Law or Liberty?
Galatians is the first letter written by Paul
Jesus +
Paul asks, Is Christianity really “Solus Christus” Christ Alone?
Legalism / License / Liberty
Legalism (3-4)
“In the beginning, God created man in His image and humanity has been attempting to return the favor ever since." - Voltaire
Galatians 5:2 (ESV)
“Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.”
License (5-6)
Romans 6:15-23 (ESV)
“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Liberty (1-2)
Galatians 5:1 (ESV)
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
613 Laws
Galatians 3:19 (ESV)
"Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.”
Acts 15:10-11 (ESV)
“Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.’”
Galatians 2:21 (ESV)
“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”
Galatians 3:10 (ESV)
“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’”
Galatians 5:2 (ESV)
“Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.”
Romans 6:15 (ESV)
“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”
Romans 9:30-33 (ESV)
“What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame’”
Romans 10:1-4 (ESV)
“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Romans 14:23 (ESV)
“…whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
Romans 8:1-4 (ESV)
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Galatians 3:19 (ESV)
“Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made…”
Galatians 4:4-9 (ESV)
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”
Romans 3:30-31 (ESV)
“Since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”
Romans 3:24 (ESV)
“…and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
John 8:31-36 (ESV)
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’”
Galatians 5:1 (ESV)
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
