Standing firm in true Christian freedom means rejecting every form of self-justification—whether through prideful entitlement or despairing unworthiness—and instead receiving the full benefits of Christ by faith. Paul warns that to rely on any part of the law obligates one to keep the whole law, cutting oneself off from grace. Justification cannot be earned; it must be received as a gift. Those who belong to Christ eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness—a future public vindication that rests on Jesus' merits. In the meantime, genuine faith expresses itself through love, sourced and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 4 shows that both legalism and idolatry are forms of spiritual slavery that reject the freedom found in Christ. Paul uses the image of a child-heir under a guardian to illustrate that, before faith, people are enslaved to “elementary principles”—whether the Jewish law or pagan gods. But when Christ came, he redeemed us, adopted us, and sent his Spirit into our hearts so that we cry “Abba, Father.” Christians are not slaves but sons, and we are called to live out that sonship through knowing the truth, praying as children to our Father, and serving others in love—rejecting anything that would pull us back into trying to earn what has already been freely given.

God’s promise to Abraham was a gift of grace, not something earned through effort. When the law came centuries later, it didn’t cancel or replace that promise—it revealed just how much we need it. The law exposed our sin and humbled us, like a stern tutor preparing us for the arrival of Christ. But now that Christ has come, we are no longer under the law—we are adopted as God’s children through faith, fully loved and fully accepted. In Jesus, we are united, made heirs of a rich inheritance that includes not only forgiveness and the Spirit now, but the whole world to come. From beginning to end, our standing with God rests not on what we do, but on what Christ has done.