Galatians 5:7-15

Pastor Jeff works through Galatians 5:7-15, opening with a personal running story that frames Paul's race metaphor. The Galatians were running well until the Judaizers cut them off. The Judaizers' persuasion is not from God, and Paul compares their false teaching to leaven that, left unchecked, corrupts the whole batch. Despite his concern, Paul's confidence rests in the Lord and the Spirit's guarantee, not in the Galatians themselves. His blunt condemnation of the Judaizers, including the pointed sarcasm of verse 12, gives way to a constructive answer to the question legalism raises: if the law is gone, does anything govern behavior? Paul's answer is Christian freedom rightly understood. Freedom in Christ is not license for the flesh but liberation from slavery to sin so that believers are now free to love and serve one another. The whole law is fulfilled in one command: love your neighbor as yourself.