For Reading and Meditation:      Romans 7:14-8:4Yesterday we ended by saying that God can impart purity as well as impute it, and He then helps us apply it in our daily life and experience. Permit me to share my own personal experience in this connection, not as a model for you to follow, but simply to illustrate how God revealed Himself to me. Following my conversion in my mid-teens, friends assured me that I ought to ask God to baptise me in His Holy Spirit. This, they told me, would give me the power I needed to become an effective witness for Him. I asked God to do this - and in a remarkable encounter with Him, I found the power I sought. But although this experience transformed me overnight from a shy, timid follower of Christ into a fearless witness for Him, I still felt deeply troubled by sinful forces. I fought hard with such things as lust and sensuality until one night, worn down by the inner conflict, I got down on my knees and prayed: "Lord, reach deep inside me and make me truly clean." Again, something wonderful took place - not so much an invasion of power as an invasion of purity. It did not result, I found, in placing me beyond the possibility of a carnal thought, a stab of pride, a trace of envy, but it meant that from that moment to this, I have been more conscious of the Holy Spirit's presence than I have been of sin's presence. Evil was not eradicated in me, as some proponents of imparted holiness believe, but I found that the eagerness for it had gone, and the hunger for it was no longer a clamour. Now, fifty years later, I never cease to thank God for His Spirit's cooling and cleansing touch. My Father and my God, although I realise I have to walk my own personal path to holiness and inner cleansing, help me to know at last that same cooling, cleansing touch in the depths of my heart. I ask this for Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Galatians 5:1-26</li><li>Matthew 5:29</li><li>Romans 6:6</li><li>Romans 13:14</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>How did Paul exhort the Galatians?</li><li>How drastically did Jesus put it?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"' through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (8:2)

For Reading and Meditation:      Galatians 5:1-15Permit me to pause in our meditations on the chief differences between the Christian faith and non-Christian religions to turn our eyes inward to the state of affairs within the church. We have not been as careful as we might in relation to this matter of vertical conversion. Oftentimes we have been more interested in statistics than in actual true conversions. The church, generally speaking, has a lot to answer for in this respect. The horizontal has outrun the vertical in some sections of institutional Christianity. This is why in a number of countries church leaders will not baptize converts until they have received some clear teaching on what the Christian life is all about. In Paul's day, as we see from our text, the main question being asked was about circumcision - whether or not that was essential. Paul threw the emphasis on being a new creature. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts, he said, is faith expressing itself through love. Conversion will involve a miraculous change; when it doesn't then it is not true conversion. What sort of change? There will be the slaying of the beast within, the gathering of the discordant forces of the soul into harmony, the cleansing of a stained conscience, entry into a more abundant life, and a deep inner sense of fellowship with Christ. Conversion doesn't have to be cataclysmic to be real either. The underlying facts are a new life, a new relationship. But it is as much a miracle as the calling forth of Lazarus from the dead. O God, save us in the church from the peril of horizontal conversions-people changing in relation to one another but not in Your direction. We want the real and only the real. Send us Your Spirit in even greater measure. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>1 Corinthians 6:1-11</li><li>Acts 13:39</li><li>Romans 5:1</li><li>Galatians 3:24</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What word is used to describe the process of conversion?</li><li>What does it mean?</li></ul></div></div>

"... in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value." (v. 6) 

WE were once the slaves of sin, Satan, and the world; we were under the law as a covenant of life; but Jesus has made us free. We are now delivered from the law, and are under grace. We are dead to sin, and are justified from it. We are delivered from Satan, and are at war with him. We overcome the world, and are hastening out of it. We are at liberty to serve God, and walk with Him in friendship and holy love. The price of our freedom was the life and death of Jesus; the efficient cause of our freedom was the power and operation of the Holy Spirit; the grand moving cause, was the infinite and everlasting love of God our Father; the instrument by which we are made acquainted with our freedom, is the holy gospel; the grace which puts us into possession of our freedom is faith; and the end of our freedom is, that we may serve our God in righteousness and holiness all the days of our life, and then be glorified with Him for ever. We are freed from sin, that we may be holy; and are introduced to and accepted of God, that we may be happy. Let us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.Sweet is the freedom Christ bestows, With which He makes His people free; A liberty no mortal knows, Till they His great salvation see: Freedom from wants, and fears, and cares, From worldly lusts, and dangerous snares.

