“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Before we look at what it means to walk by the Spirit, let’s consider why we should walk in the Spirit? If I was to ask you that question you might say, “To be a better person”, “To make a difference”, “To leave a legacy”, or “To do the best I can so that I won’t have any regrets”.
If you wanted to say something more spiritual you might say, “I want to get closer to God”, “I want to fulfill God’s calling on my life”, “I want to overcome my weaknesses”, “I want to be able to live my life abundantly”, “I need his strength”, “I want to be more like Christ”.
Of course there is nothing wrong with any of these things. They are all valid reasons to walk in the Spirit, and I am sure you can think of many of your own reasons. But Paul doesn’t mention any of these when he give the reason why we should walk in the spirit. In fact his reason is quite surprising.
They key words are “So I say”. Paul has just been talking about a particular issue, and it is this issue that prompts him to say, “walk by the spirit”. If it hadn’t been for this problem he wouldn’t have mentioned it. So what was the problem?
“If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed…” (Galatians 5 v14). That is, Paul is trying to help the church to get along with each other. The only way we can do that is to walk by the spirit.
But it’s more than just getting along. Paul is exhorting the Galatians to “…serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5 v 13). The church needs to build each other up and not tear each other down. We need to be careful we don’t use our “freedoms” to cause others to stumble.
If we are doing something that the bible permits (or even encourages), but it others are hurt by it, then we have no excuse. “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ” (Galatians 5: 4). Instead you must “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5 v14) Everything we do should be for the building up of the church.
Does this mean we can’t do anything until we have analyzed it to the finest details and considered all the possible reactions from everyone in the church? Does this mean if even one person objects to what we are doing then we have to stop? This is how some people try to live, but it’s just not practical, and it is certainly not what I am saying.
No. Loving your neighbour is impossible if we try to do it ourselves. We can’t possibly work out a set of guidelines on how you should behave according to what other think. These kind of laws will never help you love your neighbour. If you really want to love your neighbour, if that is your true motivation, then the only way to do it is to walk by the spirit. “So I say…”
God Bless,
Matt.
