Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20080803.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Galatians: Defending The Truthfulness Of Paul's Teaching On God's Grace
Part XI: Applying The Doctrine Of God's Grace To Christian Living, Galatians 5:1-6:18
A. Living Apart From The Rule Of Man-Based Religious Regulations
(Galatians 5:1-12)
  1. Introduction
    1. The Christian life lived in God's grace is lived free from subjection to man-based religious regulations.
    2. This is a highly applicable truth for today's Christian, and Paul expounds on it in Galatians 5:1-12:
  2. Living Apart From The Rule Of Man-Based Religious Regulations, Galatians 5:1-12.
    1. Theologically conservative Bible teachers hold that Paul's admonition in Galatians 5:1 addressed the need for Galatian readers who had been delivered from bondage to religious paganism by faith in Christ were in danger of returning to man-based religious bondage to the Law under Jewish legalism as believers, cf. Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 605; J. B. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, 1974, p. 185.
    2. Paul thus wrote, "For freedom Christ has freed us; stand fast, therefore, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" in Galatians 5:1 (Ryrie St. Bible: KJV, 1978, ftn. to Gal. 5:1), and this applies to the believer's need to avoid subjecting to any religious regulation that replaces Scripture truth!
    3. Specifically applied to the issue of his Galatian readers relationship to the Mosaic Law, Paul explained why it was erroneous for them to subject themselves to the rule of that Law (as follows), Galatians 5:2-12:
      1. If a Christian subjects himself to the rule of the Mosaic Law, he places himself under a curse, for the Law requires its subjects to keep all of it or be cursed, and no mortal can keep it all, Gal. 5:3; 3:10-11.
      2. Thus, putting one's self under the Law's rule counters the value of Christ's removal of the curse of the Law by way of His substitutional atonement for the believer as a curse in his place, Gal. 5:2; 3:13.
      3. If a believer's subjection to the Law's rule keeps him under a curse, and Christ becomes of no use to him, he has fallen from the lofty calling of grace to the low level of legalism, Galatians 5:4. [Note: this statement, "fallen from grace," does not refer to a loss of salvation, but to the exchange a lofty life lived in God's grace for a lowly life in the bondage to legalism, that here involved subjection to the Law!]
      4. [Opposite subjection to the Law, Paul added the believer actually waits for the hope of righteousness by faith in living in the Spirit's power in faith and love above the works of the Law, Galatians 5:5-6.]
      5. Paul then noted that the subjection of the believer to the Mosaic Law led to many practical spiritual problems, affecting his walk, his fellowship with God and spiritual harm to the local body, Gal. 5:7-10:
        1. When the Galatians agreed with the false teachers to subject themselves to the Law, they actually stumbled in their personal Christian walk, for heeding the teachers meant to disobey the truth, 5:7.
        2. Thus, the Galatians who submitted to the Law's jurisdiction were heeding parties who did not heed God, meaning they were also ceasing to walk in fellowship with the Lord, Galatians 5:8.
        3. With believers heeding false teachers in this matter, the whole local church was being pollutted with error: just as yeast permeates a whole lump of dough, this false teaching was coming to dilute the truth for people throughout the Church, Galatians 5:9; 1 Corinthians 5:7, 13.
      6. Paul added comments that further exposed the harmful effects of the legalistic teachers, Gal. 5:11-12:
        1. He was confident his readers would repent and the false teacher would be judged, Galatians 5:10.
        2. Paul then answered an apparent criticism of his Judaizer foe that he himself promoted circumcision possibly because he had circumcised Timothy to open doors for him to evangelize Jews in Acts 16:1-3; Gal. 5:11; Ibid., Lightfoot, p. 206-207. However, proof that this did not mean Paul preached circumcision for salvation was the fact that Judaizers still persecuted him for his message, Gal. 5:11.
        3. For the spiritual trouble they had caused, Paul wished that his Judaizer foes would go further than circumcision so as to castrate themselves like "the pagan priests of the cult of Cybele in Asia Minor" did, Ibid., Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 606, Galatians 5:12!
Lesson: Believers in Christ must live free from subjection to unbiblical, man-based rules of all kinds, for legalism undermines the purpose of God for the believer and harms true godliness in His people!

Application: May we adhere to what Scripture ALONE teaches as our rule of faith and practice in CONTRAST to ANY and ALL MAN-BASED RELIGIOUS REGULATIONS!