Stand fast therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

(13)  For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  (14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (15) But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

(16) I say then:  Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  (17) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.  (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians, defending his authority as an apostle, and defending the gospel he preached.  The Galatians had turned from idols to the living God through faith in Jesus Christ.   They were set free from the law to be sons and heirs of God through God’s free grace.  However, false teachers from Jerusalem came among the Galatians and drew them from the truth of Paul’s gospel – the Jews were offended because Christ was preached as the only salvation for sinners.

Paul makes his point that freedom from the law does not mean license to do whatever one wishes, but Christians have a liberty that leads to holiness and responsibility through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Verse one of today’s reading summarizes chapters 1 through 4 of Galatians and leads to Paul’s appeal to the Galatians to resist any attempt to come under the bondage of legalism – to do so would negate the works of Christ as saviour and redeemer.  The critical issue is that of works versus faith in Christ which is the essential Christian doctrine Paul preaches – legalism versus grace.

Paul then moves into the true nature of Christian freedom.  We have been called to a responsible freedom in Christ – freedom to serve God and others in love.  Paul maintains that the answer to the strife is to live by the Spirit.  He draws the difference between the flesh – the sinful nature of man – and the Spirit – the presence of God in a person.  They are in irreconcilable conflict.  The sinful nature does no good and the spirit does no evil.  The sinful nature is never eliminated in this life and the Christian is never released from consciously choosing God’s way.  Paul is talking of living a new, godly life that is a life of faith and love and submission to the Spirit.

It is not enough that we cease to do evil but we must learn to do well.