Paul then gives his famous lists of the acts of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. He starts with the acts of the flesh. Now from Paul's letter it seems that immorality was not a major problem in the Galatian church, in fact they definitely wanted to please God. So why does Paul give this list of various types of unworthy behaviour? Possibly as a reminder of things they should avoid, but possibly also as a warning against the things that living by the law can lead to.
How does living by the law lead to these things? Well in the history of Israel in the Old Testament we see all these things happening at various stages. Bringing things more up to date, we can find these things in churches. If a church is not led by the Spirit (and this means more than claiming to be led by the Spirit), these things will happen. They are the inevitable fruit of relying on human strength, even if we have the best of intentions.
Conversely, the fruit of the Spirit is good fruit. Why does Paul then say "against such things there is no law"? Maybe to say that the Law is certainly not opposed to the fruit of the Spirit. Indeed, it is living by the Spirit that actually produces the fruit that the Law commends.
Perhaps on a more practical level for us, it does not matter what the circumstances are, it is always possible for us to demonstrate this fruit. It may be difficult and costly, but it is always possible.
So the outcome is that if we want to please God then we need to live by the Spirit, that is the only way to crucify the flesh and its passions and desires.
How does living by the law lead to these things? Well in the history of Israel in the Old Testament we see all these things happening at various stages. Bringing things more up to date, we can find these things in churches. If a church is not led by the Spirit (and this means more than claiming to be led by the Spirit), these things will happen. They are the inevitable fruit of relying on human strength, even if we have the best of intentions.
Conversely, the fruit of the Spirit is good fruit. Why does Paul then say "against such things there is no law"? Maybe to say that the Law is certainly not opposed to the fruit of the Spirit. Indeed, it is living by the Spirit that actually produces the fruit that the Law commends.
Perhaps on a more practical level for us, it does not matter what the circumstances are, it is always possible for us to demonstrate this fruit. It may be difficult and costly, but it is always possible.
So the outcome is that if we want to please God then we need to live by the Spirit, that is the only way to crucify the flesh and its passions and desires.
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