| A Heavenly Treasure by David Rich, July 11, 2025
Being that it’s only one week from July 4, I felt it was timely to discuss what it means to have “liberty in Christ.” Liberty is mentioned 27 times in the Bible, but none more descript than the 5th chapter of Galatians. Other than the book of Romans, no other book was discussed between Glenna and me more than Galatians. It has so many important truths centered around freedom in Christ and walking in the Spirit.
In Galatians 5, Paul was writing to the church in Galatia who were beginning to fall back to the Jewish law. In verse 2 we read (from the New King James version): “Look, I, Paul, tell you if you have yourself circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.” Meaning, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Those are very strong words. Paul was reminding them that by reverting to Jewish laws and customs to gain God’s favor, they were nullifying the work of the cross. The cross was a fully complete and finished work. Nothing needs to be added to it. The result should be humble liberty. The very minute we add any of our own merit or works, we can’t have full freedom in Christ. We need to “walk in the Spirit, not the flesh, as Paul writes.
Let’s look at 3 consequences of self-effort:
First, the minute you add any of your own self-effort, you get a savior that can’t save. Back in Paul’s day, circumcision was an act of obedience to God’s law. The mere act isn’t good or bad by itself, but the Jews did it as a commitment to the Law of Moses. But Paul understood that the law can’t save anyone. The law is merely a signpost pointing us to Jesus, the only savior and, with Jesus as your savior, religious activities are of no value. Paul sums this up rather eloquently in verse 18, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” If you believe in Jesus, and acknowledge Him as Lord, that is all the works needed. John 6:29 states that plainly, “Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
Second, the minute you add any of your own self-effort, you get a debt you can’t pay. In verse 3, Paul writes that “to every man who becomes circumcised, he is debtor to keep the whole law.” In other words, you can’t pick and choose what parts of the law you will keep and what parts of the law you won’t. Either Jesus died for all your sins, or He died for none of them. You either let Jesus pick up the tab, or you must pay full price. There’s saved by law and self-effort or grace. Walk by the Spirit or by the flesh. It’s a stark contrast and there’s nothing in between.
Lastly, the minute you add any of your own self-effort, you have moved out of grace. In verse 4, Paul writes, “you who attempt to be justified by law, you have fallen from grace.” He doesn’t mean they have lost their salvation, but rather they have fallen from living in liberty. Fallen OUT of grace is different than fallen FROM grace and translations in the Greek text bear this out. Living out of grace is true of so many Christians to this very day. We readily admit we are saved by grace, (Ephesians 2:8-9), but add addendums to it. I’ve heard people say, “yeah, we are saved by grace, but we still must ____________.” Whatever you fill in at the end of that statement is putting yourself in bondage and Paul might as well have been writing to you. You have fallen out of grace and live in the bondage of the flesh.
The opposite of bondage is liberty in Christ. The minute you look fully to the Lord for everything is the minute you find true peace and rest. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is NO law.” The day that truth takes hold in our daily walk is the true Independence Day!
Prayer:
Father, help us to walk every day in the knowledge of what your son did for us on the cross. It’s easy to be enticed by worldly things and fall out of the liberty that grace offers us. Remind us every day, Lord, that you don’t need us to do or add anything to what you’ve already done, and that you cannot love us anymore than you do right now. Lead us toward your peace and rest. Lead us closer to you. Thank you, Father, for loving us first and sending your son to pay a debt we could never pay. In His name we pray.
Amen!
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