Rob Witham

According to the Apostle Paul, Jesus set us free for freedom.

“For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5.1 NRSV)

We were set free so that we could live free. Jesus did not die to set us free in order for us to sell ourselves back into bondage.

Paul continues on with this strong warning:

“Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love. You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.” (Galatians 5.2-9 NRSV)

Legalism is nothing new. Yet there is still something seductive about it. Something deep within us craves to provide for at least some measure of our justification. We just love self-righteousness. Yet Paul warns us that we either live by grace or we live by the law. We simply cannot have it both ways.

Paul instructs his Galatian readers that freedom is our calling: “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters.” Our calling is to a life of freedom.

We glorify God when we live in the freedom we are called to. God is glorified when we are fully alive, living in the freedom we were called to live in. As Augustine put it, “The glory of God is the human person fully alive.” Let us then live in the freedom that is our calling.