Sowing

Greetings everyone. 

As we continue our expolration of Galatians 6, we will look at verses 7 and 8 today. Using an agricultural analogy, Paul compares life devoted to the flesh with life devoted to the Spirit. Here is what he says: 

7 Don’t be fooled.  God will not be ridiculed.  Each person will harvest what they plant.  8 Those who sow according to their own flesh, will, from that flesh, harvest destruction. On the other hand, those who sow to the Spirit, will by the Spirit, harvest life neverending. 

Paul returns to the discussion of the works of the flesh as compared to the fruits of the Spirit. He starts this comparison by saying “Don’t be fooled.  God will not be ridiculed.”  So, whatever Paul is about to talk about, we run the risk of fooling ourselves and ridiculing God.  I would not want to do either. 

Paul uses the Greek word Μυκτηρίζεται (mykterizetai) which is often translated “to be mocked.” The root word Μυκτήρ (mykter) means nose.  So μυκτηρίζεται literally means ‘to turn one’s nose up at.”  It can also be translated as ‘ridicule’ or ‘treat with contempt.’  God is not going to be ridiculed.  We fool ourselves if we think that we can ridicule God. 

Back to the agricultural analogy, Paul’s next statement is, “Each person will harvest what they plant.”  This is often translated as “A man reaps what he sows,” but this phrase has become so commonplace that I fear that we can miss its meaning.  Farmers don’t sow wheat and harvest beans.  We will harvest what we plant, or sow.  

Paul spent considerable time talking about the flesh vs. The Spirit in chapter 5.  We return to that comparison here in verse 8. We can sow to the flesh, or sow to the Spirit.  Each one harvests something different.  Those who sow to the flesh will ultimately harvest destruction, while those who sow to the Spirit will reap life neverending.

In his comparison Paul uses the word ἑαυτοῦ (heautou) meaning ‘his own’ in reference to the flesh.  We sow to our own flesh. (Even as disciples of Jesus, we are not free from the desires of our own flesh.) On the other side of the comparison, that word ἑαυτοῦ (heautou) is not there.  We do not sow to our own spirit, but to the Holy Spirit.   

Douglas Moo says this, “The contrast between the Spirit and the flesh is central to Paul’s presentation of the Christian life.  The Spirit has taken control of believers (5:18), both enabling and compelling them to an obedience not possible before.” (Moo, 385.) 

We cannot think that we can constantly sow to the flesh and yet reap the rewards of sowing to the Spirit, growing in the fruits of the Spirit and ultimately eternal life.  God will not be ridiculed.  We reap the benefits of the Holy Spirit by sowing to the Spirit.  

Many translations add the word “to please”  or “to satisfy” in verse 8.  “Sowing to please the flesh”, or “Sowing to please the Spirit.” This makes a lot of sense and helps to flesh out Paul’s meaning.  No pun intended.  

David deSilva says in his book on Galatians that the Greek word that we often translate “to sow” σπείρων (speirōn) is a present participle , those who sow, suggesting ‘habitual action, not sporadic deviations.’  (deSilva, 136.)  What does this mean?  We should ask ourselves, “What is my habit, is it sowing to the flesh, or sowing to the Spirit?” 

While sowing here refers to actions of our lives, the ‘reaping’ makes reference to consequences of what we have sown.  

The consequences of sowing to the flesh: φθοράν,(phthoran) possible meanings: deterioration, corruption, depravity, destruction. 

The consequences of sowing to the Spirit: ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (zōēn aiōnion)  ζωὴν means “life.”   αἰώνιον means “without end, eternal.” 

Those are the choices, corruption and destruction, or life neverending. Based on the consequneces that each come with, it seems that the obvious choice would be to sow to the Spirit.  

          David deSilva, Galatians: A Handbook on the Greek Text, Waco, Texas, Baylor University Press, 2014. 
            Douglas Moo, Galatians, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2013. 

What to Brag About

Hey.

We continue our examination of Galatians 6 today, looking at vrses 3-6:

3 If anyone thinks himself to be really something, while actually being nothing special, he deceives himself. 4 Each of you should examine your own work, so that then you can make boasts to yourself, without comparing yourself to other people.  5 So, each of you will carry your own burden.  
6 Those being taught should share all good things with their teacher.   

