Galatians 5:1-6

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 

As you reflect on Galatians 5:1–6, what did you find most encouraging, confronting, or clarifying about gospel freedom?

Paul urges people who are already free to stand firm in their freedom. Why do free people still need to be reminded they are free (cf. Acts 15:1; Gal 2:4)? What pressures—external or internal—tempt believers to drift back into performance and bondage?

What are some signs—personal or relational—that someone may be relating to God through rules, comparison, or achievement rather than grace? How might this show up in everyday Christian life?

When you see a brother or sister slipping into a performance-based mindset, what gospel truths from this passage could you lovingly point them to?

Paul says, “Christ has set us free,” using language that points to a completed, finished action. Why is it vital to remember that our justification/ freedom is already accomplished? How does this protect us from despair and pride?

Paul warns against returning to a “yoke of slavery.” How do Paul, Peter, and Jesus describe the yoke of the law (Gal 5:1; Acts 15:10; Matt 23:4)? How is Jesus’ yoke different (Matt 11:28–30)?

What are we implicitly saying about Jesus’ work if we believe we must relate to God by our performance (cf. Gal 2:21 and 5:2)?

What are we implying about Christ’s sacrifice if we try to relate to God through our performance (cf. Gal 2:21)? According to Galatians 5:3 and 3:10, why is that path both crushing and hopeless?

If God has provided in Jesus the only righteousness he accepts (e.g., Rom 10:3), and we persist in saying, “No thank you, I can manage on my own,” what will be the result according to Galatians 5:4 and Matthew 7:21-23?

What confident hope do Christians have now and for the future because of the work of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:5, Heb 10:14)?

If we are saved by grace, does that mean we can live and act however we want? According to Paul, in Galatians 5:6 and 13, what does gospel transformation always lead to (cf. Eph 2:9-10, James 2:22)? Why is this the inevitable outcome?

How might your daily life—your prayer, obedience, relationships, and struggles with sin—look different if you truly lived as someone already loved, already accepted, and already free in Christ? Where do you sense God inviting you to stand firm in that freedom this week?