Dear Amy,
If we are not under law but under grace, does it even matter what we do?
It matters!
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
― Romans 6:1-4
How then can we learn to walk in newness of life, not under law but under grace? If all those long lists of commandments still apply, how are we not under law? And if not, how can we avoid living in sin? Certainly not by overlooking what Jesus said.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.”
― Matthew 5:17
Just like us, the fledgling church in Galatia was under threat from those preaching works. Let’s consider what Paul wrote to them. Here’s the key:
If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
― Galatians 5:18
Ok, but that’s a pretty big if! How can we know, and how can we be secure in that knowledge? Because there’s a grievous trap here which snares many, namely equating being led by the Spirit with living according to the convictions of one’s own heart. This is fraught with danger! Satan is the father of lies and the great deceiver, and by stroking our egos and flattering our vanity he can manipulate our feelings even and perhaps especially in this realm. How can we escape this?
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
― Galatians 5:17, 19-23
That first list is truly shocking, and we might be tempted to think is far from where we live our lives, but consider idolatry for one⸺in regard to career, reputation, and respectability, how evident is this in every church! Now, notice that eight out of these fifteen works of the flesh comprise dysfunctional relationship and unlove. There’s a clue here.
Could being led by the Spirit in fact be quite straightforward? The opposite of dysfunctional relationship and unlove is simply, love. There’s more than love in the second list, of course, but that’s surely the headline. And what does Paul say elsewhere?
… love is the fulfilling of the law.
― Romans 13:10b
So here indeed is the answer. We can live not under law but under grace by loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving one another, unconditionally and without exception, in joyful surrender. Love that starts small must grow and grow and continue to grow⸺this is the fruit of the Spirit. So simple, and yet learning to do this adequately will take each one of us the rest of our earthly lives.
Live a life of love, Amy, led by the Spirit, as one not under law but under grace! 🙏