September 15, 2025 | Be God's Family
Opposing Teams?
Scripture: Galatians 5:1-6(NIV)
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 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith 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.
Devotional
When I began to share my thoughts on Galatians 5, all I could think about was my own years of frustration trying to understand it. What I needed was a good sports analogy!
The goal of Paul's game was to refute those in the Galatian church who had come out of the tradition that Jewish law had to be obeyed in order to be saved.
The players on Paul's roster are named Spirit, Grace and Freedom. Jesus sent us the Spirit to understand and apply God's Word. Grace is the unmerited salvation He gives us when we come to Him by faith. Both Spirit and Grace produce a Freedom or a will to follow God and His laws such that they are not a burden to follow.
The opposing team known as the Judaizers, fields the Law, Slavery, and Circumcision. What could be wrong with God's perfect law? Nothing except a legalistic following of the law produces a sense of slavery as one is constantly dependent on their own good works to earn their way into heaven. Finally, I kept reading about a shadowy player on the opposing team named Circumcision. As you can imagine this is a sensitive subject for most men. That can cause a problem understanding this passage. Speaking for the guys here, we are thinking about the "snip snip" rather than what Paul really means which is just shorthand for strict adherence to Jewish law. He knows the Galatian church understands they cannot possibly obey each point of the law all the time.
In Verse 1, Paul makes a contrast between Team Jesus' freedom (found by following the Spirit) and slavery when he writes, “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,” Then he asks the Galatians to make the obvious choice not to go back to slavery.
Paul believes the circumcisers are cutting off more than they realize when he says, "you who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace."
In other words, the Judaizer team is so focused on their obligations to the Law, they are committing an unforced error and losing out on these three promises of the spirit:
God can save you no matter your past.
You are not responsible for earning your own salvation.
The Spirit's precious promise is that it can produce in you a heart that loves the Godly things so you will want to pursue righteousness.
Which team do you want to be on?
Poem
Surely It Is God Alone Who Saves Me!
Psalm 138
Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me.
Psalm 138:6-7
Surely, it is God alone who saves me!
No sacrificial rites
No pouring of my blood
No incantations of repeated prayers
No offering of my body to the fire
Surely, it is God alone who saves me!
Christ’s sacrifice for me
Christ’s blood poured from his side
Christ’s intercessions on my behalf
Christ’s Spirit fire refining my soul
Surely, it is God alone who saves me!
