Monthly Archive for April, 2000

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Galatians 5:19c

Published on April 20, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness…”
 
fornication,
 
Fornication is any form of sexual immorality including adultery. We get our English word “pornography” from this Greek word. The Greeks used “fornication” for “prostitution.” It is a love that is bought and sold and sex without involvement with the person. It also includes illicit sex sins whether homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, or incest.
 
Principle:
People will go to any extent in violating norms when it comes to sex sins.
Application:
The only answer to this sin is Jesus Christ. Laws and legislation will not do it. Legislation only keeps things down to a minimum. Only a change of heart that comes from Christ will change this kind of pattern. Jesus will take sinful people and change them. He will give each new life and a new heart. We do not get this by joining a church or by baptism.
The operating principle for dealing with sexual sins is “flee.” This is not something we debate or dabble with. We must deal with them decisively. Don’t put yourself in a place where you will be tempted.
“Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).
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Galatians 5:19b

Published on April 19, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness…”
 
which are:
 
The Greek indicates that the following list of sins is not exhaustive. If you do not find a specific here, that does not mean that it is not a violation in God’s eyes. These are only suggestive sins. Paul could delineate many other sins. These suggestive sins fall into four categories:
 
1) sins of sensuality,
2) sins of false doctrine,
3) sins against others and
4) sins of excess.
adultery,
The word “adultery” does not occur in older manuscripts. Neither “adultery” nor “murder” is in this list as they occur in the King James Version.
The sin of adultery was a capital crime in the Old Testament indicating the seriousness with which God views the violation of the family unit. Adultery is a violation of intimacy.
All absolutes are for our benefit because they give us freedom. By forbidding adultery, the partners in marriage have a since of security in the commitment of their partners toward each other. This protects the stability and set-apartness of the family. Children know their parents. Partners will not carry out vendettas against each other. Fidelity to each other is at the core of marriage vows.
Principle:
Adultery always compromises the integrity of the persons committing adultery.
Application:
Adultery always compromises the integrity of the person who commits this sin. It cheapens personal and sexual intimacy. This always results in the loss of intimacy in marriage.
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Galatians 5:19

Published on April 18, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness…” 
 
Now the works of the flesh are evident, 
The works of the flesh are open to sight so that they are plainly visible and manifest.  Carnality is apparent to all and plain to see.  The flesh will display itself palpably by its works.  We can assess what the kind of tree by its fruits.  Notice the striking contrast between “works” and “fruit” (5:22).  There is the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.  Work is effort but fruit is comes from naturally from within. 
PRINCIPLE: 
Works testify to what a person is. 
APPLICATION: 
What is the basis for your values?  Some older people operate on memory to establish their values.  They accept values passed down from previous generations.  They are plastic people without forming core convictions for themselves. Why should they follow those traditions if they have no ultimate authoritative source for them?  Although absolutes are in vogue to this group, they do not hold them with conviction because they believe that man is simply a machine, a product of chance. If there are no absolutes, why hold to any morality?  The only possible morality left in our generation is the morality of preferences of a given society at a given time.   
No wonder people of this generation reject the values of the previous generations.  If the older generations thrust aside the basis for absolute morality [the Bible], then why hold to the absolute values of the Bible?  Newer generation morality is more consistent with the conclusion that there is no revelation from God.  Morality to them is just personal preference.  A school teacher can violate one of her students sexually and many people will not bat an eye.  
If we accept the premise that God spoke through the Bible, then we can authoritatively hold to absolutes.  If this is so, we no longer sail on a sea without a shore because universal principles would hold true regardless of time or culture.  We can affirm that murder, pedophilia, adultery and fornication are wrong because there is a God who holds these values.  
North American is in a transition away from its Christian legacy.  Although we still benefit from that legacy, there will come a time when that legacy expires.  When it does, chaotic values will dominate and society will pay the price.  People will cheat on the ones they love the most.  They will lie to the people they relate to the closest.
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Galatians 5:18

Published on April 17, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law”
 
Paul now makes a summary statement about life under the law and under grace. One is about what the self can do and the other is about what the Holy Spirit can do.
 
