https://odb.org/2024/10/02/reflecting-the-character-of-jesus
Galatians 5:13-18, 22-23 NIV
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.
In Galatians 5 above, Paul asserts and settles the debate then (and even now in some quarters) that as believers in Christ, we are no longer bound by the Mosaic Law of the Old Testament. This is because when Christ died for our sins, He had fulfilled the law. By giving us the Holy Spirit, we now live by the Spirit and not by our flesh, and if we are led by the Spirit, we are no longer under the Law.
Further, the whole law is fulfilled when we love our neighbour as ourselves. With the fruit of the Spirit, against such things, there is no law. If we have love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, what law can be against us? The background to Galatians 5 was the debate, whether new believers in Christ who were Gentiles need to be circumcised like the Jews. It is obvious that Christians do not practice circumcision. Why is there still a debate by some today that we are still bound by the Mosaic Law?
For our application, it is important to focus on the Holy Spirit. We are not bound by the law because we are led by the Spirit. We must not fulfil or gratify the desires of our flesh and must acquire the fruit of the Spirit. If we are still in the flesh, Christ’s death has not impacted us in the sense that our flesh has not been crucified with Christ. Then, perhaps we can not say that we are freed from the law. How can we be free from the law if we are still led by our flesh? We will be judged by the law based on our flesh as we are not led by the Spirit.
Have a good week ahead (although it is mid week already)! I pray that all of us will have the wisdom and discernment from the Lord as we earn our living in the world and relate to those around us while being led by the Spirit! Loce your neighbour as yourself and the whole law will be fulfilled by us!
Ronnie's Thoughts 