Entangled

2018-05-26

Paul, when exhorting the Galatians not to go back to the bondage apart from Christ, tells them this:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1)

The Galatians were being “entangled” by the false teaching that circumcision was required for salvation or to live the Christian life. What might this be mean? Here are some other times the word “entangled” is used in the Bible.

Entangled in the Land

For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. (Exodus 14:3)

When the Israelites had exited Egypt, Pharaoh saw that the newly redeemed people were “entangled in the land” by the Red Sea. There was no way out! They were certainly going to be slaughtered by the Egyptians. God then miraculously delivered them from the armies of Pharaoh.

Entangle Him in His Talk

Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. (Matthew 22:15)

The hypocrite religious leaders wanted to entangle Jesus in His talk, which was never going to happen. Here Jesus was asked about paying tribute to the Romans. They wanted to see if Jesus would contradict Himself, or possibly condemn Himself. If Jesus had said to stop paying taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees would have possibly had grounds to arrest Him.

Entangleth Himself with the Affairs of this Life

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (2 Timothy 2:4)

Paul used this analogy to show us that our focus ought to be entirely on Christ. The soldier is not going to get involved in anything that is going to distract him from being a soldier and serving his superior. To be entangled is to be distracted from one’s true service.

They Are Again Entangled Therein

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. (2 Peter 2:20)

The reprobate that never receives Christ ends up worse than when he had never heard the Gospel. They are entangled; that is, they never come back to truly believe. They are permanently entangled in the pollutions of the world.

Entangled Again with the Yoke of Bondage

Let us see how this applies to Galatians 5:1. If we go back to bondage after knowing the freedom in Christ, what does that look like for us?

  1. We are trapped with no way out. Christ is the only way out of God’s judgment. If we say that Christ is not sufficient, we see that there is no other way out.
  2. We contradict and condemn ourselves. Without Christ, we see that we are condemned. We do not have the resources to save ourselves. Partially trusting Christ and partially trusting our own efforts in the flesh is a contradiction, and Christ does not do anything for us.
  3. We are distracted from our only hope. We cannot truly “wait for the hope of righteousness by faith” (Galatians 5:5). We are looking for righteousness within ourselves, and fail.
  4. We may never return. If we try to add works to our faith as the source of life, we say that Christ is not sufficient. How can one return to Christ once they heard the Gospel, if they reject the free gift of salvation in favor of something else?