Galatians 5:1-6
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
I don’t know if you all remember this, but I am entering my 7th year as a math teacher. It doesn’t seem that long, it seems much longer. That means that it was over 9 years ago that I decided to go back to school to get my teaching certification. And that was a long process as well. Sometimes it felt tedious and worthless. I just wanted to get into the classroom and start teaching. I valued what I was taught most when it had direct application to the classroom.
And one of the things I was taught, and highly valued, was the instruction I received about classroom management. Discipline in the classroom. How to keep those little buggers under control. I remember paying close attention to that. Because it was a mystery to me. I’d go to my kids elementary school at the time, and walk down the hall and into a 4th grade class with 20 to 25 students. And it would be quiet. The kids were working. They knew what they were to do, and they did it, almost without exception. And this teacher just seemed “calm, cool, and collected.” And I thought, “That’s what I want my classroom to look like.
I since discovered that there’s a secret to accomplishing that; the secret is…rules, and routines. This teacher established rules and routines at the start of the year, and practiced and enforced those rules until the children knew them. This is how we line up. This is what we do if we need to sharpen our pencil. This is where you sit. This is what we do as soon as we enter the room. This is when it should be quiet. This is the signal I give if I want your attention. Etc, etc, etc.
Now, in my college classes, I was told that there are other models for classroom management; models that have far fewer rules, but that get the teaching done just as well. We were told that we needed to think about which classroom model we wanted to follow, “High Structure,” or “Loosy-Goosy.” I chose the “High Structure” model, frankly because I’d never seen “Loosy-Goosy” work. I didn’t know how it could work.
Rules are a wonderful thing in school. They set the stage for learning. Now I said all that to you to direct our thinking in regard to our study today.
Well up until now, we have been studying this letter from Paul , to the Galatians. And it has been a letter that Paul wrote to defend the faith. Some Judaizers had come into the Galatian churches saying that in order to be saved these Gentiles needed to follow Jewish Mosaic law. Now Paul has spent 4 chapters saying; No you don’t. And he’s proven it by Scripture, logic, his testimony, their testimonies.
And, if you will, the Judaizers are saying, “We have to have all these rules, or there will be chaos.” “We can’t have everyone just doing whatever they want to do.”
But Paul just spent 4 chapters proving that you don’t have to have the rules to be saved.
Okay, but once he’s proven that, how are the Galatians supposed to live? If you don’t have the Mosaic law, can you just do anything you want? You’re “free in Christ.”
Obviously, there are some laws that they aren’t to break, thou shalt not murder, and worship only God. But without all the rituals, rites and rules, how do I know if I’m on the right path? And particularly in religion, people want to be told exactly what they should and shouldn’t do. It’s easier.
So Paul, how do you live without rules? Well that’s what the remainder of the letter to the Galatians is about. How then shall we live? If we’re not following the law, how do we decide what is right and wrong? And there are 5 principles Paul shares in chapters 5 and 6; Don’t Give in to Legalism, Live by the law of love, Follow the Leading of the Holy Spirit, Do Good to Each Other, Boast about nothing but Jesus’s Atonement.
This sermon may take us 2 to 3 weeks; no rules
Let’s pray
The first principle answering the question, “How then shall we live?” is, Don’t give in to legalism
I. Don’t Give in to Legalism 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Now we are going to break verses 1-6 into 3 parts. The command to stand in liberty, the results of succumbing to legal bondage, the life of freedom in Christ
In this first principle, Paul tells the Galatians not to allow the Judaizers to lay the heavy yoke of ritualistic law on them. Then he gives them two reasons; the results of submitting to that legal bondage, and the life of freedom in Christ.
A. The command to stand in liberty
Don’t Give in to Legalism. Do cave in to these people laying law on you. Now, in order to understand what Paul is saying, let me tell you 2 things that he is not saying.
1. Be a rule breaker
First, this may sound like Paul is saying, “Be a rule breaker.” You are free. Some people, in Paul’s day, and throughout Church history have interpreted Paul that way.
But he’s not saying, “Be a rule-breaker.” He’s saying “don’t let these Judaizers change the rules.
