Paul’s Assessment

of Christian Freedom
In an awkward but memorable phrase, the Apostle Paul declares:
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” The story of Jesus
Christian Reflection Christ, as it comes to life in his followers, is a story of freedom, to
be sure, but a freedom constrained by the Cross and deeply at odds
A Series in Faith and Ethics
with individualistic notions of liberty.
Prayer
Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-15
Reflection
Focus Article: Though we immediately resonate with Paul’s reminder to the Galatian
 Paul’s Assessment of Christians that they “were called to freedom” (5:13a), it is easy for us
Christian Freedom to misunderstand the Christian liberty that he commends to them.
(Freedom, pp. 19-27) Today many people often think of freedom “as the maximum ability
to choose whatever life I want to live with a minimum of external
Suggested Article: attachments,” Will Willimon observes. “A person who is externally
 Freedom determined, who lacks freedom of choice, who has succumbed to
(Freedom, pp. 74-77) any limitations upon self-expression is hardly a person.” But can this
self-determining individualism be what the Apostle had in mind for
the Galatians?
Bruce Longenecker explores Paul’s gospel of freedom, especially
in his letters to Christians in Galatia, Rome, and Corinth. Returning
each time to Galatians 5:13, Longenecker uncovers three levels of
meaning in the Apostle’s teaching.
4Freedom from moral libertinism. Paul was urging the gentile Chris-
tians in Galatia to resist “enslavement” to certain applications of
the Torah—like the rules for food or requirement of circumcision
that had caused a rift in Antioch (Galatians 3). By their faithful
obedience to Christ, they were already heirs of Abraham (3:15-18),
like children of the “free woman” Sarah instead of the “slave
What do you think? woman” Hagar (4:21-31).
Was this study guide useful Paul’s teaching on freedom was misinterpreted. Christians in
for your personal or group Corinth concluded “I have the right to do anything” (1 Corinthians
study? Please send your 6:12 and 10:23). Some believers in Rome slandered Paul by claim-
suggestions to ing he taught “Let us do evil that good may result” (Romans 3:8;
Christian_Reflection@[Link]. cf. 6:1, 15); these ethical libertines presumed on God’s grace toward
sinners—“We can do anything we want, because God will forgive
us.” Paul says about people who misrepresent the gospel this
way: “Their condemnation is deserved!” (Romans 3:8). Notice
how Paul includes his response in Galatians 5:13, where he warns
“do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence.”
Christian Reflection
Center for Christian Ethics 4Freedom from self-interest. Paul puts this condemnation of liberti-
Baylor University nism into cosmic context in Romans. Adam’s act of sin opened
One Bear Place #97361 the door for suprahuman powers of Sin (Romans 3:9) and Death
Waco, TX 76798-7361 (5:12-21) to wreak havoc in God’s good creation. These powers
Phone 1-866-298-2325 hijacked the God-given law to serve their purposes (7:7-25; cf.
[Link] 8:2). Though we were “slaves of sin” (6:20), through baptism we
are “freed from sin” (6:7, 18, 20, 22). This does not mean we are
© 2011 The Center for Christian Ethics free to commit sins; rather we are to be “slaves of righteousness”
(6:18; cf. 6:20, 22). “Although Christians do not observe the law,
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 there is a sense in which the law itself is fulfilled in Christians
through the Spirit, who brings alive loving patterns of life within
Jesus’ followers,” Longenecker writes. Sin can externalize and
twist God’s law into temptations to “all kinds of covetousness”
(Romans 7:8), but the Spirit inspires patterns of love that (inad-
vertently) fulfill the law. Notice how Paul includes this idea in
Christian Reflection Galatians 5:13, saying “through love become slaves to one anoth-
er.” In sinful coveting the Galatians might “bite and devour one
A Series in Faith and Ethics
another” (5:15); the gospel frees them for self-giving.
4Enslavement to one another. Paul’s image of our becoming “slaves”
is startling, but essential. It corrects the moral chaos that Paul
encountered in Corinth. “Over and over, [the Corinthian Chris-
tians] interpreted their freedom in Christ along individualistic
lines, without regard to the health of the Christian community,”
Longenecker notes. They employed spiritual gifts for personal
advantage (1 Corinthians 13) and ate meat from pagan rituals
without regard for how this practice influenced other believers
(1 Corinthians 8:1-13).
