Certain choices are mutually exclusive. If we do this, we cannot do that. We cannot do both this and that. We have to make a choice between the two. It is the same way in spiritual things. Faith in Christ is incompatible with trying to earn our salvation by doing good works. Either we have been set free by faith in Christ, or we are still in bondage to sin.
There were teachers who told the followers of Christ in the Roman province of Galatia that in order to obtain salvation they needed to follow the Law of Moses. The Apostle Paul strongly opposed this teaching. In chapter 5, verses 1 through 12 of his inspired letter to the followers of Christ in Galatia he wrote, “Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace. For we, through the Spirit, by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love. You were running well! Who interfered with you that you should not obey the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little yeast grows through the whole lump. I have confidence toward you in the Lord that you will think no other way. But he who troubles you will bear his judgment, whoever he is. But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been removed. I wish that those who disturb you would cut themselves off.”
Paul reminds those to whom he is writing that it is Christ’s intent to give freedom. Therefore, any teaching or system which reduces freedom is contrary to Christ. To obligate oneself to keep the Law places us under it and destroys the freedom which Christ gives. Lest someone think that he could have the benefit without the obligation, Paul points out that submitting to one part of the Law, that is circumcision, obligates one to keep the entire Law. And, since the Law is based on an entirely different principle than faith, to obligate oneself to keep the Law separates us from Christ. We will no longer experience the grace God gives because of faith in Christ.
But what retrains us from sinning if we do not live our lives according to the Law? Doesn’t freedom encourage unrighteousness? Freedom in Christ is not a license to sin. On the contrary, Paul says that it is the Spirit through whom we have the hope of becoming righteous. What Paul is saying is that in Christ, we are not controlled by external rules, but by a changed nature. We are free to do what we want, because by God’s Spirit who is in us we no longer desire to do what is wrong. In another place Paul writes, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV) Sin is not compatible with the new person we have become in Christ. As Paul points out elsewhere, “…We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:2 NIV)
Once our nature has been changed through faith in Christ and having God’s Spirit live in us, the external rules and standards lose their significance. For example, it no longer matters whether one has been circumcised according to the Law of Moses or not. It is the new nature which controls our actions. Our faith is demonstrated not by keeping rules, but by love. As Paul writes in another place, “…he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10 NIV) All of us need to ask ourselves how much love we show towards others. If we have no love, is it possible that Christ has not changed our nature?
The followers of Christ to whom Paul was writing had started out with a proper understanding of the new nature in Christ. It was only when false teachers came to them that they began to be confused. Paul compares what happened to a foot race. The false teachers were preventing these people from obeying the truth. It was like someone tripped a runner in a race. The fact that this message caused people to stumble in their course was proof that the message was not from God who had called them to salvation.
Paul then, issued a warning. He pointed out that it only takes a small amount of yeast to leaven a whole batch of dough. The meaning of this metaphor is plain. Just a little false teaching can spread and ruin our whole spiritual life.
The other part of the warning is for those who give false teaching. Whoever causes a follower of Christ to stumble; whoever causes confusion rather than helping people to see the truth, that person will be held accountable for doing so. James writes, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1 NIV) All of us need to be careful that we neither listen to falsehood, nor teach falsehood to others. If we do we will only bring judgment on ourselves.
Paul closes this section with a reminder that he was still being persecuted. The reason he was being persecuted is he taught that, in Christ, the Law of Moses had been fulfilled. It no longer had a place in bringing people to God. Instead, God has reconciled mankind to Himself through the death of Christ on the cross.
The followers of Christ live righteous lives, not because they follow a set of rules and regulations but, because they have a new nature. They are free from the law. God’s Spirit lives in them and produces right behavior.