So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
—Galatians 5:16-24 (TNIV)
Yesterday we looked at what Paul meant by Christian freedom and how he demolished the delusion that we can somehow end our alienation from God by doing lots of good works. Today, Paul goes on to remind his readers that Christian freedom is not a license to sin. No, our justification will necessarily produce good works, but not so that we can earn our salvation. Our good works are a manifestation of our faith in Christ’s blood shed for us and we are given the power to do good works by the active Presence and work of the Holy Spirit indwelling us.
As Paul reminds us in the latter half of today’s reading, this does not mean we get to kick back and do nothing, expecting the Holy Spirit to do it all for us. No, we are weighed down by our bodies of sin, our mortal bodies, and we must do our part to put to death our sinful nature. This is what Jesus meant when he told us that anyone who is to be his disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow him.
To be sure, the Spirit helps us overcome our sinful desires and our weakness, but we must help him by being intentional in our efforts to put to death our sinful desires and nature. Again, we do this not because we think this will help us earn our salvation, but out of a deep sense of love and gratitude for all God has done for us in Christ.
So how do we know if we are being successful in living a Spirit-filled life? Look at the fruits of your behavior, says Paul. He goes on to give us examples of behaviors that indicate we are still living in our sin and behaviors that indicate the Spirit is at work in us. The latter is especially important for us to consider because of the gentle nature of the Holy Spirit. He never does violence to us or our personalities; therefore it is sometimes difficult for us to tell that he is living in us because it feels like we are the ones responsible for making manifest his gifts.
In these two passages from yesterday and today, then, Paul reminds us of the great gifts that are ours in Christ. Our alienation from God is ended by the cross of Christ. And until we are released from our mortal bodies and finished with sin, we have God himself indwelling us and helping us become more like him. It’s not easy or automatic, but like Christ himself, the gift of the Spirit is a free gift from God, who loved us, created us to have a relationship with him, and has done what needed to be done to give us a chance to have that relationship with him. We may not understand it all (or even most of it), but because we trust God, we know his promises are true. Thanks be to God in Jesus Christ our Lord!
Are you making the most of the opportunities given you to enjoy real life?