Yet after the Corinthians allowed God to align their practices
with the gospel, Paul praises their transformation into self-sacri-
ficing Christlikeness through the Spirit of freedom (2 Corinthians
3:17-18). Likewise, he commends this renovation of the heart to
the Galatians: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer
live, but Christ lives in me” (2:20). As they are crucified with
Christ, they become the means for the self-giving Christ to live
through them, serving others.
Paul’s strange claim that “It is for freedom that Christ has set us
free” is clarified by this relationship between salvation and ethics.
“The phrase ‘Christ has set us free’ pertains to the salvation of Jesus’
followers, while ‘for freedom’ pertains to the ethical lifestyle of Jesus’
followers,” Longenecker concludes. “Christians have been set free
from the enslavement of chaos-inducing self-interestedness in order
to allow the self-giving Christ to become incarnate within their own
self-giving way of life.”
Study Questions
1. Consider how the God-given law could be misused to enslave
someone. How could a person follow the law’s letter and still be
bound by Sin and Death?
2. How did moral libertines in the churches in Corinth and Rome
misunderstand Paul’s teaching? Is their mistake still a danger in
congregations today?
3. How does Paul’s oft-used description of the Church as “the body
Robert B. Kruschwitz, the author of of Christ” (Romans 7:4 and 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30) illumi-
this study guide, directs the nate his view that Christian freedom is not individualistically
Center for Christian Ethics at configured?
Baylor University. He serves 4. Discuss Will Willimon’s remark: “At the heart of the Christian life
as General Editor of Christian is a holy paradox: the more securely we are tethered to Christ, the
Reflection. more obedient we are to his way rather than the world’s ways,
the more free we become. Or as Jesus put it, ‘If the Son makes you
free, you will be free indeed.’”
© 2011 The Center for Christian Ethics Departing Hymn: “A Hymn for Freedom”
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Paul’s Assessment of Christian Freedom
Lesson Plans
Abridged Plan Standard Plan Dual Session (#1) Dual Session (#2)
Prayer Prayer Prayer Prayer
Scripture Reading Scripture Reading Galatians 5:1, 13-15 Romans 7:1-6 and 12:1-8
Reflection (skim all) Reflection (all sections) Distinguish Paul’s Explore the meaning of
view of Christian being “slaves to one
freedom from moral another” within the
libertinism and self- body of Christ
interest
Questions 2 and 3 Questions (selected) Questions 1 and 2 Questions 3 and 4
Departing Hymn Departing Hymn Departing Hymn Departing Hymn

Teaching Goals
1. To articulate the gospel of Christian freedom expressed in the Apostle Paul’s letters.
2. To distinguish Christian freedom from hyper-individualism and moral libertinism.
3. To consider what it means to “become slaves to one another” in the Church.
Before the Group Meeting
Distribute copies of the study guide on pp. 4-5 and ask members to read the Bible passages in the guide.
Distribute copies of Freedom (Christian Reflection) and ask members to read the focus article and suggested
article before the group meeting.
Begin with an Observation
The Apostle Paul jars us in Galatians 5:13. After reminding the Galatian Christians that they are “called to be
free,” he tells them to “enslave themselves” to each other in humble and practical acts of love. The seven times
that Paul has mentioned slavery previous to this verse, it describes a condition the Galatians have been freed
from and should not return to.
Commenting on this passage, Carolyn Osiek observes, “Paul understands freedom not as the opportunity
to pursue one’s own interests but to be even more at the service of others. That this is costly service can be seen
in the fact that in this charter of Christian freedom he also refers frequently to the cross…. Paul may be doing
something quite radical here: he is holding up traditionally feminine values as ideals for everyone, male and
female…. Women too need to appropriate these values, but they need also to balance this ideal carefully against
their legitimate psychological needs. Bearing the cross in freedom does not mean enduring abuse and victim-
hood, but living genuinely for others out of one’s own inner freedom by claiming the inheritance of the ‘sons of
God.’” (Carolyn Osiek, “Galatians” in Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe, eds., Women’s Bible Commentary,
expanded edition [Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998], 427)
Prayer
Invite members to share their personal celebrations and concerns with the group. Provide time for each person
to pray silently. Conclude by asking God for guidance in interpreting the gospel of Christian freedom in the
Apostle Paul’s letters.
Scripture Reading
Ask a group member to read Galatians 5:1, 13-15 from a modern translation.
