Galatians 5 | Why Freedom in Christ Is the Only Real Freedom

What is freedom in Christ?
How do you live by the Spirit?
How is true freedom different from indulging in sinful desires?
What is the significance of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5?

Shout out to Dave. Thanks for your wisdom in walking by the spirit and for your generosity in supporting the podcast.

Galatians 5 is a powerful chapter where Paul emphasizes that true freedom comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. In this podcast episode, the discussion centers on how freedom is not found in religious law or following sinful desires but only in a relationship with Jesus. The hosts explore how many people mistakenly seek freedom through legalism or indulging in the flesh, but these paths lead to different forms of slavery.

Paul highlights two kinds of slavery in Galatians 5: being bound by religious laws and being trapped by sinful desires. The episode explains how trying to earn salvation through good works or following rigid religious practices leads to bondage. Similarly, embracing sinful behaviors as freedom is also deceptive, leading to spiritual decay. The only way to experience lasting freedom is through faith in Jesus and living by His commands.

The hosts dig into the well-known passage about the fruit of the Spirit in verses 22-23. They emphasize that these qualities—love, joy, peace, patience, and more—are not individual goals but interconnected attributes that naturally grow in someone who is living by the Spirit. Unlike the works of the flesh, the fruit of the Spirit is produced through reliance on the Holy Spirit, not human effort.

The episode warns against subtle traps that lead Christians back into slavery—whether through legalism or the indulgence of sinful desires. Paul’s message remains relevant today as believers are reminded to stay alert to false teachings that dilute the gospel. The hosts encourage listeners to actively walk by the Spirit, allowing His guidance to lead their lives and bear spiritual fruit.

Galatians 5 concludes with a call to serve one another in love and avoid biting and devouring each other, which can destroy unity in the church. The podcast emphasizes that living in the Spirit promotes harmony, mutual respect, and love within the Christian community. By focusing on Christ and living by His Spirit, believers experience true freedom and contribute to building a healthy and united church.

#Galatians5 #FreedomInChrist #FruitOfTheSpirit #WalkingInTheSpirit #TrueFreedom #ChristianPodcast #BiblicalTruth #SpiritualWarfare

Transcript

 Galatians 5

Galatians 5

[00:00:00] Hey, everyone. Welcome to God's plan. Your part year two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire new Testament one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's plan and your part in it. Today, we were talking all about freedom. And I want to tell you right up front, the only way that a person can be truly Free is to have faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

That's what Paul, the case that Paul's going to make here in Galatians chapter five, as he kind of moves from talking about these folks that have been, um, confronting him and into the kind of life that we have in Christ is a powerful chapter followed up by another powerful chapter. I'm excited to jump into Galatians chapter five today.

Yeah, it is interesting for me. I feel like, I guess in the past, I must have really appreciated this chapter, because I underlined, and I starred, and I circled, and I arrowed, and all kinds of things. When you, when you say it that way, it's like, that's what you used to say. No, it's just like, it must have really hit home last time, too.

But when [00:01:00] you say that this, because this is a tiny little chapter, uh, it does have a lot in it that It seems like a pretty good thread of thought to follow. Sometimes I feel like Paul jumps around a lot and I feel like this one is pretty easy to follow. So you had made a Very good, I guess, like, I don't know, comparison at the beginning of this episode, not necessarily one that maybe you came up with on your own, but it was helpful to me and it definitely pulls my thoughts together that I think I would have had from today and when I read it before.

Really interesting. I, uh, I did some digging into some other sermons on Galatians five and I was listening to this John MacArthur sermon where he was talking about Galatians five and he was making the case. I think it's really strong. Um, Yeah. One, that the only way you can be truly free is to be in Christ.

And that's actually what Paul says right at the very beginning. For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. The point of slavery could be two things in this. That's exactly it. The, the point that Johnny Mack was [00:02:00] making is that slave there's slavery on two sides.

You can either become a slave to the law, assuming that you're going to work very hard to achieve your own salvation, which is essentially like. Every false religion under the sun. So like the religious root of slavery is yes, is work, work to achieve your salvation. And there is, there is some, some things we could talk about more in a, in a separate podcast or something.

It's not wrong to honor Christ with your works. That is a fruit of your salvation, but you cannot achieve salvation through your works. And that's what every false religion under the sun is going to push you to do. The other kind of slavery is to your own. Own sin and your own flesh. And Paul's actually going to split those two things.

He's going to talk about both here. And I think today in our world today, there is plenty of people that want to bring you into, um, the slavery of religion, but there's, Many more people, I think, that want to bring you into the slavery of [00:03:00] serving your flesh. And they will present it to you as though you are finally free to do whatever your desire, but your own sinful, fleshly desires will literally destroy you.

And they will bring you and move you into decisions that you cannot escape. So the only way to be truly free is to embrace faith in Christ and live out a life according to his commandments. That's the only way a person can be free. There's so many other systems that have been created to try to, um, give you this idea of freedom, but the only way a person can be really truly free is living a life that honors Christ.

