyas the
removal of outward restraints. The first of these is the most important. To the
attainment of this we must constantly attend, both for ourselves and for those
on whom we have any influence. There are tyrannies which have nothing to
do with physical restraints, and againstthese we must warincessantly. There
is the tyranny of evil habits. How canhe he thought free who is the slave of
customs which he knows to be wrong? There is the tyranny of fashion and
opinion, and again of prejudice and party spirit. How can he be free who acts
only as others choose?There is the tyranny of ignorance. How can he be
calledfree whose life is bounded by a narrow circle of ideas? Let us strive for
the sublime liberty which belongs to those who fearGod and hate evil.
(Canon Fremantle.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
V.
(1) Stand fast therefore.—The externalevidence is very strong in favour of a
different reading: With (or, perhaps, For) liberty did Christ make us free.

Stand fast, then, and be not entangled, &c. There seems to be no sufficient
reasonwhy this should not be adopted.
In the liberty.—The best grammarians seemagreedto take this rather in the
sense, forliberty; otherwise it would be tempting to explain it as an instance of
the Hebraising construction which we find in John 3:29 : “Rejoicewith joy”
(Authorised version “rejoice greatly”). It would then mean: “with a system, or
state, of freedom Christ freed us;” in other words: “placedus in a state of
freedom, so that we are free.”
The yoke of bondage—i.e., the Judaising restraints and restrictions.
BensonCommentary
Galatians 5:1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty, &c. — The apostle (chap. 3.)
having, from Abraham’s justification by faith, proved, 1st, That all who
believe in Christ, and in the promises of God through him, are the seedof
Abraham, whom Godin the covenant promised to justify by faith: 2d, That
the law of Moses, whichwas given long after the Abrahamic covenant, could
neither annul nor alter that covenant, by introducing a method of justification
different from that which was so solemnly establishedthereby: 3d, That men
are heirs of the heavenly country, of which Canaanwas the type, not
meritoriously, by obedience to the law, but by the free gift of God: 4th, That
the law was given to the Israelites, not to justify them, but to restrain them
from transgressions, andby making them sensible of their sins, and of the
demerit thereof, to lead them to Christ for justification: further, having (chap.
4.) observedthat the method of justification by faith, establishedat the fall,
was not universally published in the first ages, by immediately introducing the
gospel, becausethe state of the world did not admit thereof; and because it
was proper that mankind should remain a while under the tuition of the light
of nature, and of the law of Moses:also, having declaredthat the supernatural
procreationof Isaac, and his birth in a state of freedom, was intended to

typify the supernatural generationof Abraham’s seedby faith, and their
freedom from the bondage of the law of Moses, as a term of salvation: the
apostle, in this 5th chapter, as the application of his whole doctrine, exhorts
the Galatianbelievers to stand fast in that freedom from the Mosaic law
which had been obtained for them by Christ, and was announced to them by
the gospel;and not to be entangled againwith, or held fast in, (as ενεχεσθε
may be rendered,) the yoke of Jewishbondage, as if it were necessaryto
salvation. “The apostle, though writing to the Gentiles, might say, Be not
againheld fast in the yoke of bondage, because the law of Moses, whichhe was
cautioning them to avoid, was a yoke of the same kind with that under which
they had groanedwhile heathen. By this precept, the apostle likewise
condemns the superstitious bodily services enjoinedby the Church of Rome,
which are really of the same nature with those prescribed by Moses,with this
difference, that none of them are of divine appointment.” — Macknight.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
5:1-6 Christ will not be the Saviour of any who will not own and rely upon
him as their only Saviour. Let us take heed to the warnings and persuasions of
the apostle to stedfastness in the doctrine and liberty of the gospel. All true
Christians, being taught by the Holy Spirit, wait for eternallife, the reward of
righteousness, andthe objectof their hope, as the gift of God by faith in
Christ; and not for the sake oftheir own works. The Jewishconvert might
observe the ceremonies or asserthis liberty, the Gentile might disregard them
or might attend to them, provided he did not depend upon them. No outward
privileges or professionwill avail to acceptancewith God, without sincere
faith in our Lord Jesus. True faith is a working grace;it works by love to
God, and to our brethren. May we be of the number of those who, through the
Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. The dangerof old was not
in things of no consequence in themselves, as many forms and observances
now are. But without faith working by love, all else is worthless, and
compared with it other things are of small value.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible

Stand fast, therefore - Be firm and unwavering. This verse properly belongs to
the previous chapter, and should not have been separatedfrom it. The sense
is, that they were to be firm and unyielding in maintaining the greatprinciples
of Christian liberty. They had been freed from the bondage of rites and
ceremonies;and they should by no means, and in no form, yield to them
again.
In the liberty ... - Compare John 8:32, John 8:36; Romans 6:18; Notes,
Galatians 4:3-5.
And be not entangledagain - Tyndale renders this, "And wrap not yourselves
again." The sense is, do not againallow such a yoke to be put on you; do not
againbecome slaves to any rites, and customs, and habits.
The yoke of bondage - Of servitude to the Jewishlaws;see the note at Acts
15:10.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
CHAPTER 5
Ga 5:1-26. Peroration. Exhortationto Stand Fastin the GospelLiberty, Just
Set Forth, and Not to Be Led by Judaizers into Circumcision, or Law
Justification:Yet though Free, to Serve One Another by Love: To Walk in the
Spirit, Bearing the Fruit Thereof, Notin the Works of the Flesh.
1. The oldest manuscripts read, "in liberty (so Alford, Moberley, Humphry,
and Ellicott. But as there is no Greek for 'in,' as there is in translating in 1Co
16:13;Php 1:27; 4:1, I prefer 'It is FOR freedom that') Christ hath made us
free (not in, or for, a state of bondage). Stand fast, therefore, and be not
entangledagain in a yoke of bondage" (namely, the law, Ga 4:24; Ac 15:10).

On "again," seeon[2354]Ga 4:9.Galatians 5:1 Paul exhorteth the Galatians to
maintain their
Christian liberty,
Galatians 5:2-6 and showeththat by being circumcisedthey would
forfeit their hopes in Christ,
Galatians 5:7-12 he disclaimeth the preaching of circumcisionhimself,
and condemneth it in others.
Galatians 5:13-15 He adviseth them not to abuse their liberty, but to serve
one another in love, which comprehendeth the whole law.
Galatians 5:16-18 The opposition betweenthe flesh and the Spirit,
Galatians 5:19-21 the works ofthe flesh,
Galatians 5:22-24 the fruits of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25,26 Advice to walk in the Spirit, and not in vain glorious
emulation.
The
liberty here spokenof, is a right which a personhath to action, that he may do
or forbear the doing of things at his pleasure, as he apprehends them suitable
or not, without the let or hinderance of another. This is either in things of a
civil nature, or of a spiritual nature. The former is not understood here, for it
is none of
the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, for subjects to be free from
the lawful commands of princes, or children to be free from the laws of their
parents, or servants to be free from the commands of masters. There is hardly
any book in the New Testamentwhereinobedience of this nature, in things
that are lawful, is not either exemplified as our duty in Christ and the
apostles, orurged by very strong arguments. The liberty here, is that freedom
from the law, of which the apostle hath been speaking all along this Epistle:
from the curse of the moral law, and from the co-actionofit; and principally
from the ceremoniallaw contained in ordinances. This is the liberty which
Christ hath purchasedfor us, and in which the apostle willeth all believers to
stand fast; not being againentangled with a yoke, which God had takenoff
from their necks. The apostles, in their synod, Acts 15:10, had called it a yoke,
which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Stand fast therefore in the liberty,.... There is the liberty of grace, and the
liberty of glory; the former of these is here meant, and lies in a freedom from

sin; not from the indwelling of it, but from the dominion, guilt, and damning
powerof it; from the captivity and tyranny of Satan, though not from his
temptations and insults; from the law, the ceremoniallaw, as an handwriting
of ordinances, a rigid severe schoolmaster, anda middle wall of partition, and
from all its burdensome rites and institutions; from the moral law as a
covenantof works, and as administered by Moses;and from the curse and
condemnation of it, its bondage and rigorous exaction, and from all
expectationof life and righteousnessby the deeds of it; but not from obedience
to it, as held forth by Christ, and as a rule of walk and conversation;and from
the judicial law, or those laws which concernedthe Jews as Jews:moreover,
this liberty lies in the free use of things indifferent, as eating any sortof food
without distinction, so that it be done in faith, with thankfulness to God, in
moderation, and with temperance, and so as that the peace and edification of
fellow Christians are not hurt; also in the free use of Gospelordinances, which
they that are fellow citizens with the saints have a right unto, but not to lay
aside or neglectat pleasure; which is not to use, but to abuse their liberty:
again, another branch of it is access to God, with freedom and boldness at the
throne of grace, through the Mediator, under the influences of the divine
Spirit; to which may be added, a deliverance from the fears of death
corporeal, who is a king of terrors to Christless sinners, and which kept Old
Testamentsaints, all their lifetime subject to bondage and eternal, or the
seconddeath, by which Christ's freemen are assuredthey shall not be hurt:
now, in this liberty, the children of the free woman, believers under the
Gospeldispensation, are very pertinently exhorted to stand fast, in
consequence andconsiderationof their character;that is, they should highly
prize and esteemit, as men do their civil liberty; and maintain it and defend
it, at all hazards; abide by the doctrine of it without wavering, and with
intrepidity; not giving up anyone part of it, however, and by whomsoever, it
may be opposed, maligned, and reproached;and keepup the practice of it, by
obeying from the heart the doctrine of it, by becoming the servants of
righteousness, by frequent attendance at the throne of grace, and continual
observance ofthe ordinances of Christ; and then should take heed of
everything that tends to break in upon it, as any doctrine or commandment of
men; particularly the doctrine of justification by works, andall sorts of

superstition and will worship: and the rather, because ofthe concernChrist
has in this liberty, it is that
wherewith Christ hath made us free; we are not free born, but on the contrary
homeborn slaves, as Ephraim was;nor could this liberty in any of its branches
be obtained by us, by any merit, righteousness, act, oracts of ours, but is
wholly of Christ's procuring for us, both by price and power; whereby he has
ransomed and delivered us out of the hands of all our spiritual enemies, sin,
Satan, the law, and death; and it is of his proclaiming in the Gospel, and of his
applying by his Spirit, whom he sends down into our hearts as a free Spirit, to
acquaint us with it, and lead us into it, who works faith in us to lay hold upon,
and receive this blessing of grace as others:
and be not entangledagainwith the yoke of bondage. The metaphor is taken
from oxen put under a yoke, and implicated with it, from which they cannot
disengage themselves:some of the members of this church had been Jews,
who had formerly been under the yoke of the law, and seemeddesirous to
return to their former state of bondage, from which the apostle dissuades, and
therefore uses the word again:or else he may refer to the bondage of
corruption and idolatry, which they as Gentiles were in, before their
conversion;and intimates, that to give into the observance of;Jewishrites and
ceremonies wouldbe involving themselves in a state of bondage again; for by
"the yoke of bandage" he means the law, which the Jews frequently call "the
yoke of the commandments" (l); particularly the ceremoniallaw, as
circumcision; which Peter, Acts 15:10 represents as a yoke intolerable; the
observationof days, months, times, and years;the multitude of sacrifices, and
which could not take awaysin; but proclaimed their guilt and obligation to
punishment, and were an handwriting of ordinances againstthem, and
thereby they were held and kept in bondage, and such a yoke is the moral law
as delivered by Moses,requiring perfectobedience, but giving no strength to
perform, nor pointing where any is to be had; showing a man his sin and
misery, and so working wrath in his conscience,but giving not the least
intimation of a Saviour, or of life and righteousness by another; accusing,
pronouncing guilty, cursing, and condemning; hence such as seek for

righteousness by it are in a miserable subjection to it, and are sadly implicated
and entangledwith the yoke of it: every doctrine and ordinance of men is a
yoke of bondage which should not be submitted to; nay, any actionwhatever,
performed in a religious way and in order for a man's acceptancewith God,
and to obtain his favour, and according to his observance ofwhich he judges
of his state, and speaks peaceand comfort to himself, or the reverse, is a yoke
of bondage: as, for instance prayer at such and so many times a day, reading
such a number of chapters in the Bible every day, fasting so many times in the
week, and the like; so that what are branches of Christian liberty, such as
frequent prayer to God, reading the sacredwritings for instruction and
comfort, and the free use of the creatures, are turned into a yoke of bondage,
which should be guarded against.
(l) Misn. Beracot, c. 2. sect. 2. T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 4. 2.
Geneva Study Bible
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewithChrist hath made us free, and be
not entangledagainwith the yoke of bondage.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Galatians 5:1. Τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἡμᾶς Χριστὸς ἠλευθέρωσεν] On this reading, see
the criticalnotes. The sentence forms, with Galatians 4:31, the basis of the
exhortation which follows, στήκετε οὖν κ.τ.λ. See on Galatians 4:31. For
freedom, in order that we should be free and should remain so, that we should
not againbecome subjectto bondage, Christ has setus free (Galatians 4:1-7),
namely, from the bondage of the στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (Galatians 4:3). The
dative τῇ ἐλευθ. is therefore commodi, not instrumenti. Comp. also Buttmann,
neut. Gr. p. 155;Holsten, Hofmann, Reithmayr. By so taking it, and by
attending to the emphasis, which lies not on Χριστός, but on the τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ
following immediately after τῆς ἐλευθέρας in Galatians 4:31, we obviate

entirely the objection of Rückert(comp. Matthies and Olshausen)that Paul
must have written: Χ. ἡμᾶς ἐλευθερὶᾳ ἠλευθέρωσεν, or εἰς ἐλευθ., or τῇ ἐλευθ.
ταύτῃ, or ἣν ἔχομεν, or some other addition of the kind.
στήκετε οὖν] stand fasttherefore, namely, in the freedom, which is to be
inferred from what goes before;hence the absence ofconnectionwith τῇ
ἐλευθ. does not produce any obscurity or abruptness (in opposition to Reiche).
On the absolute στήκετε, which obtains its reference from the context, comp.
2 Thessalonians 2:15.
καὶ μὴ πάλιν κ.τ.λ.]and be not againheld in a yoke of bondage. Previously
they had been (most of them) in the yoke of heathenism; now they were on the
point of being held in the yoke of Mosaism(only another kind of the στοιχεῖα
τοῦ κόσμου). The yoke is conceivedas laid on the neck:Acts 15:10;Sir 51:26;
Dem. 322. 12;Hom. H. Cer. 217. As to πάλιν, comp. on Galatians 4:9.
δουλείας denotes the characteristic quality belonging to the yoke. Comp.
Soph. Aj. 924:πρὸς οἷα δουλείας ζυγὰ χωροῦμεν. Eur. Or. 1330;Plat. Legg. vi.
p. 770 E: δούλειονζυγόν, Ep. 8, p. 354 D; Dem. 322. 12;Herod. vii. 8.
ἐνέχεσθαι, with the dative (Dem. 1231. 15;2Ma 5:18; 3Ma 6:10) or with ἐν
(Dem. 1069. 9), is the proper expressionfor those who are held either in a
physical (net or the like) or ethical (law, dogma, emotion, sin, or the like)
restriction of liberty, so that they cannot getout. See Kypke in loc., and
Markland ad Lys. V. p. 37, Reisk. Here, on accountof the idea of a yoke, the
reference is physical, but used as a figurative representationfor that which is
mental, which affects the conscience.
Note.

