"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

We have gained our freedom! From sin, death, and the law, we are delivered. We may now serve God and take advantage of His grace eternally. So, how will we make use of our freedom?

Paul wrote to assist new believers in maintaining their actual freedom in Christ: freedom from attempting to earn their righteousness via law-keeping (Galatians chapters 3 and 4). The law could not excuse them in the eyes of God. Only trust in Jesus gave them the freedom to be whatever Christ had re-created them to be through grace (Galatians 2:14-16; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). They were God's children through faith, prompted by the Spirit to assume the persona of Jesus (Galatians 5:16-27). We, too, must recognize that as God's children, we have been set free from the burdens of law-keeping and sin by our confidence in Jesus and our participation with Him in baptism by faith (Galatians 3:26-29; Romans 6:3-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-7). We must never again excuse ourselves via the works of any law, set of norms, or religious obligation. To do so is to surrender our independence and return to servitude. Paul implores us to rely on what Jesus accomplished for us rather than on works of the law. The crucifixion of Christ and the empty tomb free us from sin, death, and servitude to that which cannot rescue us.