“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” —Galatians 5:1 (BSB)

Freedom in Christ is not a vague spiritual idea—it’s a reality secured by His death and resurrection. And yet, how easily that freedom can slip from our hands, not by open denial of the Gospel, but by slow erosion through subtle self-effort. Paul’s warning to the Galatians speaks plainly: Stand firm. Don’t go back. He knew what was at stake.

These believers had started well. They had tasted grace. But now, voices were persuading them to add law to what Christ had already completed. The message was seductive: if you truly want to be holy, here are the rules. Here’s how to prove yourself. Here’s what to do. But Paul pulls no punches. That path isn’t holiness—it’s slavery.

Beware of the Slippery Slope

Legalism doesn’t announce itself with a trumpet blast. It tiptoes in through the side door, often dressed in robes of discipline, devotion, even wisdom. It begins when the soul, instead of resting in Christ’s righteousness, starts glancing sideways—measuring spiritual worth by performance, tallying prayers, fasting days, or church involvement as though they were credits before God. These things, good as they are, become dangerous when they serve as our foundation.

It’s no new temptation. It’s as old as Cain offering his own labor instead of the lamb. And it’s just as deadly. Because when we turn from grace to performance, we shift the weight of salvation from Christ’s shoulders to our own. That weight will always crush us.

Paul isn’t merely urging the Galatians to reject false teachers; he’s calling them back to the center of the Gospel. To return to the law as a means of righteousness is to reject the sufficiency of Christ. And that rejection, however unintentional, severs us from the very life we claim to pursue. “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:4, BSB). Those are strong words, and they’re meant to wake us up.

Have we subtly fallen into the same trap? Do we believe, deep down, that God is more pleased with us on days when we’re “doing well”? That He turns His face away when we stumble? Do we serve Him out of joy, or out of fear?

Romans 8:15 reminds us that we have not received a spirit of slavery, leading back to fear. We’ve received the Spirit of adoption. The cry of the adopted child is not “What must I do?” but “Abba, Father.” The Gospel produces love-born obedience. It changes the heart, not just behavior. Christ fulfilled the law, not so we would ignore it, but so we would walk in it by the Spirit—not to earn anything, but as children secure in our Father’s affection.

So what does that mean today? It means we’re free. Not free to drift into sin, but free to live out of love. Free to obey from joy. Free to confess failure without fear. Free to rest in Christ’s righteousness instead of manufacturing our own. That kind of freedom—the kind rooted in grace—is worth protecting. It is the very heart of the Christian life.

Ask yourself honestly: have you drifted? Have the whispers of performance-based righteousness crept into your thinking? Lay them down. Come back to the cross. Come back to the only place where freedom truly begins and never ends.

Cross References:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” —Ephesians 2:8–9 (BSB)
“You are severed from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by law; you have fallen away from grace.” —Galatians 5:4 (BSB)
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” —Romans 8:1 (BSB)