Stand Fast in Freedom: Galatians 5:1 and the Modern Yokes of Bondage

By the Rev. Dr. Ronald Moore

www.virtueonline.org

August 20, 2025

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."— Galatians 5:1 (NKJV)

Paul’s words to the Galatians are not locked away in the first century — they speak directly into the spiritual climate of the modern Church. The call to “stand fast” is as urgent now as it was when believers were tempted to trade the freedom of the Gospel for the slavery of law-keeping.

The challenge before us is that bondage has new names and fresh disguises in every generation. Our day is no different.

The Yokes of Bondage in Our Day

In Paul’s time, the temptation was to submit again to the Mosaic Law — circumcision, ritual observances, and works of the flesh masquerading as righteousness. Today’s yokes are different in appearance but identical in effect: they enslave the soul by replacing Christ’s finished work with human effort, cultural acceptance, or personal pride.

Some of the most common include:

·         Cultural Christianity — where faith is reduced to a set of social expectations or political alignments, not a living relationship with the Lord.

·         Prosperity Religion — which recasts God as a divine banker, promising financial return for “seed faith” offerings, turning grace into a business transaction.

·         Activism as Righteousness — where a believer’s worth is measured solely by public causes supported, as if social engagement alone could substitute for the Gospel.

·         Performance-Driven Ministry — where success is counted in attendance charts and budgets, not in faithfulness to the Word.

Each promises life, but all deliver exhaustion, disillusionment, and division. Why? Because they rebind the believer to a law of human making rather than freeing them in the law of Christ.

Freedom Misunderstood

In the world’s lexicon, “freedom” means self-expression without restraint. In the Kingdom of God, freedom is entirely different.It is not the liberty to indulge the flesh — Paul will soon warn, “do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh” (Gal. 5:13) — but the liberty to live as we were created to live: reconciled to God, walking in holiness, and bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

Freedom in Christ:

·         Releases us from the crushing burden of earning God’s favor.

·         Liberates us from the penalty and power of sin.

·         Empowers us to obey out of love rather than fear.

This is not freedom from all authority; it is freedom under the gracious and life-giving rule of Christ.

Stand Fast: A Military Command

Paul’s phrase “stand fast” is a military term. It means to hold the line, brace yourself, and refuse to retreat. This is not a casual suggestion — it is a battle order.

In our current climate, to “stand fast” means:

·         Stand fast against watering down the Gospel in the name of cultural peace.

·         Stand fast against the idea that our worth before God can be tallied by our activity.

·         Stand fast against any theology or practice that bends Scripture to the mood of the moment.

Standing fast will cost us — socially, professionally, even materially. But surrendering truth for comfort is simply trading the yoke of Christ for a yoke of slavery.

An Anglican Witness

Historic Anglicanism has always proclaimed justification by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone. Article XI of the 39 Articles could easily be read as a commentary on Galatians 5:1:

“We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings.”

Our liturgy, when embraced with the heart as well as the lips, constantly reminds us of our dependence upon grace: “We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies.”

The danger is real even among us: ritual without Christ becomes empty ceremony; activism without Christ becomes hollow moralism. The Anglican witness must be rooted in the freedom of the Gospel, never shackled to the demands of human performance.

For the Faithful Remnant

For those who desire to remain faithful in an age of compromise and collapse, Paul’s exhortation is not optional — it is survival:

1.      Guard your liberty by returning daily to the Scriptures.

2.      Discern modern yokes — both secular and religious — that would bind you again.

3.      Live in the tension of grace and truth: free from the law’s curse, bound joyfully to the law of Christ.

4.      Refuse to bow to trends that contradict the Gospel, even if the pressure comes from within the Church.

We are not called to be popular. We are called to be faithful. The liberty Christ purchased at Calvary is too precious to surrender — and the yokes offered by this age are too dangerous to wear.

So hear Paul’s words again: Stand fast. Do not be entangled again. Christ has made you free.