Freedom in Jesus Christ & Life by the Holy Spirit. Bible Study. Galatians Ch 5

Here is a teaching on chapter 5 of the book of Galatians. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added to that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.

I did want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every person reading this right now. Please open up our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds to you Lord. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we are reading and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives. I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study, they receive it and implement it in their daily lives. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Galatians Chapter 5:

1 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.

2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Alright, so I am going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. So in verse 1, whenever we believe in Jesus Christ and are saved by him he sets us free from our sins and we have a new life in him. Paul is telling them not to be deceived or give in to the deception of worldly people. Jesus has set them free and he's forgiven them. In verses 2-6, these people in the church of Galatia do not have to be slaves to the law any longer. Jesus has saved them and forgiven them of their sins. Salvation is only attained through believing in Jesus Christ. You cannot save yourself by obeying the law. If these people gave in to be fully submitted to the law then they would not be fully submitted to God and the promise that he made to Abraham. Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive us of our sins and he set us free. If obeying the law led to righteousness and salvation then Jesus wouldn't have had to die on the cross for us. These people were consumed with what these legalists were telling them that they had fallen away from grace and from the truth. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. We have to believe in Jesus, let the Holy Spirit guide us, be fully submitted to the will of God the Father, and know that our true home is in heaven. The only thing that matters is believing in Jesus Christ, loving God with all of our hearts, and standing firm in our faith.

7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So in verses 7-12, these people in the church of Galatia were doing their best to stay fully submitted to the will of God the Father until these people had come in and deceived them. That deception is from the devil not from God. In verse 9, we saw about the parable of yeast in Luke 13:20-21. Yeast is consistently used in the Bible as a picture of corruption and sin. In our Bible study from part 1 of chapter 12 of the book of Luke, it talks about the yeast of the Pharisees. So if yeast is used as a picture of corruption, then here in verse 9 of chapter 5 of Galatians Paul is saying that a little corruption can spread throughout a large number of people.

What Paul says in verse 10, the people in the church of Galatia will see the truth and discern it if they follow the Lord. Whoever is deceiving them will pay the price. In verse 11, Paul no longer preaches that it is necessary to be circumcised and he is persecuted by the legalists. Paul proudly carries the offense of the cross. Jesus died on the cross because we can't save ourselves. He had to die in our place to save us. If we believe that we can save ourselves then we take away the offense of the cross. Legalism takes the glory of the cross away and deceives us to believe that we can save ourselves by our deeds and that is not the case at all. In verses 13-15, Jesus set us free and we have to love and serve others. We are no longer slaves to sin and we can't give in to the sinful nature and what our flesh desires. We have to love others and be kind and compassionate. The scripture from verse 14 is Leviticus 19:18. The church was using liberty or freedom to promote selfishness. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have to humble ourselves, be selfless, and love and serve others. Selfish people will end up destroying and corrupting each other.

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16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Alright, so those are all of the verses of chapter 5 of the book of Galatians, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. In verses 16-18, if we let the Holy Spirit guide us then we won't give in to the sinful nature. The Holy Spirit will show us the truth from God the Father and help us to discern that truth. In verses 19-21, the people that give in to the sinful nature do not have the Holy Spirit in them therefore they are not saved by Jesus and they won't make it into heaven. Now, this doesn't mean that we won't make mistakes if we are saved by Jesus. We are all sinners and we all fall so short of the glory of God and that's why Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive us of our sins. Whenever we are saved by Jesus and we have the Holy Spirit we have to let the Holy Spirit guide us so we won't give in to the sinful nature and we won't be led by our worldly desires but by the Holy Spirit and portray the fruit of the Spirit to others. In verses 22-26, we have to ask God to reveal the fruit of the Spirit in our hearts and portray it to others. In verses 24-25, we are dead in our sins and alive in Jesus. When we are saved we have the Holy Spirit within us and we have to stand firm in our faith, let the Holy Spirit guide us, and portray the fruit of the Spirit to others. In verse 26, we cannot give in to our worldly desires or sinful nature.

Here are 3 takeaways to write down:

1. When we believe in Jesus we are set free from our sins

2. We have to love and serve others

3. We have to let the Holy Spirit guide us and portray the fruit of the Spirit to others

Galatians Ch 5 Study Guide

How can someone be set free from their sins?
Can we save ourselves? Why or why not?
In verse 9, what is Paul saying here?
Why is it important to ask God to reveal the fruit of the Spirit in our hearts?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?

So that concludes this Bible study on chapter 5 of the Book of Galatians. Next time we're going to go into chapter 6, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

I love you guys so much.

Never forget to choose faith over fear.

-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)

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