The Judaizers were the ones introducing something foreign. Before they came, the Galatian Gentiles weren’t concerned about Mosaic ritual law. So what happened? The Galatians were just fine, and then the Judaizers showed up and made them question if they were saved. Acts 15
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
You remember what had happened in their churches. You remember the Jerusalem Council. All the apostles and elders of the Christian church had gathered to ask this question; “Do Gentiles have to follow Jewish law in order to be saved?” And the answer from Peter, James, Paul, Barnabus, and all the other leaders of the church was, “no.” Remember these statements in Acts 15?
Peter said, “10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”
James said “19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.”
They gave them a couple of guidelines to enable fellowship with the Jews.
But even after that official word from the apostles and elders, there were still Judaizers who were traveling to Gentile churches and telling the Gentiles, you need the rules; Kosher diet, Jewish calendar, days of rest, washings, etc And the big one, some of the Galatians were contemplating being circumcised.
So this first principle from Paul is, “Don’t Give in to Legalism.” And if you have begun to, “Quit it.”
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
“Don’t make decisions about what you should and shouldn’t do, based on religious rules.” “Stop doing it.” Don’t let anyone come along and add these rules.
So Paul is not saying “Be a rule breaker.” And there’s a second thing that he’s not saying. He’s not saying,
2. Do whatever you want to do.
Paul is not advocating antinomianism. Lawlessness. You’re free. Eat, drink, and be merry. Sleep with whomever you want. You feel like punching somebody in the face, punch them in the face. You’re free, you’re forgiven. You’ve got a free pass to live as you please. Paul was not saying that. How do I know? Because if you just read a few verses down from this one you come to verses 19 through 23.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Does that sound like Paul is saying that a Christian is free to do anything? No. He is making a distinction. He is saying to the Galatians, first, there are things that a believer should and shouldn’t do, but doing them, or not doing them doesn’t save you. Christ atoning death saved you. And second, when Paul says,
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
The yoke of bondage are all those rules that have been presented, by the Judaizers, as necessary for salvation.
Now, to help you understand what Paul was saying to the Galatians, I want to remind you that the Judaizers made lists of do’s and don’ts, based on their understanding of the Mosaic law. They were really trying to shackle the Galatians with all the Old Testament law, to make them Jews. They start with circumcision, but there’s much more to follow. I wanted to illustrate for you what the Judaizers were laying on the Galatians with a list from a Jewish teacher named Maimonides. It became accepted that there were 613 commandments that a Jew had to follow, 365 negative, and 248 positive. Maimonides wrote them all in a list; his list is the most famous of these lists. Here it is; (read the first few, then this comment. “I’m not going to read all of these, I just want to highlight the ones that were external, ritualistic, specifically related to Judaism) Many of these are commandments that apply to all Christians. Worship only God. Don’t commit adultery, etc and some of these 613 OT laws had to do with things specific to priests, the temple, and the nation of Israel. But then there was the ritual laws, that identified Jews as Jews. The Judaizers were saying, “You’ve got to become Jews to be saved, and here’s how.”
1. Men must not shave the hair off the sides of their head — Lev. 19:27 2. Men must not shave their beards with a razor — Lev. 19:27 3. Not to tattoo the skin — Lev. 19:28 4. To say the Shema twice daily — Deut. 6:7 5. To pray every day — Ex. 23:25 6. To wear tefillin (phylacteries) on the head — Deut. 6:8 7. To bind tefillin on the arm — Deut. 6:8 8. To put a mezuzah on the door post — Deut. 6:9 9. Each male must write a Torah scroll — Deut. 31:19 10. To have tzitzit on four-cornered garments — Num. 15:38 11. To bless the Almighty after eating — Deut. 8:10 12. To circumcise all males on the eighth day after their birth — Gen. 17:10 13. To rest on the seventh day — Ex. 23:12 14. Not to do prohibited labor on the seventh day — Standard: Ex. 20:11; Yemenite: Ex. 20:10 15. Not to walk outside the city boundary on Shabbat — Ex. 16:29 16. To sanctify Shabbat with Kiddush and Havdalah — Standard: Ex. 20:9; Yemenite: Ex. 20:8 17. To rest from prohibited labor on Yom Kippur — Lev. 23:32 18. Not to do prohibited labor on Yom Kippur — Lev. 23:32 19. Not to eat or drink on Yom Kippur — Lev. 23:29 20. To rest on the first day of Passover — Lev. 23:7 21. Not to do prohibited labor on the first day of Passover — Lev. 23:8 22. To rest on the seventh day of Passover — Lev. 23:8 23. Not to do