But if
The word “if” means that it is true that the Holy Spirit leads some Christians in their walk with God.
you are led by the Spirit,
The Christian lives by intrinsic, not extrinsic, power. He does not live by pulling on the bootstraps of self-effort. He lives under the power of the Holy Spirit when he walks in the Spirit.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
you are not under the law
The law cannot condemn Christians because Christ already paid the penalty of the law.
Being led by the Spirit or operating under the law are mutually exclusive. It is one or the other, not both. If a Christian operates by the law, he must operate by the flesh (Romans 7:8-11). But grace supersedes the Mosaic law for the law is a system of gaining God’s favor by “operation bootstraps” (living the Christian life by self-effort).
There is a double antagonism in this section of Galatians: The Holy Spirit versus the flesh, and the Holy Spirit versus the law. The law is the outward conduct of men in an attempt to please God by human effort. The leading of the Spirit is the sphere where the Holy Spirit does His work in the life of the believer.
The Galatians failed to live the Christian life because they depended on themselves rather than the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life.
“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
Principle:
Walking in the flesh versus being led of the Spirit to please God are diametrically opposed to each other.
Application:
No Christian is led of the Spirit unless he walks in the Spirit. Unless the Holy Spirit fills us, He will not lead us.
Walking in the flesh emphasizes on the self, whereas walking in the Spirit emphasizes the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God leads the believer under grace to a new standard for living. Intrinsic regulation is far more effective than outward regulation.
This is no special leading but simply the leading of the Spirit toward sanctification. The Holy Spirit is the one who engages us to live the Christian life. We can never live that life in our own power.
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Galatians 5:17c

Published on April 16, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“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”
 
Instead of expounding a particular passage dealing with spirituality, today I will depart from that normal custom and give an overview of spirituality.
 