In verse 3, Paul says, “If anyone thinks himself to be really something, while actually being nothing special, he deceives himself.” Here, we are called to humility.  We must not think more highly of ourselves than we should.  We deceive ourselves if we do.  

So, Galatians 6:3 is a warning to the prideful.  We can start to think that we are really something special.  Paul warns against such thinking. We truly will never be more than hopeless sinners, in need of Jesus - a work in progress.  When we start to think of ourselves as something more than that, we become arrogant and are led astray.  

An inportant part of what Paul is saying here is that when we think of ourselves more highly than we should, we become self-deceived.  David Benner writes, “The human capacity for self-deception is astounding.  This is taught by Scripture (Jer. 17:9) and confirmed by psychology. Some people are highly skilled in deceiving others.  However, their duplicity pales in comparison with the endlessly creative ways in which each and every one of us deceives our self. (Benner, 58.)  

It is very easy for us to deceive ourselves and think of ourselves more highly than we should.  Better that we constantly see ourselves as flawed sinners who are still, nevertheless, deeply loved by God.  If we can hold on to that viewpoint, we will be able to help others. 

It might seem like a disconnect between this verse and one preceding, about carrying one another's burdens.  What does this have to do with carrying someone else’s burdens?  However, the connection is there.  In carrying one another’s burdens there should be no burden that is beneath us.  That would be true humility. (If we think more highly of ourselves than we should, when we are striving to carry another’s burdens, the temptation will be there to be judgmental.)

After being told that we are to keep a proper perspective on ourselves, Paul tells us next that we should take the time to examine our own work. Note that he doesn’t tell us to examine each other’s work.  In fact, we are to look at what we have done without making comparisons to others.  It is not a contest.  We are to look at ourselves and strive to get better each day. 

Paul says in the Greek,”τότε εἰς ἑαυτὸν μόνον τὸ καύχημα ἕξει” (tote eis heauton monon to kauchēma hexei). A word-for-word translation would be “then as to himself alone the something to boast about he will have.” 

Obviously the Greek doesn’t flow the same way that English does.  So what does this mean? It seems thaat the words ἑαυτὸν μόνον, or himself alone, are important here.  We are to examine ourselves, but not so that we can brag about how awesome we are, and any boasting that we may do goes to ourselves alone. 

Within the context of saying that we must not think more highly of ourselves than we should, boasting of any kind, even to ourselves, seems out of place.  That is why it seems to me that Paul is talking about self-comparison.  For example, I might ask myself, “Am I growing spiritually?”  If I can answer positively, then I can boast a little to myself about that, without comparing myself to others.  

Douglas Moo makes an important point here.  Paul is talking about self-assessment, and at this point in his letter, we have to understand that our self-assessment needs to come within the context of God’s standard and His grace. (Moo, 380.) 

Also, Paul has just told us that in carrying each other’s burdens we fulfill the Law of Christ.  Coupling that with verse 4, we see that we please Christ when we love each other, not when we judge each other. 

Verse five seems to go against what Paul has just said.  He has just told them that they should carry one another’s burdens.  Now, in verse 5, he tells them that each one of them should carry their own burdens.  Why would he say such seemingly contradictory statements, back to back? 

We have a responsibility to do both.  We carry our own burdens, and help carry the burdens of others.  Paul has commanded others to help me carry my own burdens, but that does not absolve me from the weight of my own.  I can’t just say, “The church will take care of me,” and then expect it to.

 

In 6:6, Paul says, “Those being taught should share all good things with their teacher.”  According to Moo, there are two trains of thought about what Paul means here.  It is unclear whether the good things to be shared are to be spiritual or physical in nature.  (Moo, 383.)  Moo states that most scholars tend to hold with the latter, that students should materially support their teacher.  All three commentaries that I have been reading took the ‘material support’ view.  While I do support the idea of financial support for ministers and Bible teachers. 

I tend to take a different view here. The Greek words πᾶσιν ἀγαθοῖς. (pasin agathois) mean ‘all good things.”  First, I don’t think that it has to be mutually exclusive, material or spiritual.  “All good things” can include both.  However, if I had to choose, I would think that he is talking about the spiritual.  