prohibited labor on the seventh day of Passover — Lev. 23:8 24. To rest on Shavuot — Lev. 23:21 25. Not to do prohibited labor on Shavuot — Lev. 23:21 26. To rest on Rosh Hashanah — Lev. 23:24 27. Not to do prohibited labor on Rosh Hashanah — Lev. 23:25 28. To rest on Sukkot — Lev. 23:35 29. Not to do prohibited labor on Sukkot — Lev. 23:35 30. To rest on Shemini Atzeret — Lev. 23:36 31. Not to do prohibited labor on Shemini Atzeret —Lev. 23:36 32. Not to eat chametz on the afternoon of the 14th day of Nisan — Deut. 16:3 33. To destroy all chametz on 14th day of Nisan — Ex. 12:15 34. Not to eat chametz all seven days of Passover —Ex. 13:3 35. Not to eat mixtures containing chametz all seven days of Passover — Ex. 12:20 36. Not to see chametz in your domain seven days — Ex. 13:7 37. Not to find chametz in your domain seven days — Ex. 12:19 38. To eat matzah on the first night of Passover — Ex. 12:18 39. To dwell in a Sukkah for the seven days of Sukkot — Lev. 23:42 40. Each man must give a half shekel annually — Ex. 30:13 41. Not to eat non-kosher animals — Lev. 11:4 42. Not to eat non-kosher fowl — Lev. 11:13 43. Not to eat non-kosher fish — Lev. 11:11 44. Not to eat non-kosher flying insects — Deut. 14:19 45. Not to eat non-kosher creatures that crawl on land — Lev. 11:41 46. Not to eat non-kosher maggots — Lev. 11:44 47. Not to eat creatures that live in water other than (kosher) fish — Lev. 11:43 48. Not to eat the meat of an animal that died without ritual slaughter — Deut. 14:21 49. Not to eat blood —Lev. 3:17 50. Not to eat certain fats of clean animals — Lev. 3:17 51. Not to eat the sinew of the thigh — Gen. 32:33 52. Not to eat mixtures of milk and meat cooked together — Ex. 23:19 53. Not to eat fruit of a tree during its first three years — Lev. 19:23 54. Not to eat diverse seeds planted in a vineyard — Deut. 22:9 55. Not to eat untithed fruits — Lev. 22:15 56. To ritually slaughter an animal before eating it — Deut. 12:21 57. Not to slaughter an animal and its offspring on the same day — Lev. 22:28 58. Not to plant diverse seeds together — Lev. 19:19 59. Not to plant grains or greens in a vineyard — Deut. 22:9 60. Not to crossbreed animals — Lev. 19:19 61. Not to work different animals together — Deut. 22:10 62. Not to wear shaatnez, a cloth woven of wool and linen — Deut. 22:11 63. To leave a corner of the field uncut for the poor — Lev. 19:10 64. Not to reap that corner — Lev. 19:9 65. To leave gleanings — Lev. 19:9 66. Not to gather the gleanings — Lev. 19:9 67. To leave the unformed clusters of grapes — Lev. 19:10 68. To give charity — Deut. 15:8 69. Not to withhold charity from the poor — Deut. 15:7 70. To set aside Ma'aser (tithe) each planting year and give it to a Levite — Num. 18:24 71. To set aside the first fruits and bring them to the Temple — Ex. 23:19 72. To set aside a portion of dough for a Kohen — Num. 15:20 73. To give the foreleg, two cheeks, and abomasum of slaughtered animals to a Kohen — Deut. 18:3 74. To give the first shearing of sheep to a Kohen — Deut. 18:4 75. To redeem firstborn sons and give the money to a Kohen — Num. 18:15 76. To redeem the firstborn donkey by giving a lamb to a Kohen — Ex. 13:13 77. Not to work the land during the seventh year — Lev. 25:4 78. Not to work with trees to produce fruit during that year — Lev. 25:4 79. Not to reap crops that grow wild that year in the normal manner — Lev. 25:5 80. Not to gather grapes which grow wild that year in the normal way — Lev. 25:5 81. To leave free all produce which grew in that year — Ex. 23:11 82. To release all loans during the seventh year — Deut. 15:2 83. Not to work the soil during the fiftieth year (Jubilee) — Lev. 25:11 84. Not to reap in the normal manner that which grows wild in the fiftieth year — Lev. 25:11 85. Not to pick grapes which grew wild in the normal manner in the fiftieth year — Lev. 25:11 86. To be seen at the Temple on Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot — Deut. 16:16 87. To celebrate on these three Festivals (bring a peace offering) — Ex. 23:14 88. To rejoice on these three Festivals (bring a peace offering) — Deut. 16:14 89. Carry out the laws of impurity of the dead — Num. 19:14 90. Carry out the laws of the sprinkling water — Num. 19:21 91. Every impure person must immerse himself in a Mikvah to become pure — Lev. 15:16 92. Not to overcharge or underpay for an article — Lev. 25:14 93. Not to insult or harm anybody with words — Lev. 25:17
So, I tell you all that to tell you what Paul means by
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
And to bring it into the present, too many people, who were formerly a part of a gospel teaching church, decide to take on some form of religious legalism. And do you know when it most often happens? In marriage. I love this girl, I love this guy. They are a part of some legalistic church. There are three possibilities. First possibility, the one you love comes to faith in the Christ of the gospel of grace. Second possibility, you leave the gospel of grace, and take on all the legalism of their faith. Third possibility, both of you stray away from faith altogether.