Principle:
SPIRITUALITY
Application:
I. Spirituality is not:
a. Quietism
b. Eradication
c. Suppressionism
d. Self-crucifixion
e. Passivism
f. Making Christ Lord
II. A Spiritual Christian is a spiritual Christian because he is vitally related to the Holy Spirit.
III. The Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation:
a. Regenerates, John 3:5
b. Indwells, 1 Corinthians 6:19,20
c. Baptizes, 1 Corinthians 12:13
d. Seals, Ephesians 4:30
IV. Subsequently, the Holy Spirit fills at the point of fellowship.
V. Spirituality and carnality are mutually exclusive, 1 John 1:5-7; 3:4-9, therefore, spirituality is an absolute.
VI. The spiritual believer is not subject to the Mosaic Law, Romans 8:2-4; 10:4; Galatians 5:18,23.
VII. The spiritual believer is under a supernatural law, Galatians 5:16-18; Romans 8:2-4.
VIII. When filled with the Spirit, the believer cannot sin.
A Christian must make a decision to go out of fellowship, then he can sin, 1 John 3:4-9 (unyielded).
IX. Fruit in the life depends on the filling of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 3:1-15.
X. The results of the control of the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 5:18ff:
a. Singing, Ephesians 5:19
b. Thanksgiving, Ephesians 5:20
c. Good relations with other believers, Ephesians 5:21
d. Domestic tranquility, Ephesians 5:22
e. Good relations on the job, Ephesians 6:5-9
f. A well equipped believer, Ephesians 6:10-17
g. Prayer, Ephesians 6:18
h. Witnessing, Ephesians 6:19-20
XI. The workings of spirituality:
a. Confess, I John 1:9
b. Yield, Romans 6:13, 12:1
XII. Spirituality must have constant application, Ephesians 5:18 (present tense); John 15:1-5.
XIII. The Spiritual life is never free from temptation.
XIV. There is no room for a defeated attitude.
XI. True spirituality is the manifestation of Christ in the believer, Ephesians 5:1.
XVI. Spirituality is always based on the work of Christ:
a. Present work of Christ, John 16:13-14, Hebrews 2:18, 4:15-16; 7:25, 1 John 2:1
b. Past work of Christ, Romans 6:3-4, 7:4; John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 2:11,12,20; 3:1-3,9,10.
c. Faith appropriates Christ’s work, John 7:37-39.
XVII. The power of spirituality is the Holy Spirit.
a. Baptizes, 1 Corinthians 12:13
b. Indwells, 1 Corinthians 6:19
c. Fills, Ephesians 5:18
d. Produces fruit, Galatians 5:22,23
XVIII. Spirituality is both passive (grace) and active (human responsibility).
XIX. Righteousness of God and man’s righteousness (total depravity):
a. Total depravity does not mean that man has no concept of right and wrong, Romans 2:14,15
b. All men are completely sinful in relation to God, 2 Timothy 3:13, James 3:9
c. Everyone is defective in personality:
1. Mind, Romans 1:20, 3:11
2. Will, Romans 1:32, 3:12
3. Emotion, Romans 1:32, 3:17
d. All men have an evil tendency, Romans 7:17, 20,21,23,25.
e. No one has capacity to produce self-righteousness that will please God, Isaiah 64:6
1. Two kinds of righteousness:
a) Man’s, Philippians 3:7-9
b) God’s, Romans 10:1-4
2. Difference is one of quality, not quantity.
XX. Free from the law
a. Law has three parts:
1. Ceremonial
2. Civil
3. Moral (we did not die to the moral law) Romans 7
b. Imperative of the New Testament:
1. OT Law = penalty NT Imperative = no penalty, but corrects
2. OT Law = no supernatural enablement
NT Imperative = there is supernatural enablement
3. OT Law = motivation to get blessed
NT Imperative = motivation because we are blessed
4. OT Law = results in man’s righteousness
NT Imperative = results in God’s righteousness, Romans 3:7-9.
XXI. The New Man
a. The new man is not the natural man made better
b. The new man is not the infusing of a new personality
c. The new man is a new influence on personality
d. The old and new men do co-exist — the old is not eradicated, Romans 7:14-25; 8:23; Galatians 5:16,17; I John 1:8
e. The new man is a new capacity implanted in us, Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9,10, 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Peter 1:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15.
XXII. Baptism of the Holy Spirit
a. Never repeated in an individual in the NT
b. It is universal – He baptizes every Christian into his body, 1 Corinthians 12:13
c. It is never commanded so it is not our responsibility
d. In NT, experience is related to filling, never baptism
e. The baptism of the Spirit is positional truth
f. Spiritual baptism is distinctive of the dispensation of grace
1. In Gospels – always anticipated, Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:13; John 1:33
2. Occurred first at Pentecost, Acts 1:4-5 (prophesied), Acts 11:16 (occurred already)
3. Church not found in the OT
g. Spiritual baptism is the basis of justification, 1 Corinthians 5:21 h. Spiritual baptism is the basis of unity; 1 Corinthians 12:13; John 7:37-39 i. Union with Christ is the basis of sanctification, Romans 6-8
Positional sanctification by union with Christ, Romans 6:1-14, Judicial; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 2:9-12
j. Distinction between:
Baptism
- never commanded
- past event
- true of all believers
- occurs once
- union
- positional
and
Filling
- commanded
- present experience
- true only of some
- continuance
- communion
- experiential
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Galatians 5:17b

Published on April 15, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“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”
 
so that you do not do the things that you wish
 
The Holy Spirit interferes with what the flesh would otherwise do in its evil lusts. When we operate on the principle of grace [God's provisions], we will not do the things we wish. The grace of the Holy Spirit will not allow us to invite evil into our souls. The best way to fight against sin is to walk in the Spirit.
 