          David Benner. The Gift of Being Yourself, Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press, 2004. 

          Douglas Moo, Galatians, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2013. 

The Law of Christ

Hello everyone.

Today. we begin the final chapter of the book of Galatians.  We will examine the first two verses: 

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught up in some sin, those among you who are spiritually minded, should restore that person in a spirit of humility.  But, guard yourself so that you are not also enticed to sin. 2 Carry one another’s burdens.  This way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Paul again addresses the Galatians as ‘brothers and sisters.’  Perhaps it is a reminder that they were all family, and that Christianity is not a contest to see who can be the most devout. In the spirit of family, Paul instructs them to go to those among them that get caught up in a sin, and restore them back into the community. 

Paul gives two qualifications to those who do the restoring:

• They must be spiritual-minded.
• They must be humble, as the restoration is to take place in the spirit of humility.

Note: Πραΰτητος (prautatos) can be translate as gentleness or humility.  Both make a lot of sense here, but to me, humility is the better fit.  Thomas Schreiner says, “A gentle and humble spirit does not provoke one who has sinned but treats that person with dignity, and such gentleness is the fruit of the Spirit.” (Schreiner, 358.) 

Paul also gives the restorer a warning.  He, or she, must be careful thexplanations for the sin that the restorer must guard against:at they do not allow the situation to lead them into sin.  Douglas Moo offers three possible 

• Anger toward the offender. 
• Self-righteousness and pride.
• Being drawn into the same sin. 

To be honest, the first two easily go together in response to the sinner who seeks restoration. One who is self-righteous and prideful can easily come into a situation like this with great anger. So, it makes a lot of sense that Paul would urge them to go into a situation like humbly and gently. 

In verse 2, as Paul continues, he tells them to carry one another’s burdens.  Paul again is offering family, or community input.  The verb βαστάζετε, (bastazete) is an imperative, not a suggestion.  We, as the family of God, are to help each other.  

Is this related to verse 1 and the restoration of the sinner, or does this command apply across the whole community of believers?  The answer to that question is ‘yes.’  

Paul goes on to say that in carrying one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ.  What is the Law of Christ and how do we fulfill it? Based on the context, it seems that Paul is referring to love as the Law of Christ. Jesus is on record for having said that the loving God and loving people are the commands that all of the rest of the Law hangs.  Love is the most important thing.  

Paul has just commanded them to carry one another’s burdens.  Certainly, this is rooted in love.  In 1 Corinthians as Paul is about to define love for us, he first tells that love is the ‘most excellent way.” (1 Cor. 12:31.)  It seems that Paul is presenting love as the Law of Christ. 

Paul has spent considerable time in the letter explaining how and why the time of the Law of Moses has passed.  A new era has come, marked by grace, faith, freedom and love.   This era has a new law, the Law of Christ, a law based in love. We fulfill that new law when we take care of each other, and carry each other’s burdens. 

With this verse, some have suggested that carrying one another’s burdens may be connected to the previous verse, where those who are spiritual-minded are called upon to gently restore the sinner.  Is this the burden that we are to carry?  It certainly fits that we should help carry that burden, but certainly this falls within the realm of a universal call to all disciples to carry each other’s burdens. 

It is in building community and family, loving and helping each is what Paul is calling the fulfillment of the law of Christ. 

Spirit Vs. Flesh, Part 4

Greetings.

As we continue Paul's discussion of the Spirit vs. the flesh, we will be wrapping up chapter 5.  Here are verses 24-26: 

24 But those who are in Jesus, the Christ, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  25 If we live by the Spirit, we should therefore, keep in step with the Spirit.  26 Let us make sure that we don’t become conceited, provoking and envying one another. 

In verse 24, Paul says: “But those who are in Jesus, the Christ, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Those who are in Christ no longer live according to the flesh.  The flesh has been crucified with Christ, and the Holy Spirit takes its  place. 

Paul has talked about this idea before.  Think about Gal. 2:20.   “I have been crucified with Christ.  I no longer live, but now Christ lives in me. The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself up for me.”  This concept has been a consistent part of Paul’s message.  The old self, the flesh, it is now gone.  God’s Spirit resides in us now.  Our life is in Him, and we are his temples. He enables us to live differently.  What we failed to do under our own power, He has given us the ability to do, and the passions and desires of the flesh no longer have the same effect on us.  