Written by James Smith for his own flock around 1840, but such was the demand that by 1846 over thirty thousand copies where in circulation.

The Believer's Daily Remembrancer

"Christ hath made us free." Galatians 5:1

This "liberty" makes us free to heaven's charter-the Bible. Here is a choice passage, believer, "When thou passest through the rivers, I will be with thee." You are free to that. Here is another: "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee"; you are free to that. You are a welcome guest at the table of the promises. Scripture is a never-failing treasury filled with boundless stores of grace. It is the bank of heaven; you may draw from it as much as you please, without let or hindrance. Come in faith and you are welcome to all covenant blessings. There is not a promise in the Word which shall be withheld. In the depths of tribulations let this freedom comfort you; amidst waves of distress let it cheer you; when sorrows surround thee let it be thy solace. This is thy Father's love-token; thou art free to it at all times. Thou art also free to the throne of grace. It is the believer's privilege to have access at all times to his heavenly Father. Whatever our desires, our difficulties, our wants, we are at liberty to spread all before him. It matters not how much we may have sinned, we may ask and expect pardon. It signifies nothing how poor we are, we may plead his promise that he will provide all things needful. We have permission to approach his throne at all times-in midnight's darkest hour, or in noontide's most burning heat. Exercise thy right, O believer, and live up to thy privilege. Thou art free to all that is treasured up in Christ-wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It matters not what thy need is, for there is fulness of supply in Christ, and it is there for thee. O what a "freedom" is thine! freedom from condemnation, freedom to the promises, freedom to the throne of grace, and at last freedom to enter heaven!

This timeless classic from Charles Spurgeon will help to both start and end your day with wonderful insight into God's Word.

Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening

"The liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." - Galatians 5:1

Morning Devotional

Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. (Galatians 5:1 NLT)
 
 Legalism always 
 crucifies Christ afresh because legalism cuts out the greatest word in 
 Christianity. The word over the door into true Christianity is the word: 
 "Grace." Legalism always wipes out "Grace," and puts in its place
 "Law." Grace is the chief 
 word in the vocabulary of the Christian. Do you notice that where legalism 
 reaches its fullest expression, it always puts the crucifix in the place of 
 the empty tomb? The badge of the Christian is the empty tomb. That is "Life 
 from the dead." The badge of legalism is a crucifix, "a dead Christ." Legalism 
 always brings death, and the chief thing about Christ is resurrection. It is 
 Life from the dead. This was something that Paul came to see when it pleased 
 God to reveal His Son in him. And he said, "Let me get out of all this 
 legalistic system. Jesus of Nazareth Whom we crucified is alive. He has been 
 revealed alive in my heart."

 
 If we really see the Lord Jesus, we shall be emancipated. Some of us have had that experience. We were in legal systems; our horizon was that system. Then the day came when the Lord opened our eyes to really see the significance of Christ. And that whole system fell away as being all nonsense. No, it is not our business to say, "Come out of this and that, and come into this other." The word "must" or "thou shall" does not belong to this realm. That belongs to the old legal realm. The "must" becomes a spiritual thing, not a legal thing. We could say of Paul, there was a mighty "must" in his spirit. "I have seen the Lord, and I am seeing more and more of what the Lord is, and this is creating in me this great imperative. 'This one thing I do, leaving the things which are behind, I press on toward the mark of the prize of the on-high calling.'" So we do not say, "Change your system." But we do say, "Ask the Lord to reveal His Son in you." Then the great work of emancipation will begin.

This devotional contains short daily portions from a selection of Mr. Austin-Sparks' messages. In his own words, “Perhaps this is just like a window opened into heaven. If you get the right window you can see quite a lot. You can see great things and you can see far things. But the best that I can hope is that this has just opened a window, and that as you look through it you are seeing one thing - how superior is Jesus Christ to all else, and how superior is the dispensation into which we have come, and how superior are all the resources at our disposal to all that ever was before!” Open Windows messages have been selected and compiled by Austin-Sparks.Net from the works of T. Austin-Sparks. In some cases they appear in abridged form. The introductory verse and its associated Bible version have been selected by the editor and did not always appear within the original message.