Legalistic Galatians thought they could oppose sin by trying to live up to the law. By trying to gain God’s approbation by the law, they failed to engage the grace of God provided by the Holy Spirit. Neither do believers operating under grace give license to sin. Life under grace is neither legalism nor license but a reigning principle that prohibits the sin capacity from doing what it otherwise would.
Principle:
The spiritual dual within can lead us in two opposing directions.
Application:
The indwelling Holy Spirit and the “flesh” are engaged in a titanic struggle for sovereignty of your soul. This is a great war within us. Every Christian on earth is a battleground. Why should we be surprised at the war with sin in us?
“But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells [sin capacity] in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells [capacity] in me” (Romans 7:17-20).
The moment we come to Christ, the Holy Spirit sets up a system of checks and balances within us. Before possessing a new birth, we did as we pleased but now that we have the new life of the Holy Spirit, He puts checks and balances in our lives. He always finds a way for us to get through the spiritual battle.
Some teach that spirituality is a passive submission to the Spirit. No, it is a life of active faith in the power of the Spirit. The Christian life is a life of spiritual mortal combat. We combat our sin capacity by walking in the Spirit. This makes spiritual victory possible for we operate in the Spirit’s power, not our own.
The more the believer says “no” to sin the easier it is to say “no.” When it becomes a habit, we gain momentum in victory over sin.
[In the next study I will outline biblical spirituality]
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Galatians 5:17

Published on April 14, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“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”
 
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit,
 
The flesh counters the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives. The “flesh” is the sin capacity of the believer.
 
and the Spirit against the flesh;
The Holy Spirit counteracts the flesh and its influence on our lives. The provision of the operating power of the Holy Spirit represents the grace principle formulated throughout the book of Galatians.
and these are contrary to one another,
The word “contrary” is literally to lie opposite to, to be set over against. “Contrary” is a military term meaning to line up against someone in open conflict. There is an antagonism between the Spirit and the flesh. They are adverse to each other so they oppose each other. They are at war. The Spirit and flesh are as different as light and darkness or fire and water. Which side will you choose for these two principles lie in mutual antagonism? It is impossible to reconcile them.
Principle:
There is no peaceful coexistence between the flesh and Spirit.
Application:
There is no such thing as peaceful coexistence between the flesh and the Spirit. Coexistence, yes. Peaceful coexistence, no. There can be no compromise between the flesh and the Spirit because to capitulate to sin is to violate the Spirit. If the flesh is up, the Spirit is down; if the Spirit is up, the flesh is down.
The check and balance to our sin capacity is the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot allow the Holy Spirit to control us by suppression or eradication of sin but by the counter action of the power of the Holy Spirit.
A spiritual titanic tug of war takes place in every believer. The non-Christian does not have that same kind of struggle for he is nothing but “flesh.” He has no other reference point. Once a person comes to know Christ, he enters a significant spiritual struggle. This is partial proof that he is born again.
A Christian out of fellowship with the Lord is out of joint spiritually. Although he has the indwelling Spirit in him, that does not necessarily mean that he “walks in the Spirit.” If he doesn’t walk with the Holy Spirit, he is out of fellowship.
The “flesh” of the believer is just as foul as the unbeliever. The sin capacity of the believer never gets better. God never regenerates it. We cannot refine it. It never improves. God never blesses it. Our “flesh” is exactly the same as an unsaved person. God will have nothing to do with it. We dare not ignore the power of the flesh in our lives.
When God saves a sinner, He imparts a brand new nature to him, which he never had before and he cannot lose. We can no more lose the new nature than we can lose the “flesh.” We cannot lose either one of them. We keep the “flesh” until we see the Savior. Then He will remove it from us forever. God will not disown his own.
You may have become a disobedient child of God, a black sheep in the family of God. If so, God will take you to the woodshed. There He will chasten you. Some spend most of their lives in the woodshed. Nevertheless, they are still children of God. They remain in the household of faith. The reason they receive chastening is because they come under the disciplinary care of the Father in the family of God.
We have a longer relationship with the “flesh” than we have with the “Spirit.” We had the “flesh” from the moment of our physical birth. We received the “Spirit” at the moment of our spiritual birth. The Holy Spirit is our Divine ally who is closer to us than anyone. The Father and Son are majesty on high but the Holy Spirit resides within us.
The Christian cannot get around the fact that he has two mutually antagonistic principles within him. These principles are mutually exclusive making spirituality an absolute. Neither do they counterbalance each other abandoning the believer to his own preferences.
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Galatians 5:16b

