Galatians 5:1 (ESV)
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Matthew Henry writes about the message the Apostle Paul is giving to the Galatians: In the former part of this chapter the apostle cautions the Galatians to take heed of the Judaizing teachers, who endeavored to bring them back under the bondage of the law. He had been arguing against them before, and had largely shown how contrary the principles and spirit of those teachers were to the spirit of the gospel; and now this is as it were the general inference or application of all that discourse. Since it appeared by what had been said that we can be justified only by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by the righteousness of the law, and that the law of Moses was no longer in force, nor Christians under any obligation to submit to it, therefore he would have them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and not to be again entangled with the yoke of bondage.
Years ago when I was dating my wife I took her to the State Fair. We went on a day where you could ride unlimited rides and the crowd happened to be light. We had been there for a little while when we came upon the Rock-O-Plane that had no riders. The operator was just waiting for someone to hop on and go for a ride. We thought great; we can ride and enjoy it for a while.
The Rock-O-Plane for those who don’t know has spinning cages attached to a large wheel. Each cage spins independently while the large wheel is also turning. Its shape is similar to that of a Ferris wheel, but with seats that are enclosed and rock and roll as the ride turns. If the rocking builds sufficient momentum the seats will flip upside-down and end-over-end.
At first the ride was fun. However, because no one was riding the operator let the ride continue to run and run and run. As we came around each time the operator reached out and spun the cage harder. Everything became a blur and we started yelling for the operator to let us off. Unfortunately our screams only encouraged the operator to spin the cage faster and faster. We became nauseous and disoriented. Instead of having fun we were miserable. We had no control over what was taking place and our lives were literally spinning out of control. Eventually the operator had mercy on us and stopped the ride. We staggered off feeling very ill on the inside. It took us a while for us to recover from that horrible experience.
Proverbs 5:22 says, “The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.” Sin is like the ride was to us, tempting because it looked fun. As we found out however, the fun only lasted for a short while and then it became misery and we had to deal with the consequences afterwards. We were trapped and spinning out of control, but finally grace and mercy appeared. We can thank God for the promise of His mercy and grace, because without it we could be on sin’s ride for a while.
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Matthew Henry writes about the message the Apostle Paul is giving to the Galatians: In the former part of this chapter the apostle cautions the Galatians to take heed of the Judaizing teachers, who endeavored to bring them back under the bondage of the law. He had been arguing against them before, and had largely shown how contrary the principles and spirit of those teachers were to the spirit of the gospel; and now this is as it were the general inference or application of all that discourse. Since it appeared by what had been said that we can be justified only by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by the righteousness of the law, and that the law of Moses was no longer in force, nor Christians under any obligation to submit to it, therefore he would have them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and not to be again entangled with the yoke of bondage.
Years ago when I was dating my wife I took her to the State Fair. We went on a day where you could ride unlimited rides and the crowd happened to be light. We had been there for a little while when we came upon the Rock-O-Plane that had no riders. The operator was just waiting for someone to hop on and go for a ride. We thought great; we can ride and enjoy it for a while.
The Rock-O-Plane for those who don’t know has spinning cages attached to a large wheel. Each cage spins independently while the large wheel is also turning. Its shape is similar to that of a Ferris wheel, but with seats that are enclosed and rock and roll as the ride turns. If the rocking builds sufficient momentum the seats will flip upside-down and end-over-end.
At first the ride was fun. However, because no one was riding the operator let the ride continue to run and run and run. As we came around each time the operator reached out and spun the cage harder. Everything became a blur and we started yelling for the operator to let us off. Unfortunately our screams only encouraged the operator to spin the cage faster and faster. We became nauseous and disoriented. Instead of having fun we were miserable. We had no control over what was taking place and our lives were literally spinning out of control. Eventually the operator had mercy on us and stopped the ride. We staggered off feeling very ill on the inside. It took us a while for us to recover from that horrible experience.
Proverbs 5:22 says, “The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.” Sin is like the ride was to us, tempting because it looked fun. As we found out however, the fun only lasted for a short while and then it became misery and we had to deal with the consequences afterwards. We were trapped and spinning out of control, but finally grace and mercy appeared. We can thank God for the promise of His mercy and grace, because without it we could be on sin’s ride for a while.
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