5:5-10
One doctrine of these false teachers was that to be a true Christian they had to follow the law of circumcision. Paul contradicted this by saying that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything in relation to salvation. We are not saved by performing outward religious observances. Paul said what really mattered was faith working by love. Faith towards God, expressed through love towards God and our neighbor.
Love is the fulfillment of all the laws. Love God. Love people. This is not possible, however, outside the context of faith in the one true God.
Paul compared the doctrine of the false teachers to leaven in bread. It does not take much leaven to change the nature of bread. Jesus compared the teaching of the Pharisees to leaven. Jesus warned his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. We need to be careful what kind of teaching we allow ourselves to be exposed to. Any teaching has the potential to change our lives. Any teaching which is not the gospel of Jesus Christ will change us into the image of the serpent. Anything which is outside the gospel will make us one with the serpent.
The gospel of Jesus Christ makes us one with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit works in our lives to make us one with the Lord Jesus. Paul warned the Galatians that anyone who brought a false gospel would bear the judgment of God.
5:11-15
The fear of the legalist is that grace will lead people to sin. The opposite is true. It is religious legalism which keeps people in bondage to self-worship, unbelief, and sin.
We are called to freedom in Christ but Paul said we do not use our freedom in Christ to indulge the flesh. Instead we are called to serve. Freedom in Christ is so we can be equipped to serve others in the power of the Holy Spirit. Christian freedom is serving others. The fulfillment of God's law is to love God and to love our neighbor. The fulfillment of God's law is not religious observances such as circumcision or baptism, but instead the fulfillment of God's law is to love the Lord and to love our neighbor.
Our modern culture will even corrupt a concept such as "love thy neighbor as thyself". The modern psychological culture interprets that to mean until you love yourself you cannot love others. Again, the opposite is the truth. We are born loving ourselves. We love ourselves supremely. It is taken for granted in this verse that we love ourselves supremely. Instead, we are called to love others with the same attention we lavish on ourselves.
Corrupt humanistic psychology twists scripture to conform to the satanic goal of self-worship, self-love, and self-image. This is the opposite of the biblical framework of thinking.
The Christian loves the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. He loves his neighbor.
Practicing external religion destroys people. It creates division and strife and people end up devouring one another.
5:16-18
A man walking in the Spirit sticks with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This gospel is outlined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again the third day. All this is according to scriptures prophesied in the Old Testament.
The gospel is simple but the application is profound and deep. You can read how Paul applied the gospel to the Christian life in Romans chapters 6-8. He outlined how the Christian is not only forgiven but we are made one with the Lord Jesus in death, burial, and resurrection. As a result of this unity with the Lord Jesus we experience power to live a holy life. A holy life is not a sinless, perfect life while we still live in these fallen, human bodies. However, we do experience consistent victory over sin, self, the world, and the enemy.
The "flesh" is a word which pointed to a life of independence from the Holy Spirit. To live according to the flesh means we do not believe the gospel and as a result we produce what is against God's kingdom. Our words, actions, thoughts, and attitudes are against the kingdom of God.
Walking in the Spirit begins, grows, and flourishes in the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will only honor the finished work of Christ. The Holy Spirit does not honor human strength, human will power, or any vows we make. God will not deal with us according to deals we make on our terms. He only relates with us on the terms he made. Those terms are simple. We can only know him and experience eternal life when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I was a young Christian I thought walking in the Spirit meant self-discipline. I wanted to be serious all the time and remove myself from all foolishness.
However, if we examine the life of Jesus Christ we see he did not avoid evil people. He met them straight on with the power of the Holy Spirit.
We cannot walk in the Spirit by running away from people or hiding from the world. We walk in the Spirit by believing the gospel and trusting in the Lord to make us holy. My prayer is the Lord will make this temple holy. My prayer is he will continue the good work he started in me so long ago.
When a man walks in the Spirit he is no longer obligated to follow religious rules. You see this clearly in the life of Jesus. He did not feel it necessary to pay attention to religious traditions of the religious leaders in his culture. As a matter of fact, he called them blind leaders of the blind. He warned his disciples to beware of the hypocrisy of religious leaders who burden people with man-made religion, rituals, and traditions.
Let us keep to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our doctrine is Christ Jesus himself. Our doctrine is the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.