Galatians 5

The Galatians was in danger of a false teaching that day, so thus we are nowadays. Misunderstanding of the grace though the cross. How people understand the Moses’ law and the works of Christ, the savior.

The law about circumcision is a Good mark for his beloved people that He keep them in becoming the channel of salvation. These people has been trusted by GOD alone. Abraham was given a promise by GOD and He alone established the covenant that mark by circumcision. That make them special because of GOD faithful promise to human kind, to those He love, those whom GOD choice.

When Christ went up and died on the cross, the promise was fulfill. The masterpiece of GOD’s love was shown on the cross. It is because of GOD alone the work of salvation. The law doesn’t save human. It show us to know our sin and fault. By the law, we are proclaimed guilty and we are need to be punished. The death is the penalty. However, Christ on the cross, He take the death penalty, the wrath of GOD, so His beloved one, doesn’t have to dead, but to live with HIM forever.

Paul said, “The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law.”

Somewhat the Galatians think that they need to fulfill the law in order to gain the salvation. It is totally wrong ! nothing can replace the God’s work on salvation. Salvation is in Christ alone !

Come on... don’t be obsessive about Circumcision. you are about to castrate your self from God promise and grace.

Next, Paul teach us about freedom. God called us to be free in Christ however we shall not use this kind freedom to do what ever we want and then destroy the freedom it self. We aren’t slave anymore, we are not the slave of sin. God has set us free. Therefore in our freedom we should serve one another in love. Love is the one to set us free. So free to love the other and grow in love. As GOD’s second ultimate command to love the other as to love our self. watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

sometime or many time in our life, we live like this condition. We are become those two ways that contradicted one another. our selfishness is the one that hold us back from what we should to be. The will of our flesh and the will of GOD. Therefore, live in the spirit. Let you be free to live in the spirit. Give our live to be led by spirit, and we won’t live under the law anymore.

If we want to live by our own way, live in flesh and follow its sinful desire. The result of this action are repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.

If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom !!

So... What shall we get if we live in spirit ??
We will produce fruit with many taste. Here is the fruit : things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Don’t be a legalist !! legalism is helpless in bringing this about. It won’t produce salvation. Rather you will find your way lead nowhere but destruction.

Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly (the act of flesh and sin) responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—it is being crucified with Christ on the cross.

Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

(Some passage is taken from the message)