The message we need to understand from Galatians 4 is that Christ has set us free, and we must be careful not to return to religious practices that place us back under bondage.

Paul was deeply concerned when the Galatians began observing “days and months and seasons and years” (Galatians 4:10–11). They had come to know God through the gospel, yet they were turning back to what Paul called the “weak and beggarly elements.” Judaizing teachers were influencing Christians to embrace practices connected with the Law of Moses—Sabbaths, festivals, circumcision, and other observances—as though these things were necessary to please God or to be saved.

We need to remember that the Law of Moses pointed forward to Christ. Its Sabbaths, new moons, festivals, and other ordinances were shadows; Christ is the substance (Colossians 2:16–17). Jesus came to redeem those under the law so that we could become children of God. In Christ, we are no longer slaves but sons and heirs through Him (Galatians 4:4–7).

That freedom must shape the way we worship. Jesus taught that true worshipers worship the Father “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23–24). We cannot substitute human traditions for what God has commanded and then treat those traditions as necessary acts of worship. Something may appear religious and sincere while still being based on human commandments rather than the will of God.

At the same time, Romans 14 teaches us an important distinction. You may esteem one day differently from another as a matter of personal conscience. The problem comes when we turn such an observance into a requirement for salvation, impose it on others, or make it part of the worship and work of the church without New Testament authority.

That principle should guide how we think about religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter. The New Testament gives us no command for the church to establish annual celebrations of Christ’s birth or resurrection. Instead, we see Christians assembling on the first day of the week, including to remember Christ through the Lord’s Supper. We therefore need to distinguish between personal liberty and practices we claim God requires of His church.

Paul’s warning is serious because returning to religious requirements from which Christ has freed us can endanger our relationship with Him. We must “stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free” and refuse to become “entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

So you need to ask yourself: Are you moving forward in Christ, or are you moving backward into human traditions and religious bondage? We must not allow tradition—no matter how old, familiar, or popular—to replace the authority of God’s Word.

Most importantly, we need to belong to Christ. We hear the gospel, believe in Jesus Christ, repent of our sins, confess Him as the Son of God, and are baptized for the washing away of our sins. If you are already a Christian but have fallen away, you can turn back to God in repentance and seek His forgiveness.

Christ has set us free. We must remain faithful, worship God in spirit and truth, and keep moving forward rather than return to bondage.