He then ends by showing that this will be demonstrated in our attitudes to each other: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Gal 5:26). Paul writes something similar in his letter to the Ephesians: “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18). This includes “addressing one another (Eph 5:19) and “submitting to one another (Eph 5:21).

The point he is trying to make is that bearing the fruit of the Spirit is not some isolated, mystical experience, but it manifests itself in practical outworkings of love and care that we should have for each other. It is easy to talk about love in a detached, isolated way. In this section, Paul shows that love has to be displayed in real, practical ways.

Bear One Another’s Burdens (Gal 6:1-5)

It is the Loving Thing to Do

Paul says “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). The immediate assumption is that we all have burdens, and we are not meant to carry these burdens alone.

Some people try to bear them alone. They think it is a sign of strength and fortitude. But this is more stoical than Christian.

Others think they should only take their burdens to the Lord. They think of verses like “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you” (Psa 55:22), and that Jesus invited those with heavy burdens to come to him (Matt 11:28). True, Jesus can carry all our burdens and we are to cast our burdens on Him for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). But we should not forget that one of the ways God cares for us is through human friendship.

It Fulfills the Law

Human friendship in which we share each other’s burdens is part of God’s purpose for His people. So we should not keep our burdens to ourselves, but seek to share it with other believers, who can bear the load with us. By this kind of burden-bearing, we “fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2).

In doing so, Paul is making a side swipe at the Judaizers. They were adding to their burdens. Paul is saying that true Christians do not add to other’s burdens but carry it alongside them. Jesus gave his disciples a “New Commandment” that they “love one another” as He loved them (John 13:34). Loving one another is not some heroic form of self-sacrifice most of the time. Rather, it is the everyday, mundane task of walking alongside other Christians and sharing their burdens. Similarly, we need to be humble enough to share ours with others as well.

It Demonstrates Humility

Paul goes on to say: “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, deceives himself” (Gal 6:3). The thought is, that if we think that bearing others’ burdens is beneath us, then we are deceiving ourselves. The truth is, that we are not something. We are nothing. This is not an exaggeration. We ourselves deserved to experience the wrath of God and condemnation to eternal torment in hell. Our salvation was a free gift that we did not deserve. That is the heart of the gospel. So we are never superior to any of our Christian brothers or sisters who get tripped into sin. We are no better. So in humility and gentleness, we can seek to restore them without judging them. We saw in our last study, that the opposite of love is to “bite and devour one another” (Gal 5:15).

The transgressions Paul is referring to may not be obvious sins. Possibly the transgression the believer falls into is faltering faith. Perhaps the heavy burden makes them doubt the goodness of God. By coming alongside the struggling believer and bearing their burden, we are also helping them see the goodness and the faithfulness of God.

Paul points out that the restoration needs to be done “in a spirit of gentleness” (Gal 6:1). Paul adds, “keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Gal 6:1). Perhaps we can also be tripped up by the same sin, but it is also possible for us to be tripped up by the sin of self-righteousness and pride. We need to be aware that we are no better, and only then can we truly come alongside a fellow believer and restore them. This takes a whole lot of love as well as courage. Jesus compares it to eye surgery (Matt 7:1-5)

A Practical Way to Fight Against Conceit

Paul then gives us a practical way to fight against becoming conceited. He says we should not compare ourselves with one another, but rather, “let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone, and not in his neighbor” (Gal 6:4). 

The reason we become proud (or sink into despair) is that we tend to compare ourselves with others. Paul here gives us the practical advice – “don’t do that”! We have the Word of God, and we have the Holy Spirit. So let us judge ourselves by God’s standards, without comparing ourselves with other people. When we see how far we keep falling short, that will keep us humble. Paul concludes this thought by saying “for each will have to bear his own load” (Gal 6:5) – meaning, each of us is accountable to God for our actions alone, not those of others. (Note that this verse does not contradict verse 2. This is like a small back-pack – our accountability before God. The other is like a burden that is too heavy for us to bear, and we are to share that with others).

Sowing and Reaping (Gal 6:6-10)

The Law of Harvest

Paul now talks about a fundamental principle. “Whatever one sows, that he will also reap” (Gal 6:8). This is a principle of order and consistency that exists in all of life. A farmer sows during seed-time, and reaps in the harvest. If he sows barley seeds, he will get a barley crop. If he sows rice, he will get a crop of rice. He cannot sow wheat and expect a crop of grapes. Similarly, if he sows good seed, he can expect a good crop. If he forgets to sow, then come harvest, there will be nothing to reap. If he sows plentifully, he can expect a plentiful crop. If he sows sparingly, he can expect a small crop (see 2 Cor 9:6).

