Section 5:1–12

Remain in the freedom you have in Christ

In this section, Paul tried to persuade the Galatians believers not to yield to the pressure from the false teachers to get circumcised. He warned them that if they became circumcised in order to receive God’s approval, then they would have rejected the grace and freedom that God had given them. They would become slaves again. He encouraged them to refuse circumcision and remain free.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Keep your freedom (New Century Version)
-or-
Do not become slaves again

Paragraph 5:1

In this paragraph, Paul told the Galatians to remain free. He told them not to become slaves again to the law.

5:1a

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free: There are several ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as It is for freedom. The two main interpretations are:

(1) It indicates the purpose for which Christ freed us. He freed us in order that we would have freedom from the law. For example:

Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. (God’s Word)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, Revised English Bible, God’s Word)

(2) It emphasizes the verb set us free in the sentence. For example:

So Christ has truly set us free. (New Living Translation (2004))

(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The majority of English versions and many commentaries follow this interpretation.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Christ has set us free so that we might really be free ?from the law? .
-or-
Christ has delivered/rescued us ?from the law? so that we would not be slaves ?to it? .
-or-
We have freedom now, because Christ made us free. (New Century Version)

us: The pronoun us refers to both Paul and the Galatians.

5:1b

Stand firm, then: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Stand firm means “persevere.” Paul told the Galatians to persevere in the freedom that they had. They were to remain/continue in that freedom.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Therefore persevere ?in this freedom?
-or-
So stand strong (New Century Version)
-or-
Therefore be firm ?in this freedom? (God’s Word)
-or-
So be strong
-or-
So remain/continue ?in this freedom?

and do not be encumbered once more: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as be encumbered means “be loaded down with” or “be burdened by.” Trying to obey religious laws is like being weighed down by a heavy load.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

and do not let yourselves be burdened again (New International Version)
-or-
and do not accept again
-or-
and do not again surrender

once more: The phrase once more indicates that the Galatians had previously been slaves to religious laws when they worshiped idols. Obeying the law of Moses was no different than their former idol worship. Both made people slaves.

by a yoke of slavery: This is a figure of speech. A yoke is a piece of wood that is put over the necks of two oxen to join them together so that they work together. A yoke is also a piece of wood that one person wears around his neck to balance and carry two heavy loads. In this context, yoke refers to the type of yoke that a person wears. It was usually slaves who wore yokes. A yoke itself could be heavy, but it also represented the hard work of a slave. Obeying religious laws is like being a slave and wearing a yoke to carry a heavy load. They are similar in that both are miserable and undesirable.

Some ways to translate this figure of speech are:

• Keep the figure of speech. For example:

by a yoke such as slaves wear

• Modify the figure of speech. For example

into the slavery of the law (New Century Version)
-or-
to ?obeying religious laws again. This is like? being a slave
-or-
Do not let laws tie you.

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

Do not think that you must follow certain religious laws ?to be right with God?

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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