Paul says that we have crucified the flesh with its desires, but we all know that the temptations of the flesh still come.  The important thing to remember here is that these desires no longer rule over us.  

Going back to verse 16: Paul has told us to ‘walk in the Spirit/’ and now in verse 25 he tells us that since we live by the Spirit, we should "keep in step with the Spirit."  We have all of Paul’s comparison of the works of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit sandwiched between two statements about walking with the Holy Spirit. We choose to walk according to the Spirit or to live according to the flesh.  The flesh will continue to seek those things that satisfy it, while the Spirit offers self-control. 

These statements about walking in the Spirit should give the Galatians guidance. As they are striving to be obedient to the Law, the should ask whether what they are doing is really in step with what the Spirit is doing. He does add a conditional statement in verse 25.  “If we live by the Spirit.”  In other words, if you are going to live by the Law, then go live by the Law, but if you are going to live by the Holy Spirit, quit trying to keep in step with the Law. 

Moo sums up the discussion of the Holy Spirit really well.  (Moo, 371.) I am going to turn his lengthy summation into bullet points:

• The Spirit:
• Transforms the hearts of God’s people. (3:14)
• Produces in us the character traits that please Him (5:22-23a)
• Provides the power to inaugurate the Christian life. (3:3)
• And bring it to completion. (5:5) 
• Leads and guides believers (5:18)
• So, we really should walk by the Spirit. 

We close chapter 5 with a statement about behavior that is not consistent with walking with the Spirit.  “Let us make sure that we don’t become conceited, provoking and envying one another.”  Conceit, envy, provoking others,  those are really works of the flesh, as they damage the community of believers.  They are not in line with the Spirit, or His fruits, (love, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, humility, goodness)  I speculate that Paul added this in here because this was going on among them.  It is certainly a reasonable assumption that the false teachers that had been influencing them were guilty of these things. 

For the Galatians and for us, Keeping in step with the Spirit is a better way to live.  

Spirit Vs. Flesh, Part 3

Hello everyone.

We will pick in verse 22 of Galatians 5, as Paul continues to show the contrast between life devoted to the flesh and life given by the Spirit.  Take a look at Galatians 5:22-23:

22 On the other hand, the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility and self-control. No law prohibits things such as these. 

Just like the works of the flesh, this, too, is not an exhaustive list. What is a fruit of the Spirit?  I think that it would be anything that the Spirit produces in us.  Wisdom, for example, seems like a fruit of the Spirit to me, but is not listed here.  In Ephesians 5:17 Paul tells us that God gives us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may know Him better.  So, wisdom and revelation (the ability to know God better) are fruits that the Spirit produces in us, as well. 

Anyway, Paul lists these nine fruits of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, humility and self-control. 

Note: πραΰτης, (prautēs) is usually translated as gentleness.  I have translated it as humility. The Lexicon defines it as: "the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance: gentleness, humility, courtesy, considerateness, meekness." The word is translated as gentleness in some places in the New Testament, and humility in others, depending on context. I think either one fits this context.  

Works vs. Fruit.  In Paul’s comparison we see works, something that you do, compared to fruits, something that is produced in you by the Holy Spirit.   In one, it is my own flesh that is at work, and in the other, it is the Holy Spirit that is at work.  So, it is important to realize that I do not produce these things in me, The Holy Spirit does.  I mean, I can be a loving person and not believe in God, but The Spirit will produce more and greater love in me, than I can ever produce on my own. Thomas Schreiner explains it well. "Believers are not called upon to summon up the strength within them, for their new way of life is supernatural, stemming from the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.” (Schreiner, 348-349.) Plus, we understabd that obedience to the Law cannot produce these fruits in us.  In fact, it seems that no matter how hard I work to bear these fruits, I make little headway.  I am relatively powerless on my own.  Better that the Spirit works in me to produce His fruit. 

