Galatians 5:13, if you are free from the law and you are saved only by grace, why not just sin as much as you want, if God’s job is to forgive and my job is to have fun, let us get to it, this is the most common objection to the message of grace. People are terrified that freedom will lead to chaos, but Paul crushes this idea, freedom is not the right to do whatever you want, that is actually a different kind of slavery. If you do whatever your impulses tell you to do, you are a slave to your impulses, true freedom is the power to do what you ought to do, it is the power to choose love over selfishness.
Galatians 5:14, Paul explains that the entire law creates a heavy burden, but the intent of the law can be fulfilled in one simple command, love your neighbor as yourself. If you love your neighbor, you will not seal from him. If you love your neighbor, you will not sleep with his wife. If you love your neighbor, you will not lie about him. Love naturally fulfills the moral requirements of the law without needing a checklist. But look at the warning Paul gives to churches that lack this love, Galatians 5:15, this is a wild animal metaphor. When a church focuses on rules instead of love, people become vicious, they judge each other, they gossip, they attack those who do not measure up, they act like wild dogs fighting over scraps of meat, Paul says this is the inevitable result of legalism, it destroys community.
Galatians 5:16-17, this is the most psychologically relatable part of the entire Bible, every single believer knows exactly what this feels like, you have two natures living inside one body. You have the flesh, which is your old human nature that wants to please itself, it is selfish, fearful, rebellious and craves instant gratification, then you have the Holy Spirit, the actual presence of God living inside you. These two are not friends, they are not roommates who get along, they are not partners who compromise, they are mortal enemies, they are at war 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a violent, active conflict happening in your mind right now, this explains the deep frustration and exhaustion many Christians feel.
Believers wonder, if I am saved, why do I still want to sin, why is the temptation still so strong? Many believers panic when they feel this battle, they think that having sinful thoughts means they are not really Christians, but the opposite is true, the presence of the battle is proof of your salvation. If you are not a Christian, there would be no battle, you would just follow the flesh without any resistance, a dead fish floats downstream, only a live fish swims against the current. The fact that you feel the resistance means the Holy Spirit is alive in you fighting back.
Galatians 5:14, Paul explains that the entire law creates a heavy burden, but the intent of the law can be fulfilled in one simple command, love your neighbor as yourself. If you love your neighbor, you will not seal from him. If you love your neighbor, you will not sleep with his wife. If you love your neighbor, you will not lie about him. Love naturally fulfills the moral requirements of the law without needing a checklist. But look at the warning Paul gives to churches that lack this love, Galatians 5:15, this is a wild animal metaphor. When a church focuses on rules instead of love, people become vicious, they judge each other, they gossip, they attack those who do not measure up, they act like wild dogs fighting over scraps of meat, Paul says this is the inevitable result of legalism, it destroys community.
Galatians 5:16-17, this is the most psychologically relatable part of the entire Bible, every single believer knows exactly what this feels like, you have two natures living inside one body. You have the flesh, which is your old human nature that wants to please itself, it is selfish, fearful, rebellious and craves instant gratification, then you have the Holy Spirit, the actual presence of God living inside you. These two are not friends, they are not roommates who get along, they are not partners who compromise, they are mortal enemies, they are at war 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a violent, active conflict happening in your mind right now, this explains the deep frustration and exhaustion many Christians feel.
Believers wonder, if I am saved, why do I still want to sin, why is the temptation still so strong? Many believers panic when they feel this battle, they think that having sinful thoughts means they are not really Christians, but the opposite is true, the presence of the battle is proof of your salvation. If you are not a Christian, there would be no battle, you would just follow the flesh without any resistance, a dead fish floats downstream, only a live fish swims against the current. The fact that you feel the resistance means the Holy Spirit is alive in you fighting back.
