Do I Have To Follow All The Rules?

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. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:1-6)

One of the struggles for believers during Paul’s lifetime is dealing with Judaizers. Judaizers were people who claimed that in addition to placing your faith in Christ, you had to abide by all 613 of the Jewish laws if you wanted to call yourself a Christian. They were adding to something they had no business adding to, and this caused quite the confusion and frustration for Jesus’ followers at the time.  

In order to address this issue, Paul says in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free….” The abundant life for which Jesus came and died was predicated upon and animated by a desire to see us free. Paul wants them then and us now to understand that Christ alone saves, and there is no need for any additional adherence to the traditions or the rituals that the Judaizers were pushing.  

They wanted believers to still be bound to the traditions, ordinances, and commandments of the Law, but when Jesus sets you free, you are free indeed! It’s like a pardon. A pardon is when your record is wiped clean and your punishment is forgiven. We don’t have to keep every rule perfectly and obey every Biblical command without error. We are human. We are going to make mistakes. That is why Jesus had to come in the first place, to offer salvation in a way that didn’t depend on us or our ability to follow the rules.  

While obeying God’s commands is important, if you’re someone who gets caught up in trying to meticulously follow every rule perfectly, let me inform you. Jesus saved you knowing you were going to mess up. He set you free knowing you couldn’t find freedom on your own. So live in the freedom of that truth today, and moving forward, because you are free indeed!