So that is Paul’s command to stand in liberty, now let’s continue with what he says are the reasons not to succumb to legalism; the results of succumbing to legal bondage, and the life of freedom in Christ
B. The results of succumbing to legal bondage verses 2-4
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
What are the results of succumbing to legal bondage?
Behold, I Paul say to you, that if ye be circumcised…
Is Paul saying that any circumcised person is lost? Can’t be saved?
No, Paul is not saying that. What he’s trying to get across to them is that circumcision is irrelevant.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
In fact, we know that Paul actually circumcised (Acts 16) Timothy. He himself was circumcised. It all has to do with the heart. What are you banking on for salvation?
..if you go forward with circumcision, Christ shall profit you nothing.
1. Christ shall profit you nothing
2. You are a debtor to the whole law
3. Christ is become of no effect to you
4. You are fallen from grace
Now that’s some pretty heavy results.
1. Christ shall profit you nothing
There will be no advantage to knowing Christ. He has offered you the privilege of being a Child of God, living as an heir, you say, no I want to earn my own keep. It is again like the parable of the wedding feast Jesus told. The guest are provided a wedding garment to wear, but one guest decided not to put it on, so he got thrown out of the feast. The wedding garment was of no profit to him. He had laid it aside.
2. You are a debtor to the whole law
It’s as we’ve said before, there are two covenants in the Old Testament, one is by faith, the other by law. If you get circumcised, you’ve signed the law covenant, and are therefore bound to all it’s provisions, and commandments. As Paul quoted from Deuteronomy earlier,
10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
When the police officer pulls you over for speeding, he doesn’t ask you to list all the laws you haven’t broken, he says, “Do you know how fast you were going?” Are you aware that you have broken the law, and will now have a penalty?
Galatians, if you’re going to subject yourselves to Mosaic law, you will be held accountable for obeying all of it.
3. Christ is become of no effect to you, whosoever of you are justified by the law;
The cross of Christ will not save you. The blood shed on the cross will not save you.
“Christ is become of no effect to you.”
You say, hold on! Are you saying that a person could lose their salvation if they get circumcised, and start following Jewish legalism?
No, here’s the key phrase, “Christ is become of no effect to you, whosoever of you are justified by the law.” If you are counting on your keeping of the law, to make you right with God, then the evidence indicates that you haven’t put your faith in Christ alone, so there’s no benefit to you in Christ. Just because you say that you believe Jesus was a real person, God in flesh, did miracles, taught, was perfect. You can know the stories of Jesus by heart. But if you don’t come to Him by faith, He is useless to you.
Matthew 7:21-23
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
4. You are fallen from grace
Now this phrase has been a struggle for many for a lot of years. Because they take it to mean that a person can be saved, but lose their salvation. In this case, they quit believing correctly. They lost faith in Christ, and started placing it in their own legalistic works.
But let me point out a couple things. He says here, “You’ve fallen from grace.” The word fallen means to have lost your grip on something. But notice, you lost your grip. It doesn’t say that you were in God’s grip, and He lost you. That can’t happen. That’s the security of the believer.
John 10: 8 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
It doesn’t say you lost the salvation you had, it says you fell from grace. What does that mean?
Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
You notice verse 5, For it is impossible for those who…. have tasted the good word of God.
