For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourself to someone to obey them as slaves, you are slaves to the one to whom you obey- whether you are slaves to sin which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 6: 15-18, NIV.
Merciful God, we come with grateful hearts before You today to say “Thank You,” for being here to meet with us as we sit to study Your Word. We give You thanks for this, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
As we continue our study today, we come to one of the most important considerations in the life of every believer – the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. For additional light on this, let us go to the baptism of Jesus. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him” (Matthew 3: 16, NIV, emphasis provided). That was Jesus’ anointing: the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the “Son of Man” would live a life free from sin. After receiving the Holy Spirit, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (4: 1).
Our text for today talks about “living by the Spirit.” Let us learn more: “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit… But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you as I warned you before, those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. There is no law against such things” (Galatians 5: 16-23, NRSV, emphasis provided).
In this block of Scripture we find two sets of behaviors: the behavior of those that live by the flesh; and the behavior of those that are led by the Spirit. And the key word in this text is “opposed.” Have you noticed that the word oppose seems to come from the same root word as opposite? The main idea is that the works of the flesh are the opposite of the works of the Spirit. The two have no dealings with each other. They are like light and darkness. It is in this context, that the argument of the apostle begins to find its rightful place. All of the works of the flesh are against the law. If you observe the works of the flesh carefully, you will notice that all of these behaviors will destroy good relationships in the home, in society, and in the church. Because of this, there are laws against these practices, in society, as well as in the church, and in the home. The sins in this list are against both God and man.
Now let us look at the second list of behaviors called, “the fruit of the Spirit.” You will observe that the fruit is singular, not plural; and, it belongs to the Spirit! Only as we possess the Spirit, can we have the fruit. Let me say that correctly, Only as the Spirit possesses us, can we have the fruit! The Spirit came, and rested on Jesus, and led Him into the wilderness. When the Spirit comes into our lives, He will lead us in paths of righteousness (right doing), against which there is no law! Hallelujah! There is no law, in society or in the church, or the home, that condemns the fruit of the Spirit! Therefore, they that are led by the Spirit are not under the condemnation of any law!
Tomorrow we will continue our conversation!