Freedom in Christ预览

Freedom to Serve God

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. (v. 1 NIV)

The pastoral letter to the Galatians is the charter of Christian freedom. Paul talks about the reality of our liberty in Christ, freedom from the law and the power of sin, and the freedom to serve God. He wrote this letter to a church in crisis. The early church was divided between Jewish and non-Jewish (Gentile) believers. The Jewish Christians strictly followed Jewish law. Most of the early Christian leaders were Jewish, and they forced the Gentile believers to submit to Jewish laws and traditions on top of believing in Jesus. Paul, as a missionary to the Gentiles, had to address this by calling the believers to the true gospel.

Paul sent this letter to believers living in Galatia, an ancient country and Roman province of Asia Minor in a region centered in modern Turkey. He taught the Galatian churches that salvation is by faith, not law. Our freedom means that we are free to love God and to serve him and one another without being enslaved to the ceremonial, cultural, and traditional practices that we tend to graft into our faith. Christians should carry one another’s burden, be kind to each other, and grow together in the faith.

I pray that the power of God that transformed Paul from the bondage of sin will also set us free as we read and reflect together on the freedom Christ gives us.

As you pray, ask the Lord to give you a heart to love others.

Rev. Dr. Steven Kaziimba is the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, and serves as Board Chairman for Words of Hope Uganda.