Today we look at a short passage in Galatians 5:16-26. “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18, NIV). There are several Gospel related indicators in this paragraph about the Spirit. They are:
- You cannot be a Christian and under the Law at the same time (v18);
- There is a behavior that accompanies Gospel reception (v21b); and
- To receive the Gospel is to have the flesh crucified (v24).
How to read the warnings of the Bible is an important topic. What is equally as important as we try to grasp Paul`s understanding of the Gospel is that he clearly knew that the reception of the Gospel changed lives. There is an inherent power in the Gospel. Note:
Romans 1:16 (NIV), 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
Romans 6:6–7 (NIV), 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
When the Bible says to Christians: If you do such and such you will not enter the Kingdom, the attitude behind the verse is saying: Such and such behavior is inconsistent with your profession of faith in Christ and your obedience to the Gospel. It is because of who you are that such expectations can be made.
To believe the Gospel by Paul`s standards is not just to endorse the idea but to receive it “... with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction . . ..” (1 Thessalonians 1:5, NIV). In New Testament theology, you cannot be a Christian and not be led by the Spirit. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” (Romans 8:14, NIV).
To believe the Gospel by Paul`s standards is not just to endorse the idea but to receive it “... with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction . . ..” (1 Thessalonians 1:5, NIV). In New Testament theology, you cannot be a Christian and not be led by the Spirit. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” (Romans 8:14, NIV).
The point is that there is an intrinsic, inherent, life-transforming power in the Gospel message. It is not a collection of ideas. To believe it, is to be changed by it. “... we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.” (Colossians 1:3–6, NIV).
"The gospel is dynamic, and this speaks of its inner energy and transforming power. It is folly to look for fruit before there is life." [1]
Father, to be in Christ is to be a whole new person. Nothing can be the same again. To hear of and desire Christ -- to believe the Gospel is to bring into our lives an explosive that will absolutely eradicate the old desires and give brand new ones. The Gospel is far more than a system of ideas; it is the dynamic equivalent to a bomb. As others have said, Father, for me to suggest that I believe the Gospel and my life has not been altered, is to suggest that I can be hit by a five-ton truck, head-on, and not be affected. Paul understand the Gospel as inherent power -- and so it is. Thank you that You didn`t pass on to me a set of ideals; but You radically changed my life. You get all the glory. You get all the praise. Today I get to be who I am, not try to live what I am not, to be something else. Amen.
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1. KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (2455). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
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