A Study On Galatians – Chapter 5

Steadfast in the Freedom of Christ Jesus

Welcome and thank you for joining us as we continue our study on the book of Galatians. In this blog post and podcast we will focus on Chapter 5. If you are joining in on the study for the first time, please take time to go back and read and/or listen to the podcasts on the Introduction and the first four chapters. You can find links to the studies below. Scripture can get taken out of context if we don’t understand the full message implied. Galatians, like many of the letters in the New Testament, is addressing a particular subject matter. In Galatians, Paul is addressing the churches who have been bewitched and were turning from the true gospel of Jesus Christ, which is sound doctrine, unto a false doctrine. 

A Study On Galatians – Intro 5/27/2024

• Study On Galatians – Chapter 1 6/06/2024
• Study On Galatians – Chapter 2 6/22/2024
• Study On Galatians – Chapter 3 6/29/2024
• Study On Galatians – Chapter 4 7/5/2024

In Chapter 4, Paul makes his concerns clear for the brethren who have been deceived and he addresses those who desire to be under the law. He reveals the symbolic mystery of two covenants; one made with Abraham and the other with Moses, and he points his audience to the only covenant that applies to followers of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. The same applies to Christians today.

Chapter 5 begins with an encouraging word for his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Galatians 5:1-6 – 1Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Why would Paul caution against being entangled again with a yoke of bondage? If we look at the history of the Galatians prior to their coming to the faith in Christ Jesus, they were involved in some really dark worship practices under the Babylonian system. Their worship of demons required many works on their part. Once they had received the truth of who the One True God is, they repented and turned from the dark arts and were delivered from the bondage they had been in. How we need to apply this today is to think about what we and/or our ancestors were involved in prior to being set free from the bondage we were in through the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and the finished work on the cross. 

Paul is calling for perseverance in the liberty (or spiritual freedom) that Jesus Christ gave to us through His grace and love and not to let our belief be shaken by anyone. This liberty is not an E-ticket to sin! Just because we are saved by grace, we mustn’t think we can conduct ourselves in the freedom (false security) that this world has to offer us for our own self-serving pleasures. The freedom in which we now have is that we can go directly to the throne room of grace and present our heavenly Father with our prayers and supplications, repent from our sins and those of our forefathers (especially if we are entangled by their beliefs in our upbringing that are contrary to the true gospel of Jesus Christ) and ask for forgiveness, knowing when we ask in Jesus’ name, with a pure heart, our sins are forgiven. Bam! Just like that. No rituals, no ceremonies, no physical mutilation of circumcision, or other physical mutilation required, etc.

The world has one version of freedom and Yahweh’s version is another. Yahweh wants us to have faith and belief in the risen Savior and experience His love and peace. The world wants us to continually be in pursuit of happiness through money, works, idolatry, etc., which inevitably leads to more bondage with no peace.

Verse 4 shook me to the core many years ago.  4You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

We were so ignorant to the fact that we can literally fall from grace until we began really spending time in the word and in prayer. I believe the statement speaks for itself and yet many are still deceived.

There are those today who a attempt to keep the Sabbath Day every Friday to Saturday evening for fear if they do something outside the home they’ll miss a blessing from Yahweh. Others consider the Sabbath day as Sunday. Many attempt to re-create an annual Passover meal with a Seder plate, ridding their homes of any form of leaven. We have met some professing Christians who would go so far as to purchase buckets of various grains just to burn them as a burnt offering unto Yahweh and they’d do strange things on the day of Atonement and other days thinking Yahweh required it. They are intelligent people and yet somehow had become bewitched. As I mentioned in earlier chapters, we too found ourselves under an attempt to be bewitched by being in their midst and only through the grace of Yahweh and being able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit bringing us back to the truth, we would have been entangled in its bondage. It was and is brutal to watch them do all these works thinking it is pleasing to Yahweh. They are without understanding that they have been redeemed from the law when Yeshua gave his life on the cross and rose from the dead. This is bringing conviction to someone and I pray it leads them to repentance from works that lead to death.

Paul tells the believers partaking in the law that it profits them nothing; but rather, they have estranged themselves from Christ and fallen from grace. He goes on to say:

Galatians 5:7-15 – 7You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.

11And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. 12I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!