Open Windows

"That They May All Be One, Even As We Are One"  - Meeting 29

 Emancipation In Christ 

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 NIV)
 
 There is another 
 word, which just means that which has escaped from slavery and is breathing 
 free air. That is a fine picture, a fine portrait for Overcomers – that which 
 has escaped from slavery and is breathing free air. I dare not stay to 
 interpret that. Some of us, even in our Christian lives and histories, know 
 what it is to escape from slavery. Oh, the old bondage of the Christian system 
 and order, expectation and demand, all the old rota and legality! – to be free 
 of it all! Not only to be raised with Christ, but to have the grave clothes 
 taken off and to be breathing the free air of the spiritually emancipated! 
 That is what this word calls a "remnant," and that is not something extra to 
 Christianity. It is exactly what you find at the beginning with the Church.
 
 
 The Lord had 
 cried in the midst of a burdened, tyrannized, religious nation – "Come unto 
 Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My 
 yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall 
 find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matt. 
 11:28-30). What is the old yoke, the old burden, which has harassed and worn 
 these people so that they are weary to death, drawing out His compassionate 
 appeal – "Come unto Me, and I will give you rest"? It is the old yoke and 
 burden of legalistic religion, 'thou shalt' and 'thou shalt not': 'you must' 
 and 'you must not' – the whole system built up like that; a great burden. 
 "They bind heavy burdens," He said, "and grievous to be borne, and lay them on 
 men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger" 
 (Matt. 23:4). And this word for "remnant" means such as have escaped slavery and 
 are breathing the free air. You find them in the beginning of the book of the 
 Acts. Overcomers are those who go back to the beginning in experience. They do 
 not take up something further which is deeper teaching or fuller light. It is 
 the primal freshness and fullness of Christ that Overcomers represent – 
 unfortunately, in contrast to the general situation.

Overcomer Testimony - Chapter 2

 The Portrait  of the Overcomer 

You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. § If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. § Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. § Having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. § You are no longer a slave but a son. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. . . . For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh.

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 A bondservant of Jesus Christ. 

But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap.I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands … “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb …They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” There is … no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. § Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.

 Who is able to stand? 

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! § My brethren, you … have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. § Not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ. § The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. § Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

 Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free … Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin … Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage … For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” § Having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. § For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. § I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts.

Evening Daily Light

 The perfect law of liberty. 

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. § The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. § If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. § Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. § Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

 You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

<blockquote>
You were set free from the tyranny of Sin" (<a id="verse_1632879799459357" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/6/18">Rom. 6:18</a>, Wey.).
</blockquote>There are two extremes that keep many of us in bondage. The one is ignorance as to the possibility of freedom; the other, ignorance as to the extent of freedom. Careful attendance to the facts of the Word will solve both these crippling conditions."The New Testament teaches that the flesh is representatively dead in virtue of the Cross, but it nowhere says it will become actually dead by standing on that fact. What it does say is that, when reckoning the fact true, self will lose its governing power over me. In Romans Six we find that through the death of Christ, sin shall not have dominion over you - the idea is of bondage, ruling, governing, dominating. There is no such view presented as the annihilation of the thing, the exclusion of its presence, but the loss of its governing power. So you see if we are looking for the actual death of the old nature in us, we are looking for something that will never come to pass in this life." -N.D."Our Lord has never promised that we shall be able to look within, and say that self is gone. Whilst we really believe God's Word that we have died with Christ unto sin, and count upon Him as the Living One to manifest His life through us, others will see that self is inoperative, whilst we are occupied with Christ.""Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (<a id="verse_1632879799388715" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>).

A 365 day devotional that will help you in your Christian growth and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  This devotional is a collection of quotes from some of the best authors in the realm of Christian growth that has been organized by Miles J Stanford.  This devotional study is divided into 12 sections each containing 31 daily portions.

