Galatians 5:1-4. 1For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
The declaration of our freedom in Christ is immediately followed by a strong warning—“do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Every day is a decision, a choice, a crossroads: freedom or slavery, law or faith, self-righteousness or Christ’s righteousness. Do NOT go backwards into the yoke of the law.
The language that follows is strong; it’s meant to be a big wake-up call. We ARE free. Now we must be what we are. But when we seek justification by the law, we fail to stay connected to Christ and his grace. So much so, that Paul calls it “severed from Christ” and “fallen away from grace.” I don’t think Paul is saying that we can lose our salvation. Galatians 5:4 is not a positional truth; it is a conditional truth. We can’t lose our salvation, but we can live without the “advantage” of Christ.
Often Christians think that they obtained their freedom on the day they got saved and then they never have to think about it again. “OK, I’m free now, so let me get on with my life,” either trying to be good, or not worrying at all about their choices. But here’s the thing: in Christ, we still need Jesus to save us every day. We need his grace every moment of every day.
Psalm 68:19. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.”
Please, I beg you, never lose the humble dependency that brought you to Christ in the first place. You still need a Savior. Not just an example. Not just a bunch of “Christian principles” to follow. Not just an ethic or some behavior modification.
Here’s the great paradox of our salvation: Yes, we are always free in Christ (Galatians 5:1a), but we must resist returning to slavery (5:1b–4). Yes, we are always resting in Christ, but we must also always be striving until Christ is formed in us and others (4:19). We are no longer slaves, and yet we need to be stopped from running back, over and over again, to the slavery of law-keeping every single minute of every single day. Trying to measure up on our own inevitably leaves us trapped in guilt and shame when we fall short, blinding us to the joy of the gospel. We are saved, and we still need a Savior.
You: Can you recognize ways that you daily return to the slavery of law-keeping?
You in Christ: How does trusting our union with Christ prevent us from “falling from grace?”
Christ in you: In what ways is Jesus providing his grace for us every day?
Pray: Father, I stumble my way through life most days, but I don’t want to trip over your grace. Keep my upright in your love and salvation. Amen.