I can't remember, did you reference verse 13? Is that what you had said? I, I did not. Oh, okay. So, I was reading it, I was like, this sounds very similar to what he's saying right now. But anyway, uh, chapter 5, verse 13 says, For you were called to freedom, brothers, like you were referring to. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.

But through love, serve one another. I think that's very, uh, telling of our own [00:04:00] time today, because we do have this freedom in Christ. And I think there's something so interesting about how it is so easy for us, apparently it was very easy for the Galatians, to have found this freedom, but tack on Transcribed These strange little things that can hold you back, but it's like, it's like embedded in, like, it's almost like they, we try to hide it.

So like, I am, I'm free in Christ, but I'm still hanging on to these weird little sins that hold me back or I'm just reverting back to them. Um, our study Bible says opportunity for the flesh means an opportunity to follow your fallen sinful desires and act contrary to God's moral laws. So I just think that is.

Definitely something we are prone to in this day and age, where we, we cover what we desire with Jesus. Yay! We hear that a lot. Like, throw a weird sticker on top of it, but all that sin exists underneath. Because it's like, well, I'm a Christian, and yeah, I still have these things, but I still have Jesus.

Yeah. It's like an [00:05:00] interesting kind of, I don't know, life thing. Of course, we sometimes choose, we fight and we war with the sin in our own lives. We want to be living lives that honor Christ and part of living a life that honors Christ is going to be striving to put to death the sin in our own lives. We do.

The world tries to tell you though, that some of those sins are not those things. And that is what correct. So challenging. And I, I promise you upfront, you are being drug into a life of slavery. I'm using strong language on purpose because that's what it is. And there's been so many different ways throughout history to try to repackage these things as though they are good things and they're not good things.

So just to speak directly to the context here, Paul is at first going to address the people that, that are in the Galatian church trying to encourage people to live lives justified by the law. So he says, um, if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who [00:06:00] accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

You are severed from Christ. He's actually doing like a play on words. You can, you know, You can put the details together if you want to, uh, you would, who would be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace for through the spirit by faith. We ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

So he's saying like, Hey, if you want to strive to be justified by this religious law, You are going to be a slave to the law and you are going to be disappointed room for error. And he again is recognizing that if you strive to be justified by any religious law, you are shaming Christ and you are forgetting Christ, which is what we talked about a couple of days ago.

Like anytime you see people falling for some of these movements, they inevitably end up doing like. Subtle rejections of Christ that build over time. So please be aware of that kind of stuff. This is not, these kinds of false teachings is not something that Paul dealt with in Galatians. And we don't have to worry about it anymore.

Like it's [00:07:00] all over the place. And so you need to be really careful. You need to watch your doctrine closely. And again, I'm just going to say it a million times. As we go through Galatians, you need to understand. That salvation comes only through Christ. Nothing that you do will earn you salvation. And anybody that teaches you otherwise is lying to you.

So then the next thing he's going to transition to then is this, um, this fleshly, uh, slavery that we can fall into when, when we try to. Um, believe that freedom is just doing whatever we want. That's a lie too. So I actually, I realized why I circled this last time. Uh, well versus, I guess it's 19 and 20 and 21 goes through like the whole list of things that essentially are like sins that keep us, um, slaves, not free under Christ.

Um, but what's interesting is that verse 22, where it talks about the fruit of the spirit is literally just like. This huge contradictory of all of the, all of the sins right above it. So [00:08:00] you were saying you had actually a really good point. Actually, I don't know who told you that. It's, it's a shout out to Dave.

Oh, Dave is a very early partner with the podcast. He's been contributing monthly to support the podcast show. Shout out Dave. Um, I, I talked to him in person or I saw a post they did or something. And I think what you had said or what he mentioned was very important for all of us. So I really appreciate what he had to say.

And I want to recognize that it was from Dave right up front. But if you look at verse 22 is it's a very common popular verse, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control against such things. There is no law. You've probably heard this before.

Have you been in church for a long time? Um, at one point I heard him making the case and I supported, I really liked what he said is that a lot of times you'll, you'll see. See this taught as, well, you're probably experiencing one or two and you need to strive to grow in the others. And the thing that he was saying is like, no, that, that is a fruit of life with the spirit.

So one, [00:09:00] it's not something you work hard to produce. It's something the spirit produces in you. And if, if you are not experiencing all of these things in abundance, and I realized that that's a pretty tall order. If you're not experiencing all these things in abundance, um, There's some part of your walk with the spirit that could be strengthened.

There's some part of your life being led by the spirit that could be improved. And we want to spend more and more time with the spirit. We want to spend more time in worship, more time in discernment from the spirit so that we can be led by the spirit so that we can experience these things. So the case that he was making, and I support it, is that if you're missing something here, like if you're reading this list and you're like, man, I don't I would love some more patience or man, I would love some more self control.

