What does Galatians 5:14 mean? (2024)

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Paul has repeatedly warned the Galatians not to waste the freedom they have through faith in Christ by living in slavery under the law. Jesus has fully paid for all their sin. They are completely justified before God by being in Christ. They cannot earn any more of God's approval through the law (Galatians 3:23–29).

Now Paul begins to warn the Galatians, and modern readers, as well, about another way to waste the freedom Christ has won for us. Many Bible teachers call it "license," as in having a license to sin. Since we are in Christ and free from condemnation, why not just indulge in everything that might bring us pleasure?

Paul shows why that is a waste of God's gift of freedom and our own lives. Instead, Paul calls his readers to trade all of the law of Moses in for a one-word law: love. He quotes Jesus who was quoting Leviticus 19:18, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39).

The brilliance of this command is obvious. It assumes that we love ourselves in the sense that we know how we would like to be treated. It requires us to take the focus off of ourselves and to use that knowledge of what we would like in order to serve each other. Those who have been loved by God are meant to respond by loving others.