Published on April 13, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”
 
and you shall not fulfill
 
“Shall not fulfill” is a very strong term for not at all [double negative]. God guarantees or promises that we will not carry out the desires of the flesh if we walk in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives strong desire to do God’s will.
 
This promise is not a guarantee of cancellation of sins or the sin nature. The Christian will struggle with the sin capacity as long as he lives on this earth. Yet we have a promise from God that we will “not at all fulfill the lust of the flesh.” God does not say “maybe” or “possibly you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh” but “you shall not.”
The sin capacity continues to influence the Christian till the day he dies. Although Christ crucified sin judicially on the cross (Romans 6:6), sin still stimulates us to violate God’s will. The solution to our sin capacity is not regulations but living a life empowered by the Holy Spirit. The reason we must continually walk in the Spirit is that the sin capacity will influence us until we die.
“I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:21-25).
the lust of the flesh
“Lust” is a desire, craving, longing after mostly of evil cravings. It is a strong desire to have what belongs to someone else or engage in an activity that is morally wrong.
The “flesh” is the willing instrument of sin, the opposite of the believer’s spiritual nature. It is human reasoning and desires autonomous from God and the spiritual life. God expects us to neglect, starve and ignore the flesh (Matthew 26:41; John 6:63; Romans 7:18; Philippians 3:3; 1 John 3:9).
“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:14).
Principle:
The onus for living the Spirit-filled life lies on the believer.
Application:
The Christian must exercise his volition both in salvation and sanctification. In salvation, the Christian must put faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. In sanctification, the Christian must yield to the power of the Holy Spirit to execute the Christian way of life. The Christian does this by confession of sin (1 John 1:9) and yielding everything in his life to the control of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). There is no peaceful co-existence between the flesh and the Spirit. Co-existence, yes. Peaceful co-existence, no. There is no compromise between the two domains.
Christians cannot ever be completely free from evil desires that originate in their sin capacity but they do not need to surrender to them because they have the power of the Holy Spirit available to them. God gives us strong assurance that if we depend on the Holy Spirit, He will give us victory over sin.
God puts the onus on the believer to refuse to obey the ruling of sin by placing ourselves under the power of the Holy Spirit. God chained the dogs but if we unchain them, that is our responsibility. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are free to choose the right and refuse the wrong. The Holy Spirit will not do for us what he asks him to do. The believer must cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit.
The most effect way of keeping water moisture from forming in the gas tank is to fill the tank with gas. Thus the believer must allow himself to be filled with the Spirit to preempt the passions of the soul.
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Galatians 5:16

Published on April 12, 2000 in Galatians. 7 Comments
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“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”
 
The antithesis to the problems of the previous verse is to live by the filling of the Spirit.
 
