Theological Conclusions from Gal. 5:1-6

I thought I would post the "theological conclusions" portion of my recent term paper for New Testament. As I already mentioned, I did it on Gal. 5:1-6, and this was what I concluded:

It would be irresponsible to emphasize any biblical truth from this text over the exclusive sufficiency of Christ. This truth is stated more specifically in ch. 2 of the text, but this is the foundational principle with which Paul boldly proclaims Christian freedom. There is nothing else that is necessary for salvation such as good works or rituals. Without Christ’s total capacity to save, Paul could not confidently command the Galatians to ignore the necessity of circumcision or to seek justification in the law. By knowing that Christ is enough, Paul does not have to be like his religious recipients in Galatia who hopelessly sought after righteousness in themselves with no direction other than their own misguided opinions. Paul confidently points them to Christ, who is the only means of salvation. It is in light of this necessary truth that all other theological principles from the text must be understood. The heart of the text is that anything that is depended upon for salvation beyond Christ must be cast off.