None but the Hungry Heart

 Factual Freedom 

<blockquote>
But now that you have been set free from the tyranny of Sin, and have become the bondservants of God, you have your reward in being made holy" (<a id="verse_1632879987689183" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/6/22">Rom. 6:22</a>, Wey.).
</blockquote>When the believer truly sees Calvary he says, "There, through the work of the Cross, I died with the Lord Jesus unto sin." When the believer truly sees Pentecost he says, "There, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I was baptized into the risen Lord Jesus." Here are the two mighty pillars of our freedom from the power and domination of sin."The believer is to rejoice in the double blessing of Calvary and Pentecost. He is freed from condemnation because of the Blood shed, and he is set free from the law of sin and death by the indwelling Spirit that he received when he came to the Lord Jesus. It is not only that there is no condemnation, but there is liberty."The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (<a id="verse_1632879987588693" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/2">Rom. 8:2</a>). ...hath made me free....' Let me walk in it; let me enjoy it, and I am free. I am not struggling to get free; I have been set free in the Spirit, and I am bidden to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made me free (<a id="verse_1632879987973324" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>). I am not struggling for victory; I am standing in victory. I have not to struggle to get out of the horrible pit. He lifted me out; set my feet on the Rock and established my goings; and He bids me, Stand fast in the victory that I have gained for you.' Believe and rejoice in it, and you will know what it is to be free." -G.G."Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (<a id="verse_1632879987992320" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/4">Rom. 8:4</a>)

 Calvary And Pentecost 

<blockquote>
Ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God" (<a id="verse_1632880047450843" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/7/4">Rom. 7:4</a>).
</blockquote>Romans Six reveals our position as having died unto the principle of sin; Romans Seven teaches us our position as having died unto the principle of law. Both must be counted upon if we are to abide in Christ, and walk in the Spirit, as set forth in Romans Eight."We have to look at ourselves and see how far we are devotedly following the Lord Jesus, with full purpose of heart - how we can say, This one thing I do'; but we must take care at the same time not to get into legal bondage by this standard. If I say, Here is a rule of conduct: follow it,' this cannot reach the heart, the affections. The ministration of the letter brings only failure, and condemnation; for it prescribes a rule which man, being a sinner, can never follow. It does not change a man; it proves him ungodly and without strength.'"We may turn even Christ into that letter of condemnation; we may take His life, for instance, and make it our law. Nay, we may turn even the love of Christ into our law; we may say, He has loved me, and done all this for me, and I ought to love Him, and do so much for Him, in return for this love,' etc. Thus if we turn His love into a rule of life, it becomes the ministration of condemnation.""Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (<a id="verse_1632880047891334" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>).

 Now No Condemnation 

<blockquote>
Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (<a id="verse_1632880316367257" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Philippians/3/3">Phil. 3:3</a>).
</blockquote>There are two ways in which God reveals to us the true condition of the natural man. The first is via the Word: "In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing" (<a id="verse_1632880316372456" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/7/18">Rom. 7:18</a>). The second is via experience: years of struggle with the constant sinfulness and failure of that old nature. If we were more willing to face up to the incorrigibility of the Adamic life within, it might not take us so long to be freed from its domination."It is quite possible for every one of us to have a perfectly good conscience. A happy state to be in! Have you a good conscience? Are you under accusation, under condemnation? Are you fretting and worrying about the badness of your own heart? That means that you have not the answer of a good conscience to God. What is the matter? You are still looking for something from nature, from the old man. You had better give it up, as that is the only way out; repudiate it."Tell yourself and tell the accuser once for all that in you, that is, in your flesh, dwelleth no good thing, and you never expect to find anything. The enemy knows it, and yet he is trying to get you on an impossible quest for something he knows you will never find, and that is how he worries you. Years of it! Then why not come onto the Lord's ground and out-maneuver him? Let us settle it that we can never expect to find any good in our old nature. All our good is in another, even our Lord Jesus. It is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (<a id="verse_1632880316154661" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/2">Rom. 8:2</a>)." -T. A-S."Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free" (<a id="verse_1632880316752097" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>).

 Wrong Source 

<blockquote>
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love" (<a id="verse_1632880646788113" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/6">Gal. 5:6</a>).
</blockquote>Grace + Law = Death. Grace - Law = Life!"Covenant theology, which has molded the major theological conceptions for many generations, recognizes no distinctions as to ages, therefore can allow for no distinctions between law and grace. This dominating attitude of Covenantism must account for the utter neglect of life truth (growth) in all their works of theology."No more representative theological dictum from the Covenant viewpoint has been formed than the Westminster Confession of Faith, which valuable and important document recognizes life truth only to the point of imposing the Ten Commandments on Christians as their sole obligation, and in spite of the teachings of the New Testament which asserts that the Law was never given to Gentile or Christian." -L.S.C."While freeing believers from the bondage of Rome, the Protestant Reformation brought them back, in large measure, under the bondage of Sinai. The Reformation took away one set of bindings, but bound the believers with another - and this has atrophied the spiritual life of multitudes." -D.G.B."Not a single cluster of living fruit ever was, or ever will be, culled from the tree of legality. Law can only produce dead works,' from which we need to have conscience purged just as much as from wicked works.'" -C.H.M."Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free" (<a id="verse_1632880646631318" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>).