I will tell you right up front. There's many times in my life where probably Jenny and I sit down and like, man, I feel like I need some more of this. Well, they're all interconnected though. Like if you are missing out on one, you're probably missing out on just about every single other one. And I will tell you that one of [00:10:00] the counterintuitive things that you can do when you feel that you're missing out on one of these.

It's been more time with the Holy Spirit and allow him to work in your heart, in your mind, in your life to produce these fruits in you. You can work all day and all night and you cannot produce these things in your own life. You have to rely on the spirit to produce those in you. I think we forget sometimes too, like it's the fruit of the spirit.

Spirit, it's not the fruit of your own understanding. It's not the fruit of someone telling you something else. Like it's, like you said, it's time spent in God's word, trusting to hear from the spirit in order to, I mean, become better in a lot of those areas. Uh, verse 24 kind of wraps it all up. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh.

So all of those things in verses 19 to 21, all of those things have been crucified. Crucified, excuse me, uh, with its passions and desires. So I think that hits home too, like kind of what we were talking about a little bit at the beginning. We put those [00:11:00] things to death, right? They don't get to, they don't get to tack on or like get filed somewhere in there with Jesus and freedom in Christ.

Like they're dead and they're gone. Um, so I really appreciated that part too, because it, there's no room for. There's no wiggle room. At all. Like, they're gone. I will also point out that, that some of those, uh, fruits of the flesh, like, they're, they're not big things. Like, there's, there are big things in there.

Idolatry, sorcery, um, you know, all kinds of wild stuff is in there. Sexual immorality. You might read that list and think, well, I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that. But then you see like fits of anger. Envy. Envy, dissension, division. Those are pretty common, frankly. Like, I mean, particularly in Christian circles I've been in, like divisiveness is, is not uncommon and Paul here is saying like, Hey, that comes from the flesh, like when you start to experience those things, whether they be the more common things or the less common things.

You are walking in slavery to your flesh and you [00:12:00] are called to put those things to death. Now, I have been the king of division at times in my life, so I'm not, I'm not trying to put myself on a pedestal here. I'm aware of those bad decisions that I have made. I'm embarrassed by those bad decisions that they have made.

And luckily I'm forgiven for those bad decisions that I've made, but that is. Fruits of the flesh. And I can tell you there were many times where I was like, well, I could pray about this and I could fast over this and I could wait for the spirit to move. But I think, I think the spirit is taking too long.

I'm going to handle this right now. And, and that is a conscious decision to be like, nope, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to handle this myself. It's very, uh, Sarah Hagar situation, and it's very against, if you look at verse 25, if we live by the spirit, let us also keep in step with the spirit. So there's this active part of deciding every day to keep in step with the spirit.

And I can tell you right up front that those times that I've been the king of division or some of these other things, I know for a fact that I made a conscious decision not to keep in the step with the spirit because I didn't want to be patient, [00:13:00] which Is a fruit of the spirit. So shout out Dave, uh, for helping me in some of my understanding of these.

I really appreciate your insight in this. We also thank you for being a partner with the podcast. Um, I think that probably wraps up a lot of what I see in Galatians five. It's a great chapter. Like definitely read this chapter for yourself. Please read it for yourself. Uh, spend some time praying over it and be led by the spirit to understand what it says.

I think a good verse for that, you read it already, but if we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. So if we are consciously saying that we are Christ followers and we're living by the Spirit, then we also need to keep in step with the Spirit. And those, that list of the fruit of the Spirit should not be broken down into like these very, you know.

Um, like pointed, I'm working only on patients right now, it should be all of them, um, because they are so interconnected and that would also require more of us, um, to spend time with them. Um, seeking God's word and allowing the spirit to speak to us and reveal himself to us, [00:14:00] um, to be able to grow in those areas, all of those areas.

So I think this chapter is especially great for us as we are the church, the body of believers, what it can be for all of us working together and individually as we seek the spirit and God's will for our lives. So thanks for joining us for this short but very packed full chapter. We'll be back again tomorrow with Galatians chapter six, the final chapter of the book.

We'll see you then. Thanks for joining us for another episode of God's Plan, Your Part. We wanted to remind you that reading God's Word is so important and it will transform your life. If you want a copy of the Bible that we use here on the podcast, just go ahead and send us an email at godsplanyourpart at gmail.

com. With that being said, here is the reading for today.

Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be [00:15:00] of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law.

You have fallen away from grace, for through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

The persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

I wish those who unsettled you would emasculate themselves. For you were called [00:16:00] to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. But through love serve one another, for the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for those are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I once warned you before, [00:17:00] that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. Patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of God's Plan, Your Part. Don't forget you can find us on just about every social media platform. And YouTube, let us know what you thought of today's episode. And if you have any questions, go ahead and post them there.

You can also reach out to us directly at God's plan. Your part at gmail. com as always, if you don't have a Bible, or if you'd like to use the one that we use, uh, reach out to us via email, and we'll be happy to send one to you. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you again [00:18:00] tomorrow.