If we take the reading of the Recepta, andof Griesbachand his followers (see
the criticalnotes), we must explain it: “In respectofthe freedom, [therefore],
for which Christ has set us free, stand fast, and become not again, etc.!”—so
that τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ is to be takenlike τῇ πίστει in 2 Corinthians 1:24 and
Romans 4:20, and ᾗ as the dative commodi (Morus, Winer, Reiche). ᾗ might
also (with the Vulgate, Luther, Beza, Calvin, Piscator, Rückert, Schott,
Hilgenfeld, Wieseler, and many others) be taken as ablative (instrumentally):
“qua nos liberavit,” after the analogyof the classicalexpressions ζῆνβίῳ, ὗσαι
ὕδατι κ.τ.λ. (Bernhardy, p. 107;Lobeck, Paral, p. 523 ff.), and of the frequent
use both in the LXX. and the N.T. (Winer, p. 434 [E. T. 584])of “cognate”
nouns in the dative. But this mode of expressiondoes not occurelsewhere with
Paul, not even in 1 Thessalonians 3:9. According to Schott, Ewald, and
Matthias, who join it to Galatians 4:31 (see the criticalnotes), we getthe
meaning: “We are not children of a bond-maid, but of the free woman
through the freedom, with which Christ made us free; stand fast therefore.”
Thus τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἧ ἡμᾶς Χριστ. ἠλευθ. becomes a self-evident appendage;
and Χριστός receives anemphasis, just as in Galatians 3:13, which its position
does not warrant.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Galatians 5:1. In the original text, which I have adopted in accordance with
the bestMS. authority, the first clause of this verse is clearlydetached from
the secondστήκετε οὖν, and attachedto the preceding ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας
without any connecting particle. But this primary connectionwith the
preceding verse was apparently obscured at an early period of Church
history, owing probably to the frequent use of the important sectionGalatians
5:1 ff. as a Church lessonby itself apart from the preceding allegory. It is
difficult otherwise to accountfor the greatvariety of connecting particles
employed in MS. versions and quotations to transform the fragment τῇ ἐλευθ.
ἡμᾶς Χριστὸς ἠλευθ. into a complete sentence, e.g., the addition of ᾖ, οὖν, or
γάρ, and the omissionof οὖν after στήκετε, all evidently corrections made
with one object. The division of chapters has unfortunately perpetuated this
error. But the removal of the full stopafter ἐλευθέρας at once restores the full
force of the original passage:Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of a
handmaid, but Christ set us free with the freedom of the freewoman. The

threefold iteration, free, freedom, freewoman, marks with expressive
emphasis the importance of this Christian birthright.—ἡμᾶς Χριστὸς. The
best MSS. place the object ἡμᾶς before the subject Χριστός, inverting the
usual order of words. This inversion throws an emphasis on ἡμᾶς, as the
previous context demands; for the whole passageforcibly contrasts the
freedom granted to us Christians with the bondage which the Jews inherit.—
μὴ πάλιν … Converts had all alike, whether Jews orGreeks, beenunder
bondage to some law, human or divine: all had been setfree by Christ, but
might now, by the voluntary adoption of circumcision, forfeit this freedom
and rivet the yoke of Law about their own necks.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
Galatians 5:1-12. Exhortation to stand fast in the Liberty of the Gospel
1. Many editors place this verse at the end of ch. 4, connecting it immediately
with Galatians 4:31 of that chapter; ‘we are not children of a bondwoman, but
of her who is free with that freedom wherewith Christ hath emancipatedus.
Stand fast therefore and be not againentangled with a yoke of bondage’.
But the receivedarrangement of the chapters is better. Chapter 4 is didactic;
chapter 5 is hortatory, and therefore properly begins with the injunction
‘stand fast’.
It is howeverinteresting to note that in the original the last word of ch. 4 is
‘free’, and ‘the freedom’ are the opening words of ch. 5. We have a similar
instance of the repetition of a word in juxtaposition in Romans 15:12-13, ‘In
Him shall the Gentiles hope. Now the God of hope fill you … that ye may
abound in hope’.

Here we may render, In the freedom then wherewithChrist made us free
stand fast &c. The freedom thus bestowedis spiritual liberty which is quite
independent of outward circumstances.StPaul in chains, a prisoner in Rome,
exulted in it. Nero on his throne, the masterof the world, with thirty legions at
his back, was the miserable slave of his lusts. Luther beautifully remarks:‘Let
us learn to count this our freedom most noble, exalted, and precious, which no
emperor, no prophet nor patriarch, no angelfrom heaven, but Christ, God’s
Son, hath obtained for us; not that He might relieve us from a bodily and
temporal subjection, but from a spiritual and eternal imprisonment of the
cruelesttyrants, namely the law, sin, death, the Devil’.
Stand fast] perhaps, ‘stand upright’, not bowing your neck to the yoke of legal
observances.
again]They who had escapedfrom the thraldom of heathenism were not to
submit to the slavery of Judaism. They who had once tastedfreedom in Christ
were not to be againentangled in the bondage of the law.
Bengel's Gnomen
Galatians 5:1. Τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ—στήκετε, standfast—in the liberty) The short
clause, wherewithChrist has made us free, has the force of aetiology, or
assigning the reason. Liberty, and slavery (bondage), are antithetic. It is
without any connecting particle, Galatians 3:13 : τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ, [by virtue of
the] liberty, is emphatically put without ἐν, in: liberty itself confers the power
of standing. Ἠλευθέρωσε signifies has rendered free, and ᾖ coheres withfree
[rather than with the rendered]: stand, erect, without a yoke.—πάλιν, again)
ch. Galatians 4:9, note.—ζυγῷ δουλείας,with the yoke of bondage)This
expressionis applied, not merely to the circumcision which was given to
Abraham as the sign of the promise, but to circumcision as connectedwith the
whole law, given long after on Mount Sinai, ch. Galatians 4:24, Galatians 3:17.
For the Jews had been accustomedto look upon circumcision rather as a part
of the law received by Moses,than as the sign of the promise given to