 Plus, Or Minus? 

<blockquote>For I through the law died unto the law, that I might live unto God" (<a id="verse_1632877279831481" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/2/19">Gal. 2:19</a>, ASV).</blockquote>No true believer expects the Law to give life, yet many expect it to govern life. Too few realize that their death on the Cross separated them from the entire principle of law, and that their resurrection united them to the Lord Jesus, "full of grace and truth" (<a id="verse_1632877279241950" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/John/1/14">John 1:14</a>). "All of the Lord's commands to me are according to the new nature I already have. He is my life, and all His words are the expression of that life. Therefore when His words are given to me, they only give me the authority to do what my new nature likes to do. A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you" (<a id="verse_1632877279503717" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/1-John/2/8">1 John 2:8</a>). -J.N.D. "Does our Father mock us by bidding us do what He knows we are unable to do? No! He gives commands we cannot perform in our strength, that we may know what we ought to request from Him." "Legalism is an effort to shape oneself to given laws or rules. Seeking to urge oneself into conformity to law, the old man is before the eye, and satisfaction is felt according as there is conformity to a given standard. "The moment legality is sanctioned, it must be with reference to that which needs to be made subject. This is not Christian, because as believers we are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, against which there is no law.""Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (<a id="verse_1632877279724179" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>).

 Free-born 

<blockquote>In [this] freedom Christ has made us free - completely liberated us; stand fast then" (<a id="verse_1632877594381254" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>, Amp.).</blockquote>We are never going to be able to stand before our Father in prayer and fellowship because we are fit in ourselves. We finally come to see that we are in His presence because of our position in His Son."The ground upon which our Father deals with us is grace. Every blessing we receive of Him as His children is undeserved. In all of our spiritual existence we are debtors to the rich, free, sovereign grace of our Father. And what is it we are privileged to enjoy on that ground, when we enter into this grace wherein we stand'? We then have a new position, and that position is the glorified Lord Jesus Christ."We are not only pardoned, but justified - made righteous; and this is not merely by that which He has done, or by what He has procured or bestows - but in what He is. As He is, so are we in this world' (<a id="verse_1632877594484444" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/1-John/4/17">1 John 4:17</a>). The believer must never lose sight of this fundamental truth: that the basis of his fellowship with the Father is not his own personal holiness, or what the Lord Jesus is in him, but his judicial position before the Father, or what the Lord Jesus is for him. He, the Lord our righteousness,' is the foundation and source of everything - of walk as well as of position." -E.H."Most look to get victory in order to get peace, but it is peace already made by the Lord Jesus' work and risen life that is ours. Conflict we shall find, but we know that the Father is for us, and that makes all the difference." -J.N.D."Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. . . righteousness" (<a id="verse_1632877594102927" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/1-Corinthians/1/30">1 Cor. 1:30</a>).

 Christ Our Position " 

<blockquote>For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works" (<a id="verse_1632877642440885" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Hebrews/4/10">Heb. 4:10</a>).</blockquote>Besides the rest of reception, there is also the rest of resistance. Any time there is effort involved in the matter of resisting sin, we can be sure that we are depending to some extent upon the flesh, instead of resting in the finished work of the Cross."The question is How are we to meet sin?' Reckon yourselves dead unto sin.' The moment that you begin to fight with it - no matter how resolutely you may struggle against it - that moment you begin to experience sin as your master. For it is then that we forsake our true position, which is one of freedom from sin as a master."Let it be remembered we are to fight the good fight of faith,' which consists of resting in our position of freedom, and not in obtaining that position. We are to fight not for it, but from it. He alone has obtained it. It is our Father's free gift. Let us be fully abiding in the One who is Life, and sin when it acts, will find us dead to it." -E.H."Calvary is the secret of it all. It is what the Lord Jesus did there that counts, and what He did becomes a growing force in the life of the believer when it is seen, and rested in by faith. This is the starting point from which all godly living must take rise. We shall never know the fact of the Lord Jesus' victory in our lives until we are prepared to count upon His work on the Cross as the source of our personal freedom from the dominion of sin and the old man within. There is no liberty for us that was not first His. The beginning of spiritual growth is faith in that fact.""Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free" (<a id="verse_1632877642859048" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>).

