In Galatians 5:1, Paul says that Christ came to set us free. So we should never permit anyone to bring us into bondage to laws again. We must never become slaves to the traditions and laws made by any group or church. At the same time, we must not use our freedom as an excuse to sin (Gal. 5:13). Many believers have misunderstood grace and Christian freedom and ended up worse than being under the law – they live as slaves to their flesh. The only right way to be free from the law is to be led by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise we will sink lower than the law and live in sin. But if we walk according to the leading of the Spirit, then we will not descend to the level of the flesh. Only such believers can claim to be free from the law (Gal. 5:16, 18). So there are three levels at which a believer can live:
The law is necessary for those who do not want to be led by the Holy Spirit
1. Led by the Spirit (the highest – new covenant – level); or
2. Led by the law (the old covenant level); or
3. Led by the flesh (the lowest level).
Look at these three levels of life as the three floors of a building. If you are not living on the third floor (led by the Spirit), and you destroy the second floor (led by the law), you will descend to the first floor (led by the flesh). If you say, “I am not led by the law because Jesus has abolished the law,” then you better be led by the Spirit. Otherwise, you will descend to the level of the flesh. This is what has happened to multitudes of believers. They have read in Galatians that we are not under the law. But they do not live according to the leading of the Spirit. The result is they live according to the flesh. That is why we find Christian leaders today doing things much worse than what people did who lived under the law. How do believers who say they are under grace live according to the lusts of their flesh? Because they have thrown away the law. It is only “if you are led by the Spirit that you are not under law” (Gal. 5:18). The law is necessary for those who do not want to be led by the Holy Spirit.
The message in Galatians is not “Throw away the Law.” It is, “Throw away the Law only when you have come to a life in the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit then describes what life in the flesh is like (Gal. 5:19–21): impurity, idolatry (worship of money and people), enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, etc. Are these found only among unbelievers? No. Even so-called “believers” indulge in these sins. Why? Because they threw away the Law before entering into a life in the Holy Spirit. Such will not inherit God’s kingdom (Gal. 5:21). On the other hand, those who are led by the Spirit will bring forth in their lives the fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22, 23). If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
