People who are bound by something, some behaviour or habit, are inevitably prone to want to enslave other people to the same thing. In the first century many Jewish people were enslaved by the idea that to be right with God you had to constantly observe, not only all the moral laws of the Bible, but also all the ceremonial laws, like circumcision, the various days and festivals, the food laws and the laws of ceremonial cleanliness etc. These laws had a purpose for a time to teach the people, but since Jesus ushered in the New Covenant they had ‘come of age’. The New Covenant opens up a new life of living by the Spirit who empowers us to fulfil the ideals of the law. The Spirit of God sets us free to be who we were made to be. Enslaved people, however, resent those who are free and endeavour to enslave them again by making the Christian life a matter of rules and regulations. A number of times in my life I got waylaid by people who convinced me that I had to do this or that to call myself a Christian. These are the kinds of people that Paul is warning us about in this letter. Legalism will make you feel like a failure and will cripple you with guilt. But the message of truth will always encourage you by opening the way to fullness of life in the Holy Spirit. Don’t let yourself be tripped up by guilt-mongers. Let the Word of God spur you on to a life of freedom and joy.
Ask God to lead you into a greater measure of freedom.
Read Galatians 4:21-5:15
