Galatians 5:1 NLT
“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”
-This entire month we have been talking about the freedom that only Christ can give through His death, burial, and resurrection.
-It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that sets us free. Not a church, not a religion, and not ourselves.
-In Him, and in Him alone, we are truly delivered from our past.
-Let me remind you of what Scripture has already declared about this freedom:
Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… to set at liberty them that are bruised.”
John 8:32
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:36
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
-If we try to manufacture freedom ourselves, we will stay bound.
-This freedom cannot be earned.
-Many people believe the lie that freedom is impossible because of future failure.
-But let’s be clear, it is not that you might fail. You will fail.
-That is not permission to live in sin, but it is the reality of our humanity.
-A righteous man falls and gets back up.
-We say it often: you don’t get good to get God, you get God to get good.
-Do not allow future failure to rob you of present freedom.
-Our freedom comes from Christ, not from what we accomplish.
-It is a gift that we receive by faith.
-When we try to create our own version of freedom, we end up back in chains.
-We try to fabricate freedom through relationships, careers, success, possessions, and distractions.
-We chase what feels like freedom, but it is shallow and temporary.
-True freedom is deeper.
-It is being released from sin, guilt, and condemnation.
-It is freedom from striving to earn God’s approval.
-It is freedom from sin’s power, and one day even its presence.
BIBLICAL TEXT
Galatians 5:1-4 NLT
“So Christ has truly set us free… If you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ. You have fallen away from God’s grace.”
-Paul was speaking to believers who had already experienced the Gospel.
-They had already experienced repentance, baptism, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost.
-And yet, they were drifting back to the law.
-He reminds them, and us, of these truths:
Christ is the source of freedom
-Freedom is not something we achieve. It is something Jesus already accomplished.
-It is a finished work. The cross was enough.
Freedom must be guarded
1 Peter 5:8
“Stay alert… your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion.”
-We are told to stay free because we can drift back.
Legalism cancels out grace
-If you depend on outward actions to be right with God, you are not depending on Christ.
-We start on the inside, not the outside.
-Right living is the fruit, not the root.
Self-justification separates you from Christ
-Trying to earn salvation cuts you off from Him.
-It is not just ineffective, it is dangerous.
Grace and works cannot be the foundation together
-You are either trusting His grace or your effort.
-Depending on yourself means stepping away from Him.
True freedom defined
-Freedom is release from the pressure to earn God’s approval.
-It is living in what Christ has already done, not striving to prove yourself.
-Today, He has come to set you free.
-Not halfway free. Not temporary freedom.
-But true, complete, lasting freedom.
