Yoke Of Christ

When the believers in Galatia trusted Christ, they lost the yoke of servitude to sin and put on the yoke of Christ (Matt. 11:28–30). The yoke of religion is hard, and the burdens heavy; Christ’s yoke is “easy” and His burden is “light.” That word easy in the Greek means “kind, gracious.” The yoke of Christ frees us to fulfill His will, while the yoke of the Law enslaves us. The unsaved person wears a yoke of sin (Lam. 1:14); the religious legalist wears the yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1); but the Christian who depends on God’s grace wears the liberating yoke of Christ.

It is Christ who has made us free from the bondage of the Law. He freed us from the curse of the Law by dying for us on the tree (Gal. 3:13). The believer is no longer under Law; he is under grace (Rom. 6:14). This does not mean that we are outlaws and rebels. It simply means that we no longer need the external force of Law to keep us in God’s will, because we have the internal leading of the Holy Spirit of God (Rom. 8:1–4). Christ died to set us free, not to make us slaves. To go back to Law is to become entangled in a maze of “do’s and don’ts” and to abandon spiritual adulthood for a “second childhood.”

Sad to say, there are some people who feel very insecure with liberty. They would rather be under the tyranny of some leader than to make their own decisions freely. There are some believers who are frightened by the liberty they have in God’s grace; so they seek out a fellowship that is legalistic and dictatorial, where they can let others make their decisions for them. This is comparable to an adult climbing back into the crib. The way of Christian liberty is the way of fulfillment in Christ. No wonder Paul issues that ultimatum: “Do not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. Take your stand for liberty.”

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Ga 5:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.