“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (vs16-18)

I learned a very important lesson from God tonight in the gospel. We are not condemned! We fight and war against sin as believers, and we often fall on our faces, guilty of repeated transgressions against the God of grace. We see ourselves worthy of death and walk in shame. But, if we believe the gospel and walk by faith, if we believe that He loves us, died for us, and saves us freely, then we are not condemned for our failures, and He will help us by the Spirit. He says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh”, and, “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law”. We don’t have to walk around with a cloud hovering over us, and how sweet this is. We may use the gospel as poor sinners, believe the wealth of the inheritance and promises, and we may then put on love as the result.

Don’t walk about serving God in your strength and avoid every false teacher who teaches you so. He says, “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump… but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is”, and, “I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off! (vs7-12)” You don’t need to add anything to Christ in order for God to save you. It is 100% free and 100% by His blood. You and I are to believe, and any message that doesn’t make you PERFECTLY righteous by faith, as righteous as possible, and as fit for every blessing as any other saint, is not the gospel, and it must be avoided. Cast out the false prophet and avoid him, because he is a soul-destroyer, and either he must go, or your soul must perish with him in hell. Truth has the first place, and every other human or angel from heaven, whether it is mother, father, sister, or brother, must be rejected. In fact, if you are the false prophet, better to reject your own self than to be damned for your lifes. A false gospel cannot save, so we must carefully guard the gospel of grace as God teaches it. In fact, only those who are taught by God will hold onto the gospel message, but God uses these warnings to maintain our grip.

Secondly, do not think the gospel is only justification by faith, as if it doesn’t change us (vs13-15). He says, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” Martin Luther said, “Whenever you are angry with your brother for any cause, repress your violent emotions through the Spirit. Bear with his weakness and love him. He does not cease to be your neighbor or brother because he offended you. On the contrary, he now more than ever before requires your loving attention.”

We are liberated to love people, so that as we see our own forgiveness, we are not made cruel, but we become merciful, tender, and loving ourselves. As we understand that we are free, we don’t bind others to earn our favor, but we give it to them freely. We treat people how Christ treats us. We are not to moved away from this gospel hope, so that we can live the gospel life. If we believe God’s promises – that we’ve got the inheritance freely and fully – then the same Spirit who gave us faith will overcome our indwelling sin!

How sweet it is to know that we’re not condemned AND He will help us! We wrestle inwardly, fighting daily and often miserably, but we have supernatural power through God who is stronger than our sin! You don’t have to fear that you’re on your own, not when you’re God’s child in whom He delights (Gal 4:6-7; Rom 8:12-17). He promises us victory as Father who loves us, knows that we need more grace, and who gives it CONTINUALLY and freely as we believe the undeserved favor that we’ve obtained. We’ve won the “lotto”, and every day that I remember this, I’m enabled to live a God-powered life.