Galatians 5 (1)

Pray Psalm 105.6-11.
O seed of Abraham His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!
He is the LORD our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac,
And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the allotment of your inheritance,”

Sing Psalm 105. 6-11.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
You holy children of Abraham, you chosen ones of Jacob, stand!
He is our LORD, of wondrous worth; His judgments are in all the earth.

He will His covenant faithfully guard—His oath, the promise of His Word.
That which He to our fathers swore, He will perform forevermore!

Read and meditate on Galatians 5.1.

Preparation
1. What does Paul instruct the Galatians to do?

2. What does he tell them not to do?

Meditation
The yoke to which Paul referred here was of those elemental things that the Galatians were giving into—observing special days and rituals, including circumcision. These things were not sinful in themselves—we recall that Paul had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16.3)—but they became sinful because the Galatians were making them a “Jesus +” way of salvation. Believing in Jesus, the false teachers insisted, was not enough; all this other stuff was also necessary to become a true follower of the Lord. The Galatians were sorely tempted to be “born again again” by going back on faith in Jesus to faith and works for salvation.

Whatever we have embraced for salvation which is other than Jesus is a yoke of bondage. It cannot bring us what we seek, and the pursuit of it will wear us out. True liberty is only in Jesus and His Spirit. This is the liberty of grace that frees us from every bondage of idolatry and works. This also is the liberty of following Jesus in the path He walked, the path of God’s commandments (1 Jn. 2.1-6).

If there is a passage in Paul’s epistles that should have been marked “Shout Loudly”, it’s this one. “Stand fast!” the apostle demands. “Do not become entangled in lies and sin and bondage!” As Luther observed, Paul was vigorous and passionate here, not because he was angry at the Galatians but because he deeply and earnest desired them to remain free in Jesus, to know the liberty, power, and joy of trusting in Him alone.

And he wants that for us as well. Cling to Jesus and stand fast in the freedom of His truth (Jn. 8.31, 32).

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
If Galatians 5.1 had been put to music, the singers would have been instructed to belt it out, using crescendo, to be sung forteramping up to fortissimo! Stand fast! Stand fast in the Truth of salvation through Jesus only!

“But now having been set free from sin,
and having become slaves of God,
you have your fruit to holiness,
and the end, everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6.22, 23).

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I AM gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11.28-30).

“O LORD, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant…You have loosed my bonds” (Ps. 116.16).

God has forever shown grace and mercy to whom He chooses;
but He also chooses change from those to whom mercy and grace have been shown.

“I will hear what God the LORD will speak,
for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed.
Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Yes, the LORD will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway” (Ps. 85.8, 9, 10-13).

Do not ever again be entangled with a yoke of bondage (Gal. 5.1).
Shout it out in liberty—belting, forte, crescendo, fortissimo—God has set us free.
Stand fast.

Reflection
1. What is the role of Scripture in helping us to stand fast in the Lord?

2. What is the role of prayer?

3. What is the role of fellowship with other believers?

As he comes to the end of his epistle, Paul argues vigorously and passionately for his doctrine of faith and Christian freedom against those false apostles who were its enemies. He hurls anathemas at them like thunderbolts and tells the Galatians to avoid them like the plague. Along the way, he does everything he can to preserve them in the freedom that Christ has won for them. Martin Luther (1483-1546), Second Lectures on Galatians

Pray Psalm 105.1-5, 45.
Give thanks to God for your salvation. Call upon Him to keep you in the Jesus Path and to give you opportunities to declare His goodness and love. Rejoice in Jesus and His strength, and praise Him for His favor and promises.

Sing Psalm 105.1-5, 45.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Give thanks unto the LORD Most High; call on His Name, before Him cry!
Make known His deeds in every land; sing praise for all the works of His hand.

Glory in God, rejoice in heart, all you who seek His holy part.
Him and His strength and Presence seek; His works proclaim, His judgments speak.

So let us all in our Savior confide, and in His holy Law abide.
Let us observe His glorious Word, and praise our sovereign, faithful LORD!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.