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We are living in some pretty uncertain times. When you look around, there's no doubt about it. But what we want you to know today is that scripture satisfies. We're going to look into the book of Galatians, and we've got six scriptures that are going to set you on the right path for the day.
Gramster Rant: The Cheetah and the Gazelle
Here's a meme that captures something important: it's a picture of a cheetah chasing a gazelle, and there's little thought bubbles above each one of the animals. Above the cheetah, it says, "Give us our daily bread." And above the gazelle, it says, "Deliver us from evil."
Are either one of these making a mistake? Are they wrong? No. They're not.
Does God have to decide whether the cheetah eats or whether the gazelle lives? That's right. That's the choice. That's what's going on. So coming from your own perspective is not necessarily a bad thing or sinful. Both animals are operating within their created nature and circumstances, and both prayers are legitimate.
But here's the problem. We are living in a world that is just absolutely corrupted. And it's corrupted to the core. And as it's corrupted to the core, there are many things that we have to look at ourselves in the right light. And that's what's going on—people have a high view of themselves and therefore a low view of God. They humanize God, right? Or they have a high view of God and then they have a low view of themselves, which isn't self-depreciating. It's not self-loathing in a healthy way.
The balance we need is found in Scripture. We need to see ourselves rightly in relation to God. Not with an inflated sense of our own importance that diminishes God. Not with a crushing self-hatred that misses the point of grace. We need to see ourselves as God sees us—broken, yes, but redeemed. Sinful, yes, but loved. Unworthy on our own, absolutely, but made worthy through Christ.
That's what these six verses from Galatians are going to help us do today.
Salvaged by God Deep Dive: Six Great Reminder Verses from Galatians
1. Christ Has Set Us Free (Galatians 5:1)
"For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
What's he saying here? For freedom, Christ has set us free. So he's saying Christ set you free so that you could be free. He didn't set you free so that you could go back into bondage or slavery or any of the things that keep you trapped. He set you free to be free.
This isn't just religious rhetoric. This is the foundation of everything. Christ didn't set you free so you could figure out how to earn your way back into bondage. He didn't break the chains so you could forge new ones.
And that yoke of slavery that he's referring to is the religious aspect and the religious system of earning God's grace, earning God's approval, earning the things of God. This is what was happening in the Galatian church—they were falling back into the ways of the Judaizers who were telling them you have to follow all these rules and regulations in order to be saved or to maintain your salvation. And Paul is basically telling them, "Don't you dare. Don't you dare go back to that mindset."
Freedom in Christ means you're no longer trying to prove yourself worthy. You're no longer measuring your spiritual temperature by how well you performed today. You stand firm in the finished work of Jesus, not in your unfinished work for Jesus.
2. Crucified With Christ (Galatians 2:20)
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Paul's not only saying this as his testimony but for every believer. You have been crucified with Christ. The old you, the person you used to be, is gone. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
Your old self—the one that was enslaved to sin, the one that couldn't measure up, the one that was separated from God—that version of you died when Christ died.
What's living now? Christ in you. So the life that you're living right now in the flesh, you're living by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you. Not just loved the world—loved you personally, gave himself for you specifically.
This isn't abstract theology. This is the daily reality of what it means to be a Christian. You're not trying to be good enough. You're recognizing that Christ is living through you, and you're cooperating with that reality by faith.
3. The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law."
This is the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of your effort. This isn't something you manufacture. This is what grows naturally in a life where the Spirit is active.
Notice these are called the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of your checklist. Love that isn't manufactured. Joy that doesn't depend on circumstances. Peace that transcends understanding. Patience that comes from knowing God is in control. Kindness that flows from a heart that's been shown kindness. Goodness that reflects God's character. Faithfulness that mirrors God's faithfulness to you. Gentleness that comes from strength under control. Self-control that's empowered by the Spirit, not just willpower.
Against such things there is no law. You can't legislate this kind of life. It has to be grown from the inside out.
4. No Longer a Slave (Galatians 4:7)
"So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
You're not God's employee. You're not His servant trying to earn a wage. You're His child. You're an heir. You are no longer a slave but a son—and if a son, then an heir through God. Everything that belongs to the Father belongs to you because you're in Christ.
This changes everything about how you approach your relationship with God. Slaves work out of fear and obligation. Sons and daughters work out of love and identity.
When you grasp that you're a son or daughter of God, you stop trying to earn His approval and you start living from His approval. You're not working to become an heir—you already are one. You're not trying to get into the family—you're already in it.
5. Freedom to Serve (Galatians 5:13)
"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
Here's the balance. You were called to freedom. But don't use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Use it through love to serve one another.
The flesh wants to twist freedom into license. It wants to say, "I'm free in Christ, so I can sin all I want." But that's not freedom at all. That's just slavery with a different label.