 Reception And Resistance 

<blockquote>In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature" (<a id="verse_1632877659179090" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/6/15">Gal. 6:15</a>).</blockquote>It required nothing less than the Cross to liberate us from the law."The law is not our rule of life' for the simple reason that it was the Israelite's. The Christian not being a Jew, the law is not for him. Holy, just and good' it is, but the Christian's rule of life is in Christ. . . a new creature' (<a id="verse_1632877659201520" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/6/15">Gal. 6:15</a>). The believer's place and rule is to walk as a pilgrim and stranger' upon the earth. The law has nothing of this. Had it been fulfilled, it would have made earth morally a paradise; and will, when written upon Israel's heart in millennial days. But strangership on earth and a heavenly walk, it never taught." -F.W.G."The Christian is on larger, higher, firmer ground than that on which Israel after the flesh stood. The law is good if a man use it lawfully; and its lawful application is expressly not to form, guide, and govern the walk of the righteous, but to deal with the lawless and disobedient, ungodly and sinful, unholy and profane, and, in short, with whatever is contrary to sound doctrine (<a id="verse_1632877659151784" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/1-Timothy/1/9">1 Tim. 1:9</a>; <a id="verse_1632877659967194922" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/1-Timothy/1/10">10</a>)." -F.W.G."Any aspect of life or conduct which is undertaken in dependence on the energy and ability of the flesh is, to that extent, purely legal in character, whether it be the whole revealed will of God, the actual written commandments, or the exhortations of grace. Dependence on the arm of flesh is consistent with pure law; dependence on the power of God is demanded under pure grace." -L.S.C."Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (<a id="verse_1632877659984684" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>).

 Liberated From Law 

<blockquote>Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (<a id="verse_1632877776924005" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/5/1">Rom. 5:1</a>).</blockquote>There will be no standing against the enemy's accusations until we are firmly assured of, and settled on, the fact that our Father is at peace with us because of our living union with His Beloved Son. And this alone will give us peace with our Father."We thought we were being more Christian by striving more, praying more, reading our Bible more, and confessing our sins more. But all that brought no relief. The awful gnawing in our vitals continues. The sense of guilt increases. We need not a Nathan to say, Thou art the man!' A thousand voices are forever ringing in our ears giving the lie to what we long with infinite yearning might be an altogether convincing testimony of a truly Christian walk."Now the way out is to be found in a clear-cut recognition of the fact that, as Paul says in <a id="verse_1632877776667776" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/1">Romans 8:1</a>, There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.' Let appearances, voices and feelings to the contrary be what they may, still this is a fact. The reason, of course, is found not in ourselves, but in Another." -F.J.H."It is a wonderful thing to have the consciousness that we are in living union with the Lord Jesus in heavenly glory, knowing our position in that risen sphere, participating in all that constitutes His life in the blessed circle of love and rest where He lives unto the Father. If we apprehend this we shall not be deceived by what goes on upon the earth." -C.A.C."Stand fast, then, in the freedom which Christ has given us" (<a id="verse_1632877776534669" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>, Wey.).

 Accusation 

<blockquote>Ye have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God" (<a id="verse_1632877788228133" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Colossians/3/3">Col. 3:3</a>).</blockquote>When we rely upon and cater to the old man, that ground produces "the works of the flesh" (1). But as we abide in the risen Lord Jesus, that new ground of our position, His life will be manifested in "the fruit of the Spirit" (<a id="verse_1632877788366521" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/22">Gal. 5:22</a>; <a id="verse_1632877788118996260" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/23">23</a>)."God's Word declares that we are dead indeed unto sin,' but nowhere does it say that we are dead in ourselves. We shall look in vain within to find death there. We have died to sin; not in ourselves, but in Christ,' and our death with Him is as sure as His death, and since we died with Him it is impossible for His death to be certain and ours uncertain."We were crucified with Him because we were in Him (<a id="verse_1632877788822996" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/2/20">Gal. 2:20</a>). We are raised in Him (<a id="verse_1632877788610426" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Ephesians/2/6">Eph. 2:6</a>); we are complete in Him (<a id="verse_1632877788576440" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Colossians/2/10">Col. 2:10</a>); we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Him (<a id="verse_1632877788690795" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Ephesians/1/3">Eph. 1:3</a>); the entire work regarding us is not done in us but in the Lord Jesus - the Father has done all in His Son. If you stand on the ground of what the Lord Jesus is (abide), you will find in your growth that all that is true of Him is becoming true of you; but if you remain on the ground of what you are in yourself, you will find that all that is true of the old man is true of you in life and walk.""The purpose of Paul, in Romans Six, is to show how completely the believer is identified with the Lord Jesus when He died unto sin.' To enter fully into the meaning of that death is to see that He has emancipated us from any further dealings with our old master, sin. The believer is privileged thus to take his position in the risen Lord Jesus, who is now alive unto God.' From that ground he is henceforth to regard sin." -E.H."Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free" (<a id="verse_1632877788336920" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>).

