Living
by the Spirit
By
Stephen Terry
Sabbath
School Lesson Commentary for December 10 – 16, 2011
“But
if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Galatians 5:18, NIV
Having been returned to the right path by Evangelist
after finding no release from his burdens through legalism, Christian finally
comes to the foot of the cross where his burdens roll from his back and he
experiences freedom. This is the true start
of Christian’s pilgrimage in “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan. Prior to
this, he was told and wanted to believe that there was something better than
the burden of guilt he had been struggling with. He went seeking it without
knowing what he was actually seeking. Evangelist told him it was there and
directed him on the way, but it was the weight of his burdens that pushed him
onward.
In the same way, the law heaps on us a weight of
condemnation that enslaves us to carry that burden of guilt. Without relief
from somewhere we will carry that burden until we die. We believe we will then
face judgment for the misdeeds that brought about our burden of guilt, but in
reality we have already judged and condemned ourselves if we do not seek a way
out of our untenable position.
A war rages in our being. (See Romans 7:15-20) The Bible
identifies the combatants as our two natures, one carnal or fleshly and the
other spiritual. Paul tells us that the fleshly nature is associated with “…sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like…” Galatians 5:19-21, NIV The law which is external to our inward
desires, condemns these activities and hence our burden of guilt. Prior to our
knowledge of any such law, we may see these activities as an enjoyable “to do”
list. But inherent in these things is a love of self before love of others. As
others find themselves unloved through our activities, they resist. In that
resistance may lie appeals to secular statutes to enforce more socially neutral
behavior.
Through these encounters with secular law, we begin to
get a glimmer of the role of law in instructing us regarding incorrect
behavior. (See Galatians 3:24) As our awareness of the law grows, our sense of
condemnation for our fleshly desires grows. We begin to understand the effect
they have had on our relationships, and we feel guilt and shame for what we
have done for self-interest. This burden fastens itself securely upon us and we
begin to feel its weight. Every time we return to those activities that appeal
to our flesh, we feel the burden grow.
At this point we are faced with two options. Like a
slave, we may resign ourselves to our chains and simply accept our situation as
all we can expect in life. We can find momentary pleasures in continuing to
pursue selfishness, but those pleasures are fleeting. Like an addict, we find
that what was enough to distract us from our guilt in the past is no longer
enough today. We get caught in a spiral of ever increasing despair as the
burden of guilt increases and momentary pleasure becomes harder to find. The
Bible tells us that this downward spiral ends in death. (See Romans 6:23)
Unfortunately for some who follow this path, the burdens become so immense that
there is so much of death already in their lives that when death actually
comes, they see it as a merciful deliverance sent from God.
God never intended things to be like that. The law was
intended to be a warning on life’s pathway. Like a “Bridge is Out” sign, it was
intended to warn us to take a different path. But for some, the moment of truth
when they encounter the sign is a challenge. The glittering neon signs on the
other side of the river are so enticing they will try to cross the water even
when the bridge is out, no matter the price. Even then, God does not abandon
these to their fate. Swimming the current beside them, He urges them to turn
back, and He will bring them to safety. Frightened by the churning water, some
listen and trust Him to bring them to safety. But there is also one calling from
the far shore telling them that they must come on as it is too late to turn
back. He tells them that they are closer to the far shore so most of the
dangers are behind them.
Those who listen to this siren song will find that the
further they go, the more difficult the way back looks to them, and the harder
it becomes to choose to return. While God never abandons His children, their continued
path of self-reliance makes it hard to rely on someone else, even God. Once
they cross the river they may stay away from the water and convince themselves
that they are respecting the “Bridge is Out” sign, but in that case, the sign
has become a barrier to their ever returning from their selfish path It only
becomes a continual reminder of their erroneous choice with no power to lead
them to a better way.
In spite of the bitter experience of some, others may heed
the warning and look for that better pathway, and this is what the law was
meant to do, to direct us to another path. Once on that path, the sign that
brought them there becomes irrelevant. Like Judy Garland as Dorothy in “The
Wizard of Oz,” once she was on the Yellow Brick Road, it became unimportant
that she had begun in Munchkin land. The road became all about the destination.
Were there setbacks? Yes. Did she have doubts on the way? Yes. But she never
returned to Munchkin land. It wasn’t necessary to reach her destination.
In the same way, the law functions as a “schoolmaster”
to bring us to the right path. When we enter on that path, we do so through
repentance. In the Greek, the word repentance (metanoia) literally means to
take a new path. Once on the new path, Christian in “Pilgrim’s Progress” and
Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” did not need to keep returning to the beginning
to remember what had brought them there. In the same way, we do not need to
keep going back to read the “Bridge is Out” sign. Every time we do, we open
ourselves up to the wrong choice of crossing the river. Once we have passed
that temptation, why would we want to go back? (See Romans 7:10-11)
The law as a schoolmaster brings us to Christ where
repentance sets us on a different path. At that point, through the presence of
the Holy Spirit, we become endowed with a “heavenly GPS” to keep us on the
right path. The Spirit speaks to us in unmistakable utterances to guide our
way. Since it is finite and God is infinite, the law can never be more than an
incomplete expression of God. When infinity comes to dwell in us through the
Holy Spirit, the programming of our GPS becomes so much more complete than the
simple “road map” of the law. It contains everything we need for the trip.
Because the focus of the law is condemnation, it is
expressed through negative statements of what not to do. It is like a road map
that shows only the roads that should not be taken. On such a map, even choosing
the best route would still lead us astray. That is why the law can never save
us. But once the Holy Spirit has come into our hearts, our GPS has all the
co-ordinates for the best pathways to reach heaven. The law becomes meaningless
because we are traveling positive pathways under the Spirit’s guidance. It
cannot condemn such behavior, and condemnation is its only purpose. (See Romans
8:1)
Like Christian in “Pilgrim’s Progress,” we may not
understand what comes after the repentance and receipt of the Holy Spirit (See
Acts 2:38), but that is no excuse to cling to the schoolmaster, afraid to
wholly abandon ourselves to the Son. Instead we should trust the teaching of
the schoolmaster that we are condemned and facing only death. Then we should accept
the free gift of life (See Romans 6:23) God offers through Jesus. We can never
fulfill the law as long as we remain under the schoolmaster. Paradoxically, if
we leave the schoolmaster behind and follow the new pathway of repentance led
by the Spirit dwelling within, we end up both legally justified through Christ
and spiritually complete through His indwelling presence. This is life. On this
pathway are “…love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23,
NIV The law is powerless to guide the
Spirit-filled Christian, instead the fruit blossoming in the heart becomes the well
spring of every activity. “…this is
eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you
have sent.” John 17:3, NIV
This Commentary is a Service of Still
Waters Ministry
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