Just like the works of the flesh, I am not going to go through each word and explain, but do want to talk about the first one on the list: love. 1 John 4:8 tlees us that  'God is love.'  We know from John that God is not only a loving being, He is love.  If any one quality defines Him, it is love.  The first and foremost fruit of the Holy Spirit is love.  Many of the others, patience and kindness for example (1 Cor. 13:4), spring from love.

Continuing that thought.  In Col. 3:12-14 - Paul lists a number of attributes that God’s people possess, including compassion, humility, forgiveness and others, but ends with love, as it “binds them all together in perfect unity.”  Love seems to the centrpiece of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.  As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and produce His fruit, we become more like God, making more like love. 

Another thought on love: Jesus tells us that the whole of the Law rests on two commands to love.  (Matt. 22:40.) So, the real intent of the Law was to lead us toward love.  But we understand that the Law does not and cannot really lead us there, because you cannot legislate people’s hearts.  So, the Spirit enables us to fulfill the intent of Law, which is to love. 

A quick thought on self-control: It is interesting that Paul finishes this list with self-control, as he finishes the other with behaviors that are a result of a lack of self control (drunkenness and wild partying.) The Spirit leads to be self-controlled, not out of control.  

Paul discussion here on the fruits of the Holy Spirit is finished with the phrase, “No law prohibits things such as these.”  Paul has spent a major part of his letter to the Galatians talking about the Law.  I think that it is no coincidence that he adds this phrase here.  His point:  'If we are filled with the Spirit, we don’t really need the old law., because we will live a life full of these fruits and would give no one an opportunity to complain.'

Spirit Vs. Flesh, Pat 2

 Greetings.

In my post, we began an examination of Galatians 5: 16-26.  We see a comparison between the Spirit and the flesh, and we notice that they are in stark contrast to each other.  "The desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit and the Spirit is opposed to the desires of the flesh." (Gal. 5:17)  Today, we will look at what the flesh leads us toward. Here is Galatians 5:19-21: 

19 It is easy to see the works of the flesh.  These include: sexual immorality, moral corruption, indecency, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentiousness, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, sowing discord, divisiveness, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild partying and other things like these.  I am warning you, just as I have warned already, that those who do such things, will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

At the beginning of verse 19, Paul tells us that the works of the flesh are Φανερὰ (phanera) - obvious, evident, easy to see. I like the way that Thomas Schreiner describes it: “Identifying the works of the flesh does not demand extraordinary spiritual discernment. (Schreiner, 345.) It’s true.  One does not have to be some kind of spiritual giant to know that certain things are wrong.   (Later, Paul does not say that the fruits of the Spirit are obvious, but the truth is, they are obvious, as well.)  

Galatians 5:19-21 is not intended to be the exhaustive list of sins.  Paul finishes with “and other things like these,” to let his readers know that there are other ‘obvious’ works of the flesh that he doesn’t call out by name here.  

I am not going to go through each one of these sins and define them and talk about them.  Paul has already told us that they are obvious works of the flesh.  Scholars will often group these works of the flesh, and I will use the groupings as presented by Douglas Moo, and talk briefly about the groupings. (Moo, 358.) 

Sexual sins: sexual immorality, moral corruption, indecency. The Roman world was pretty open regarding sex, much like our modern world is, so Paul is telling his readers that following Christ meant not viewing sexual matters in the way the surrounding society does.  It is obvious that some things are ‘of the flesh,’ and a follower of Jesus would avoid those things.   

Sins of pagan worship - idolatry, sorcery: Schreiner says, “The next two sins are grouped together because they both focus on the refusal to worship the one true God.  The fundamental sin in Pauline theology is the failure to praise and thank God for His goodness and to turn to worship of idols.” (Schreiner, 346.)  While some in the Galatian churches may have come out of a background in which they bowed down to idols, we do understand that idolatry involves anything that we place ahead of the one true God. 

Sins against the community: hatred, contentiousness, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, sowing discord, divisiveness, envy. Jesus said that the second greatest command is to love your neighbor as yourself.  God’s community should be full of love, and these sins obviously betray that kind of community.  Our world looks like this, God’s people do not.  God’s people strive to build a community of love.  Note that a number of these words (contentiousness, discord, divisiveness) involve dividing the community in some way. On the other hand, God desires a community of love. 

