We hear in Paul’s letter to the Galatians the same message we hear over and over again in Paul’s writings – we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not by works yet, if we believe in Christ, works are to be a result of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This trips us up if we are not careful because it is easy to slip into a works mentality. We begin to see our salvation as a result of our works, that we are earning our eternal life, that we are good enough for God’s favor. But God’s plan is that works are a result of our growing relationship with Him – that He is able to accomplish His will and further His Kingdom through us.
Let’s hear what Paul had to say to the Galatians:
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not by works – no amount of good deeds can earn us heaven, no self-righteousness can make us good enough.
Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law (2:16).
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for m. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die (2:20-21).
Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses?…After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? (3:2b,3)
So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life” (3:11).
Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes (3:24-26).
You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. I fear for you (4:10-11a).
So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law (5:1).
We are to follow the urgings of the Holy Spirit and not of the sinful nature. God’s grace is not an excuse to sin. He gave us the give of His Spirit in order that our faith could be expressed in our actions.
Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live (1:4).
But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us…What is important is faith expressing itself in love (5:5-6).
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another (5:13-15).
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires (5:16-17a).
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, LET US FOLLOW THE SPIRIT’S LEADING in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another (5:19-26).