Abraham, John 7:22. Nor was circumcisionso much a yoke in itself, as it was
made a yoke by the law; and the law itself was much more a yoke. Therefore
Paul, by a weighty metonymy, puts the consequentfor the antecedent:Be not
circumcised, for he who is circumcised, along with this part of it, comes under
the whole law, and revolts from Christ, Galatians 5:2-4. Nor does the apostle
oppose Christ so immediately to circumcisionas he does to the law. He speaks
according to their perverse custom, while he refutes their Galatismand
Judaism; and yet he does not at all deviate from the truth. Peter also, Acts
15:10, calls it a yoke.—ἐνέχεσθε)ἐνέχομαι, in the middle voice, I hold fast by,
obstinately. That passagein Xiphil. in Epit. Dion. concerning a pole fixed in
the ground, and which cannot be pulled out, shows the import of the word: ἐν
τῇ γῇ ἐνέσχετο, ὥσπερ ἐμπεφυκώς, “it held a fasthold in the earth, as if it had
grown there.”
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 1. - (See p. 209.)
Vincent's Word Studies
In the liberty wherewith. This is according to the reading τῆ ἐλευθερίᾳ ᾗ.
Different connections are proposed, as with stand fast, as A.V.: or with the
close ofchapter 4, as, "we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free
with the freedom with which Christ freed us":or, "of her who is free with the
freedom with which," etc. But ᾗ wherewithmust be omitted. A new clause
begins with τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ. Rend. for freedom did Christ setus free. For, not
with freedom. It is the dative of advantage;that we might be really free and
remain free. Comp. Galatians 5:13, and John 8:36.
Made (us) free (ἠλευθέρωσεν)
With the exceptionof John 8:32, John 8:36, only in Paul.
Stand fast (στήκετε)

Used absolutely, as 2 Thessalonians 2:15. Mostlyin Paul. See on 1
Thessalonians 3:8.
Be not entangled (μὴ ἐνέχεσθε)
Or, held ensnared. By Paulonly here and 2 Thessalonians1:4. Lit. to be held
within. For an elliptical usage see on Mark 6:19.
Yoke (ζυγῷ)
Metaphorical, ofa burden or bondage. Comp. Matthew 11:29, Matthew
11:30;Acts 15:10; 1 Timothy 6:1. Similarly lxx, Genesis 27:40;Leviticus
26:13;2 Chronicles 10:4, 2 Chronicles 10:9, 2 Chronicles 10:10, 2 Chronicles
10:11, 2 Chronicles 10:14. So always in N.T. exceptRevelation6:5, where it
means a pair of scales. See note, and comp. Leviticus 19:35, Leviticus 19:36;
Proverbs 11:1; Proverbs 16:11;Hosea 12:7.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ setus free; therefore keep
standing firm and do not be subject againto a yoke of slavery.

Phillips Paraphrase - Do not lose your freedom by giving in to those who urge
circumcision. Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ
has won for us, and do not let yourselves be caught againin the shacklesof
slavery.
Wuest - For this aforementionedfreedom Christ setyou free. Keep on
standing firm therefore and stop being subject againto a yoke of bondage.
Amplified - IN [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely
liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnaredand
submit againto a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].
NET Galatians 5:1 Forfreedom Christ has setus free. Stand firm, then, and
do not be subject againto the yoke of slavery.
GNT Galatians 5:1 τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἡμᾶς Χριστὸς ἠλευθέρωσεν· στήκετε οὖν
καὶ μὴ πάλιν ζυγῷ δουλείας ἐνέχεσθε.
NLT Galatians 5:1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you
stay free, and don't get tied up againin slavery to the law.
KJV Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath
made us free, and be not entangledagainwith the yoke of bondage.
ESV Galatians 5:1 Forfreedom Christ has setus free; stand firm therefore,
and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

CSB Galatians 5:1 Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and
don't submit againto a yoke of slavery.
NIV Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm,
then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
NKJ Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has
made us free, and do not be entangled againwith a yoke of bondage.
NRS Galatians 5:1 Forfreedom Christ has setus free. Stand firm, therefore,
and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
YLT Galatians 5:1 In the freedom, then, with which Christ did make you free
-- stand ye, and be not held fast againby a yoke of servitude;
NAB Galatians 5:1 Forfreedom Christ setus free; so stand firm and do not
submit againto the yoke of slavery.
NJB Galatians 5:1 Christ set us free, so that we should remain free. Stand
firm, then, and do not let yourselves be fastenedagain to the yoke of slavery.
GWN Galatians 5:1 Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of
freedom. Therefore, be firm in this freedom, and don't become slaves again.

BBE Galatians 5:1 Christ has truly made us free: then keep y our free
condition and let no man put a yoke on you again.
keepstanding firm: Pr 23:23 1Co 15:58 1 Cor 16:13 Eph 6:14 Php 1:27 1Th
3:8 2Th2:15 Heb 3:6,14 Heb 4:14 Heb 10:23,35-39 Jude 1:3,20,21Rev2:25
3:3
freedom: Ga 5:13 Gal2:4 Gal 3:25 Gal4:26,31 Ps 51:12 Isa 61:1 Mt 11:28-30
Jn 8:32-36 Ro 6:14,18 Ro 7:3,6 Ro 8:2 1Co 7:22 2Co 3:17 1Pe 2:16 2Pe 2:19
do not be subject again: Ga 2:4 4:9 Mt 23:4 Ac 15:10 Col 2:16-22 Heb 9:8-11
Dearsaint free in Christ, take a moment and listen to this song by JessaMyer
"Freedom(Galatians Song)"
Galatians 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
FREED BY CHRIST
TO BE FREE
This heading sounds redundant at first reading, but it is not, for it serves as a
necessaryreminder to all believers, because our mortal bodies still harbor the
fallen flesh, that indwelling power which continually tries to deceive us into
believing that we canlive the "Christ life" in our own strength by keeping
certain rules! I've gotnews -- we cannot live the life of freedom in Christ in
dependence on ourselves but ONLY in continual, daily, moment by moment
utter and total dependence on the supernatural enabling power of the
indwelling Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7+)!
After explaining that the Galatians were not children of the bondwoman
Hagarbut children of the free woman Sarah, children of promise (Gal 4:28+),
now Paul calls on the Galatianbelievers to live free in Christ by the power
supplied by the Spirit of Christ (Ro 8:9+). Believers have been rescued(Col

1:13+), purchased out of the slave marketwith the payment of Christ's
precious blood (cf Rev 5:9+, Rev 14:4+, 1 Pe 1:18,19+, 1 Cor6:19, 20+, 1 Cor
7:23, Eph 1:7+, Titus 2:14+, Mt 20:28), and set free by the work of Christ and
thus should continually walk in the light (1 Jn 1:7+) of the costlyfreedom that
Christ purchasedfor us on Calvary's Tree.
Keep the contextof the letter in mind (see also charts above) -
Galatians 1-2 Paul Defendedhis apostleship - this is Paul's personaltestimony
that justification is by faith alone in Christ alone independent of human
works. This is therefore a more personaland experiential defense of the
Gospelof grace.
Galatians 3-4 Paul DefendedJustification by Faith Alone - This is Paul's
Biblical defense of justification by faith based even on the Old Testament.
This is a more doctrinal or theologicaldefense basedonthe Word of God,
God's "testimony" if you will.
Galatians 5-6 Paul Defends the NormalChristian Life - Paul demonstrates
that justification is true because ofthe moral transformation that it brings
about in believers by virtue of the Holy Spirit.
In short, the normal Christian life is a life of liberty, lived through the power
and guidance of the Holy Spirit and for the glory and honor of God. This was
not a new teaching for in his secondletter to the saints at Corinth Paul wrote
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty
(eleutheria - also Gal5:1, 13). (2 Corinthians 3:17)
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there
is freedom. (2Co 3:17NET)