Sins of excess and self-indulgence: drunkenness, wild partying. Shortly, self-control will be listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit.  These last two works of the flesh involve an absence of self-control.  

Paul concludes the list adding ‘and other things like these. Again, he has not given an exhaustive list, and he can’t list every possible sin out there.  So, there are other ‘works of the flesh’ that are just as obvious. 

What does Paul say about people whose lives are characterized by these ‘works of the flesh’?  They will not inherit the kingdom of God. This thought backs up something that Paul has just said in verse 13.  He said, “you were called to be free, but not free to indulge the flesh.”  Living by faith, and walking in freedom in Christ, and not being bound by the Law, must lead to righteous behavior and not the works of the flesh.  Schreiner says it like this:  “Righteousness by faith instead of works of law must not lead to a life of sin.  Those who are justified by God’s grace are also empowered by the Spirit to live in a new way.” (Schreiner, 348.) As people of the Spirit, not the flesh, let us embrace this new way. 

Spirit Vs. Flesh

Hey everyone. 

As we continue through Galatians 5, we see, beginning in verse 16, a comparison between the flesh and the Holy Spirit, and what each produces within us.  This comparison goes on through the end of the chapter. We will start today with a look at verses 16-18 and then a brief overview of what is to follow: 

16 Therefore, I’m telling you, walk in the Spirit, and then you will not be walking in a way that gratifies the desires of your flesh. 17 The desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit and the Spirit is opposed to the desires of the flesh.  They run counter to each other, keeping you from things that you desire to do. 18 But, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 

Paul now, give us a few words on the Spirit.  In verse 16, he tells us “walk in the Spirit.”  The Greek word used here is Περιπατεῖτε (peripateite). It is an imperative, meaning 'to walk.'  So, we are commanded to walk in the Spirit.  Paul assures us that when we do walk in the Spirit, we will not walk in a way that gratifies our flesh. We are certainly going to walk in one way or the other. 

Moo says this regarding walking in the Spirit.  “The ‘walk’ of the believer is determined by the Spirit, who both directs and empowers Christian living.”  (Moo, 353.) As followers of Jesus, we must be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and trust that He will empower us to follow those promptings.  

Although it isn't mentioned specifically in this passage, this separation of Spirit and flesh comes into view again here.  What is circumcision?  Is it not a separating of flesh?  It was being pushed onto the Galatians as a means of achieving righteousness.  Paul pushes back on that idea.  

Paul's message: Allowing yourself to be circumcised is not going to help you overcome the temptations of the flesh.  The Spirit, however, can.  So, walk in His way.  In verse 18, Paul adds that those who are led by the Spirit, are not bound by the Law. (We have a choice to follow the Spirit or to follow the Law. It will be one or the other. The Judaizing teachers were teaching some kind of Spirit/Law hybrid, that Paul is saying won't work.)  

Anyway, Paul continues with how the Spirit and the flesh are opposed to each other.  He makes that very clear in verse 17: The desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit and the Spirit is opposed to the desires of the flesh.”  We will be walking in one or the other, not both. You cannot do Spirit and flesh at the same time. 

We will examine them more thouroughly in subsequent posts, but here is a quick overview of what Paul has to say about Spirit and flesh.  In verse 19 through 23 Paul continues this comparison of the flesh and the Spirit, showing what they produce.  

On one side you have ἔργα τῆς σαρκός (erga tēs sarkos) - the works of the flesh, and on the other you have καρπὸς τοῦ Πνεύματός (kapros tou Pneumatos) - the fruit of the Spirit. Notice that one is a work and the other is a fruit.  We can produce work, but fruit is produced in us by means of the Holy Spirit at work in us.  

A couple of quick notes before closing: Paul tells us in verse 21, regarding the works of the flesh, that those who do these works will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Freedom in Christ is not a license to indulge our flesh, (v. 13) and live however we want.   

He also tells us in verse 23, regarding the Fruits of the Spirit, that there is no law against such things.  If we are filled with the Spirit and produce His fruit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, humility and self-control, there is no need for a law, or more specifally, The Law. 

As we dig in to these next few verses over the next couple of posts, I think that you will agree that the way of the Spirit is superior to the way of the flesh.