Galatians 5:1 “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make
sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”
Romans 8:2 (ESV) “For the law of the Spirit of life has set
you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
Because we live according to the Spirit, we are free from the
law. The law brought condemnation (guilt)
because we could never live up to its standards, requirements. When Jesus came in human form (in the
likeness of sinful man), God condemned sin and broke its power in our
flesh. This took place by Jesus perfect
life. In human form he lived a sinless
life. This had never happened before or
since. From the fall of Adam till Jesus
birth (and up till today) Christ is the only one who lived a sinless life. Because he was able to live in flesh and not
sin, that broke forever the power of sin in our flesh. (Asbury Bible Commentary)
Romans 8:3-6 (ESV)“For God has done what the law, weakened
by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the
flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh
set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the
Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the
flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."
The Asbury Bible Commentary states, “The righteous
requirements of the law, however, are still valid as expressions of God’s will
for human conduct.” “The fruit of the Spirit
lives in harmony with the law.”
We must work on developing the fruit of the Spirit in our
lives. As they grow, we will live
according to the Spirit not the flesh. Galatians
5:22-23 “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!"
To remain free, we need to set our minds on things above: put off our old flesh with its sinful
deeds. Colossians 3:2-10 (NIV) “Set your
minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now
hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you
also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs
to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and
greed, which is idolatry. Because of
these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life
you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as
these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not
lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and
have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of
its Creator.”
Let us ask our loving Savior today to reveal any area of the
sin nature that needs to be put to death in our life today. It is a battle we can and will win because
the Word tells us the battle is the Lord’s and it is not by might or power, but
by God’s Spirit that we overcome.
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