Again this Sunday, I'm sharing from the Made for Community reading plan from Love God Greatly that I worked on back in 2015. With this study, as I have often done, I used the SOAP method of Bible study. Just a quick reminder that the S is for Scripture, O is for Observation, A is for Application and P is for Prayer. The sixth section is Living in Community in Our Spheres of Influence. So here we go with the Scripture for the second day of that section. As I often do, I took a rather deep dive into the Observation component of the study.
S= "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Galatians 5:13-14)
O= In verse 1 of Galatians 5, Paul is encouraging the readers of his letter to stand fast in the liberty with which Christ has made them free, and to not become entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
He goes on in verse 2 and following to discuss characteristics displayed in the life of the Christian who is justified by faith.
In verse 13 he notes that believers have been called unto liberty. A cross-reference is Romans 8:2 -- "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death."
Even though we are called unto liberty, we must be very careful not to use that liberty the wrong way -- as an "occasion to the flesh." Two cross-references are given for "occasion": Romans 6:1 -- "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" and 1 Peter 2:16 -- "As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."
Instead of using our liberty as an occasion to sin, we are to serve one another by love. A couple of cross-references give examples as to how this is done. Galatians 6:2 -- "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ"; and Ephesians 1:15-16 -- "Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers."
After noting that we are to serve one another by love, Paul goes on to note that all the law may be summed up in the instruction, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
I loved what Warren Wiersbe wrote about this in Be Free, his Galatians Bible study: "Paul's caution is a valid one. Christian liberty is not a license to sin but an opportunity to serve. This leads to a commandment: 'by love serve one another.' The key word, of course, is love. The formula looks something like this:
liberty + love = service to others
liberty - love = license (slavery to sin).
Wiersbe goes on to add, "The amazing thing about love is that it takes the place of all the laws God ever gave. 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself' solves every problem in human relations. If you love people (because you love Christ), you will not steal from them, lie about them, envy them, or try in any way to hurt them. Love in the heart is God's substitute for laws and threats."
A= These are interesting thoughts concerning liberty. Christ has made us free; and we are to stand fast in that liberty. Verse 13 reminds us that we have been called unto liberty. And yet, we are not to use that liberty in a wrong way -- as "an occasion to the flesh". Instead, we are to serve one another by love. In loving our neighbor as ourselves, we are fulfilling the law of Christ. A practical way to serve and love others is by helping to bear their burdens.
P= "Lord, I thank You for these wonderful verses in Galatians. What a blessing to know that I've been called unto liberty and I'm exhorted to stand fast in it. I pray that You will help me never to use that liberty as an occasion to sin, but instead to serve others in love. Help me to remember that loving my neighbor as myself is all-important, and give me the strength to do this daily, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen."
That's our simple Bible study for today! I hope it's been a blessing to someone.
These Bible studies are always welcome and helpful. Thank you for sharing them with us. Loving our neighbors as ourselves is always a test of our true spirituality, I believe. Oftentimes one of the hardest of all commandments! But we are blessed when we obey God's command to love one another...Thank you for being faithful to God's Word.
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