It is not the reapers who decide what the harvest will be like. It is the person who does the sowing, who determines what the harvest will be like! Hosea warned his contemporaries, “those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7).

This is a fundamental law of nature. Paul makes his point clear with a command “Do not be deceived” (Gal 6:7) and a statement “God is not mocked” (Gal 6:7). The possibility of being deceived is mentioned several times in the New Testament. After all, Satan is a liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44). There are many who think there will be no consequences for their actions. They think they can get away with it. That is why Paul points out that God will not be mocked.

So there are three kinds of sowing that Paul talks about here. The point he is making is that by sowing the right things, we will reap a good harvest, so ultimately we will be the ones with the greater blessing!

Take Care of Those Who Feed Us Spiritually

The first thing Paul talks about is to sow into the ministry of our local churches. Our pastors and church staff need to be supported, and it is our duty to provide for their needs. As they nourish our souls spiritually, we should provide support to their physical needs.

Yes, this will bless the minister. But actually there is a bigger blessing for us! This is what Paul explains to the Philippians. “it was kind of you to share my trouble. … Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit … And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:14-19). The Philippians had provided for Paul to “share his trouble” (Phil 4:14), and these seeds that were sown, as it were, would cause fruit to increase to their credit! This caused Paul to “rejoice in the Lord, greatly” (Phil 4:10).

Sow to the Spirit and Not to the Flesh

The next thing Paul mentions is sowing to the Spirit, or in other words, to fight the battle for holiness. 

The Bible makes it clear that we are not helpless victims of our nature, temperament and our environment. Who we become tomorrow is shaped by how we behave today. So the Holy Spirit is likened both to the path that we walk as well as the field where we sow. How can we expect to reap the fruit of the Spirit if we do not sow into the field of the Spirit?

This saying is true:

• Sow a thought, reap an act
• Sow an act, reap a habit
• Sow a habit, reap a character
• Sow a character, reap a destiny.

In our last study, we saw the works of the flesh. Sowing to the flesh is to pander to the desires of our flesh rather than crucifying it. Every lingering bad thought we have, every time we are in bad company, every time we decide to sleep and not to pray – all of these are seeds that we are sowing to the flesh. Some Christians, myself included: sow to the flesh every day, and wonder why they are not becoming holy. Paul says, “God is not mocked”. Holiness is a harvest. Whether we reap it or not depends entirely on what we sow.

On the other hand, to sow to the Spirit is the same as to “set our mind on the Spirit”, or to “walk in” or “keep in step with” the Spirit. Again, we sow with our thoughts and our deeds. The books we read, the music we listen to, all of this can be sowing to the Spirit. We are to “set our minds on things above, not things of the earth” (Col 3:2).

The two harvests come from two sowings. The results are logical. If we sow to the flesh, we will “from the flesh reap corruption” (Gal 6:8), but if we sow to the Spirit, we “will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal 6:8).

Do Good to Others, Specially Believers

Then  Paul talks about doing good to others. He says we should do this “as we have opportunity” (Gal 6:10). This earthly life is full of opportunity. 

Our first responsibility is to those “who are of the household of faith” (Gal 6:10). This means other fellow-believers. As the saying goes, “charity begins at home”. Christians claim our first loyalty.

However, this then extends to everyone else. We are even commanded to “love our enemies” (Matt 5::44).

Do Not Grow Weary

And as Paul winds up this section, he reminds us that much patience is required. He knows that we will be tempted to get weary. So he exhorts us “let us not grow weary in well-doing” (Gal 6:9). Active Christian work is tiring, and we are tempted to give up and to “slack off”.

So Paul gives us an incentive with a promise. “In due season we shall reap if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9). The seed that we plant does not bear fruit immediately. There are seasons of waiting. Paul tells us to stick with it. We need to “wait on the Lord” (Isa 40:31), for His harvest in His time. And the promise is, that harvest is coming! Our patience is evidence of saving faith.

The Cross is All that Really Matters (Gal 6:11-18)

Until now, Paul has been most likely dictating his letter. But as he does in most of his letters, he ends the letter with a few words by his own hand. Sometimes it is just a final greeting or a signature. The reason Paul did this was to guarantee his letter against forgery. In this case it is several sentences.

Some Boast in the Flesh

The Judaizers “boast” in the flesh. Paul says several things about them.

1. They are braggarts. forcing the Galatians to become circumcised in order to “make a good showing in the flesh” (Gal 6:12). They were more interested in numbers and statistics than the souls of the people.
2. They are compromisers. Another reason Paul gives is that they want to avoid being persecuted (Gal 6:12)
3. They are persuaders
4. They are hypocrites – they themselves do not keep the law (Gal 6:13).

