Galatians 5:23
23 Meekness [praotes],
temperance [egkrateia]: against [kata] such [toioutos] there is [esti] no [ou] law [nomos]. KJV-Interlinear
23 gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law. NASB
Some try to explain that the Law applied to only
the Old Testament times as their way of life and that we of the New Testament
times live by Christ, and both terms are typically used in ambiguous ways. Meaning that anyone who promotes this concept
hasn’t a clue as to what they are talking about.
The Law does not apply to the policy of grace, or
to any aspect of the spiritual life. The
Law, and we are referring to the Mosaic Law, only applies to the works of man,
because by the Law, no person can live the perfect life, and therefore all die,
by it.
The Law is filled with innumerable barriers and
pitfalls. Man is incapable of fulfilling
the Law.
And that was the purpose of the Law in the first
place. No one can live by it, and
therefore the sacrifices demonstrated that another, a savior, was required in
order to provide the salvation that man could not accomplish on his own. This savior principle applies to all of
humanity.
The production of the law amounts to empty and
false values. While the production of
the spirit, which is not mans works, amounts to intrinsic value that lasts
forever.
The final two examples of the production of the
spirit are meekness or humility, and temperance, or self-control or tolerance or
patience.
In the spiritual life, as defined and designed by
God, there is no condemnation, only salvation and much, much more.
In the carnal life, there is only condemnation and
loss.
The carnal life is fueled by arrogance and can get
no better than the corruption and decay of the earth.
The spiritual life is fueled by Christ or doctrine,
revealed and sustained by the Holy Spirit, and the Father authored and designed
it all. The spiritual life is one-hundred
percent the work of God and none from man.
To live in and obtain the benefit of the spiritual
life, you have to genuinely want it, and then submit yourself to learning it,
and then living it. And that takes a daily
commitment to pursue a daily study every day for the rest of your life. And for that, the rewards for all of eternity
are beyond imagination.
