Free from slavery
Day 622, Saturday, April 25
Galatians 5:1-12
Chapter 5 begins with one of the greatest proclamations of Christian freedom in scripture: “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.”
We usually think of slavery as an involuntary condition, but the kind of slavery Paul speaks of is self-imposed. He is specifically thinking of the teachings of his opponents that are encouraging the Galatians to return to obedience to the law, specifically the requirement of circumcision. For Paul, though, circumcision represents more than just the removal of the foreskin—to him it represents a return to the kind of legalism that he believes to be a source of death, not salvation.
Paul doesn’t believe that legalism can co-exist with salvation. “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alientated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

Saturday meditation

Psalms 117:1-2
Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.

Prayer focus
May we hold firm to the freedom you bought at such a high price.

-Rev. Mark Fleming