The key point is that they are doing these things to exalt themselves. Paul goes on to talk about his motivation. It is not himself, It is the cross of Jesus; i.e., it is the work that Jesus did on His behalf that he wants to proclaim from the roof-tops.

We Should Boast only in the Cross

Paul says “far be it for me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14). He goes on to say that the cross is “by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14). This reminds us of what he wrote in Gal 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”. As far as Paul is concerned, the cross of Jesus shattered every confidence he used to have in the flesh. He was willing to “crucify” it all for the sake of his relationship with Jesus Christ as a part of Abraham’s lineage of faith.

Application

So here are some ways we can evaluate our own faith.

Is our faith inward or outward?

Paul says: “for neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision” (Gal 6:15). The point is that circumcision is an outward symbol. Yes it is meant to signify something. But it should never be exalted to the position of a required “work”.

In our world today, the critical issue may not be circumcision. But for example, thinking about baptism and nit-picking how it is to be done or to whom it is to be done, or worse still, thinking that baptism is a necessity for salvation, brings all the issues that Paul is so strongly opposed to in this letter. Yes, baptism is an important part of a Christian’s life. But it can never be a requirement for salvation. If anyone says it is, then they are nullifying the work of Christ on the cross for our salvation, for precisely the same reasons that Paul says the Judaizers are. So we need to be careful to put baptism, and every other tradition we may practice, in its right place. What really matters for salvation, is that we become children of God, through faith in the completed work of Christ for us on the cross. Everything else is secondary. That is why Paul is willing to boast only on the cross.

Paul says “I bear the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17), meaning, he has scars from all his suffering for Jesus, that proves that he is not self-serving and is willing to sacrifice his very life for his faith.

Is our faith human or is it divine?

Paul also goes on to say “neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Gal 6:15). The new creation is the new birth that we experience when we put our trust in Jesus. It is being “born of the Spirit” or “born again”, as Jesus put it. Ultimately, that is all that matters. Am I born again? Is the Holy Spirit living in me? That determines everything. That is how I bear the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians chapter 5, and that is how my new life in Christ grows.

Paul concludes: “And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God” (Gal 6:16). As children of God, peace with God and mercy follows, and we are the “true” Israel of God. The spiritual Israel. The spiritual descendants of Abraham! Paul’s final benediction is “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen” (Gal 6:18).

For example, India celebrated our freedom from the British on August 15, 1947. Indians felt that British colonialism was oppressive, and so celebrated their freedom in independence. There are economists who believe in free trade, and the lifting of tariffs. Capitalists hate constraints from central controls because they hinder free enterprise. Communists desire freedom from capitalistic exploitation.

Paul’s point becomes clearer when we think of those who want “free sex” or “free love”. These are people who do not like the constraints society puts on our behavior and think that to break out of these social norms is freedom. A teenager may have considered themselves free when he or she left the home, but ended up becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol. Is that really true freedom? Whatever other kind of freedom this may be, we can say clearly, that this is not Christian freedom.

Jesus said “anyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). Slavery is not freedom. So the discerning reader may ask,  “What is true Christian freedom”? So Paul spends the rest of Galatians chapter 5, to clearly define for us the meaning of true Christian freedom.

Before we dig in, let me give you a thousand foot view of Paul’s answer, by way of an illustration. Consider a railway train. It is free to go to any part of India it pleases. But suppose the train were to think: “I hate being forced to only go on these railway tracks. It is so constraining! Oh to be truly and completely free! I am going to break train etiquette and go wherever I please, in the fields and over the hills”. What would happen to the train? We would have a train wreck! A train is truly free, when it does exactly what it was designed to do by its maker, and that includes only moving only on the tracks designed for it. For the same reason, we would call the addicted teenager described earlier, as a “train wreck”! This is because human beings are truly free and can flourish, only when we stay within the boundaries God has designed for us, that Paul describes as “fulfilling the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). James describes this as the “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25).

Freedom, legalism and license (Gal 5:13-15)

We can think of human behavior on a linear scale. On the one end is the bondage of legalism. On the other end is “license” – doing whatever we feel like doing. Somewhere between these two extremes, lies Christian freedom. This is what we saw last week:. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1). Here Paul says “you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh” (Gal 5:13). So if you picture a Christian in a state of true Christian freedom, he needs to guard against once again submitting to the yoke of slavery of legalism, and he also has to guard against making this an “opportunity for the flesh”, i.e. licentiousness. He goes on to say: “through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal 5:13-14).