Reflection
This study continues to articulate the Christian view of freedom by outlining its relationship to Christ’s saving
actions. Bruce Longenecker helpfully keeps the focus on Galatians 5:13, but he outlines the Apostle Paul’s
teachings on freedom elsewhere in Galatians and in the letters to the Roman and the Corinthian congregations.
If you would like to extend the discussion of these passages to two sessions, you might divide the material this

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way. In one session, consider what Christians are freed from—the “enslaving” relationships to the God-given
law and the cosmic powers of Sin and Death—by the saving actions of God in Jesus Christ. In the second
session, discuss how Christians are freed for becoming slaves to one another. You can integrate some of Will
Willimon’s insights into each of these sessions.
Study Questions
1. Paul does not say we should ignore God’s law. Rather than “overthrow the law” (Romans 3:31), Paul
wants to “uphold” it. He says “the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin”
(7:14). That is, in this world that is infected and damaged by the cosmic powers of Sin and Death, we
are constantly tempted to misuse every good thing (even the law). Earlier in Romans, Paul complains
that Gentiles boast about gaining wisdom and virtue on their own (or their community’s) effort: they
fail “to honor [the Creator] as God or give thanks to him…. Claiming to be wise, they became fools”
(1:21-22). Similarly, it is possible for a Jewish person to “boast” in being given the law by God (even
though one does not obey it, except in an external way of being circumcised) (2:17-23).
Bruce Longenecker notes how church reformers used Paul’s insight to counter a similar twisting of
the good practice of repentance: “Quite appropriately, the reformers applied Paul’s gospel of ‘salvation
by grace through faith’ to their own day, standing firm against those who demanded that Christians
should (for all intents and purposes) purchase their salvation [through ‘indulgences’].”
2. Longenecker uses “libertinism” to describe Christians who believed they were free from all moral restraints.
Some even claimed that they should continue to sin in order that God would have opportunities to dis-
play grace in forgiving them (Romans 3:8 and 6:1, 15). They misunderstood their freedom from certain
applications of the law—food restrictions and circumcision—to mean they could (or should) do whatever
they want.
Encourage members to think about how Christians today expect God to grant what Dietrich Bonhoeffer
called “cheap grace”—forgiveness for their sins with no expectation of spiritual and moral reformation.
Do the patterns of sin differ according to the person’s generation, or gender, or background? To what
extent is such libertinism based on wanting to be like and, thus, accepted by others in the wider culture?
3. As members of the body of Christ, we have some role (large or small) to play in enhancing the community.
A concrete example is Paul’s instruction regarding the eating of meat used in a sacrifice to a pagan god.
Longenecker says: “while Paul affirms the liberty of Christians to eat freely, he spends more time and
effort crafting out what freedom looks like when it is wielded responsibly within Christian community.
Properly understood, Christian liberty is constrained by Christian conscientiousness toward others (e.g.,
1 Corinthians 8:1-13).”
As members of the body of Christ, our patterns of thinking, perceiving, caring, and acting are being
changed to be more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). “That is to say, Christians are being transformed
into the ‘image’ of Jesus, so that they, as if reflecting Jesus among each other, are progressively reflecting
his own way of life within their communities.”
4. In John 8:36 Jesus says that he frees his disciples—those who “continue in my word” (John 8:31)—from
slavery to sin. This means, Will Willimon writes, that true freedom is not something we possess, but is
“a gift of God; it is grace that only God can give. There is no freedom to be who God means us to be, no
freedom from sin and from the alluring servitudes of this world except in servitude to Christ” (Freedom,
p. 77). He compares Christ’s disciples to the Hebrews who were freed from slavery in Egypt: in both cases
God frees them from enslavement to other powers so that they can find true freedom in service to one
another.
Why is this “a holy paradox”? We value freedom from, and rarely do we consider what freedom is for.
(When we think of it at all, we tend to think we have been freed for doing anything we want.) Encourage
members to relate this paradox to the Apostle Paul’s teaching: “through love become slaves to one another”
(Galatians 5:13). Paul suggests that Christian freedom in for a relationship of mutual, loving service that
is unimpeded by all forms of covetousness—e.g., lust for power, fear of dependence, desire for superiority.
Departing Hymn
“A Hymn for Freedom” is on pp. 53-54 of Freedom. If you choose not to sing the hymn, you may read the text in
unison or silently and meditatively as a prayer.

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