|
Galatians Chapter Five
(3) Freedom of the gospel
Freedom in Christ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) For what reason did Christ set us free, how
does Paul tell them to stand, and how does he tell them not to be burdened
again?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Christ died to set us free from sin and from a
long list of laws and regulations. Christ came to set us free-not free to do
whatever we want because that would lead us back into slavery to our selfish
desires. Rather, thanks to Christ, we are now free and able to do what was
impossible before-to live unselfishly. Those who appear to their freedom so that
they can have their own way or indulge their own desires are falling back into
sin. But it is also wrong to put a burden of law keeping on Christians. We must
stand against those who would enslave us with rules, methods, or special
conditions for being saved or growing in Christ.
2) What does every man who lets himself be
circumcised obligated to obey, who has been alienated from Christ, and what have
you fallen away from?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Trying to be saved by keeping the law and
being saved by grace are two entirely different approaches. "Christ will be of
no value to you at all" means that Christ's provision for our salvation will not
help us if we are trying to save ourselves. Obeying the law does not make it any
easier for God to save us. All we can do is accept his gracious gift through
faith. Our deeds of service must never be used to try to earn God's love or
favor.
Circumcision was a symbol of having the right background and doing everything
required by religion. No amount of work, discipline, or moral behavior can save
us. If a person were counting on finding favor with God by being circumcised, he
would also have to obey the rest of God's law completely. Trying to save
ourselves by keeping all God's laws only separates us from God.
3) How did Paul say they eagerly await through
the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope, in Christ Jesus, what did Paul
say has neither any power, and what is the only thing that counts?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
The essence of that message of the Gospel is
now brought forward in the last full statement of the principle of justification
by faith in this letter. Up to this point Paul has been talking only of the
Galatians (cf. the pronoun "you"), warning them about what they seemed to be
doing. Now he changes to "we", emphasizing something like this: "But, on the
other hand, we Christians do not choose legalism; rather, we wait in faith
through the Spirit for the full realization of God's righteousness." (taken from
The NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishers)
We are saved by faith, not by deeds. But love for others and for God is the
response of those whom God has forgiven. God's forgiveness is complete, and
Jesus said that those who are forgiven much love much (Luke 7:47). Because faith
expresses itself through love, you can check your love for others as a way to
monitor your faith.
4) What did Paul say they were running, what
did he say they were being kept from obeying, what does that kind of persuasion
does not come from, and what does a little yeast do?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Up to here in this section Paul has been
contrasting those who desire to add circumcision to Christianity and true
believers who trust Christ alone. Now the contrast changes to a false teacher or
teachers, designated as "the one who is throwing you into confusion" (verse 10),
versus "I" (i.e., Paul, who is teaching correctly).
Paul was fond of using athletic imagery to describe the Christian life, often
including himself as a competitor (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Galatians 2:2;
Philippians 3:13-14; 2 Timothy 4:7). To him life is a race, demanding adherence
to rules and discipline if the race is to be completed successfully and a prize
obtained. Here he applies the imagery to his converts. The Galatians had begun
the race well. They had both assented to certain truths and adopted a Christian
lifestyle. In other words, theirs was both a head and a heart religion. This is
the full meaning of the phrase "obeying the truth." In spite of this good
beginning, however, something had obviously gone wrong. Someone had hindered
them by setting up an obstacle in front of them. In Paul's analogy, this
probably refers to the illegal interference of a runner who cuts in ahead of
another and thereby disadvantages that runner. Thus, the situation at Galatia
was one in which the Galatians had already ceased, in some measure, to obey the
plain truth of the Gospel. (taken from The NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan
Publishers)
A little yeast causes a whole lump of dough to rise. It only takes one wrong
person to infect all the others.
5) What did Paul say he was confident in the
Lord about, what will the one throwing them into confusion pay, what did Paul
say to the brothers, in that case, what happened to the offense of the cross,
and what did Paul say about those agitators?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Persecution proved that Paul was
preaching the true gospel. If he had taught what the false teachers were
teaching, no one would be offended. But because he was teaching the truth, he
was persecuted by both Jews and Judaizers. Have friends or loved ones rejected
you because you have taken a stand for Christ? Jesus said not to be surprised if
the world hates you, because it hated him. (John 15:18,19). Just as Paul
continued to faithfully proclaim the message about Christ, you should continue
doing the ministry God has given you-in spite of the obstacles others may put in
your way.
6) What did Paul say they had been call to be,
how did Paul tell them not to use their freedom, how are they to serve one
another, what is the command the entire law is summed up in, and what will happen if
they keep on biting and devouring each other?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Paul distinguishes between freedom to
sin and freedom to serve. Freedom or license to sin is no freedom at all,
because it enslaves you to Satan, others, or your own sinful nature. Christians,
by contrast, should not be slaves to sin, because they are free to do right and
to glorify God through loving service to others.
When we are not motivated by love, we become critical of others. We stop
looking for good in them and see only their faults. Soon the unity of believers
is broken. Have you talked behind someone's back? Have you focused on others'
shortcomings instead of their strengths? Remind yourself of Jesus' command to
love others as you love yourself (Matthew 22:39). When you begin to feel
critical of someone, make a list of that person's positive qualities. If there
are problems that need to be addressed, it is better to confront in love than to
gossip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Life by the Spirit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7) If you live by the Spirit what will you not
gratify, what does the sinful nature desire, and if you are led by the Spirit,
what are you not under?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
If you desire is to have the qualities
listed in 5:22, 23, then you know that the Holy Spirit is leading you. At the
same time, be careful not to confuse your subjective feelings with the Spirit's
leading. Being led by the Holy Spirit involves the desire to hear, the readiness
to obey God's Word, and the sensitivity to discern between your feelings and his
prompting. Live each day controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit. Then the
words of Christ will be in your mind, the love of Christ will be behind your
actions, and the power of Christ will help you control your selfish desires.
