For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 1 Corinthians 7:39; Galatians 2:10; Philippians 1:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:7. “Come follow me!” We were in prison to sin. It is liberty from the servitude of sin, and religious rites and ceremonies, not freedom from the necessary restraints of virtue.”. enthral themselves in, bondage instead of using their liberty Proud member are not, or use indifferent things to the prejudice of others; See on Romans 7:5. At the end of the Galatians 6:8, Paul says that sowing in the Spirit allows us to reap everlasting life. Keeping God’s commandments is not bondage. It was necessary to give this caution, because: (1) There was a strong tendency in all converts from paganism to relapse again into their former habits. We are called to freedom; therefore Christianity is not a religion of rules that must be kept in order to be good. Consider the shocking paradox: use for freedom to be a servant to others. Satan, and the law, unto the liberty of the Gospel and of the required mutual love, a thing he is about to press them to; he But if ye be led by the Spirit. Your freedom does not mean you get to obey your fleshly desires and lusts. A bare and naked declaration, therefore, that they had been called to liberty, to freedom from restraint, might have been misunderstood, and some might have supposed that they were free from all restraints. The fulfillment of the law through love (Galatians 5:14) iv. election, free justification which though the source and And that is my aim as we look at 5:13… 12 I would they were even … from, and makes an ill use of the best of things, as the mercy aright, and to give the enemy occasion to blaspheme: the doctrine Galatians 5:13-15 Delivered 05/29/2005. thereof men think themselves exempt from obedience to the civil The flesh here represents lovelessness and selfishness. Galatians 5:15. KJ21. Galatians 5:13, KJV: "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." Christianity is a religion of faith that brings “peace between us and God” (Rom … For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only ye were not made free with this freedom, Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, no freedom which shall be an occasion to the flesh. but by love serve one another: the Vulgate Latin version reads, "by the love of the Spirit": and so some copies; Gospel liberty and the service of the saints are not at all inconsistent; as it becomes them to love one another, as the new command of Christ, their profession of religion, and their relation to each other, require, so they should show their love by their service; as by praying one with and for another, by bearing each other's burdens, sympathizing with and communicating to each other in things temporal and spiritual; in forbearing with and forgiving one another; by admonishing each other when there is occasion for it, in a meek, tender, and brotherly way; by instructing and building up one another on their most holy faith, and by stirring up one another to all the duties of religion, private and public. has given them the free use of without thankfulness, and in an The gospel of grace is a call from God. to put them in mind of their relation to one another, which Paul is, therefore, at great pains to show that the doctrines which he had maintained did not lead to licentiousness, and did not allow the indulgence of sinful and corrupt passions. Here he hints at their unloving strifes springing out of lust of power. Through Love Serve (5:13-15) You are free but your freedom does not mean that you are to serve yourself. Almost exclusively in Paul. He is describing a life of self-sacrifice lived out in response to God's love for us (Galatians 5:13–15). Paul says God called us. the ordinances of the Gospel; or when they use the creatures God there is occasion for it, in a meek, tender, and brotherly way; It is liberty from the servitude of sin, and religious rites and ceremonies, not freedom from the necessary restraints of virtue." This one he will permit them. I ask what I say may be relevant in our Christian lives. An occasion - As allowing indulgence to the flesh, or as a furtherance or help to corrupt passions; see the word explained in the notes at Romans 7:8. The state or condition in which ye have been called to salvation, is one of liberty. Only use not liberty ... - The word use here introduced by our translators, obscures the sense. One of the principles of hermeneutics is that "context is king." so, for that is to disgrace the doctrine of Christian liberty, to The use of Christian liberty (Galatians 5:13b) iii. Copyright © 2020, Bible Study Tools. When there is love there is no servitude. The dynamic of freedom from the Law and grace in Christ’s life, work, and resurrection is often a topic that is overly stressed as being complicated. fountain, the barrier and security, of all true and real Galatians 5:13-18 New International Version (NIV) Life by the Spirit 13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. Licentiousness abounded, and where they had been addicted to it before their conversion, and where they were surrounded by it on every hand, they were in constant danger of falling into it again. This does not mean that living by the Spirit allows a person to gain or earn eternal life for themselves. The apostle urges that all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. It is not freedom from virtuous restraints, and from the laws of God. RSV. I ask what I say may be relevant in our Christian lives. but by love serve one another—Greek, "Be servants (be in bondage) to one another." The doctrine that Christians are "free;" that there is liberty to them from restraint, has been perverted always by Antinomians, and been made the occasion of their indulging freely in sin. 5:13-15 The gospel is a doctrine according to godliness, 1Ti 6:3, and is so far from giving the least countenance to sin, that it lays us under the strongest obligation to avoid and subdue it. only, &c.—Translate, "Only turn not your liberty into an occasion for the flesh." as the new command of Christ, their profession of religion, and (These things are wrong.) 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