March 27 - Galatians 5:16-18

March 27 - Galatians 5:16-18

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

It is impossible for us to blend our two natures – the spirit and the flesh.  So, Paul tells us that when we walk in the Spirit … in the will of God, we will set aside the desires of the flesh.

What does this mean and how does it relate to the Law?

Before Jesus came, the only way that the Jews knew how to live within God’s will was according to the Law.  Every single moment of their lives was defined by that Law.  From the things they ate to the buying and selling of land … everything was handled by God’s Law. 

Just as we do with the Law today, they found loopholes and pushed the boundaries of that law so that the scribes were constantly re-interpreting it for application.  As long as they could justify their actions by the Law, they were free to do whatever it was that they wanted to do.

All of this was governed by humanity.  When God first gave them the Law – He allowed for its interpretation – first by Moses and then by the priests. 

Then, Jesus came.  He began re-interpreting the Law so that a man’s spirit could help him (or her) make a decision regarding what was right and wrong.  There is no loophole in love.  When Jesus calls us to love God with everything we have – that skips right over the laws regarding taking His name in vain, worshipping on the Sabbath, having other gods take precedence.  When Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves – that leaps across the boundaries of what is murder and theft, desire their things and honoring our loved ones.  There are no loopholes.  There is only love.

We talk about the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law.  When Jesus went away into heaven after the resurrection, He told us that He would send the Holy Spirit to guide us.  That Spirit within us is what moves us to live according to the spirit of the Law.  We are no longer bound by the minutiae of the rules set forth to keep us in line with God’s desires for our lives.  We are no longer bound by a life that tries to find the loophole and push the boundaries of how much we can do before we’re no longer called a Christian.

We are to love … there are no loopholes in love.