The content of Paul's letter to the people of Galatia is overwhelmingly deep. Maybe 'overwhelmingly' is not quite the right word, but certainly this letter is deep!
Paul makes very clear that the Law and the Spirit are different. He goes to great lengths to contrast living by the Spirit and obedience to the Law.
The scary thing is when Paul discussed the resulting fruit of living in the Spirit versus living by the law:
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! [Galatians 5.19-23]
What I question today is this: if the Spirit produces its fruit, is Paul saying that the Law produces fruit as well? Let me ask it another way: if we find any of the listed "desires of your sinful nature" in ourselves, does that mean we are trying to live by the Law and not by the Spirit?
Father, as I ask myself this question, "Am I living by the Law or by the Spirit?" please help me to take a valid and truthful inventory of my life and make the necessary adjustments to walk in Your Spirit - making every effort to avoid reverting to the Law. And, help me to gauge my performance in this by the presence of the resulting fruit of Your Holy Spirit.
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