13For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

Those who hinder others from the true gospel and sound doctrine of Jesus Christ commits a trespass and becomes a debtor. Paul calls them false brethren (fake Christians). If we hinder others from the truth, we also commit a trespass and become a debtor. Even our Messiah Jesus, knew this was going to happen hence when His disciples asked Him how to pray He said:

Matthew 6:9-13 – 9In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread. 
12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

14“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Jesus also said,:

Matthew 7:1-6 – 1“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”

The above is a teaching within itself and pertains to so much within the sound doctrine of Jesus Christ. The point in this context of Galatians 5 is to make sure you have not fallen prey and are hindering the truth of the gospel before you call out someone else who is hindering the truth of the gospel. There is a fine line between discernment and judgment. Once you discern something, you must then seek the Holy Spirit for what to do with it and wait until you get His direction. For a better understanding of when and how to judge a brother or sister in Christ, read the teaching on the elementary doctrine of Eternal Judgment here. At no time ever are we to judge unbelievers, as that is not our job! Yahweh is their judge and we have no clue as to if or when they will come to Christ Jesus and be redeemed from their trespasses. 

In verse 6, it says “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”  The scriptural reference to “the dogs and swine” is literally those who are enemies of the gospel of Jesus Christ as opposed to those who are merely unbelievers. There is a difference between the two. Pearls being the God’s word. At some point, Jesus will have you to walk away from such if they will not heed His word. Those who will receive the truth are redeemable by the blood of the Lamb just and you and I were. Those who choose to not receive have estranged themselves from Jesus and have fallen from grace. These are not my words! Step away and do not become entangled with them. Most importantly, do not carry a grudge! Forgive them and pray for them to have the spiritual eyes and ears to see and receive the truth. Learn from the experience and be a voice that awakens others. Keep short accounts of those who have wronged you because the devil will use them against you in the long run. 

What Is Our Mandate as Christians?

Galatians 5:16-18 – 16I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Paul now makes a shift with an expansion of lawlessness that we must consider. We are transitioning from stern warnings about being under the works of Judaism, or the Mosaic Law and other perversions or distortions of the true gospel, to warnings about works of the flesh that will keep one from inheriting the kingdom of God. These are what I meant when earlier I said being saved by grace is not an E-ticket for sin and to walk as the world does. More importantly, there is a spiritual battle being addressed here for we do not battle against flesh and blood but against dark spiritual forces (Eph. 6:10-20).

Galatians 5:19-21 – 19Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness (moral impurity in thoughts and life, ritually unclean due to religious traditions-dead corpses, sacrifices, magic etc.), lewdness (wanton (acts or) manners, as filthy words, indecent bodily movements, unchaste handling of males and females, etc.),20idolatry, sorcery (all witchcraft), hatred (unforgiveness), contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

A couple key things to consider:

1) Lust of the flesh vs. Walking in the Spirit

2) Those who practice such things vs. Those who overcome such things –

(Verb def. of Practice – perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency.

The Old Testament Law of Moses addressed many of these works of the flesh; however, the Israelites did not have the exclusive monopoly on these behaviors. All nations had fallen prey to such lusts and they destroyed so many people’s lives and livelihoods. While the Israelites had an eye for and eye mentality, Gentiles nations thought many of them were just a regular way of life (i.e. fornication, prostitution, idolatry, etc.). I honestly don’t know of any Christian wanting a relationship with Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, that takes joy in struggling with these tormenting things.

Examine the list carefully and tell me how many you can relate to or have seen destroy families and people today, including your own. It is rampart in our societies. As you examine the list, note how in the eyes of Jesus, those who live a life full of selfish ambitions or struggle with outbursts of wrath (anger, rage, revenge) are no different than those who murder and do lewd acts.

When we see this list, we have a better understanding why Jesus spoke out about judging one another before removing the plank in our own eyes. Anyone who calls themselves a Christian and practices any of the above, is deceived and needs deliverance from the spirits causing them to practice the lust of the flesh. Remember when we read in Chapter 4:27 that “For as many of you as were baptized in to Christ, have put on Christ” and we studied what that means? 

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

Jesus is looking for only one type of circumcision and that is of our heart. There are many distortions of the true gospel that would have people believe they do not need deliverance from evil spirits and yet Jesus and His disciples cast out spirits all the time. They will tell you it is a mind over matter situation. That is a form of mind control. If you are a Christian and you struggle with practicing lusts of the flesh and you have prayed and prayed and can then go 3, 6, 9, 12 months without a struggle but then backslide worse than before, not only might you have a unclean spirit that needs to leave, and it may stem from a generational curse that has gained a right to torment you. This is serious stuff and so many refuse to accept it and they would rather argue til they are blue in the face than fully surrender to Jesus and the Holy Spirit of Truth. Just ask anyone who has been set free from the torment and they’ll tell you the truth. Satan does not want you free and if he can’t trip you up by pulling you into bondage through the law or some other form of idolatry, via through something you watched, partook of in your youth, or have come in agreement with knowingly or unknowingly, he’ll try to access you through the previous 3 or 4 generations who sinned against God and gave him legal right to you. He knows the word of God very well. You should too!

