The Dallas Morning News edition dated September 26, 2007 carried the story of Ross Perot’s decision to sell his copy of the Magna Carta, one of 17 copies dating back to the 13th century that bears the king’s seal. Often called “the most important document in the world,” it is the fundamental document for the constitutional freedom of all men, limiting the power of the king.
Galatians, sometimes referred to as the “Magna Carta of the Christian faith,” affirms and supports freedom in Christ as the truth which frees all people from the bondage of legal systems that depend upon good works as the means of salvation: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” of the yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1).
This freedom works to restrict the persuasion of the principalities and powers of darkness. Meant for all men for all times, freedom in Christ is to be lived and limited under, through and by the Holy Spirit.
Led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18)
The freedom Christ gives is led and lived in the Spirit of God, but not without a struggle that goes on day to day and hour by hour. The struggle and conflict is between opposites: good and evil, the Holy Spirit and the carnal flesh, principle of light and the power of darkness, God’s will and Satan’s will. The one that wins in the war is the one to whom the individual yields and says, “Yes.”
The Apostle Paul understood and experienced freedom in human nature and the battle fought to control himself rather than give in to the urges of the flesh. The conflict is so forceful at times that one does not do what he should or wants to do (v. 17). Paul uses “flesh” to refer to the sinful, self-centered, unredeemed state, not just the physical body.
Christians, moment by moment, predominantly yield to the Holy Spirit allowing the Holy Spirit to guide, strengthen and encourage toward the righteous purpose of Christ. With the unregenerate, the sins of the flesh are much more common, frequent and a natural expression of the carnal nature. With the regenerate, sins of the flesh are uncommon, infrequent and an aberration of the spiritual nature.
Paul’s theology flows together into a system, merging three streams into one: faith, love and the Holy Spirit, and they all merge at the juncture of justification. “Faith expressing itself in love” (v. 6) is the moral work of the Holy Spirit. Amplifying this marvelous absolute, Paul says: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love” (v. 13).
The key verse that connects all of this is “live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (v. 16). Not “you must,” nor “you ought” but “you will not.” The Holy Spirit guides and leads individuals to use their freedom responsibly in brotherly love and not selfish license.
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Paul believed the principle and practiced it: “For though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (1 Corinthians 9:19). A Christian is free and bound by no one, but voluntarily, in Christ, accepts bondage to everyone.
Life in the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21)
Paul contrasts the behavior of life lived in the indulgence of the flesh with life lived in the Spirit. Clarifying what he meant, Paul detailed two designations, one of “acts of the sinful nature,” and a second one of the “fruits of the Spirit.”
The list “of acts of the sinful nature,” may not represent any organizational order but a random enumeration, though not all inclusive, to illustrate his point (v. 21). The list of vices represent a pattern of behavior that is “obvious” or well known (v. 19), and context sensitive, that is prevalent in the culture in which Paul lived.
These separate sins also represent a lifestyle evolving from the unregenerate, carnal and pagan nature of mankind, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Though some of the sins were acts of physical immorality, all of them were sins of the attitude or disposition of the heart which is deceitfully wicked above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). This unacceptable spirit and these actions not only violate man but violate God (Psalm 51:4).
Howard Colson and Robert Dean, in their book Galatians: Freedom Through Christ, organize the list into sins related to sex—sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery; sins related to worship—idolatry, witchcraft; sins related to social relationships—hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy; and sins related to intemperance—drunkenness, orgies. The self-centered person, who indulges the lust of the flesh, lives this way. Love, generated by the Holy Spirit, will not presume to act in such an obvious, immoral manner.
The paragraph ends with a serious and stern warning “that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (v. 21). Interpreting this to mean that anyone who has committed one of the acts listed above or something similar would not have eternal life would be incorrect and unacceptable. People who die outside the grace and forgiveness of God in the unregenerate state, continually living this kind of lifestyle in heart, mind and soul, will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Life in the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26)
The second designation is of Christ-like virtues and values that are the product of the Spirit of God living within the human heart. Changing wording from “acts of the flesh” to “fruit of the Spirit” is significant. God’s Spirit works in the human heart to produce the fruit of God’s nature. The disposition of a person’s spirit is created within by God’s divine life.
Again, this wonderful list of virtues is descriptive of a lifestyle where God’s Spirit is the dominant operative in the struggle between good and evil. The difference is huge. The natural unregenerate person acts with reckless abandon or within the guidance of the law. The fruit of the Spirit is not of human origin and cannot be produced without the indwelling grace and power of God.
Jesus said, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5). That fruit is: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (vv. 22-23).
The first and foremost product of the Holy Spirit is love which becomes a characteristic of all of the other enumerated products. Since God is described as love and the originator of love (1 John 4:7-12), love is first as the most commanding characteristic of the justified, redeemed person. Without love, the other fruits of the Spirit cannot be completely fulfilling, though may be dutifully practiced. These fruits are so compelling in self-control that there is no need for laws of governance (v. 23).
Life in the Spirit is possible only because a person is justified through Christ having “crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (v. 24). What a rich description of how these virtues become a reality. Our sins have been carried to the cross, put to death and forgiven, becoming only an intermittent problem of temporary failures, incongruent with the Christian lifestyle.
God has done his part, and people must do their part in this spiritual partnership. Paul amplifies: “Since we live by the Sprit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other” (vv. 25-26).
Conclusion
Living in freedom is not an easy task. Confusion is rampant between what the body and mind want selfishly and what the Spirit of God wants unselfishly. What should be done is not done and what should not be done is done. God’s Spirit desires that individuals avoid all of the works of the flesh while experiencing the fruits of the Spirit. Freedom is not just the power to vote in a Baptist business conference but the freedom to live in the precious sphere of grace and obedience to the truth virtue of God’s purpose. For such, we can all be free indeed.
Most churches function under the legal guidance of a constitution and its bylaws, which should be helpful in the administration of large groups of saints. At times, this document of guidance is detrimental to dependence upon the Spirit of God. It is not either or but both and. The difficulty is in knowing which is which.
The simplicity of the familiar is far easier than the struggle to work in freedom under the guidance of the Spirit. The problem is not the constitution and bylaws but the uncommon spiritual drag of dependence on its legalism, of choosing convenience above risk and of waiting on church programs rather than assuming the personal responsibility for working out one’s own salvation with fear and trembling.
In human circumstances, Christian freedom is never perfectly pure but never completely contaminated by license. Achieving spiritual maturity should be a personal goal, reaching toward fullness in Christ as much as possible. As the Holy Spirit fills us, we move further and further away from the carnal nature and closer to our Lord Christ. This Christian Magna Carta asserts that freedom is best lived by following the truthful and compassionate leadership of the Holy Spirit who speaks the same truths found in Holy Scripture.
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