Paul Trask today continues his study of Galatians by moving into chapter 5, verses 13-26.
The Apostle Paul here is providing his Galatian converts some practical ways of evaluating their spiritual life since having been corrupted by the Judaizers from Jerusalem
- “So how’s that workin’ out for ya?” – NOT GOOD AT ALL!
- Instead of “Loving their neighbor as themselves,” they are “biting and devouring each other,” and are at risk of completely destroying each other – NOT GOOD!
The Apostle Paul then launches into an extensive discussion of “works of the flesh” versus “fruit of the spirit,” which results in an unequivocal fork in the road
- This fork in the road requires a decision on which path to take – because those 2 paths are mutually exclusive – you cannot go down both at the same time
- In the New Covenant era, which Jesus ushered in on the cross, God’s Law is no longer written down in ink, nor on tablets of stone – but rather on tablets of human hearts
Paul then provides a Self-Assessment Tool for his Galatian converts to use
- The path labeled “works of the flesh,” represented by any attempt to keep the Mosaic Law, results in all kinds of reprobate behavior
- On the other hand, “the fruit of the Spirit” results in all of the blessings of heaven
This Self-Assessment Tool which Paul gave the Galatians is every bit as applicable to us today in the 21st century as it was in the 1st century
So the final questions for us are:
What’s in your heart today?
And what’s coming out of your heart today?
(Galatians 5:13–26; Matthew 22:35–40; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 7:12; Matthew 23:23; Galatians 4:15; Romans 7:1–6, 8:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:2–3; Galatians 2:19-21; John 15:1–8; Jeremiah 31:31–33; Matthew 12:33–35)