Liberty In Christ - Part 3
Galatians 5:1
“1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
God caused Sarah to conceive and she brought forth the promised son - Isaac. This was a work of God. Hagar was a younger woman at the time when Abraham sinned with her and the product of that action was a son - Ishmael. There was human work involved here and it was a work of disobedience to God’s Word. God rejected this human effort as the means of fulfilling His promise to Abraham. Ishmael had every opportunity to know and believe in the true God, but not to be the promised seed that God had promised to Abraham.
God used the O.T. to teach us the importance of true Biblical faith. True faith is not mixed with works. True saving faith is total belief in what God has provided at the means of salvation.
John 3:16
“16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
When we come to Galatians 5:1, the apostle Paul is challenging the believers in Christ to stand fast in that true faith. He tells them to “stand fast therefor in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free”. He tells them not to be swayed from the truth. Not to be turned aside from that precious blessing they have received through salvation through the finished work of Christ.
In order to “stand fast” we need to be sure of what we are standing upon. The Judaizers were able to cast doubt upon the faith of these early Christians.
1 Corinthians 15:33
“33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”
Galatians 5:9
“9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”
It is very important to understand the danger of bending an ear to false teachers and false teaching. The devil is the one who tries to convince the born again Christian that he is able to stand on his own. As we will see further along, it is the devil that tries to convince the born again Christian that he or she can decide for themselves what is sin and what is not. He is the one that wants to relegate truth to a matter of opinion.
In Matthew 14:24-33 we have the account of Jesus walking on the sea to meet up with the disciples whom He had sent on ahead earlier to cross over the Sea of Galilee. A storm rose upon on the sea and the disciples were not have much success on the water. Jesus came walking toward them on the water. The disciples were quite amazed at this and in fact they were troubled. Jesus spoke to them and told them not to be afraid. Peter wanted some further assurance and he asked Jesus to bid him come to Jesus on the water.