January 19, 2025

Galatians 5:1-26

44 minutes

Galatians 5

Galatians 5:1-6 – “you are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace”

Galatians 5:1 – The yoke of slavery here is the Law of Moses.

Galatians 5:4 – It is possible to fall from grace. Calvinists believe that it is not possible to fall from grace. See Galatians 3:26.

The Calvinist possession is stated as:

“Many who profess to believe fall away, but they do not fall from grace, for they were never in grace. True believers do fall into temptations, and they do commit grievous sins, but these sins do not cause them to lose their salvation or separate them from Christ.” – Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, pp. 64-65

“As the Westminster Confession of Faith states, saved people “can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.” – as cited in Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, p. 65

Galatians 5:7-12 – Beware of this erroneous influence!

Things had been good, but now they had been turned by a bad influence.

Galatians 5:9 – Compare I Corinthians 5:6-7.

Galatians 5:11 – Paul had taken a firm stand against circumcision, shown by how he had been persecuted by the Jews.

Galatians 5:12 – Compare the use of the word “mutilating” or “emasculating” in John 18:10.

Galatians 5:13-18 – “walk by the spirit”

Galatians 5:13 – See Romans 6:1-2. We should not attempt to abuse the grace and forgiveness of God. See Jude 1:4.

Galatians 5:14 – See Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37.

Galatians 5:15 – Don’t fight and bicker with each other.

Galatians 5:16 – What does “spirit” mean here? The capitalization is a decision by the translators. It could be the Holy Spirit or the spiritual nature of man. We are deciding to either follow God or go our own way.

Galatians 5:19-26 – Deeds of the flesh vs. fruit of the spirit

Galatians 5:23 – This could be an understatement for effect.

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