Galatians 5:1 - Liberty

[Valerie]

Sorry - we would understand it according to the first paragraph. Liberty represents liberty from the yoke of bondage from sin.

Certain people understand Galatians 5:1 as a “yoke of bondage” meaning a plain church’s rules, and “liberty in Christ” to mean leaving a plain church. When I went to a CMC (RNC) church it was taught this way. It was also taught this way at a quasi-Beachy type of church. For me as a seeker, I never fully understood because I’ve never been Amish or ultra plain and couldn’t relate to a “yoke of bondage” being church rules.

Amish take long & expensive vacations

Following this with interest as I've always wondered this.

When I started wearing a covering years and years ago now, one of the Christian women in my office I worked at yanked my covering off my head and said "Valerie, we are free!"

Admittedly I'm concerned about all the Amish that have recently started attending our church. On Sunday mornings we have 10 or 12 different Bible studies by associate pastors in classrooms. You can pick which book of the Bible you want to study. The Amish were invited to attend the one on Galatians by the associate pastor teaching the book of Galatians. I thought "oh there goes the coverings"

[Heirbyadoption]

So to the question: The Galatians were, well, Gentiles. Amazingly for a 'Hebrew of Hebrews' like Paul, he compares the bondage of the Law (as it was practiced in the Pharisee setting in which he came up) to the PAGAN bondage from which the Galatian Gentiles had been freed. In referring to them, he urges them not to just choose another type of bondage, the bondage of Pharisaic Judaism. I think that this bondage is anything that we DO to "gain God's approval", anything outside of falling before God through Jesus' death and resurrection. (Our congregation no longer really falls in the 'Plain' category, although there ARE written guidelines. But since I am not a part of the ministry team, the inner circle if you will, I am not aware of to what degree members are 'spoken to' as a result of infractions against the written guidelines.)

I think you begin to come a bit nearer to the thought process behind my question. Thank you for elucidating that.

[Josh]

Amish take long & expensive vacations

Yea they do, other plain groups discourage it such as German Baptists (Old Conference) who didn’t used to approve of things like ski trip vacations.

Following this with interest as I've always wondered this.

When I started wearing a covering years and years ago now, one of the Christian women in my office I worked at yanked my covering off my head and said "Valerie, we are free!"

Admittedly I'm concerned about all the Amish that have recently started attending our church. On Sunday mornings we have 10 or 12 different Bible studies by associate pastors in classrooms. You can pick which book of the Bible you want to study. The Amish were invited to attend the one on Galatians by the associate pastor teaching the book of Galatians. I thought "oh there goes the coverings"

I would share the same concern. It is obvious many well-meaning Christians have an agenda to persuade Amish to live more worldly lives. I have a difficult time seeing where the scripture teaches us to do this.

[NedFlanders]

A couple of question specifically for any of you in a Plain/conservative Anabaptist church fellowship (ie. headship veilings, some form of clothing style specifications, acappella singing, traditional nonresistance teachings, etc...), or anybody who grew up in one of these groups:

Galatians 5:1 (KJV) says to "Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with a yoke of bondage."
What does that "liberty" look like (ie. how is it understood, defined, applied) in your 2023 "Plain Anabaptist" congregation or context?
What is the corollary of circumcision or constitutes a "yoke of bondage" in your 2023 "Plain Anabaptist" congregation or context?

No wrong answers, just curious what that means or looks like to your congregation, again particularly those Anabaptist congregations/groups who still have some level of regulated practices from which deviations would be addressed/admonished/disciplined for by the ministry or congregation. Thanks in advance.

Liberty and bondage are simply a perspective as Paul relates to it here. He wrote a few times that he was at liberty but yet was a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

The liberated mind seeks and does what is the will of God because it wants to. Love is motivating the persons actions of obedience even when physically and mentally difficult.

The bondage mind seeks the least that it can do to still feel it is pleasing God. Self and circumstance motivate actions of duty (law) of obedience because they think they have to.

So the liberated person in our CA setting is excited to serve, to share the Gospel and Christ. They make sacrifices and remain joyful. They happily adhere to the group because they respect the spiritual involvement of faithful brethren and understand the value of accountability and see how that glorifies God.

The person in bondage in our CA setting is never quite satisfied their opportunity is quite equal, they often desire a bit more fun and games. And even though they sacrifice and it is hard to tell most can sense a tension in them that pushes away and furthers the problem. There is self focus in bondage.

[steve-in-kville]

The person in bondage in our CA setting is never quite satisfied their opportunity is quite equal, they often desire a bit more fun and games. And even though they sacrifice and it is hard to tell most can sense a tension in them that pushes away and furthers the problem. There is self focus in bondage.

Welcome to the board. When I saw the username, I knew exactly where that came from

It'll be our secret

[Praxis+Theodicy]

This passage seems fairly specific and obvious that it is talking specifically about putting a church under the bondage of the OT law (specifically expressed in circumsision). I'm not sure it's fair or wise to turn this passage into a "principle" by ignoring the actual intent of Paul and the actual understanding that the churches in Galatia would have gleaned. This is the road to writing your own scripture instead of listening and submitting to the Word of God.

If this applies in any CA church today, it's because that church got on a kick that circumcision is "for the church today". And that seems... unlikely (though not impossible).

[Heirbyadoption]

This passage seems fairly specific and obvious that it is talking specifically about putting a church under the bondage of the OT law (specifically expressed in circumcision). I'm not sure it's fair or wise to turn this passage into a "principle" by ignoring the actual intent of Paul and the actual understanding that the churches in Galatia would have gleaned. This is the road to writing your own scripture instead of listening and submitting to the Word of God.

If this applies in any CA church today, it's because that church got on a kick that circumcision is "for the church today". And that seems... unlikely (though not impossible).

Interesting perspective, thank you for sharing. Do you attend a CA congregation, Praxis?

To your thought on ignoring the actual intent of the apostle, though, if Paul was telling the truth when he wrote in Romans that whatever was written aforetimes was written for our learning, I'm inversely not sure it's really fair to turn the OP question into an either/or. We should never ignore the original intent/context of a passage, but it should also always inform any application of principle or practice we might look at contemporarily. I've lived OO and CA long enough to watch people "write their own Scripture" (as you so aptly phrased it) by running with a principle, but neither am I comfortable suggesting that a principle or guidance cannot be drawn from a Scriptural passage post-original-context, either.

So back to the OP, if you're a member of a CA church, how does your congregation teach/apply this passage/concept to their practices in 2023?

[Praxis+Theodicy]

So back to the OP, if you're a member of a CA church, how does your congregation teach/apply this passage/concept to their practices in 2023?

I attend a CA church (very recent; not yet a member). There is nothing in our statement of faith about demanding circumcision for members, so I would say that is how we apply this passage: by obeying it, which is done by no longer insisting that the OT laws are fully applicable for the church of Jesus today.

[Heirbyadoption]

So back to the OP, if you're a member of a CA church, how does your congregation teach/apply this passage/concept to their practices in 2023?

I attend a CA church (very recent; not yet a member). There is nothing in our statement of faith about demanding circumcision for members, so I would say that is how we apply this passage: by obeying it, which is done by no longer insisting that the OT laws are fully applicable for the church of Jesus today.

A good start, certainly! Thank you for sharing.