INTRODUCTION: The life of Christ's freeman is very practical. To illustrate this Paul points to particular areas of the Christian life (undoubtedly needed in Galatia), which the Holy Spirit through His Word leads willing Christians into: These are as follows:¹

I. CHRISTIAN FREEDOM IS NOT A LICENCE. 5 13-15. Our freedom from sin's penalty does not allow us to sin without impunity (See Rom. 6: 15-16). When Christ placed a pardon in our hands he did not give us a license to sin at our caprice. No man can participate in the freedom from sin and death graciously supplied by Christ and at the same time hate his brother. That is tantamount to murder (`1 John 3:15). Liberty is maintained, among other things, by a genuine expression of brotherly love. Thus personal discipline and self restraint are characteristics of the spirit-led Christian.

II. THE SPIRIT-GUIDED LIFE IS PRACTICAL, 5: 16-6: 10. It is greatly contrasted to the selfish life of those controlled by the passions of their flesh. Each section in the following contrast the spirit guided Christian and those led by the flesh.

A. The Spirit-Guided life is Free From the Practice and Penalty of Sin, 5:16-18. Remember that the Spirit guides Christians by His Word. What we do “through the Spirit” we do “by faith” explains Paul (Gal. 5:5); Rom. 10:17). Paul instructs us to “walk by the Spirit” and the Spirit directs our steps through the Word He inspired through the apostles.

Remember also that walking by faith is not mere arbitrary obedience; it is rather obedience of faith in Christ. He, Christ, of whom the Spirit teaches us, is the object of our faith (trust). We obey the Spirit's Word because we trust Him to do for us what he said He would do for us when we do what He ask us to do. Our Spirit guided life is the expression of our trust (faith) in Jesus of whom Spirit-guided apostles teach.

1. Freedom from the Practice of Sin, 16-17. There is nothing mystical or magic about this. The Holy Spirit does not make anyone do anything. He leads us by teaching us. We follow or “walk” by obedience. We are to “exercise” ourselves by obedience to the apostolic word (Heb. 12:11; I Cor. 10:13). So Paul teaches in I Cor. 9: 25-27. This is “faithfulness” which Paul calls “the fruit of the

2. Freedom From the Penalty of Sin. v. 18. Sin brings death (separation from God) Rom. 6:23; I Cor. 15:56, but faithful obedience or walking in the Spirit's guidance, which is the same as walking by trusting faith in Christ Jesus to forgive us our imperfections (I John 1:7), makes us free from the Law's condemnation. This is what Paul taught the Roman Christians in Romans 8: 2-3. We all sin (I John 1:8). But Christians who are not practicing sin but who are walking by the Spirit's direction by faith in the Saviour are made free from sin's penalty. Praise God for His unspeakable gift. This also teaches by implication that all who walk by the Spirit can know they are saved. Will this not motivate us to oppose the flesh and strive toward Christian excellence?

1. The Works of the Flesh, 19-21. These “are manifest” or easy to recognize. The fifteen sins listed paint a spiritual picture of all “such like” (like these in nature). Those who do “such things” like these shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul said we are to make our own list of “such thing”--the emphasis on “such like” or things like those.

2. The Fruit Of The Spirit, 22-24. The Spirit produces this fruit by His Word and our obedience. For an illustration, the fruit of “faithfulness” is produced by the Spirit through His apostolic word and issues forth in a life of faithfulness. This is how the Spirit produces His fruit of joy, peace, kindness, etc. Do not equate good “feelings” with the fruit of the Spirit. We can through false doctrine have a false hope which will make us joyful. But the Spirit of Christ did not produce it. We cannot determine what is right or who has the Spirit of Christ by what we “feel.” Subjectivism (following our feelings) is not Spirit guidance. Objective Christianity (following the Spirit's Word of instruction) is the only route to the Spirit's fruit.

C. The Spirit-Guided Life Is Genuinely Concerned About His Brethren, 5: 25-6: 10. Verses 25-26 aptly introduce the practicality of the following:

1. The weaker Brother, 6: 1-5. A failing on the part of a brother is not cause to gloat over his sin as if he himself were something better because he was not guilty of the same sin. Such are deceived. In point of fact all of us are “nothing” without Christ. But the “spiritual” brother is to “restore such a one in a spirit (attitude) of “gentleness” as opposed to arrogant self-righteousness. In this spirit the stronger brother shows himself to be Spirit guided. The Spirit led brother of maturity is not motivated to action by a comparison of his own life with that another and weaker brother, for regardless of how good one may be his life is nevertheless deadly imperfect before God. Someone has said that Christianity is one beggar asking another for bread. Mature and grateful Christians recognize their own desperate need for saving grace – not-justice- seeing another who is flesh bound and struggling he races to help. For in doing so, he is actually helping himself (2 Cor. 10:12).

2. The Preacher's Needs and the Churches Needs, 6: 6-10. Hear Paul deal with our relations with the church which he calls” the household of faith.” (v. 10). A Spirit guided life is reflected in continually working good toward all men and especially toward those of the household of faith. A point to illustrate the matter is the responsibility of Christians to support the ministry of the Word

by teachers and preachers. A great and universally recognized truth in agriculture is employed by Paul to prove that whether one sows grain or spiritual seed he will surely reap accordingly. If he cultivates the fleshly appetites he reaps corruption both here and hereafter. If he cultivates the spiritual man he will reap eternal life.

Is Paul teaching that the Galatians have cut off their teachers of the gospel as a result of Judaistic invasion, and that as a consequence on the principle that you get what you pay for, they are now reaping a harvest of corruption – the only crop which the Judaistic seeds of fleshly legalism can produce.

CONCLUSION: The Spirit through the apostle's word leads us to Christ, to freedom from sin and death, and to a life of righteousness which all the world can see is better – and eternal! What could be more practical.

As noted earlier, there was an Apostle in the Congregation performing miraculous gifts and endowing those at the congregation with the Empowering of the Holy Spirit (3:5, 4:6). It is my view however that the context of the 5^th chapter is speaking of the Indwelling of the Spirit. If a Christan has the Spirit of God in them, that will necessarily bear fruits or have the proper attitude toward others and the world.

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GALATIANS, LESSON FIFTEEN: CHRIST'S FREEMEN AND PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY (Galatians 5: 13-6: 10)