FREEDOM

IN CHRIST
Lesson 11 for December 10, 2011
 WHO MAKES US FREE?
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ
has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a
yoke of bondage” (Galatians, 5: 1)

A slave can only be freed by paying the

price of his freedom.
Some people taught Galatians that
they had to observe the law in order to
pay that price for their freedom. That
is something that none of us can do.
Christ did what we couldn’t do. At the
cross, He paid the price for us, so we
could be free.
 Free from sin (Romans, 6: 18)
WHAT ARE
Free from damnation (Romans, 8: 1) WE FREE
Free from idolatry (Galatians, 4: 8)
Free from bondage (Galatians, 5: 1) FROM?
Free from death and from the devil (Hebrews, 2: 14-15)

Although we could be free from some of

those things by strictly observing the law,
we could never be free from the power of
the devil or from our tendency to sin. We
would keep being slaves of the law.
Only Jesus can destroy the sin, completely
freeing man and giving us power by his
Spirit, so we don’t sin again.
 FREE FROM LEGALISM
The Judaizers taught that believers must
circumcise to be saved. Paul remembered them
what that involved:

1. They had to observe ALL the law

in order to be saved (v. 3)
2. They were separated from Christ,
since they didn’t want to depend
on His grace (v. 4)
3. That hindered their spiritual
growth (v. 7)
4. The cross was an obstacle for
them; it was an offense for their
pride, since it made them
dependant on what some other
person did for them(v. 11)
 FREE FROM LEGALISM
We are being legalistic when we try to
pay for our salvation, either by strictly
observing the law, by sacrifices, by
charity or by any other act. To be
legalistic is to think that we can buy or
earn salvation.
Salvation can only be obtained through
Jesus Christ. AND IT IS FREE!
 WHAT DOES CHRIST FREE US FOR?
“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty;
only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the
flesh, but through love serve one another”
(Galatians, 5: 13)

Since we are not saved by the works of the

law, how should we live?
Freedom in Christ doesn’t mean freedom to
do anything we please, unless what we
want to do is to obey Christ in everything.
Christina freedom is not licentiousness.
Being free doesn’t lead us to please
ourselves.
Our freedom must lead us to a life of
serving others, being motivated by the love
God puts in our hearts through His Spirit.
FREE TO FULFILL
THE LAW

Paul talks about “keeping” and “fulfilling” the law. He uses the term “keeping”
as something negative (Galatians, 5: 3) and “fulfilling” as something positive
(Galatians, 5: 14)
We keep the law when we respect its principles and try to do whatever it
dictates in order to gain God’s approval.
We fulfill the law when we make it our style of living through Jesus. We obey the
law because we are motivated by our love for God and for our neighbors.
“Faith does have "works," but these are not the "works of the law" (see on
ch. 2:16). Thus excluded are all "works" performed for the purpose of
earning righteousness (see p. 934). The "works" that accompany genuine
faith are inspired by the spirit of appreciation for the gift of divine grace, by
love for God and for one’s fellow men (see Gal. 5:14; see on Matt. 22:34–40).
It is of works such as these that James speaks when he declares that "faith
without works is dead" (James 2:26; cf. ch. 4:17). At this point the teachings
of Paul and James meet. The two are not in conflict, as some have hastily
concluded. It is a counterfeit faith that does not produce the "fruit of the
Spirit" in the life (Gal. 5:22, 23). It is a counterfeit faith that leads a man to
think himself released from obedience to the will of God as expressed in the
Decalogue, which is simply a brief outline of how love toward God and man
will find expression (see on Matt. 5:17, 18; 7:21–27). Without obedience a
profession of love is sheer hypocrisy. Obedience to known duty is an
inevitable result of the righteousness that comes by faith, and is the supreme
test of its genuineness (see James 2:18). Paul emphatically declares that
God’s purpose in giving His Son to save sinners (see on John 3:16) was to
make it possible for the principles of His holy law to be worked out in the
lives of men (see on Rom. 8:3, 4)” (SDA Bible Commentary, on Galatians, 5: 6)
 Without
love, the
law is
empty and
cold;
without law,
love has no
direction.