Against such things there is no law

Galatians 5:13-26

I. THE WAY GOD HAS DEALT WITH US IN CHRIST IS THE WAY WE ARE TO DEAL WITH OTHERS

A. God dealt with Jesus according to the Law for our sins (Galatians 3:13).

B. God has dealt with us on the basis of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness. This is the foundation for which we deal with others in our relationships.

C. What does Paul mean when he writes, “against such things there is no law?” (Galatians 5:23)

1. Paul’s list of the Holy Spirit’s fruit contains no reference to Old Testament laws.

a. Paul’s point is not that the Holy Spirit makes law unnecessary.

b. Paul is not teaching that we are now existentially (heat of the moment) led by the Holy Spirit.

i. Paul exhorts us to “fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

ii. “the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12; cf. Romans 3:31; 1 Corinthians 7:19; Galatians 3:21; Ephesians 6:1-3; 1 Timothy 1:8-11).

“The most significant question in current scholarship pertinent to Pauline ethics is the place of the Law.” (Stephen Charles Mott, “Ethics” in Dictionary of Paul and his Letters, p.271)

iii. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law (Matthew 5:17-20).

iv. Jesus commissioned the church to go to the ends of the earth teaching disciples to obey everything He commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).

“The Bible is both the rule of faith and the rule of practice. The Law, in particular is the rule of practice, which defines for us what righteousness is, and thus is properly a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ, and also a guide for our daily living, once we have come to him. As such, it is especially a means of grace, both of bringing the sinner to Christ and also in assisting the believer to grow in grace” (Morton Smith, Systematic Theology, Volume One: Prolegomena, Theology, Anthropology, Christology. p.617).

2. When Paul writes, “against such things there is no law” (v.23), he is saying that we are to deal with others on the same basis that God has dealt with us (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control).

a. God gave us what we don’t deserve, and we are therefore to give others what they don’t deserve.

b. God didn’t deal with us on the basis of law but on the basis of love (fruit of the Spirit). We must therefore deal with others in love, joy, peace…

D. Walking in the Spirit is the supernatural enablement to love our enemies, to be patient and kind when people (including family!) are nasty toward us. Where there is love there won’t be disputes, dissensions, factions, or envying. Where there is self-control there won’t be outbursts of anger, immorality, drunkenness, etc.

“It is plainly morally impossible that the man full of “love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance,” should indulge in the works of the flesh, and specified in the preceding verses…” (John Brown, 306).

II. PAUL’S TEACHING ABOUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS NO DIFFERENT FROM JESUS’ TEACHING ABOUT FORGIVENESS (MATTHEW 18:21-35)

A. Jesus spoke about justification in some of His parables and stories about debt, wages, tax collectors and the settling of accounts (Matthew 18:21-35; 20:1-16; Luke 7:40-50; 16:1-8; 18:9-14; cf. Matthew 6:12).

1. When the slave is called to account, he owes a sum of money he could not repay (Matthew 18:23-24).

2. As a means of justifying the accounting book, the king orders the slave to be sold along with his wife, children and all his possessions.

3. The slave begs for patience (Matthew 18:26; patience is a fruit of the Spirit – Gal.5:22).

4. The lord showed compassion and forgave the debt (Matthew 18:27).

“But we are fools if we appeal to God for justice rather than grace, for in that case we’d all be damned.” (Craig Blomberg, Matthew, 305)

5. The forgiven slave deals with his fellow slave on the basis of law and justice instead of on the basis of compassion, forgiveness and patience (Matthew 18:28-30).

6. We are to have mercy on others in the same way God has had mercy on us (Matthew 18:33).

B. How many people are you trying to settle accounts with in your life? Just because someone has wronged you and is in your “debt” does not give you the right to play the part of a righteous and condemning judge.

C. We are all sinners, and we tend to want justice for others and mercy for ourselves.

D. The Good News is that the Spirit is divinely empowering us to live in such a way that our relationships with others are transformed. If God has forgiven your debts, then He has divinely empowered you to respond to your debtors with grace and love.

E. When we stop living by faith we will begin keeping a record of wrongs and acting like a debt collection agency.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” (Colossians 3:12-15)

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Take what you have learned this morning and make it into a prayer. Pray that your faith in Jesus would transform your relationship with others empowering you to deal with them as God has dealt with you.

Explain the following statement, “God didn’t deal with us according to the law; instead, He dealt with Jesus according to the law.”

Why shouldn’t we want God to give us what the Law requires?

What is the basis for God’s dealing with Christians?

What is the basis for how Christians are to deal with others?

Explain in your own words Jesus’ answer to the question, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Are there any people in your life who are in your “debt”? Are you dealing with them on the basis of law or love?