Galatians 4-6

To start off, I feel like I should be encouraging everyone after a pretty quiet week on the blog. Don't give up, guys! There's still plenty of good stuff left! Such as [reads passage] Paul suggesting that all those who had demanded that the Galatians be circumcised go and [slams Bible shut] okay so it's not all wall to wall encouragement here.

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Over and over in his portion of the New Testament, Paul confronts the same two questions:

1. Are we under the Law?
2. If not, how then should we live?

It wouldn't have been surprising to see the Jews to whom Paul was preaching struggling with these questions; after all, they had been living under the Law their entire lives, and the message that the Law had been fulfilled and thus superseded was understandably a shock. The idea that the Gentiles in Galatia would run into the same questions seems to have come as a surprise to even Paul (ESV 5:7: "You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?") Nearly two millenia later, it perhaps no longer comes as such a shock. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that these same questions have occurred to every Christian in some form: What do I do once I realize that I don't have to do anything to be saved? If I can't earn my salvation, what does God want from me? How will I keep from sinning if I know that my sins have been completely forgiven and forgotten?

Paul responds this head on: "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." (5:13) Freedom from the Law doesn't mean WOO PARTY but a chance to reflect the Savior in service. He then makes a tremendous promise: "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law … The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (5:18, 22-23)

In case that seemed too easy, Paul immediately encourages us to show grace when we all inevitably screw this up: "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." (6:1)

Trying to keep on the road between legalism and license isn't easy. Indeed, the Galatians slid off quickly enough that it turned Paul into the first Internet commenter: "See what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand (6:11)," which I suppose should be SEE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I AM WRITING TO YOU WITH MY OWN HAND and which I can't read without my brain immediately shouting, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE YELLING ABOUT" and "LOUD NOISES." [Yes, that's right, Galatians reminds me of "Anchorman." Everyone please pray for me.]