I say then:
In contrast to letting the flesh form a base of operations in our soul by devouring one another with words, we are to let the Holy Spirit control us. The Christian walk is life, not regulations. Christians will not fall into a life of sin if they do not live by operation bootstraps but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Walk in the Spirit,
The word “walk” means to walk around [as a course of life]. The walk in the Spirit here is a way of life, not a short stroll. “Walk” then means live. The Greek tense indicates that we are to keep on walking in the Spirit as a course of life. We are to order his manner of life by the Holy Spirit and not by the law. God wants our walk with Him to be permeated and dominated by the Spirit of God.
“Walk” is also a command. The Holy Spirit will not automatically work in our lives; we must invite Him to control us. Walking in the Spirit is no option for the believer. Spirituality is not passivity but it involves volition. There is an onus on us to depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance and power in the Christian life.
Principle:
The Spirit-filled life is not self-effort but counteraction to sin by allowing the Holy Spirit to control us.
Application:
Walking in the flesh and in the Spirit are mutually exclusive. We cannot do both at the same time. We are either carnal or spiritual at any given moment. There is a clear line between the flesh and the Spirit. The line is as clear as the border between the United States and Canada. It is impossible to reside in both countries at the same time. We can live in them sequentially but not simultaneously. We are either Spirit-filled or we are not.
There is a difference between walking in the Spirit and having the Spirit. Every Christian has the Spirit but the Spirit does not have every Christian. A non-Christian has a conscience but can stretch and bend his/her conscience according to his personal desires. A Christian has someone who cannot bend with the trends, cauterized according to their wishes. Non-Christians can sear their conscience with a hot iron of personal desire so that it will never murmur or complain again.
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).
We as Christians do not measure up spirituality by how much prayer, witnessing or service we do but by dependence on the Spirit. We cannot live the Spirit filled life by suppression of sin or by eradicating sin but by the counteracting power of being filled with the Spirit, walking in the Spirit. Victory does not come by self but by the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit, we are spiritual and produce the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit comes from the Holy Spirit, not from our deeds lived in the power of self (Ephesians 3:16; 5:18).
Walking presumes activity; it is not a defensive stand. We enter actively into God’s will by resting in the power of the Holy Spirit. We rest in His sufficiency. The Christian does not attempt to walk; he walks. He maintains a manner of reliance on the Holy Spirit. He lives daily to the glory of God.
A physical walk is an incipient fall. With each step we fall until our other foot catches the fall. Thus walk in the Spirit is dependence for it is a repeated succession of faith steps. Learning to walk in the Spirit should be as common a function as learning to walk physically.
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Galatians 5:15

Published on April 11, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!”
 
The Galatian church entered onto a stage of conflict because of legalistic thinking. Paul now warns them about a consequence of this. All doctrine, whether false or true, has practical implications.
 
But if you bite
Secular Greek used the verbs in this verse of “bite,” “devour” and “consume” for wild animals that bite with the teeth in lethal battle. Legalists lacerate those who believe in grace with reproach.
and devour one another,
The word “devour” means to gulp down. It comes from two words: to consume by eating and down. The idea is to completely consume something. Evidently there is such a thing as Christian cannibalism! The Galatians did not nibble on one another!
beware
The idea of “beware” is to keep our spiritual vision sharp. The word comes from a word for to see. If Christians do not stay alert, they will fall into divisions that result from legalistic belief. Legalism is always divisive and censorious.
lest you be consumed by one another!
Christians can destroy one another by legalism.
Principle:
Legalism produces a censorious spirit.
Application:
Paul never fuses legalism and grace because they are opposites. Neither can we harmonize them into some sentimental doctrinal glob. We should set legalism and grace in stark contrast if we are going to life the Christian life as it should be lived. If we do not separate these two ideas, we will also experience rivalry in the church.
Legalists are contemptuous and severely critical people who show little mercy. However, true Christian love makes allowances for others and takes account of their frailties. Genuine love compensates for people.
“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins‘” (1 Peter 4:8).
Christians cannot afford to play god and become the judge of other believers. When we take the role of a critic, we put ourselves in the position of god. If we find fault with one another and tear each other’s reputation apart, we will destroy the Christian community. All that we see from some churches God has used mightily, is smoke billowing from the ruins of wrath. The people of God could not get along. There is a great difference between the fruit of love the ruins of wrath.
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