 Groundwork 

<blockquote>  Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free" (<a id="verse_1632877884927073" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>).</blockquote>First, the believer understands that he has a right to be free in the Lord Jesus because of the finished work of the Cross; then he sees that same work of the Cross as his means to be free."When we truly hate ourselves, we are prepared to rejoice in the blessed fact that we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus - that sin in the flesh was condemned (not forgiven) when He died unto sin, that our whole history as in the flesh closed before the Father in His Son's death - and that this is our title to be free. I have now a righteous title to have done with myself because I have died unto sin in the Lord Jesus' death."To prepare me for this I learn the necessity for death in my own experience, but the death of the Lord Jesus is my title to be free. It is by the appropriation of His death that I reach liberty and newness of life; that death has severed me from all that I was as in fallen Adam. I have been crucified with Christ.' I am free from myself, and free to have the One who is my Christian life before me." -C.A.C."The Lord Jesus will make it His business to keep us alive and fruitful, if we will make it our business to rely upon Him. There must be no carnal straining, no natural effort; we do not have to keep ourselves alive. Every fear to go down into daily death, ever clinging to that which belongs to us, every grasp on our own personal position or ministry, will only hinder the manifestation of His life. It is to be life out of death. Even when our trust in Him brings us into the most helpless and impossible situations, we may rest assured that all will be well, for He is indeed the God of resurrection." -H.F."For ye died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (<a id="verse_1632877884811714" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Colossians/3/3">Col. 3:3</a>).

 Life-giving Crucifixion 

<blockquote>
The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever" (<a id="verse_1632878239202609" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Isaiah/32/17">Isa. 32:17</a>).
</blockquote>The triune God is in His element within a quiet, resting assured spirit."Just as a sinner is taught to rest in the Lord Jesus' shed Blood for his forgiveness, so must the saint rest in the Lord Jesus for his deliverance from the power of sin and the grip of the law - yes, and from himself, also. Therefore we should not be in bondage to sin, for he that hath died (and that is everyone who is in the Lord Jesus) is justified (or released) from (the power of) sin' (<a id="verse_1632878239622152" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/6/7">Rom. 6:7</a>); and we are now under grace, which does not demand righteousness of us, for the Lord Jesus was made unto us righteousness and sanctification and redemption (<a id="verse_1632878239705383" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/1-Corinthians/1/30">1 Cor. 1:30</a>)."The believer truly walking in the liberty wherewith Christ hath set him free (<a id="verse_1632878239478043" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/5/1">Gal. 5:1</a>), has Him ever before his eye of faith; delighting that because of Him he is in the Father's favor. He evermore learns to abhor himself as he sees the sinfulness of the old man within, only to delight himself the more in the Lord Jesus who is his life." -W.R.N."It is only too possible for us to harbor feelings of resentment even against the Father Himself; and what inner turmoil results from such an attitude. Until we deliberately enter the stillness of the acceptance of His will, we live in chaos. Once we lay aside our rebellion in the tomb, and place our confidence in our Father, and in His love for us in the Son, we are obeying the command, Be still,' and we gain an understanding of the God of deliverance we could gain in no other way. Then we shall be in position to help others.""Their strength is to sit still" (<a id="verse_1632878239275844" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Isaiah/30/7">Isa. 30:7</a>).

 Quiet! 

<h3>Freedom in Christ</h3>5 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

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.<cr>1</cr> Stand firm,<cr>2</cr> then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.<cr>3</cr>

 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.  

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 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.

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.

 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.  

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July 3, 2024

Galatians 5:1 NIV

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