They’ve only tasted. They haven’t eaten. They haven’t taken it into themselves. It’s a picture of false belief. So, falling from grace, is “losing your grip on the truth of the gospel.” You are holding on to it. You are trusting in your strength. It is not God holding you.
Luke 8:13-14 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
What Paul says is, you need to stand firm, not subject yourself to these legalistic rules, because if you do, you are evidencing that your trust is not in Christ death, but in your own works, so it is evidence that you have walked away from the message of grace. You never were really converted.
How do people do that today? They do it first in their minds. When they consider their relationship with God. And they will hearken back to the past. Ever notice that with some people? If you asked them, “Are you a Christian?” They don’t talk about anything that’s happening today, or even anything that has happened in the last 10 or 20 years. They say, “I was baptized.” “I am a member of…” or even “I believe Jesus lived and died.” But, if you look at their lives now, there’s no evidence of faith. There’s no evidence that they love God, love Jesus, love His church. There’s no evidence that they want to please God, or know God. They are banking their salvation on some act they performed in the past.
Or their legalism may manifest itself in this answer; Are you a Christian? “I try to be.” The give you a laundry list of good stuff they do. It’s in the heart and mind. When they think of assurance of going to heaven, they think of all the things they do, or don’t do.
So Paul calls on the Galatians to Stand fast, because if they don’t they may evidence being non-believers, and they should stand fast because living the life of the Spirit is so much richer than the life of legalism.
A. The results of faith 5-6
5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith
If we stand fast, and are not encumbered with legalism again, then the weight we are left with is, eager waiting, and faith.
We asked at the start of this chapter, How then shall we live? If we don’t have a bunch of rules to follow, what do we do? Well this is where Paul starts that explanation. In the next chapters Paul will talk about principles. He’s already said, Stand fast, or Don’t give in to legalism.
He will talk about Living by the law of love, Following the Leading of the Holy Spirit, Doing Good to Each Other, Boasting about nothing but Jesus’s Atonement.
But he starts by saying
5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith
This is a contrast to the legalism of the Judaizers. Paul is saying, you can choose to go the route of legalism, leading to your fall, or you can choose the route of “the Spirit.” Salvation by grace. And what is it you have to do if you come to faith by God’s grace. Here we go, write this down, this is important, How do I live? What rules do I follow?
Live through the Spirit, Eagerly wait and have faith
1. Live through the Spirit.
We are going to get into this more thoroughly later. But living by the Spirit simply means, continuing to grow in your love and knowledge of God by communing with Him by His Word, and in prayer. Keep an open line of communication open with God, by His Spirit conversing with your spirit.
we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith
1. Eagerly waiting
If you are a Christian, you don’t need to wring your hands over a list of “thou shalts and thou shalt nots.” You just live life, through the Spirit, and look forward with anticipation.
What are we looking forward to? “for the hope of righteousness by faith.” We’re not anxiously thinking about how we can become right with God, or hold onto our rightness. We’ve already been given imputed righteousness. We already have our ticket, and we don’t have to worry about losing it, it is held in a safe at the call window of heaven. When we arrive, they have it held for us.
So what are we eagerly waiting for? We still await the completed and perfect righteousness that will come at our glorification. And we’re not trying to earn that righteousness. We will be changed, 1 Corinthians 15
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
We are eagerly waiting for the hope of righteousness, not by works, but by faith.
So how do I live? I live my life. I live by faith. I trust God. I trust Christ.
My friends, that’s a calm life, a settled life. In a nutshell, here’s the Christian life. Read your Bible and pray with an open heart. Look forward to the day when you see Jesus and are made perfect. Trust the Lord.
No diet laws, not incantations, or prayers that you have to memorize and recite. No candles to keep lit. No special feasts or rites that you have to participate in. No confessions you have to make. No animals to sacrifice. No saints to pray to. No special clothes you have to wear.
So Paul says drop the legalism, don’t bend to it. Live in hope and faith. Simple. But that still doesn’t give us any concrete examples about how to live.
What if my in-laws come for a visit? Can I tell them to stay home? Should I go to church services? How should I treat my wife and kids? Endless questions. And the temptation is to start on a list of commands. But what Paul does instead is gives you principles. Well that last phrase really introduces a huge principle in how a Christian is to live. “Faith that works by love.” And that’s what we will look at next time.