Skip to main content

February 19: Freedom in Christ (Galatians 5:1-17)

By February 15, 2017Teacher Tips

To begin the session:

Begin your meeting by having group members answer one or more of the following ice-breaker questions.

  • When you were a kid, what game(s) did you like to play that involved some kind of “jail” from which you needed to be “set free”? How about since then?
  • Have you ever participated in a fundraiser that involved getting thrown into “jail” and needing to be “set free”?
  • How do you handle it when someone cuts in on you while you are driving or waiting in line?

 

To engage the learners in a study of the Scripture text:

Read Galatians 5:1-6 and discuss the following questions with your group.

  1. Why was Paul so concerned about circumcision? Is circumcision wrong in every instance?
  2. Was Paul saying that following the law and following Christ are mutually exclusive? Explain your answer.

Read Galatians 5:7-12 and discuss the following questions with your group.

  1. How would you describe the Galatians’ spiritual journey?
  2. How would you describe Paul’s attitude toward the teachers who had influenced the Galatians?

Read Galatians 5:13-17 and discuss the following questions with your group.

  1. What kind of “freedom” was Paul not advocating?
  2. What are the keys to living in true freedom?
  3. How can we reconcile Paul’s exhortations to “serve one another humbly in love” (v. 13) and “love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 14) with his own attitude toward the teachers who had influenced the Galatians?
  4. Are you more prone to be enslaved by legalism or by “indulging the flesh” (v. 13)?
Andrew Sloan

Author Andrew Sloan

More posts by Andrew Sloan