Now we get to the more difficult part. I have spent severaldays meditating on
Galatians 5:1-4 and reading numerous commentaries and sermons. I initially
thought that Paul's statement "fallenfrom grace," was the most difficult and
controversialphrase, but have discoveredthe difficulty is much more
involved. Paul actually warns of 4 serious consequencesforanyone who
receives circumcisionthinking it adds to their salvation. As explained below,
he is not speaking of the neutral actof physical circumcision(even he had
undergone circumcision), but he is speaking of circumcisionas a meritorious
work, a work of the flesh which was carried out to gainGod's favor and to
attain righteousness. Becausethis error is so serious, Paulgave 4 very
sobering warnings to any person who would seek to be circumcisedin order to
obtain righteousness. Here are the 4 consequences:
Christ will be of no benefit to you - Gal5:2
One obligates himself to keepthe whole law - Gal5:3
One has been severedfrom Christ - Gal 5:4
One has fallen from grace - Gal 5:4
WHO IS PAUL ADDRESSING?
BELIEVERS OR UNBELIEVERS OR BOTH?
Now here is where the interpretation becomes a bit "tricky." How one
interprets these 4 serious consequencesdepends on who they feel was the
intended audience - believers, unbelievers, mixed group? Mostcommentators
feel that these warnings were directed to believers, those who had already
been savedby grace through faith and thus were eternally secure in Christ. A
few like John MacArthur feel that Paul was addressing a mixed group. And so
MacArthur writes that "Paul had gone to Galatia, planted churches in a

number of cities, and churches were flourishing. They had heard the gospel,
believed the gospel. Theyhad been justified."
So clearly Dr MacArthur sees some of these Galatians as genuine believers.
Then along came the Judaizers who taught that faith alone in Christ alone
was not sufficient for salvation, but that they also had to receive circumcision
(and by implication keepthe external aspects ofMosaic Law including rituals
and ceremonies, etc). In other words the Judaizers were preaching salvation
by faith plus works, and without the works (in contextof Gal5 specifically
circumcision) the Gentiles could not be justified. MacArthur goes onto point
out the pronoun "you" in Gal 5:2 and Gal 5:4 and he explains that "Paul is
talking to someone, “you,” someoneis a group that he’s not a part of, because
in Gal 5:5, he begins, “Forwe.” It’s very important that you see that
distinction....There are people in this Gentile congregationwho on the surface
have come to understand the gospel, have to some degree acceptedthe
truthfulness of it, but they are in dangerof coming to the brink of salvation
and turning away, and heading in the direction of law. Some of them had
already made some moves." So MacArthur feels that some of the Galatian
readers were not yet born againand for them Paul's warnings are very
crucial. MacArthur goes on "If you getyourselves circumcised” – and this
indicates that they hadn’t yet gone this far – “if you do this, if you’ve come to
the brink of salvationby faith and you turn and go the way of law, Christ is of
no benefit. You’ve canceledChrist.” This is a severe danger. This is a
shocking statement. Somebodymight say, “Well, I believe in Christ, but I also
think works are a part of it.” You’ve just canceledChrist. Christ is no benefit
to you. There is no hybrid salvation. If you acceptcircumcision, thinking it
necessaryfor your salvation, you just forfeited Christ....Yousay, “Well, can’t
you believe in some in your baptism, in your works, and the things that you
do, the rituals that you go to, and your morality, and also believe in Christ?”
No, no. If you’re counting on any of that for your salvationyou are severed
from Christ. That is a violent word, a violent word. You are cut off from
Him.....Gal5:5, notice the change in pronouns: “Forwe....” Now he’s speaking
to believers, including himself." (See full sermon)

James MontgomeryBoice - "Before plunging into this third sectionof his
letter, Paul interjects a verse that is at once a summary of all that has gone
before and a transition to what follows. It is, in fact, the keyverse of the entire
Epistle. Because ofthe nature of the true gospeland of the work of Christ on
his behalf, the believer is now to turn away from anything that smacks of
legalismand instead restin Christ's triumphant work for him and live in the
powerof Christ's Spirit. . . . The appeal is for an obstinate perseverance in
freedom as the only proper response to an attempt to bring Christians once
more under legalism." (Expositor's Bible Commentary - 1976)
MacArthur introduces this section - Paul now applies that doctrine to
practicalChristian living (chaps. 5-6), emphasizing that right doctrine should
result in right living. His subject is the sanctificationthat should result from
justification. The life of genuine faith is more than the belief in divine truth; it
is also the bearing of divine fruit. Especiallyin chapter5 (Gal 5:5, 16-18, 25),
the apostle emphasizes the personalministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of a
believer, without which genuine Christian living would be impossible. It is the
Holy Spirit Who makes the life of faith work (cf Ezek 36:37+). Were it not for
the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, the life of faith would be no more
spiritually productive or acceptable to God than the life of law. The freedom
for which Christ sets us free (Gal 5:1) is the freedom to live a life of
righteousness in the power of the Holy Spirit. God's standard of holiness has
not changed. As Jesus makes clearin the Sermon on the Mount, it requires
not simply outward performance but inner perfection. Through His Holy
Spirit, believers have the ability to live internal lives of righteousness. The
final two chapters of Galatians are a portrait of the Spirit-filled life, of the
believer's implementing the life of faith under the control and in the energyof
the Holy Spirit. The Spirit-filled life thereby becomes in itself a powerful
testimony to the power of justification by faith. (MacArthur New Testament
Commentary – Galatians)

Jack Arnold's introduction - Anybody who knows anything about the
American Revolution knows the famous words of Patrick Henry: "Give me
liberty or give me death!” Patrick Henry would have rather died than give up
his civil liberties. He took a stand for liberty, believing with all his heart that
death would be better than living under the bondage of British rule. Yet there
is a liberty far more important than political liberty and that is the liberty of
the soul. Liberty of the heart, mind, conscience, spirit and will from the
bondage of law, works, sin, death and hell, and this is what the Apostle Paul is
talking about in this sectionof scripture. Chapters five and six of Galatians
deals with grace and sanctification(Christian living). It is not enough to know
the doctrine of grace but it must be experiencedin one's life. The legalistic
teaching of the Judaizers had so penetrated the thinking of the Galatians that
it was affecting the waythey lived. Right doctrine brings right living and
wrong doctrine brings wrong living. These Galatians,insteadof trusting in the
indwelling Holy Spirit to produce righteousness in them were trying to
produce righteousness by depending upon self-effortthrough keeping of the
Mosaic Law. The powerfor living the Christian life is not found in the
Mosaic Law but in the Holy Spirit, and the Galatians were exhortedto put
themselves under the Spirit's control. (Liberty Not Legalism)
Hansen (IVP NT Commentary - Acts) - This declarationof our freedom is
both a statementof an accomplishedfactand a goalto pursue. Freedomis
ours because ofthe accomplishmentof Christ: Christ has set us free! Paul
does not appealto his readers to fight to be free. Our Christian freedom is not
the result of our long march. We have not liberated ourselves by our efforts.
We are not able to do so. But now that freedom has been given to us by Christ,
that freedom is our goaland our responsibility. Imagine a prisoner who is
suddenly surprised to find out that he has been pardoned and setfree. He did
nothing to accomplishthis. He was not even aware that it had happened. But
there he stands outside the prison walls, a free man. Now it is his
responsibility to live as a free man. Charles Wesleycaptures the Christian
experience of this liberation in one of his greathymns:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fastbound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light.
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth, and followedthee.
McGee sums up Galatians 5 - Sanctificationby the Spirit; savedby faith and
living by law perpetrates falling from grace;saved by faith and walking in the
Spirit produces fruit of the Spirit...We come now to the practicalside, which is
sanctificationby the Spirit. Justification is by faith; sanctificationis by the
Spirit of God....The methodof sanctificationis by the Spirit. In this sectionwe
see the Spirit versus the flesh. Either it is a do-it-yourself Christian life or
somebody else will have to do it through you. His method is doing it through
you. In this sectionwe see liberty versus bondage. Any legalsystemputs you
under bondage, and you have to follow it meticulously. (Thru The Bible)
M R De Haan points out that "the last word of the doctrinal sectionof
Galatians (GALATIANS 3-4), FREE!FREE!(ED: The very last word in
Greek of Gal4:31+ is eleutheros = FREE). The believer is free, setat liberty,
delivered. Salvationby grace means deliverance and freedom. There is no
bondage for those who are in Christ. Now as we shall see, liberty does not
mean license to sin; freedom does not mean we are not accountable for our
conduct." (Studies in Galatians)
And then the first words here in Gal 5:1 are "te eleutheria" literally "the
freedom." So Gal 4:31 ends with "free" and Paul immediately and
emphatically repeats "the freedom," which has just be describedin
comparing the offspring of Hagar(the bondwoman) and Sarah (the free
woman), the former not free, the latter free. And so Kenneth Wuest in his
excellentparaphrase links the end of Galatians 4 with the beginning of
Galatians 5...

