5:24
So why will living by the Spirit, living by faith, produce this good fruit? Because if we belong to Christ we have crucified the flesh. We have said no to the flesh, we have given up on trying to live out of our own strength. So we have crucified the flesh. We are no longer relying on this corrupted part of our nature. This is why any legalistic approach to living will ultimately end in disaster. For if we follow a legalistic approach we are relying on the flesh, on our innate nature, and try as we might, we will inevitably reap the consequences of doing that.
5:25
We live by the Spirit and are to keep in step with the Spirit. Note the implication that the Spirit is a person, as we are to keep in step with Him. Note also that while we live by the Spirit we do not abdicate responsibility. Again and again people will try to make out that some aspect of Biblical teaching takes away our responsibility. The sovereignty of God is perhaps the biggest one, and Romans 9 addresses this issue. Then there is the canard that since there is complete forgiveness in Jesus we can do what we like, or it doesn’t matter what we do. Likewise, living by the Spirit, not law, does not mean that it doesn’t matter how we live, quite the opposite in fact.
5:26
“Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other”. Living by law can lead to these things: Conceitedness, provoking and envying one another. If someone is doing better than us at something, we start to envy them, instead of rejoicing in their success or progress. These things can also be a risk when living by the Spirit. We can become so pleased with ourselves that we are walking in step with the Spirit that pride starts to rise up. The flesh is a very tricky customer and we need to be on our guard at all times.
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