True freedom is being liberated from the power of sin so you can actually serve one another in love. You're not serving because you have to. You're serving because you want to. You're free to love because love is no longer a burden—it's your new nature.
This is where some people get confused. They think being "saved by grace" means their behavior doesn't matter. But the reality is exactly the opposite. When you're truly saved by grace, your behavior changes because you've been changed. You're no longer a slave to sin. You're free to obey.
The gospel doesn't just cover your sin—it fundamentally transforms who you are. You're not who you used to be. That old version of you died with Christ. What's living now is a new creation, and new creations act differently than old ones.
Think about it this way: Imagine you spent your whole life as a slave, and then suddenly you were purchased and set free. Would you go back to living like a slave? Of course not. You'd live like the free person you now are. That's what Paul is getting at. You've been set free from sin—so stop acting like you're still enslaved to it.
Will you be perfect? Will you walk without sin? Of course not. You're going to stumble. You're going to sin. But the thing is, you get back up again because you have this eternal—He doesn't leave you there. You're no longer a slave to sin.
When He reveals that in your life and the Holy Spirit is convicting you, now you have the ability to overcome that sin. That's the key. It's not that we're sinless now. It's that we're no longer a slave to sin. And that is genuinely good news.
6. Don't Grow Weary (Galatians 6:9)
"Let us not grow weary of doing good. For in due season we will reap if we do not give up."
Again, that's alluding to you're no longer a slave to sin. You're no longer a slave to wanting to just give up and give in, but you're wanting to hold fast now. And it's a total different mentality once you have been bought with a price. You love your Savior and you want to follow Him.
The Christian life isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. And marathons are hard. There will be times when you want to give up. Times when doing good feels pointless. Times when you wonder if any of this matters.
This verse is God's promise that it does matter. You will reap if you don't give up. The harvest is coming. The results will show up. But they come "in due season"—in God's timing, not yours.
This is where faith comes in. You keep doing good even when you don't see immediate results. You keep loving even when people don't love you back. You keep serving even when it feels thankless. You keep following Jesus even when the path is hard.
Why? Because you're no longer a slave to sin. You're no longer operating out of fear or obligation. You're operating out of love for your Savior. You want to follow Him. You want to please Him. And you know that in His time, you'll see the fruit of your faithfulness.
Six reminders from all six chapters of Galatians.
Final Thoughts
As we do counseling and get into this stuff with people, here's something that centers around the fact that we're never going to be all that we hope we're going to be. The way we think things in our mind is not the way that they usually play out.
There's a phrase out there—wherever you go, there you are. Your circumstances, you can get it in your head that when you get the private jet or when you get the big job or when you get the right spouse, then you're going to be happy and content. And if it comes just the way you dreamt it, it won't feel right.
Even if life unfolds exactly as you dreamed it would, it won't feel the way you imagined. That's because contentment doesn't come from external circumstances. Contentment comes from within, and specifically, it comes from Christ.
So that's why contentment with godliness is great gain, and all of this other stuff that we want to add on to our Christian walk, the Bible warns us against it.
In fact, Jesus says, "My grace is sufficient for you." And He says, "This wicked and adulterous generation seeks a sign and none will be given to him but the sign of Jonah." What's that? Three days in the grave. So once you have salvation, once you have Jesus, you have everything.
His grace is sufficient for you. Not His grace plus the perfect circumstances. Not His grace plus the emotional high. Not His grace plus the miraculous experience. Just His grace. It's enough.
This doesn't mean life won't be hard. It doesn't mean you won't face struggles or that you'll never want things to be different. It means that in the midst of whatever you're facing, Christ is enough. His presence, His power, His promises—these are sufficient.
The Christian life is about surrendering your will to God's will. It's about recognizing that you're not all you hope you'll be, and that's okay because God is working in you. He started a good work, and He'll complete it. You're being transformed day by day, not by your effort but by His Spirit.
You're going to stumble. You're going to sin. But here's the difference: you're no longer defined by your sin. You're defined by Christ. When you fall, you get back up. When you sin, you repent. When you fail, you return to the Father who never stopped loving you.
This is the gospel. You were a slave to sin, dead in your trespasses. But God, being rich in mercy, made you alive together with Christ. He didn't just forgive your sin—He changed your identity. You're no longer a slave. You're a son, a daughter, an heir.
And because of the blood of Christ covering you, when you stand before a holy God, He won't see your sin. He'll see Christ's righteousness. You'll be presented as if you never sinned, as if you lived a perfect life, because that's what Christ's sacrifice accomplished.
That's why you don't grow weary. That's why you keep doing good. That's why you live by faith. Because the one who loved you and gave himself for you is now living in you and through you. Your life isn't about you anymore. It's about Christ in you, the hope of glory.