SET FREE TO STAY FREE
So 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)
If you’re familiar with the story of the Exodus, you know that God used Moses to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt. There were plagues and demonstrations of God’s power left and right. The Israelites had much to be thankful for, and initially, they were. Exodus 14 is where we read about the parting of the Red Sea. Exodus 15 is largely devoted to a song praising God for freeing His people. But by the time a month passes, and we make it to Exodus 16, this is the attitude of His recently freed people in verse 3: “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”
God’s newly freed people are sitting around wishing for the good old days of being slaves. We look at that and realize how wild that is—to miss being enslaved. To long to go back to the familiarity of what they’d always known (also a sentiment they expressed before God parted the Red Sea—see Exodus 14:12). And yet we’re prone to the same way of thinking.
Instead of moving boldly forward in the freedom God has granted us, we sometimes long for the familiarity of what we’ve previously known—slavery. We might not call it that, but the Bible is clear that before we were in Christ, we were slaves to sin.
Paul warns us here in Galatians 5:1 to remain free. The people he’s writing to are being tempted to find justification in circumcision or obedience to the law. But those things are the freedom of Christ, which is the only true way to be free. In the same way, we might be tempted to find justification through our actions or our piety. But to look to ourselves is an exercise in futility. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, the initiator and perfector of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2).
APPLICATION: In what areas of your life are you being tempted to rely on yourself? Where might you slip back to your old ways of thinking or habits? Consider how you might best keep your eyes on Jesus. What steps can you take? What new rhythms and reminders can you put in place? We’ve been set free—so let’s stay free!
PRAYER: God, You have set me free. Please help me to live in a manner worthy of my calling. Humble me that I would stay dependent on You and not myself. Help me to fix my eyes on You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?