It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. —Galatians 5:1.
Paul wrote to help the new believers keep their true freedom in Christ. Their faith in Jesus had liberated them from trying to earn their righteousness through law-keeping (Galatians 3:1-29, 4:1-20). No law could justify them before God. Only faith in the finished work of Jesus as Lord and Savior offered them freedom to be all Christ had re-created them to be (Galatians 2:14-16; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, 5:17). They were God’s children through faith, now led by the Holy Spirit to take on the character of Jesus (Galatians 5:16-27). We, too, must realize that as God’s children, we have been freed from law-keeping and sin because of our faith in Jesus and our participation with him in baptism through faith in the power of God (Galatians 3:26-29; Romans 6:3-14; Colossians 2:12-15). We must never return to justifying ourselves through works of any law, set of rules, or someone’s religious expectations for us. To do so is to give up our freedom and return to bondage by trying to keep on trying to earn our salvation. Paul begs us to rely on what Jesus did for us, not our adherence to any law. It is our faith in the work of Christ on the cross and the empty tomb that liberates us from sin, death, and slavery to what cannot save us.