For this aforementioned freedom (Gal 4:31), Christ setus free. Keep on
standing firm therefore, and stop being held againby a yoke of bondage.
Donald Campbell on Galatians 5:1 - This verse summarizes chapter 4, where
the theme is bondage and freedom. It also serves to introduce chapter 5. (Bible
Knowledge Commentary)
Swindoll - We might translate this opening phrase this way: "To liberty
Christ has liberated us." You see, Christdidn't setus free without purpose or
to no end. Nor did He setus free so we could enslave ourselves to the nearest
legalistor embark on a wild frenzy of immorality. Christ setus free so we
could bask in the benefits of His salvation, living out our freedom in Christ
without guilt or condemnation. This freedom offers us a new lifestyle. Now we
have the ability to live by the Spirit's power. We're free to obey God and do
His will joyfully. We canlove and serve others. We're able to enter into the
Lord's presence through prayer, experiencing a close, personalrelationship
with Him. Before salvation, we couldn't take advantage ofany of these
benefits. We were penniless, pathetic slaves to sin. But now, as wealthy
freedmen and women, we can enjoy them to the fullest. Christ has set us free
so that we may enjoy our freedom. (Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament
Commentary – Galatians, Ephesians)
Kent Hughes - Legalismis treating that which is goodas though it were
essential. WheneverChristians turn something valuable into something
ultimate, legalismis at work and freedom is forfeited.On the other hand, we
preserve our freedom in Christ when what is essentialto God is essentialto us,
and everything else is kept in its place. (Preaching the Word – Galatians:
Gospel-RootedLiving)
John Stott writes "Our former state is portrayed as a slavery, Jesus Christ as
a liberator, conversionas an act of emancipation and the Christian life as a
life of freedom." How would you describe your life today? Are you truly living

in the freedom found only in Christ Jesus? Paulis writing to tell you that you
can because the Son has setyou free, so you are free indeed!
NO LONGER SLAVES
FREE FROM THE LAW
It was for freedom that Christ setus free - "So Christ has truly set us free."
(NLT) "Christhas freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom."
(GWT) Christ set us free in order for us to be free. He freed us in order that
we should have this freedom and maintain, exercise,and enjoy it, not lose it.
Notice Paul's pronoun "us" referring to himself and the believers in Galatia.
The implication is He set us free to stay free. For the Gentile believers they
had just been rescuedfrom slaveryto sin, death, and the devil. Now they are
being tempted by the Judaizers to go back into slavery, in this context,
primarily slavery to the Law.
It is notable that the phrase "for freedom" was actually used in ancient times
in a formal ceremonious setting in which literal slaves were setfree from their
former masters and from anyone who might attempt to force them back into
slavery. This background would be especiallyapplicable to Gentile believers
who Christ had set free "for freedom" (same phrase) and from those who
would then attempt to "compelthe Gentiles to live like Jews."(Gal2:14+).
The question arises, freedomfrom what? To be set free indicates one had been
previously bound or enslaved. In spiritual terms every human being ever born
is born a slave to Sin, death and the devil. These enemies are briefly
mentioned below, but in Galatians Paul's primary focus is freedom from the
LAW, freedom from the false idea that the Law is a way of salvation, freedom
from the Law's condemnation and freedom from the Law as a rule of life.

All human beings still "in Adam" (1 Cor 15:22)are slaves to the dominating
powerof Sin (personified as a "King" or "Master" as in Ro 6:12-13+)and
subject to the ruler of this world system, the Devil! (See Sin "personified" as a
"King"). This freedom in Christ includes freedom from sin's powerand sin's
penalty.
In Romans 8 after declaring that "there is now no condemnationfor those
who are in Christ Jesus" (Ro 8:1+), Paul goes onto explain that
"the law (principle) of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (WHERE IS TRUE
LIFE, TRUE FREEDOM?)has setyou free (eleutheroo)from the law
(principle) of Sin and of death. Forwhat the LAW could not do, weak as it
was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness ofsinful
flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the
requirement of the LAW might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according
to the flesh but according to the Spirit.(Ro 8:2-4+)
Paul describes the believer's freedom from Sin and death in 1 Corinthians
writing...
O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR
STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the powerof sin is the law. but thanks
be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor
15:55-57)
Comment - In other words Christ's "victory" over sin and death set us free
from those enemies, for as believers we are now foreversafely in covenant
with Christ. And why is Law the powerof sin? Becauseas Paulexplains in Ro

7:5+ "the sinful passions" are arousedby the Law. The Law stirs up the lusts
of Sin for Paul explains "sin, taking opportunity through the commandment,
produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead."
(cf Ro 7:8+). Can you see the practicalapplication of this principle? When you
begin to vainly try to live the Christ life by placing yourself under some rule,
guideline, regulation, etc, you have just in essenceplacedyourselfunder
(subject to) the Law and the effectis to stir up your old flesh nature to commit
sin. Beware!This can be very subtle, but it is an immutable principle! How
many times have you seena sign "WET PAINT. DO NOT TOUCH!" and
something in you just had to touch it to see if it really was wet! That's the Law
stirring up the fallen flesh. But if you are filled with (controlled by) His Spirit
(Eph 5:18+), walking by His Spirit, then His Spirit will overpoweryour flesh
and enable you to walk on by without touching the paint! (see Gal 5:16). And
so you keepon walking in the freedom in Christ Who set you free and you will
not fulfill the desire of the flesh!.
In Romans 6:14+ Paul writes...
For Sin shall not be master (kurieuo - "lord") over you, for you are not under
(the enslaving power of) LAW but under (the transforming powerof) grace.
In Romans 7 Paul writes that the saints are to have nothing more to do with
the Law writing
"But now (contrastwith Ro 7:5+) we have been released(katargeo)from the
LAW, having died to that by which we were bound (katecho = held fast), so
that we serve in newness (kainotes)ofthe Spirit and not in oldness of the letter
(THE OLD WRITTEN CODE OF THE LAW)." (Ro 7:6+)

The writer of Hebrews describes the believer's liberation from enslavement to
the devil and the fear of death...
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He (JESUS CHRIST)
Himself likewise also partook ofthe same, that through death He might
render powerless(katargeo same verb used in Ro 6:6+ where "our body of Sin
might be done awaywith") him who had the powerof death, that is, the devil
(diabolos), and might free (apallasso - release, liberate from a controlling
state)those who through fear of death were subject(enochos from enecho
[used below - "be subject"] - in spiritual bondage, under the controlof) to
slavery (douleia) all their lives. (Hebrews 2:14-15+)
Comment - The Greek word for slavery (douleia) describes that state of man
in which he/she is prevented from freely possessing and enjoying his/her life
and thus is a state opposedto the liberty or freedom which is found only in
Christ.
In ColossiansPaulwrites
For He rescued(rhuomai - snatched to Himself from danger) us from the
domain (exousia = the right and the might) of darkness (DEVIL), and
transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (UNDER WHOSE
DOMAIN WE HAVE FREEDOMNOW AND FOREVER)(Col1:13+)
Compare Paul's exhortation to Timothy describing the liberating powerof
teaching the Word of Truth to those who are enslavedto the devil

With gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may
grant them repentance leading to the knowledge ofthe truth, and they may
come to their senses and escapefrom the snare (pagis) of the devil
(OBTAINING FREEDOMIN CHRIST), having been held captive (zogreo =
takenand held by the devil as his prisoner of war and under control) by him
to do his will.(see 2 Ti 2:25, 26+, cf Jn 8:44, 1 Jn 5:19+)
Finally John describes the freedom believers have not only over the devil but
over the power of sin...
the one who practices (presenttense = habitually, not occasionally)sin is of
the devil (THE DEVIL IS HIS FATHER, HIS MASTER);for the devil has
sinned from the beginning. The Son of God (JESUS CHRIST) appearedfor
this purpose, to destroythe works of the devil (TO SET FREE THOSE IN
BONDAGE TO THE DEVIL). No one who is born of God (TRUE
BELIEVERS)practices (presenttense = habitually) sin, because His seed
(JESUS CHRIST)abides in him; and he cannot ((present tense = continually)
sin, because he is born of God. (1 John 3:8-9+)
Here is a summary of the Freedom in which Christ setus free as Paul has
describedin the letter to the Galatians:
(Gal 1:4+) Who (CHRIST) gave Himself for (SUBSTITUTION FOR)our sins
so that (PURPOSE)He might rescue (exaireo - pluck out, deliver from
danger) us from this present evil age (WORD SYSTEM DOMINATED BY
DEVIL), according to the will of our God and Father,
(Gal 2:20+) “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live
(THE RULING POWER IN MY LIFE IS NO LONGER SIN - I HAVE BEEN

SET FREE!), but Christ lives in me (THIS IS FREEDOM);and the life which
I now live in the (PHYSICAL) flesh I live by faith in the Son of God (HOW
TO LIVE FREE - BY FAITH IN JESUS), Who loved me and gave Himself up
for (AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR)me.
(Gal 3:13+) Christ redeemed (exagorazo) us from the curse of the Law (OUR
ENEMYDEATH), having become a curse for us–for it is written, “CURSED
IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”–
(Gal 4:4-5+) But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem (exagorazo)
those who were under (hupo = signifies subject to the powerof) the Law, that
we might receive the adoption as sons (NO LONGER SLAVES BUT FREE
SONS).
So from the letter to the Galatians we can see whatChrist has done to setus
free, so that we might be free indeed...
(1) We are rescued"from this presentevil age,"
(2) We have been crucified with Christ so that we are savedfrom having to
live according to our fallen flesh nature.
(3) We are redeemedfrom the curse of the Law which brings eternaldeath.
(4) We are redeemedfrom bondage to the Law

Now ponder the preceding passagesand the list of Christ's accomplishments
on our behalf and ask yourself, why would I ever want to go back under the
Law in a vain attempt to please God or make myself more "spiritual?" But
such is the persistentpleading of our fallen flesh. Every morning we awake,
you canbe assuredthat our fallen flesh is already"wide awake"andseeking
some seductive temptation to draw us awayfrom our freedom in Christ
Whose Spirit enables us to "walk in newness (kainotes =
EXTRAORDINARILYBRAND NEW, A NEVER BEFORE EXPERIENCED
QUALITY) of life." (Ro 6:4+)
THE BELIEVER'S DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
Duncan explains that "there were enemies of freedom in Galatia, who were
troubling the believers there, confusing them about the Law and trying to
bring them under it. So Paul must defend our freedom in these lastchapters
of the book. He has been doing that all through the book. Galatians is, as it
has been called, a fighting epistle from beginning to end. And Paul takes up
the fight for our freedom here at the beginning of chapter 5 by first declaring
the factof our freedom and then commanding the Galatians to stand firmly in
it. He begins with a declarationof our independence." (Sermon)
MacArthur asks "Whatkind of freedom is it? Well, it’s freedom from the
burden of sin, freedom from relentless guilt, freedom from an accusing
conscience, freedomfrom the tyranny of our transgressions, freedomfrom the
terrible pressure and frustration of trying to be something other than you can
be, freedom from – in a word – “sin’s dominance.” “You’ve been setfree, set
free. And now don’t go back into some kind of bondage.”" (Sermon)

The Greek wordfor freedom (eleutheria) was a technicalphrase from a legal
document in Paul's day for freeing a slave and thus Paul continues his
illustration of being purchased from the slave market and then being given
complete freedom in Romansociety. When Christ purchased us from spiritual
slavery, He did not do it in order to bring us into another form of bondage. It
was for freedom that He purchasedus and set us free!
Freedom(liberty) (1657)(eleutheria from eleutheros = that which is capable of
movement, freedom to go whereverone likes, unfettered; see verb eleutheroo)
describes the state of being free and stands in oppositionto slaveryor
bondage. Eleutheria is used 3x in Galatians - Gal2:4, Gal5:1, Gal 5:13. The
adjective eleutheros was used literally of becoming a Roman citizen and
figuratively of becoming free in Christ to live in the powerof His Spirit
regardless ofthe circumstances.
THOUGHT - So Paul's greatemphasis in this book is the believer's freedom
from the Law. This does not mean to live a lawless life as some falselypropose.
Genuine spiritual freedom in Christ is not the ability to do what we please, but
the powerto do what we ought and in so doing to please God!
Eleutheria refers to personalliberty but not license. The deceiving (and
deceived- see 2Ti3:13+) false teacherpromise their listeners the freedom to
live as they please. To the contrary, true liberty is living as we should not
living as we please. Eleutheria was used especiallyPaul's day to describe the
freeing of literal slaves.
Here are other uses of eleutheria that help shed some light on Galatians 5:1

(2 Co. 3:17) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty.
(Gal 2:4) But it was because ofthe false brethren secretlybrought in, who had
sneakedin to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to
bring us into bondage.
(Gal. 5:13) Foryou were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your
freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
(Jas. 1:25) But one who looks intently at the perfectlaw, the law of liberty,
and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearerbut an effectualdoer,
this man will be blessedin what he does.
(Jas. 2:12) So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of
liberty.
(1 Pet. 2:16) Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for
evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.
(2 Pet. 2:19) promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of
corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.
Chuck Swindoll has an excellentillustration of the meaning of the word
eleutheria

"Back in the nineteenth century our sixteenth president realized something
radical must be done about slaveryin our country. Unwilling to look the other
way any longer, on September 22, 1862, he presentedwhat came to be known
as the Emancipation Proclamation, anofficial document condemning human
slavery. Abraham Lincoln, realizing that slavery is completely againsthuman
dignity, officially abolishedit from the United States on that day. Tragically,
little changedin the daily life of our nation, even though the slaves were
officially declaredfree. You know why; you’ve read the stories. The Civil War
was still going on. The plantation owners never informed their slaves. The
vast majority of the former slaves couldn’t read, so they had no idea what the
news was carrying. There was no mass media then to announce those kinds of
presidential pronouncements. And so for the longesttime, slavery continued
even though it had been officially brought to an end. The warended in April
1865. Do you know when Lincoln’s declarationwas officially enacted? When
the people finally beganto leave their enslaved lives and make their way
toward freedom? December18, 1865—morethan three years after he first
releasedhis proclamation. Lincoln had been dead for months. The word
traveled out of the streets of Washingtonand down into the Shenandoah
Valley of Virginia, across the back roads of the Carolinas and into Georgia,
then Alabama, then Mississippi, then Louisiana, then Texas, then Arkansas,
announcing what had been true for more than a thousand days. Even then the
word somehow either wasn’tbelieved or wasn’tacted upon. Those officially
emancipatedpeople, thinking slaverywas the way they were condemnedto
exist, continued to live in bondage though they had been declaredfree men
and women since the fall of 1862. (Embracedby the Spirit The Untold
Blessings ofIntimacy with God - 2011)
Gromacki:“After the Civil War a greatmajority of the slaves became
sharecroppers. Although they were free, they did not enjoy their freedom. In
some cases theywere worse off than before. Under the influence of the
Judaizers, the Galatians were beginning to find themselves in a similar
situation. Setfree by the greatemancipator of the soul, Jesus Christ, they soon
were acquiescing to the demands of the legalists. The apostle wantedthem to
take a stand, to act like free men, not like slaves.”

Set us free (1659)(eleutheroo = the ending " -oo" means not only will it be set
free but it will be seenas setfree) means to cause someone to be freed from
domination. The picture is that of the emancipation of slaves. The idea is that
the one set free is at liberty, capable of movement, exempt from obligation or
liability, and unfettered. Although the actof setting free results in freedom
and liberty we must understand that this new freedom is not a license to sin.
In fact true liberty for the believeris now living as we should and not as we
please.
POSB - When a personbelieves in Jesus Christ, he is freed from the law and
its enslaving power. He no longerhas to worry if he is good enough or if he
has done enough goodworks orkept enough laws to be acceptable to God.
Why? Because Christhas fulfilled the law for him (Ro 8:3-4). (The Preacher's
Outline & Sermon Bible – Galatians)
PAUL ISSUES
TWO COMMANDS
Therefore - This is a crucialterm of conclusion. Since Christ has set us free
for freedom, Paul gives his desired conclusionin the form of two commands,
first a positive command and then a negative command.
Hansen points out that "Thatindicative ("It was for freedom that Christ set
us free") is followedby an imperative, Stand firm, then. This may sound like a
dull lessonin grammar, but it is actually central in Pauline ethics. What we
must do (the imperative) is always basedupon what God has already done
(the indicative). Or to put it another way, what God has done gives us the
opportunity and powerto do what we must do. This indicative-imperative
structure is seenhere in verse Galatians 5:1 and also in verses Galatians 5:13
and Galatians 5:25." (IVP New TestamentCommentary Series – Galatians)

John Stott on standing firm - We must not lapse into the idea that we have to
win our acceptance withGod by our own obedience.
J B Phillips has an interesting paraphrase - "Plantyour feet firmly therefore
within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be
caught againin the shacklesofslavery."
Spurgeon- God grant us grace to keepto grace!God grant us faith enough to
live by faith, even to the end, as the freeborn children of God, for His name’s
sake!Amen.
Keep standing firm - This is a command in the presentimperative calling for
the Galatianbelievers to make this their lifestyle, their daily, habitual
practice. As with all of the only NT commands, they needed to be aware (and
we do too) that they cannot keepthese commands by relying on their own
strength. The only possible way to successfullyobey Paul's command is not by
relying on self, but by continually relying wholly on the Holy Spirit to
supernaturally enable them (and us) to obey this supernatural command! And
Paul practicedwhat he preachedfor he had stoodfirm in Gal 2:3-5 and did
not give in to their pressure to make Titus, a Gentile convert, a Jew by
circumcisiondeclaring "we did not yield in subjection to them for even an
hour, so that the truth of the gospelwould remain with you." (Gal 2:5+).
RelatedResource:
Discussionofour Needfor the Holy Spirit to obey the NT commands (or
"How to Keep All 1642 Commandments in the New Testament!")
Keep standing firm (4739)(steko)canmean to stand literally (Mk 11:25)but
9/10 NT use steko figuratively calling for saints to stand firm in faith, to be
constant, to persevere, to remain steadfast. In Jn 8:44 Jesus uses stekoin a

negative sense describing the fact that the devil absolutelydoes not stand in
the truth. Below are 4 of Paul's other uses of steko. It is worth noting that 2 of
these exhortations (1 Th 3:8, Php 4:1) call for the saints to stand firm in the
sphere of the Lord, in His Name, in His power(and as we have proposed this
predicates that we are relying on the Spirit of Christ for supernatural power
to stand firm!).
(1 Th 3:8+) for now we really live, if you stand firm (steko)in the Lord.
(Phil. 1:27+)Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospelof
Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of
you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together
for the faith of the gospel;
(Phil. 4:1+) Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and
crown, in this way stand firm (present imperative) in the Lord, my beloved.
(2 Th 2:15) So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you
were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
Paul used this same verb steko in the closing sectionofhis first letter to the
saints at Corinth giving them 4 "staccato like" commands eachin the present
imperative.
Be on the alert (gregoreuo), standfirm (steko)in the faith, act like men
(andrizomai), be strong (krataioo). (1 Cor 16:13)

Paul explained earlier the dangerto which the believers in Galatia were
vulnerable writing that "it was because ofthe false brethren secretlybrought
in, who had sneakedin (pareisaktos)to spy out our liberty (same word
eleutheria translated"freedom" in Gal 5:1) which we have in Christ Jesus, in
order (term of purpose = THIS IS THEIR EVIL PURPOSE!)to bring us into
bondage (katadouloo)." (Gal2:4+) In other words these "spiritual spies"
snuck into the fellowshipand sought to bring the believers back into slavery
under the Law, the very thing from which Christ had liberated them!
John MacArthur writes "The spiritual descendants ofSarah and Isaac should
live as they lived, by faith. "Byfaith evenSarah herselfreceived ability to
conceive, evenbeyond the proper time of life, since she consideredHim
faithful who had promised" (Heb. 11:11+), and "by faith Isaac blessedJacob
and Esau, even regarding things to come" (Heb. 11:20+)." (MacArthur New
TestamentCommentary – Galatians)
DON'T BE ENTANGLED
AGAIN IN A LEGALISTIC YOKE
And do not be subject againto a yoke of slavery(cf Acts 15:10+) - Think of
how ridiculous it would be to see a mule that had been unhitched from pulling
a plow to attempt to get back up under that yoke!Christ had set the Galatians
free from a yoke of slavery, the "yoke" ofthe Old Testamentlaw they
consideredto be the means of justification. Notice the time phrase "again"
(palin) indicating that this was in facttheir and our condition before faith in
Christ and His Gospelof Grace setus all free. "At one time we were under the
yoke of the law, burdened by its demands which we could not meet and by its
fearful condemnationbecause of our disobedience. But Christ met the
demands of the law for us. He died for our disobedience and thus bore our

Jesus was the one who set us free

Jesus was the one who set us free

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