Paul has been talking about our freedom in Christ---freedom from living in the bondage of depending on our own weak works in order to justify ourselves in the sight of God. This freedom, however, does not mean we have the liberty to live in sin now that we have been saved by faith in Christ. Today Paul very specifically addresses this issue and he contrasts the fruits of the Spirit with the fruits of the flesh.
"You, my brothers and sisters, are called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Galatians 5:13-14) Paul isn't making this statement about the law on his own authority. God Himself, while giving the people of Israel instructions about how to treat each other, spoke the words Paul quotes in verse 14. In Leviticus 19:18 the Lord commanded the people to love their neighbors as themselves because He knew if they loved each other they would refrain from doing to each other the things the law instructs them not to do.
Paul gives this stern warning, "If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." (Galatians 5:15) Since the church first sprang into existence, nothing from the outside has managed to tear it apart, not even the fiercest persecution. Churches fall apart from the inside when the members turn on each other. Living according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit causes a person to become selfish, to stop loving his neighbor as himself, and to start focusing only on his own needs and desires. This in turn causes him to look on others with jealousy and resentment. It leads to coveting what others have and to a reluctance to share what he has with those in need. Paul's words in verse 15 are intended to make us picture a pack of greedy wolves fighting and biting each other over the dead carcass of their prey as each of them tries to get as much for himself as he can.
If we submit ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit we won't fall into the trap of becoming like greedy wolves. "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." (Galatians 5:16-18) Our human nature says, "Get all you can get! Take what you need even if you have to kick somebody out of the way to get to it. Always look out for number one---and never forget that number one is you." The Spirit says, "Yield yourselves to the will of the Lord. He is number one, not you. He knows how to supply your needs and He knows how to give you good gifts. As the Lord Jesus said, seek God and His righteousness above everything else, and all that you need will be given to you." (Matthew 6:33)
Paul is about to tell us how we can judge whether we are walking by the flesh or walking by the Spirit. First he deals with the fruits of the flesh, and if we examine ourselves and find any of these things, we know we are living in disobedience to the Holy Spirit. If we examine ourselves and find these sins and realize we aren't bothered by these sins, we need to think seriously about whether we have given our hearts to the Lord at all. "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 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." (Galatians 5:19-21) Paul isn't saying that you have lost your salvation if you have committed any of these sins after coming to faith in Christ. He's talking about living in continual, unrepentant sin. He's talking about a lifestyle, not a mistake you have repented of and turned away from. We've all had impure thoughts, felt jealousy, experienced anger, or behaved selfishly. We may even have gone a step farther from just feeling these emotions to actually acting on them. But Paul is talking about people who are comfortable living this way, for the person who is comfortable living in sin is not right with the Redeemer in the first place. The person who is in Christ has the Holy Spirit living inside of him, and the Spirit will be grieved by sin and will cause the person to be very uncomfortable about his sin. The one who lives in sin without a care in the world and without any sense of guilt likely was never in the faith to begin with, so that is why Paul says this person will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Next we take a look at the fruits of the Spirit. If we are in Christ we should easily be able to find these things in our character. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) The law of Moses spoke against the things we find in the list of the fruits of the flesh, but there is nothing in the law that speaks against the things we find in the list of the fruits of the Spirit. We are fulfilling the spirit of the law when we walk according to the Spirit, for the spirit of the law has always been summed up like this: "Love God more than you love yourself; love your neighbor as much as you love yourself." When we commit the acts named in verses 19-21 we are not showing love to God or to our neighbor. When we possess the fruits names in verses 22-23 we are showing love to God and to our neighbor. In our own strength we will fail at possessing these beautiful fruits because our carnal nature is opposed to such things, but if we live in submission to the Holy Spirit we will naturally love God and our fellow man. We will naturally want to honor the Lord and be kind to those around us.
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." (Galatians 5:24-26) When we give our hearts to Christ, we voluntarily nail our old natures to the cross, just as Christ voluntarily submitted Himself to the Father's will and allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross. And just as Christ rose from the dead in a body that is incorruptible, we have a new life through Him that does not have to be led by the corruptible works of the flesh but is guided by the Holy Spirit.
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