Walking in the Spirit brings freedom.

Galatians 5:22-26 – 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Beloved, it is only by and through the Holy Spirit that one can begin to experience the pure love of Jesus Christ. Once we have encountered that love, of which there is no greater, then and only then can we love one another as He loves us. Although we may think of love as an emotion, it is actually a state of being, for HE permeates our spirit, soul, and body. It is His love dwelling within our very being that we obtain the emotion of joy. You’ve heard that the joy of the Lord is our strength and it is true. Joy brings us to another state of being, which is peace…a peace that surpasses all understanding and guards our heart and mind. We know we are not alone in this life, especially when we must endure trials. Even though it may seem like the world or our life is crumbling, we have a peaceful stillness deep within our soul that tells us Yahweh is in full control and He will not leave us nor forsake us.

Long–suffering (patience), is an element of character that must be developed and one not easily achieved. We live in a selfish “we want it now” world. When trials come our way, our faith gets tested.  The testing of our faith produces patience, or long-suffering. There is nothing we can do except pray and get through the trial and it’s hard and often painful. This process is part of the baptism of fire where we are refined and purified.

James 1:4 tells us that we must let patience have its perfect work, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Part of that perfect work results in the virtue of kindness and goodness to others because we generally come out of trials with a better understanding of what it means to walk a mile in one’s shoes and what it really meant to have Jesus Christ die on the cross for our sins so that we can have eternal life in spite of weakness. 

Kindness is the part of our character that stems from love and shows compassion.. Jesus taught us kindness to help our neighbor and even our enemy and give them food if they are hungry, or care for those in need, take care of the sick, clothe the naked, etc. We do not repay evil with evil.

Goodness, very close to kindness, is a state of being ministering the character of the love of Christ to others in Yahweh’s divine way and timing. Jesus taught us goodness is doing the will of the Father and our conduct being worthy of the calling to which He has called us.  He is the perfect example of different aspects of kindness and goodness. His kindness was of perfect moral character. Because of this, He was able to challenge His enemies by asking, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46).

Faithfulness is a gift from Yahweh that can not be produced by people. It is Yah’s divine persuasion of His will—one that is poured out in measure and continually increases so the yielded believer can know and abide in His perfect will. They have seen His faithfulness come to pass over and over again because He is true to His word.

Gentleness, is the character of humility or meekness. There is no conceit or envy and no works of iniquity. Gentleness is delighting in Jesus and His abundance. Gentleness is the key to our strength when we allow Him to guide us in justice, teach us His way, so we can keep His commandments and His testimonies. Jesus taught us that the Meek shall inherit the earth. We must remain humble, not thinking any higher of ourselves than we ought, love one another, be fruitful and multiply His love on earth.

Last, and certainly not least, is the fruit of self–control. The cherry on top! Self-Control is the virtue of mastering one’s fleshly desires and passions and choosing to serve Yahweh with all our heart, soul and spirit. To glorify Him in our conduct (also known as a bondservant to Christ). It is our ability to remain sober minded and self-restrained and pray as the days are evil. We do not conform to the ways of the world, but are being transformed by the renewing of our mind and we do the will of Him who sends us. It is easy and comfortable? Not always. Do we always understand the whys? Nope. Do we walk by faith and not by sight? Yes, because we have tasted and seen the goodness of Yahweh and there is no turning back.

Beloved, we must be diligent and of sober spirit to walk in the sound doctrine of Jesus Christ. The devil knows his days are short and he prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking those he can devour. He will only attack those who are a threat to him, for he knows we are co-heirs to the throne of Yahweh with our beloved bridegroom, Jesus Christ, King of all kings, Lord of all Lords, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We must keep watch for we know not on which day our Lord Jesus Christ will come.

I pray this study has brought revelation knowledge to you and has blessed your spirit. Join us next time as we conclude our study of Galatians, Chapter 6. 

Chapter 6

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The teaching on the Beatitudes which is relevant to this study as it relates to the Lord’s prayer, us being the temple of Christ, and the fruits of the spirit. 

Until then, be blessed and know that you are loved.