Paul is referring to the moral law – i.e. the last 6 commandments – honoring parents, not murdering, committing adultery, not stealing, not lying about people, and not coveting other people’s goods. All of these are covered if we truly love others. In other words, God’s law had a purpose. It has the effect of being our “railway tracks”. The problem was that the law cannot save us, as we have seen. However, once we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts, and empowers us to actually “fulfill” the law. Otherwise we would “bite and devour one another”, and be “consumed by one another” (Gal 5:15). He also says: “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Gal 5:26). How could this be freedom?

Before we move on, I would like to make an important observation about this verse: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The most common error is to assume that this is a command to love yourself and that self-love means self-esteem. Both of these assumptions are wrong! As we read the explanation by Moses (Leviticus 19:18) and Jesus (Luke 10:27), they assume that all people love themselves; so they don’t command it. We should understand it to mean “You shall love your neighbor in the same way as you already love yourself.” And the self-love they assume is not self-esteem but self-interest: all people want to be happy, even if they often don’t know what will really make them happy. We know that this is what it means, because Paul says so explicitly in Ephesians 5:28–29. “Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church.” In other words, self-love means the strong interest you have in your own health and safety and happiness. To take this command to mean “you need to love yourself first”, you are stripping this verse of its power.

To summarize, we see:

• Christian freedom is not freedom to indulge in self-centered desires
• Christian freedom is not freedom to exploit my neighbor
• Christian freedom is not freedom to disregard the law

This is why even though the gospel says that our salvation does not require us to keep the demands of the law, our salvation “frees” us to fulfil the requirements of the law through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The battle within (Gal 5:16-18)

Paul goes on to say “But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16).

What does Paul mean by the phrase: “the desires of the flesh”? When Paul uses the term “flesh”, he does not mean our physical bodies. He means “our fallen sinful nature”. So this phrase includes all the natural sinful desires and tendencies that we have”. More simply “the flesh” refers to everything we desire due to our natural birth, and “the spirit” refers to everything we desire through our new birth in Christ. The Bible never says that by nature we are morally neutral by default so that we can choose a path either towards good or towards evil. Rather, the Bible teaches us that in our natural state, our desires are all opposed to God.

In contrast, the indwelling Holy Spirit within us gives us new desires – “the desires of the Spirit” (Gal 5:17). These desires are in direct opposition to the desires of the flesh, and that causes an intense inner struggle, that will never ease up all our lives. In a similar passage in Paul’s letter to the Romans, he says “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God”. (Rom 8:5-8). However, the purpose of the gospel and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit is given “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us” (Rom 8:4).

Thus every Christian is in the middle of an internal civil war. This battle is unique to Christians. It is not that non-Christians do not sometimes wrestle to make good moral choices. However, because the Holy Spirit plants completely new desires within us, our sinful nature opposes it actively, and the battle has an intensity and ferocity that only Christians experience.

The works of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21)

Paul starts off by saying “the works of the flesh are evident” (Gal 5:19). In other words, it is pretty obvious because this behavior is clearly wrong.

Sexual indulgence (public and private)

The first three sins Paul lists are “sexual immorality, impurity and sensuality” (Gal 5:19). The word for immorality is sometimes translated “fornication”. It means sexual intercourse between unmarried people, and includes any kind of “unlawful” sexual behavior. We could translate “impurity” as “unnatural vice”, and “sensuality” as “indecency”, alluding to an open and flagrant contempt of propriety. These words together include every kind of sexual sin, whether a person is married or unmarried, whether it is done in public or in private, and whether it is “natural” or “unnatural”.

Spiritual sins

The next two sins listed at “idolatry” and “sorcery” (Gal 5:20). First of all note, that these sins are no less serious than the sexual sins. Idolatry is the flagrant worship of other gods or idols, and sorcery involves dabbling with the powers of evil. Both of these kinds of sins are highly displeasing to God. 

Let us not be too quick to say that we are not idolaters. You can think of an idol as any person or thing that takes the place of our allegiance that only God deserves. Calvin said “the human heart is an idol factory”. Vanita and I have shared elsewhere how God used our circumstances to shatter some idols in our lives that we may not have recognized – idols of social status, and of our childrens’ success that we craved. God severely disciplined me to shatter the idol of intellectual pride and spiritual arrogance that I had. He allowed my own illusions of righteousness to come crashing to the ground, to expose my morality as a house of cards, and therefore not as a fruit of the spirit, but a work of the flesh. I think many of us middle class Christians need to evaluate our lives, and ask God to show us our own idols so that we “know our enemy” and can fight against them.

Sorcery includes witchcraft, tarot cards, etc., and also superstitious practices we may have that do not honor God.