Paul describes the two forces conflicting within us-the Holy Spirit and the
sinful nature (our evil desires or inclinations that stem from our bodies; see
also 5:16, 19, 24). Paul is not saying that these forces are equal-the Holy Spirit
is infinitely stronger. But if we rely on our own wisdom, we will make wrong
choices. If we try to follow the Spirit by our own human effort, we will fail.
Our only way to freedom from our evil desires is through the empowering of the
Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:9; Ephesians 4:23,24; Colossians 3:3-8).
8) What are the acts of the sinful nature, and
who will not inherit the kingdom of God?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
We all have evil desires, and we
can't ignore them. In order for us to follow the Holy Spirit's guidance, we must
deal with them decisively (crucify them-5:24). These desires include obvious
sins such as sexual immorality and witchcraft. They also include less obvious
sins such as selfish ambition, hatred, and jealously. Those who ignore such sins
or refuse to deal with them reveal that they have not received the gift of the
Spirit that leads to a transformed life.
9) What is the fruit of the Spirit, against
such things, what is there, what have those who belong to Christ Jesus, crucified, since we live by the Spirit, what does Paul tell us to keep, and
what does he tell us not to become?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous
work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that
are found in the nature of Christ. They are by-products of Christ's control-we
can't obtain by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit
of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his (see John 15:4, 5). We
must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will
fulfill the intended purpose of the law-to love God and our neighbors. Which of
these qualities do you want the Spirit to produce in you?
Because the God who sent the law also sent the Spirit, the by-products of
the Spirit-filled life are in perfect harmony with the intent of God's law. A
person who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit fulfills the law far better than a
person who observes the rituals but has little love in his or her heart.
In order to accept Christ as Savior, we need to turn from our sins and
willing nail our sinful nature to the cross. This doesn't mean, however, that we
will never see traces of its evil desires again. As Christians we still have the
capacity to sin, but we have been set free from sin's power over us and no
longer have to give in to it. We must daily commit our sinful tendencies to
God's control, daily crucify them, and moment by moment draw on the Spirit's
power to overcome them (see 2:20; 6:14).
God is interested in every part of our lives, not just the spiritual part.
As we live by the Holy Spirit's power, we need to submit every aspect of our
lives to God-emotional, physical, social, intellectual, vocational. Paul says
that because we're saved, we should live like it! The Holy Spirit is the source
of your new life, so keep in step with his leading. Don't let anything or anyone
else determine your values and standards in any area of your life.
Everyone needs a certain amount of approval from others. But those who go
out of their way to secure honors or to win popularity with a lot of people
become conceited and show they are not following the Holy Spirit's leading.
Those who look to God for approval won't need to envy others. Because we are
God's sons and daughters, we have his Holy Spirit as the loving guarantee of his
approval.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vices And Virtues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Bible mentions many specific
actions and attitudes that are either right or wrong. Look at the list included
here. Are there a number of characteristics from the wrong column that are
influencing you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vices:
(Neglecting God and others)
Sexual Immorality (Galatians 5:19)
Impurity (Galatians 5:19)
Lust (Colossians 3:5)
Hatred (Galatians 5:20)
Discord (Galatians 5:20)
Jealously (Galatians 5:20)
Anger (Galatians 5:20)
Selfish ambition (Galatians 5:20)
Dissension (Galatians 5:20)
Arrogance (2Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20)
Envy (Galatians 5:21)
Murder (Revelation 22:12-16)
Idolatry (Galatians 5:20; Ephesians 5:5)
Witchcraft (Galatians 5:20)
Drunkenness (Galatians 5:21)
Wild living (Luke 15:13; Galatians 5:21)
Cheating (1Corinthians 6:8)
Adultery (1Corinthians 6:9, 10)
Homosexuality (1Corinthians 6:9, 10)
Greed (1Corinthians 6:9, 10; Ephesians 5:5)
Stealing (1Corinthians 6:9, 10)
Lying (Revelation 22:12-16)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Virtues:
(The by-products of living for God)
Love (Galatians 5:22)
Joy (Galatians 5:22)
Peace (Galatians 5:22)
Patience (Galatians 5:22)
Kindness (Galatians 5:22)
Goodness (Galatians 5:22)
Faithfulness (Galatians 5:22)
Gentleness (Galatians 5:23)
Self-control (Galatians 5:23)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Answers Galatians Chapter Five
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) For freedom...firm...by a yoke of slavery
2) Obey the whole law...you who are trying to be justified by law...grace
3) By faith...circumcised nor uncircumcision...is faith expressing itself
through love
4) A good race...the truth...the one who calls you...works through the whole
batch of dough
5) That you will take no other view...the penalty...if I am still preaching
circumcision, why am I still being persecuted...it has been abolished...I wished
they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves
6) Free...to indulge the sinful nature...in love..."Love your neighbor as
yourself."...you will be destroyed by each other
7) The desires of the sinful nature...what is contrary to the Spirit...the law
8) Sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred,
discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and
envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like...those who live like that
9) Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control...no law...the sinful nature with its passion and desires...in step
with the Spirit...conceited, provoking and envying each other
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from the NIV Life Application Study Bible,
Zondervan Publishers
|