Galatians 5:14-18 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
In today's scripture, Paul does not just talk about the evil nature of the flesh, he describes our basic tendency to focus on ourselves, our wants and our desires instead of on what God wants for us. This attitude is fleshly and destructive to spiritual growth. Self-centeredness might be needed for survival in the natural world, but the sinful nature also can draw us easily away from doing God's will. If almost everything we do or think is focussed on us, or even on our loved ones, we lose the reason for living as far as the Bible is concerned: to love others. God is love and we are to reflect his love. Jesus said: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35) Self-indulgence and self-centeredness do not reveal a loving God to the world. Lives lived in a selfish vein seldom impact people with the understanding that there is a loving God to be worshipped and served. For Christians, a fleshly life, based on what is good for me, will never please God. In fact, we wear unrighteous robes if our lives are lived in that way because we are breaking God's royal commandment: The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself." A lack of love and concern for others can sprout turmoil and conflict in our lives instead of the peace and gentleness the Spirit would want to bring into our relationships. Rather than loving others as God desires, we might harbor anger and resentment toward others. If simmering hatred develops in our souls, it can take hold of our personalities and affect how we see and treat others, people God loves. Paul warns us about this attitude: If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. When Paul teaches the church in Ephesus about putting off the old self and putting on the new self, he says, Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32) We cannot say we belong to Jesus and continue to display the works of his enemy the devil. By faith, we must live godly lives, full of the Spirit, showing the attributes of our Lord.
Paul wants the Galatians to remember they were called to be free. We know we are free because Jesus our Lord said, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:36) Paul says, you do not want to use your freedom amiss by indulging your sinful nature. As free men and women of God, you are called to love others: this is your purpose for living. When we began our study of Galatians, Paul was so concerned about this church, he told them, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:8-9) He went on to tell them that he did not seek to please men but to please God, so he was willing to bring this strong word of correction. He wanted to know why these believers had begun in the Spirit and now were trying to become perfect through fleshly means. The church is free to love one another, Paul is saying. They are free to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. They are free to take up the cross and follow their Lord. But if they use their freedom to go back to serving their flesh, they will fall into a pit of sin and they will end up devouring each other and being destroyed by each other. Paul never lost sight of this spiritual truth that he wrote to the Romans: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23) When Christians lose sight of our Lord and take our eyes off him, we lose our bearings so easily. When we are led by the Spirit, we seek the things of God. We follow Paul's admonition to the Philippians: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) When we think on these things, we obey the will of the Lord and we are not easily drawn into the snares of the enemy; we are not tempted to feed our fleshly desires. We praise the Lord and remember all his benefits to us.
How many of us today as we have been reading this breakfast have thought about our own lives and the amount of time we spend on ourselves, time we could devote to serving the Lord and loving others as He loves them. How many of us thought there are areas where we are abusing our freedom, taking advantage of the freedom God has given us, using that freedom mostly to our advantage instead of helping the less fortunate. We all have room for the Lord in our lives, places where we can do more for him. We can ask him to help us see the needs and give us the anointing to go in his name and minister to those needs. This is not a message of condemnation, for we are not under law. What we hear from the Holy Spirit as we are writing is an exhortation: "Come a little closer my beloved children. I have called you and given you a work to do for me. There are people I want you to love and nurture in my name. There are needs I want you to meet for my sake. Go out and see the harvest." When Jesus sent his disciples out, He was very clear about the need for workers. He has not rescinded the call. We must be ready to answer. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38)
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