Galatians
Unbound, Unchained, Unbroken
Week 11 | Galatians 5:13-26
Lisa Scheffler, author
You can listen to an audio version of the Engage God Daily at bit.ly/EngageGodDaily.
With summer coming, a lot of us are dreaming of a vacation — the chance to take a few days off, not think about our day to day responsibilities, and enjoy short-term freedom from our ordinary life. It sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Yet, there is sometimes an odd feeling that comes with a vacation.
On that first morning, with no alarm or young children to startle you awake, your eyes open when they are ready. As you come to consciousness, and your thoughts start taking shape, it hits you — what are you going to do with your day? In our busy and highly scheduled lives, many of us never have to ask that question. But on vacation, when we’re free, what are we supposed to do? It’s odd, but freedom can be a little disorienting.
Paul’s message of freedom in Christ can also be a little disorienting, especially to people who are used to following a strict code of conduct. In Paul’s day, this message even made some people suspicious. Without the law to guide and correct, wouldn’t people just run wild, doing whatever they wanted? Without the law, what would keep people from sin?
Paul’s going to deal directly with this objection in our passage for the week. Paul has the answer to that disorienting thought, what do we do when we’re free?
Day 1
As we’ve seen, the controversy in Galatians revolved around the Mosaic law. Jewish Christians were expecting Gentile Christians to get circumcised and commit to follow the law before they could be accepted into God’s family. They knew that Jesus was the Savior and Lord who died for people’s sins, but wasn’t the law necessary to make people right with God? To create the covenant community? How could the people of God function without it?
Paul explained that the law was a guardian, but it was no longer needed. The same Spirit that brought freedom from the penalty of sin brings freedom from the burden of the law.
As you read our passage this week, consider the concerns that Paul is likely addressing. How is he helping people understand how to live without the law, then and now? What does this mean for how God’s people function as a family?
Read
Galatians 5:13-26(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 neighbor 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.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
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. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Imagine what your life would be like if you walked in the Spirit and did not gratify the desires of the flesh as described in verses 19-21. How would your life change if you exhibited more fruit of the Spirit? How would it affect your relationships with God and others?
Respond
I once heard a seasoned Bible teacher describe passages as either canyon passages, ditch passages, or somewhere in between. A passage can be difficult to interpret and apply for all kinds of reasons. Maybe we need to understand some of the history of the time or get input from another part of the Bible to really understand what’s being communicated. Those are canyon passages because the context is so far removed from our own that we have to build a bridge. We’ve definitely had a few of those passages here in Galatians.
Some passages are more like a ditch. What’s being communicated is as clear to us as it was to the original audience. Getting from meaning to application it is more like stepping over a ditch. I think that describes this week’s passage fairly well. We’ll need to define some terms this week, but for the most part, Paul’s message is clear. Our questions will center on how. How do we walk in step with the Spirit?
I want my life to be characterized by the fruit of the Spirit. I want to live like someone who belongs to Christ and doesn’t indulge desires that are outside of God’s goodness. How about you?
Let’s commit to upping our prayer time this week, and seeking the Spirit. Let’s encourage one another. Talk about this passage with someone and think through the how together. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.