Social sins 

The remaining sins listed are “enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal 5:19.20). As you can see, these things are the exact opposite of loving our neighbors the way we are supposed to.

A strong warning (Gal 5:21)

Paul gives a strong warning here. “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who practise such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:21). Living according to the flesh means we will not go to heaven! Since God’s kingdom is one of godliness, righteousness and self-control, those who indulge in these things are excluded from it.

How do we reconcile this with the truth of the gospel we have been studying all these weeks? If there is nothing we need to do except trust Jesus for salvation, how is Paul saying that if we indulge in the deeds of the flesh we will not inherit the kingdom of God? The answer is that when the gospel truly takes root in a person’s heart, and the Holy Spirit comes to take up residence, we “cannot” continue indulging in the works of the flesh. He says it this way in Romans: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom 8:13-14). To be a Christian is to be led by the Holy Spirit, and He will never lead us to indulge in the deeds of the flesh.

This passage is consistent with the rest of the New Testament. This is why Jesus often talks about looking at our fruit as evidence of salvation. This is also James’ point in his letter. It is easy to externally profess faith. True evidence of saving faith is seen by our behavior.

The fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)

Paul has so far described our natural desires apart from Christ. We are being encouraged not to indulge in them.

However, our salvation does not just enable us to resist the “deeds of the flesh”. It enables us to actually make positive choices through the power of the Holy Spirit, that Paul describes as the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22). The Holy Spirit is mentioned no less than nine times in the fifth chapter of Galatians.

The fruit of the Spirit is singular. The things described here do not exist in isolation, so that we get some but not others. Think of them as parts of the same cluster of fruit.

God-ward (love, joy, peace)

These first three parts of the cluster come from our relationship with God. Our love is our love toward God. Our chief joy is the joy we have in knowing God. Our deepest peace is our peace with God. These are an anchor to our souls in the midst of the most difficult circumstances.

Other-ward (patience, kindness, goodness)

Patience refers to putting up with one another’s faults and failures. The Bible says: “bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Col 3:13) and also, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph 4:2). Kindness is the way we treat others, and goodness is our words and our deeds.

Inward (faithfulness, gentleness, self-control)

Faithfulness refers to the reliability of a Christian, and gentleness refers to an attitude of humble meekness that we see exemplified by Jesus. Both of these require self-control.

Finally, Paul says “against such things there is no law” (Gal 5:23). The purpose of the law is to curb, to restrain, to deter. None of these have to be done when one has the fruit of the Spirit.

The way of Christian victory (Gal 5:24-26)

As we have seen, Christians have a unique internal struggle. We are in civil war within ourselves. Paul is very careful to ensure that he does not say we need to strive hard and beat the flesh. Why, because the truth of the matter is, it is impossible.

Paul describes this battle in Romans. “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. … For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Rom 7:15, 18-19).

So where does this leave us? Are we just to be helpless and say that we cannot help continuing to do wrong things? The answer is “no”! We are not left on our own to fight this battle. We have the Holy Spirit living within us. And the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to win battles though we may lose some. But His Presence in our lives will enable us to eventually win the war. How do we go about this?

We must “crucify the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24)

Paul says “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24). What does Paul mean? Paul is just using the same words Jesus used when he said “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Paul is expanding on this metaphor. We should not only take up our crosses and walk with it, but we need to ensure that the execution takes place. We are actually to take our wilful and wayward selves and nail them to the cross.

This metaphor enables us to say that it will be painful, but that this is a choice we need to make. The secret of our holiness is in how decisive our repentance is. If we are plagued by besetting sins, it means either we have never really repented, or that we did repent, but have then ceased to take it seriously.

When we are tempted to have a sinful thought, we need to consciously kick it out of our minds, and stop indulging in it. Or to stay with the metaphor, we need to crucify our flesh and leave it there on the cross.

We must “live by” or “keep in step with” the Spirit” (Gal 5:25)

There are two things Paul says about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. First, that He is the one leading us (Gal 5:18). However, it is a mistake to think that all we need to do is to surrender to His leading. Paul says second, that we are choosing to walk with Him as He leads (Gal 5:16).

If “crucifying the flesh” is to choose to reject what is wrong, then “walking by the Spirit” is to choose to do what is right. This requires discipline and self-control (which is one of the fruits of the Spirit).

Application

This passage is very relevant to us today. It helps us clearly understand the relationship between “liberty”, “license”, “law” and “love”.

There is a real battle within us. However, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, who enables us to experience real victory. Victory is within our reach. As we fight this war, we will gradually start winning battles and progress in holiness and become more godly in our character. That is the fruit of the Spirit living in us.

So the challenge for each of us is, to persevere with this fight, and to prevail because of the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives.