“…Against such there is no law.” ~ Galatians 5:23b
REFERENCE:
We have spent the last nine episodes studying the beautiful virtues produced by the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers who are filled with, and allow Him to guide and influence them. If you have the Holy Spirit, then you have these virtues as a seed buried in the soil of your heart; your duty is to cultivate them until they manifest as fruits that will bless all you relate with.
These nine virtues (fruit of the Spirit) are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They all beautifully reveal the person of God; a person who exhibits them will be a good reflection of who God is and will be pleasing to God. Such a person will make a good spouse, friend, associate, Pastor, staff, driver, etc. Their presence will salt any relationship or organization they find themselves in. They will be good to hang around.
Paul said, “Against such, there is no law.” Paul meant there are no laws of God that contradict these virtues or that no law shall be able to condemn a man who exhibits them. Such a person can live his life unafraid of the wrath of God and, in some cases, the authorities of his city; no right-thinking nation would prosecute any of the above virtues. Therefore, such people are freemen – free from the condemnation of the law and the censure of men and institutions.
The law of God only condemns sin. The flesh is the friend of sin. Sin always launches its attacks through the flesh to condemn us. However, Paul shows that those who have the fruit of the Spirit have crucified (gagged or killed) the flesh and its passions; hence, they cannot be condemned as breaking any law, neither will they suffer the consequences of law-breakers, seeing that the whole purpose of the law is fulfilled in the lives of those bearing the fruit.
It is good to be learned, intelligent, wise, or rich, but these virtues are what we all want in who we will marry, be friends with, do business with, hire, or allow to Pastor us. There is no nation or corporation whose laws or core values do not acknowledge the excellence of the fruit of the Spirit because we see them enshrined in their codes of ethics. Let this yet be an incentive for you to develop the fruit of the Spirit. No human or divine law shall oppose or condemn you.
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL TEXTS:
I Timothy 1:9, Romans 8:1, and Galatians 5:13-18
PRAYERS:
+ Lord, help me take cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in my life more seriously.
+ Take each of the nine virtues, and declare their manifestation in your life in prayer. E.g., “I walk in the love of God and love the unlovable. I am a man of peace…I am self-controlled and not given to outbursts of passion. I express the joy of the Lord despite my state or situation.”
