Galatians 5:1-8:  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. 7Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 8This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

The Apostle Paul is exhorting the members of the church in Galatia to not voluntarily give up the freedom won for them by Christ.  They are in jeopardy of returning to the bondage that had once oppressed them.  Why would anyone do something so stupid?  Why would Paul have to write such strong words to warn people against returning to bondage?  It is because the force that holds a person in bondage, making him or her his slave is very crafty, very subtle, very seductive and very powerful.  This force can even masquerade as an angel of the light!

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. ¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.  2 Corinthians 11:13-15

This is what had happened in Galatia.  Satan’s minions, in this case false apostles and false teachers, were working to deceive the Galatians.  They wanted the Galatians to return to bondage.  They were trying to accomplish this by testifying that “the way of bondage is the way to righteousness”.  They were ravenous wolves, masquerading as sheep, preying upon Paul's flock!

Paul engages in battle with these false “ministers of righteousness” through the divinely inspired words given him by the Holy Spirit.  Paul states that these men had “perverted the gospel of Christ”.  Galatians 1:6-7  There is a very real, very serious battle going on for the eternal souls of the Galatians.  But when the words of the Holy Spirit, breathed by Heavenly Father himself, are used to attack the deceiving words of false teachers one can be certain that God’s Will will prevail! Paul dramatically declared that if anyone, even an angel, brings a gospel different from what was originally preached to the Galatians (and recorded in Paul's writings); “let him be accursed”.  Galatians 1:8-9   The Galatians were fortunate to have Paul as their apostle.  Doubtless many souls were turned back to reliance on Christ, ensuring their freedom from bondage.

But these words were not meant just for the Galatians.  They were meant for all people of all times in all places.  They were meant for me and for you.  And they bear a closer look.  Just how is Paul, partnered with the Holy Spirit, working out God’s battle plan?  Paul opens his argument by using words that shine a tight, bright spotlight on his message: “Behold, I Paul say unto you”.

First Paul declares that being “circumcised” is not going to profit a person anything.  Father Abraham received the LORD’s ordinance of circumcision some thirteen years after He declared Abram righteous because of his faith.   Genesis 15:6 & Genesis 17:10.  For several hundred years his offspring lived under this law.  Then Heavenly Father gave his children the Mosaic Law after he used Moses to free them from their slavery to the Egyptians.  The law of circumcision was a gift which signified that these people belonged to and were protected by the Great I AM.  But in the time of Paul this gift had been turned into something else.

In this situation being “circumcised” is symbolic of subjecting yourself to the Jewish law.  This law included both elements given by God and elements given by men.  It encompassed the Mosaic Law, the law of circumcision given Abraham, the ten commandments, and a great number of additional rules and ordinances added by the ruling Jewish authorities.  Subjecting ones self to this “law” is precisely what the false “ministers of righteousness” were trying to convince the Galatians to do by requiring them to be circumcised.  Paul emphatically claims that this is a foolhardy thing to do because then you become a “debtor to do the whole law”.  In effect, you become a slave to the law, in bondage to it.  You become a debtor because you will owe a debt for every transgression, for every law broken.

Second Paul has a chilling pronouncement for anyone who places themselves under this bondage:  “Christ is become of no effect unto you”!  He stresses why this is so by pointing out that those who have put themselves under bondage to the law are now obligated to be justified by the law.  Another way to state this is that their justification (“Not Guilty” verdict) is predicated upon obedience to the law.  The ultimate rewards of such people will depend entirely on their own ability.  They must pay their entire debt to the law; a debt incurred by transgressing the law.  Therefore they “are fallen from grace”.  Grace (undeserved mercy) can not step in to save them, can not pardon their debt, can not grant them Eternal Life because they have made the law their master.  Only perfect obedience will appease this master.

Third Paul reinforces the message that had set the Galatians free in the first place.  This message is that the way of the Spirit is the way of  “hope of righteousness by faith”.  This 'hope' is trusting that their righteousness, (their “Not Guilty” verdict) comes through their faith.  This faith is trusting that Jesus paid the price that released them from their prison, trusting that he bought their freedom from slavery to the law at a great cost to himself.  Paul also provides a glimpse into the kind of freedom this faith grants by writing “faith which worketh by love”.  In other words, this faith is expressed through love.

Finally Paul reaffirms his exhortation.  He drives his point home that the current choice being made by the Galatians is a choice to “not obey the truth”.  He underscores his assertion that the message of bondage to the law is not a message that comes from “him that calleth you”.

It is critically important to see the logic of Paul’s dissertation, for his message applies to us as well as the Galatians.  The central premise of Paul’s warning is that people who place themselves under the law become slaves to that law.  They are in bondage to that law.  The consequence of this act is that their Eternal Life is now predicated solely upon obedience to this law.  Any transgression of this law incurs a debt which must be cleared by their own actions because they “are fallen from grace”. (No longer able to rely on grace; that is God's mercy, to grant them Eternal Life "after all they can do"!)

The Jewish law of the time was a mishmash of pre-Mosaic, Mosaic, and post-Mosaic laws; some God-given, some not.  But the logic holds true for any other law as well!  If a person places him or her self in bondage to a law, then that law becomes his or her master and dictates what reward (or punishment) the person receives – predicated upon perfect (or imperfect) obedience.