Galatians 5:1-7
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.
4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
From what we see in this letter, most likely some Judaizers were teaching that Christians must follow the law and be circumcised.
But Paul is encouraging them to stay true to Christ and the gospel.
Don't go backwards into the law.
Our future and our life are in Christ.
The law is dead and so to follow the law, to go back to it, would be death.
To go back to our lives before Christ, is to go back to bondage.
Our freedom was bought by the blood of Jesus.
He paid a very dear price for us, and we should honor His sacrifice by following him.
To return to our old ways, whether that be the way of sin or the way of the law, is to nullify what Christ has done for us.
We do not want to become estranged from our Lord and Savior.
Again, that is death to us.
Instead, we follow Jesus and wait for the day of resurrection.
When Jesus will come to collect us and keep us with Him forever.
Notice what does avail, what benefits us, "faith working through love."
This is what is good for us to do, to practice while we wait for the Lord.
Our faith is an active faith, we take action out of love for God and our neighbors.
This is our new life in Christ.
Do not go back to the old, dead life.
Press on to the goal with Jesus.
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