Use Freedom Responsibly (Galatians 5:7-15)

When my father would give me money for a specific item/event, he would usually say, “Bring me back my change.” In other words, only use this money for the specific reason given. If I were to use that money for anything other than its intended purpose, I would be in serious trouble. Similarly, Paul tells us that Jesus Christ has given us freedom in the gospel and we must use this freedom responsibly. Paul expands on this theme in Galatians 5:7-15. He writes that we use our freedom responsibly when we guard it against external and internal obstacles while using the opportunity provided by our freedom to serve one another in love.

External Obstacles of Freedom

Paul encourages the Galatians to remain faithful to Christ by resisting those who seek to hinder them from obeying the truth (5:7). In his exhortation, he uses two metaphors and a personal example. First, he speaks of the Christian life as a long-distance race. He wrote: “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you” (5:7-8). Someone who runs a long-distance race knows that it is not only important that they start well, but that they continue running well. Kenyan runner, Senbere Teferi, was seconds away from winning the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta when she made a costly ($10k) wrong turn. Her mistake cost her money, but for the Christian, a wrong turn in our spiritual race can be far more costly. We must be on guard against external obstacles.

Next, Paul speaks of the Christian life as a lump of dough. He wrote, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (5:9). When making bread, it only takes a little leaven to work throughout the entire dough. A little goes a long way and Paul is counseling the Galatians to not give any room to those who seek to bring them “under the law” (4:21). Paul continues, “I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever it is” (5:10). Resist those who trouble you and keep your focus on the Lord and beware of the leaven of false teachers. 

Also, Paul provides a personal example to the Galatians. He said, “And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off” (5:11-12) Paul is standing fast (5:1) for the gospel and suffering the consequences. He is remaining faithful to Christ and he wants them to remain faithful as well. Paul, in what is most likely sarcasm, calls for those who are so insistent upon circumcision to carry it out with such zeal that they “cut themselves off”! We must watch out for those who seek to lead us astray. 

Internal Obstacles of Freedom

Paul encourages the Galatians to remain faithful to Christ by staying vigilant against their own sinful impulses. Paul knows that the enemies of our faith are not just external, but internal. How we use our freedom in Christ reveals the genuineness of our faith. Paul wrote, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh” (5:13). Later in chapter 5, Paul will list the “works of the flesh” (5:19) and warn “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (5:21). Therefore, hear the warning that we must not use our freedom in Christ as an opportunity to indulge our sinful desires. While we are called to liberty, God holds us accountable for how we use it. 

In verse 15, Paul shows that those who use this liberty as an opportunity for the flesh will inevitably “bite and devour one another and be consumed by one another” (5:15). This is because the selfish, sinful use of liberty naturally causes division as each person seeks to assert their own will. We must not hear the freedom of the gospel as freedom to fulfill your lusts and desires. We must be on guard against our own sinful desires.

Opportunities of Freedom

Paul encourages the Galatians to use their freedom in Christ to serve one another in love. Paul wrote, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty” (5:13). We have liberty/freedom in Christ by faith. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that through faith we “have been set free from sin” (Rom 6:22). We used to be “slaves to sin” (Rom 6:20), “dead in the trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1), and “were by nature children of wrath…But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:3-5). We have been set free through the “gift of God [which] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). Our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world: “to preach the gospel to the poor…heal the brokenhearted…proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Christ Jesus came to bring freedom from sin and death. We have been set free and “have passed from death into life” (1 John 3:14). We give thanks to the Father who “has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14). 

Our use of freedom reflects our faith’s authenticity. Paul continues verse 13 by saying, “…but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Christ freed us from sin and death; not so that we can indulge our sinful desires, but so that we can serve one another in love. Jesus said in Mark 10:43-45: “whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” We are called to freedom and we are given this freedom in order to serve God and others. 

There were times when I wanted to take my father’s money and spend it on whatever I wanted, but I would remember that my father loves me and has entrusted me with a responsibility. As I reflect back on these moments, it wasn’t fear that held me accountable, but love. I am blessed to have a godly father. If I can love my earthly father this much, how much more should I love my heavenly father and honor Him by responsibly using what He has entrusted to me? Maybe you do not have a godly father, but hear Paul’s message to the Galatians: Use your freedom in Christ responsibly because God loves you. Let love, not law, be your motivation. Remember who He is and what He has done. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself (5:14).