August 25 | Galatians 5:13
- Dave Mann
- Aug 24, 2025
- 3 min read
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Free in Christ!
By Dave Mann
Believers are free in Christ! That’s the main point of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. However, there are two key questions that need to be addressed to understand what this freedom is all about.
1. Freed from what?
Religion, even good religion, has the natural tendency to drift toward law-making, rules, governance, and living according to prescribed protocol. At least for myself I can speak that it is very easy to feel like I need to behave a certain way in order for God to be happy with me. When I have read the Bible and prayed every day, I tend to think that the Lord is pleased. For others, the behavior of tithing may be the trigger that leads some of us to be more confident of the Lord’s approval. And there are other actions which may give us a feeling of being right with God.
These behaviors and others are good and right. But if we base our confidence of being right with the Lord on these, we can be proud that we have merited God’s love. On the other hand, if we fall short in our obedience to these human regulations, we can feel discouraged and under the judgment of God.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians is for us. The first chapters of Galatians, Paul dedicates himself to answering this first question. We can be set free from this bondage of seeking to earn God’s pleasure. We are free from the obligation to make ourselves righteous. We trust in Christ’s righteousness alone.
2. Freed for what?
When we are confident of the Lord’s acceptance and his joy in us, we trust in Christ’s sacrifice, not our own actions, to make us worthy of his forgiveness. So, what is the goal of our relationship with the Lord now that we are clean? We are free to enjoy the Lord’s presence. We are free to serve others, not to prove ourselves worthy but rather to spread the joy of our relationship with God. The fruit of the Spirit can grow and become evident in our lives – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In the latter chapters of Galatians, the apostle Paul addresses this second question. When we are free in Christ, you can really sense this joy and freedom mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23.
Christians can sometimes become bound up in the law so much that they have little joy left in their lives. On the other hand, when we live in the freedom of Christ, we discover the joy that comes from his Holy Spirit.
PRAYER
Lord God, I confess that too often I make my own laws to try to convince myself of your love. Thank you for your full, free forgiveness. How foolish of me to manufacture my own righteousness, as though I could create something that is better than your grace! Come, Holy Spirit, grow in me your fruit that I may have your freedom, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVE MANN
I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of six. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.
Amen!