Freedom

Galatians 2:4 - This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

Acts 1:16 - In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."

Galatians 5:13 - You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Romans 6:18,22 - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness…But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

Romans 8:1-2 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Galatians 3:28 - There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Conclusions:

• False brothers were Judaizers who held that Gentile converts should be circumcised and obey the law of Moses
• Free and freedom are key words in Galatians, occurring 11 times
• Both before and after Christ came, numerous psalms were viewed as Messianic
• What happened in the psalmist’s experience was typical of the experiences of the Messiah
• Liberty is not license but freedom to serve God and each other in love
• A Christian has changed masters
• Whereas a Christian was formerly a slave to sin, he becomes a willing servant to righteousness
• Slavery to God produces holiness, and the end of the process is eternal life
• There is no eternal life without holiness
• Anyone who has been justified will surely give evidence of that fact by the presence of holiness in his life
• The law of the Spirit of life is the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, who is life-giving
• Paul uses the word law in several different ways in Romans—to mean a controlling power; God’s law; the Pentateuch; the Old Testament as a whole; a principle
• The law of sin and death is the controlling power of sin, which ultimately produces death
• Unity in Christ transcends ethnic, social and male/female distinctions

Application:

• Do you see the psalms as Messianic?
• Do you see liberty as freedom to serve God and others in love?
• Are you a willing servant to righteousness?
• Is there evidence of the presence of holiness in your life?
• Have you been set free from the controlling power of sin?
• Are you ethnically and socially unified in Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible