Holy spirit freedom from the law

HOLY SPIRIT FREEDOMFROM THE LAW
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Galatians5:18
New InternationalVersion
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the
law.
New Living Translation
But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not
under obligationto the law of Moses.
GOTQUESTIONS.COM
Question:"What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?"
Answer: Believers have the indwelling Spirit of Christ, the Comforter who
proceeds from the Father(John 15:26). The Holy Spirit assists believers in
prayer (Jude 1:20) and “intercedes forGod’s people in accordance withthe
will of God” (Romans 8:27). He also leads the believer into righteousness
(Galatians 5:16–18)and produces His fruit in those yielded to Him (Galatians
5:22–23). Believersare to submit to the will of God and walk in the Spirit.

A “walk” in the Bible is often a metaphor for practicaldaily living. The
Christian life is a journey, and we are to walk it—we are to make consistent
forward progress. The biblical norm for all believers is that they walk in the
Spirit: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25,
KJV; cf. Romans 8:14). In other words, the Spirit gave us life in the new birth
(John 3:6), and we must continue to live, day by day, in the Spirit.
To walk in the Spirit means that we yield to His control, we follow His lead,
and we allow Him to exert His influence over us. To walk in the Spirit is the
opposite of resisting Him or grieving Him (Ephesians 4:30).
Galatians 5 examines the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. The context
is freedom from the Law of Moses (Galatians5:1). Those who walk in the
Spirit “eagerlyawaitby faith the righteousness forwhich we hope” (verse 5)
and are free from the Law (verse 18). Also, those who walk in the Spirit “will
not gratify the desires of the flesh” (verse 16). The flesh—our fallen nature
under the powerof sin—is in direct conflict with the Spirit (verse 17). When
the flesh is in charge, the results are obvious (verses 19–21). Butwhen the
Spirit is in control, He produces godly qualities within us, apart from the
strictures of the Law (verses 22–23). Believers “have crucifiedthe flesh with
its passions and desires” (verse 24), and now we walk in the Spirit (verse 25).
Those who walk in the Spirit are united with Him and the bearers of the fruit
the Spirit produces. Thus, those who walk in the Spirit walk in love—they live
in love for God and for their fellow man. Those who walk in the Spirit walk in
joy—they exhibit gladness in what God has done, is doing, and will do. Those
who walk in the Spirit walk in peace—theylive worry-free and refuse anxiety
(Philippians 4:6). Those who walk in the Spirit walk in patience—theyare
known for having a “long fuse” and do not lose their temper. Those who walk
in the Spirit walk in kindness—they show tender concernfor the needs of
others. Those who walk in the Spirit walk in goodness—theiractions reflect

virtue and holiness. Those who walk in the Spirit walk in faithfulness—they
are steadfastin their trust of God and His Word. Those who walk in the Spirit
walk in gentleness—theirlives are characterizedby humility, grace, and
thankfulness to God. Those who walk in the Spirit walk in self-control—they
display moderation, constraint, and the ability to say“no” to the flesh.
Those who walk in the Spirit rely on the Holy Spirit to guide them in thought,
word, and deed (Romans 6:11–14). Theyshow forth daily, moment-by-
moment holiness, just as Jesus did when, “full of the Holy Spirit, [He] left the
Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” to be tempted (Luke
4:1).
To walk in the Spirit is to be filled with the Spirit, and some results of the
Spirit’s filling are thankfulness, singing, and joy (Ephesians 5:18–20;
Colossians 3:16). Those who walk in the Spirit follow the Spirit’s lead. They
“let the word of Christ dwell in [them] richly” (Colossians3:16, ESV), and the
Spirit uses the Word of God “for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training
in righteousness”(2 Timothy 3:16). Their whole way of life is lived according
to the rule of the gospel, as the Spirit moves them toward obedience. When we
walk in the Spirit, we find that the sinful appetites of the flesh have no more
dominion over us.
Postedby Chizobam Idahosa
"Since Jesus Christhas setus free (“If the Son sets you free you will be free
indeed” John 8:36), the Holy Spirit empowers us daily to walk in the freedom
that God has provided through Christ.
Freedomin Jesus Christ starts from salvationand extends into eternity.
For “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

The Holy Spirit therefore empowers you with the freedom to walk in your
new life in Christ.
Freedomfrom the requirements of the law and our futile attempts at self-
righteousness
However, to the one who does not work (i.e. does not depend on his own acts
of righteousness)but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is
credited as righteousness. Romans 4:5
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness ofGod. 2 Corinthians 5:21
But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because
of sin, the Spirit gives life because ofrighteousness. Romans 8:10
Freedomfrom condemnation, sin and death
Therefore, there is now no condemnationfor those who are in Christ Jesus,
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you
free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2
And if the Spirit of Him who raisedJesus from the dead is living in you, He
who raisedChrist Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
because ofHis Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11
So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam,
a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45
Freedomfrom the hold of Satan
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one
who is in you is greaterthan the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

Freedomto be transformed into the image of Christ with evidence of his
power, love and authority
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the
Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
Freedomto walk in powerand boldness
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love
and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
The Spirit you receiveddoes not make you slaves, so that you live in fear
again. Romans 8:15a
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 2 Corinthians 3:12
(Readverses 7-18 for context.)
But you will receive powerwhen the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will
be my witnesses inJerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Freedomto walk in love
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:5
Freedomto live a holy and fruitful life
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness andself-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keepin stepwith the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25

Conclusion
Jesus has paid the price for you on the cross. Youhave been redeemed and set
free into a spacious andvictorious life. He didn’t sacrifice his life for you to
remain bound to sin and defeat. Yes, there will be challenges and difficulties
in life (that’s a certainty), but we do not go through them as defeatedsoldiers
but as victors in Christ Jesus because THE SAME SPIRIT THAT RAISED
CHRIST FROM THE DEAD LIVES IN US!!
My prayer for you is that the Holy Spirit will reveal and illuminate God’s
Word to you so that you may live a victorious and fruitful life that brings
honor to God as you are transformed into the image of Christ from glory to
glory."
AMEN!!
Christian Freedom In The Holy Spirit Series
Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Aug 27, 2009
based on 33 ratings
(rate this sermon)
| 7,671 views
Scripture: Galatians 5:13-15
Denomination: Baptist

Summary: The letter has changedemphasis from doctrine to practice. The
first part of chapter 5 has promoted freedom from legalism. Since the
restraints of the law are lifted I cannow do what ever my inclinations,
passions, & desires lead me to do. This is licen
1 2 3 4
Next
GALATIANS 5: 13-15
CHRISTIAN FREEDOM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
[Romans 6:15-23]
At the close ofan important speechto congresson January 6, 1941, President
Franklin D. Rooseveltsharedhis vision of the kind of world he wanted to see
after the warwas over. He envisioned four basic freedoms enjoyed by all
people: freedom of speech, freedomof worship, freedom from want, and
freedom from fear. To some degree, these freedoms have been achievedon a
wider scale than in 1941, but our world still needs another freedom, a fifth
freedom. Man needs to be free from himself and the tyranny of his sinful
nature.
The letter has changedemphasis from doctrine to practice. The first 12 verses
of chapter 5 have promoted freedom from legalism. Some might say that since
the restraints of the law are lifted I can now do what ever my inclinations,
passions, and desires leadme to do. This is license. License is an abuse and
perversion of Christian liberty. What will keepthe Christian from so abusing
his freedom?
Christianity resembles a narrow road between two polluted streams. One is
calledlegalismand the other license. The believer must be empoweredby the
Holy Spirit so that he does not lose his balance and tumble into the chains of

legalismon one side or into the defilement of sin on the other. He must walk
by the Spirit.
The Christian has not been freed to sin but has been freed by the grace ofGod
not to sin. The Christian is the man who through the indwelling Spirit of
Christ is so purged of self that he loves his neighbor as himself, a thing which
is not possible exceptfor one walking in the Spirit.
[I. LOVE NOT LICENSE (13-15).]
THE CALL, 13.
THE COMMAND, 14.
THE CAUTION, 15.
[II. WALK BY THE SPIRIT (16-18).]
THE CALL, 13.
Christians were calledto be free from sin and selfso that we might loving
service one another as verse 13 declares. Foryou were calledto freedom,
brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but
through love serve one another.
With the emphatic you the text distinguishes between freedom to sin and
freedom to serve. There is the possibility that because a personis freed from
the law they will live in self-indulgence and sensuality. Freedomused as a
license to sin is no freedom at all, because it enslaves you to Satan, sin and self,
or to your ownsinful nature, or flesh.
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Our corrupt nature or flesh is who we are apart form Jesus Christ and His
Spirit. If we don’t surrender our life to Christ we are prone to serve our flesh
or who we are in and of our fallen self apart from God.
In May 1996, 5-foot-7-inch, 118-poundMISS VENEZUELA won the Miss
Universe contest. According to the Chicago Tribune, after her victory
reporters askedher what she wanted to do first. “I’m going to do something,”
she said, “I haven’t been able to do for three weeks –eat, eat, eatand sleep.”
Apparently she kept her word. She quickly gainedweight, to the point where
pageantofficials were complaining. One pageantofficialexplained, “She has
various swimsuit contracts, and they’re not happy that she has gone a bit
chubby.”
She kept on gaining, though. According to People Weekly, by January 1997 a
new personaltrainer weighedher in at 155 pounds, and at one point she
weighed160 pounds. But with the help of her trainer within a few months she
was back down to an ideal weightof 130 pounds.
Without ongoing self-discipline of the Spirit how quickly we can squander our
accomplishments. Spirit controlledlife must be a lifestyle, not an occasional
event.
[RESPONSIBLE FREEDOM]The New Testamentteaches thatwe do not live
under the law of Moses.But this freedom does not imply that we canlive
irresponsibly. In Christ we have complete immunity from the eternalsentence
required by Godfor breaking His commandments. But this does not give us
reasonto indulge our sinful nature. To do so disgraces ourLord.
A Michigan state trooperhad stopped the same man twice in one day for
RECKLESS DRIVING. The offender was weaving in and out of traffic at
speeds up to 93 miles per hour. When he was pulled over, he flashed an
official seal, signedby the U.S. Secretaryof State. He announced that he was
the consulgeneralof another nation, and he had no intention of obeying
America’s laws. He honked his horn impatiently while the trooper radioed
headquarters to verify that a foreign diplomat cannot be detained except for
serious crimes. Upon learning this, he said to the man, “Even though you

aren’t subject to our laws, you could at leasthave some regard for the safety
of our people.”
If we use liberty as an opportunity to indulge the sinful nature, we will be no
different from that recklessforeigndiplomat. We will be taking advantage of
the One who gave us our privileges.
That is why freedom is dangerous in the hands of those who don’t use it
properly. Which is why barbed wire, steelbars, and concrete barriers confine
criminals. Or take a fire, for example. Allowed to burn freely in a dry forest, it
quickly becomes a blazing inferno. Uncheckedfreedom becomes destructive.
This misuse of freedom is more than evident in the Christian life. Believers
are free from the law’s curse, its penalty, and its guilt-producing power. Fear,
anxiety, and guilt are replacedby peace, forgiveness, and liberty. Who could
be more free than one who is free in the depths of his soul? But here is where
we often fail. We use our liberty to live selfishly, or we claim ownership of
what God has merely loaned to us. We slip into patterns of self-indulgent
living, especiallyin affluent societieslike America.
Christians though should not become slaves to Satan, sin, or self. We have
been freed to do right and to glorify God through loving service to others.
Christian freedom does not give us the right to do as we please, but the liberty
to do as we ought. So how do we exercise responsible freedom? We should
“through love serve one another.” This present tense imperative means it is a
command to be carried out throughout our life.
The responsibility or right use of freedom in Christ is to serve eachother in
love. We are to imitate the love of Him who voluntarily took the form of a
servant and servedothers. Christ came to give us liberty by dying in our place
and now He tells us to use our freedom to share His love and grace.
An OLD PREACHER appearedat the door of B. H. Carroll’s retirement
home in Waco, Texas. It was storming and he was miserable, muddy, and
cold. Dr. Carroll’s manservant invited the old preacherinto the parlor,
flinching a little at the man’s muddy tracks on the rug.

Dr. Carroll welcomedthe visitor warmly and invited him to stay the night and
to have a hearty meal. Late that night the servant heard a noise downstairs
and went to investigate, Dr. Carrollwas in the kitchen, engagedin washing
the mud from the shoes of his visitor.
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The servant protested. “That’s my job,” he said.
Dr. Carroll painfully rose to his feet. “I am washing the feetof God’s
disciple,” he said. “That’s my job.”
Pray that you will take opportunity to serve others, for in this you serve the
Master. Freedomdoesn’tgive us the right to do what we please, but to do
what pleases God.
II. THE COMMAND, (14).
The text now introduces God’s higher law in verse 14. For the whole Law is
fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR
NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
Freedomis not to be without guidance. There is guidance higher than the
setting up of restrictive laws. It is the guidance of loving others as yourself. To
do that is to be guided by the Spirit.
The fulfilment of the commandments is to love Godand others. The intention
of the law given through Moseswas not to check up on mankind, but rather to
teachmankind to love God, the first four commandments, and to love one
another, the last six commandments. God knew that people hurt others when
they commit adultery, kill, steal, or covet. When people do those things, they
do not love. But when people are guided by the Holy Spirit and live a life of
love, they fulfill the intentions of the Old Testamentlaw concerning their

relations with one another. (See Romans 13:10.)To live a life of loving service
is real purpose behind the Law. Persons living under the control of the Holy
Spirit will be motivated to serve others in love and will fulfill not only the
commandments but their intent as well. A love relationship with God and
others fulfills the intent and requirements of the law. Love is the motive for a
life of responsible service to Godand others.
All the commandments are summed up in that one word love. Jesus said, “A
new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you
are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34,35).
When one loves his neighbor, it is the satisfaction, the fulfillment of the whole
law. Love for others combats self-centeredness. It is to be an active love which
is demonstrated to those around us. Love not law is the motivation for the
Christian life.
III. THE CAUTION (15).
How do you know if you are loving? Verse 15 tells some areas that will help us
realize that we are not loving. But if you bite and devour one another, take
care that you are not consumedby one another.
A person cannotlove another as himself without putting restrictions on his
actions;for love does not harm another person. When we are not motivated
by God’s love we become critical of others. We stoplooking for goodin them
and see only their faults. Soonthe unity of the believers is broken and Satan
begins destroying the fellowship. That is why the temptation is so strong for us
to fall back into the old habit of criticizing and backbiting other Christians
who are different from us. We have replacedall the laws written in the Old
Testamentwith our own cultural laws or personal understandings that we use
to judge others and then talk againstthem. To bite and devour are activities of
savage animals. If Christians do that, then the Bible says we will be destroyed
by one another.
If satancan get Christians to begin attacking one another with their sharp
tongues, he has achieveda victory, for he has planted the seedof self-

destruction in the church. As long as the biting goes on, the destruction is
present.
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When that is going on inside a church, the participants need to be reminded of
who they are, what nature lives inside of them, and by what power they
should be living.
When we saysomething unkind to a fellow Christian, he may become
defensive, and often ill-feelings develop. We may look on our disagreementas
nothing more than a question about our rights. The Lord sees the total
picture, however, and knows we would be better off if we held our tongue and
trusted Him for the outcome. If we don’t, one day we will regretthat by our
biting words we “consumedone another.”
[This is illustrated in an interesting accountabout snake-eating snakes.
According to zookeepers, two reptiles will sometimes grab different ends of
the same piece of food. Sooneror later their struggle for that last bite brings
them nose to nose. But then comes the surprise. The snake with the widestbite
will keepright on going and actually swallow the other!
In the area of people problems, it’s easyto assume that we’re too mature to let
things go that far. But words and emotions can getout of hand even among
Christians. When this happens, feelings get hurt, friendships are destroyed,
the church becomes divided, and the whole body of Christ suffers.
All the commandments are summed up in that one word love. Jesus said, “A
new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have

loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you
are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34,35).
When one loves his neighbor, it is the satisfaction, the fulfillment of the whole
law. Love for others combats self-centeredness. It is to be an active love which
is demonstrated to those around us. Love not law is the motivation for the
Christian life.
III. THE CAUTION (15).
How do you know if you are loving? Verse 15 tells some areas that will help us
realize that we are not loving. But if you bite and devour one another, take
care that you are not consumedby one another.
A person cannotlove another as himself without putting restrictions on his
actions;for love does not harm another person. When we are not motivated
by God’s love we become critical of others. We stoplooking for goodin them
and see only their faults. Soonthe unity of the believers is broken and Satan
begins destroying the fellowship. That is why the temptation is so strong for us
to fall back into the old habit of criticizing and backbiting other Christians
who are different from us. We have replacedall the laws written in the Old
Testamentwith our own cultural laws or personal understandings that we use
to judge others and then talk againstthem. To bite and devour are activities of
savage animals. If Christians do that, then the Bible says we will be destroyed
by one another.
If satancan get Christians to begin attacking one another with their sharp
tongues, he has achieveda victory, for he has planted the seedof self-
destruction in the church. As long as the biting goes on, the destruction is
present.
When we saysomething unkind to a fellow Christian, he may become
defensive, and often ill-feelings develop. We may look on our disagreementas
nothing more than a question about our rights. The Lord sees the total
picture, however, and knows we would be better off if we held our tongue and
trusted Him for the outcome. If we don’t, one day we will regretthat by our
biting words we “consumedone another.”

[This is illustrated in an interesting accountabout snake-eating snakes.
According to zookeepers, two reptiles will sometimes grabdifferent ends of
the same piece of food. Sooneror later their struggle for that last bite brings
them nose to nose. But then comes the surprise. The snake with the widestbite
will keepright on going and actually swallow the other!
In the area of people problems, it’s easyto assume that we’re too mature to let
things go that far. But words and emotions can getout of hand even among
Christians. When this happens, feelings get hurt, friendships are destroyed,
the church becomes divided, and the whole body of Christ suffers."
What does it mean to have freedom in Christ?
by Matt Slick
9/2/2016
I would like to introduce you to the freedom we Christians have in Jesus. But
before I do that, I need to speak about the Law.
A lot of people in groups like the Church of Jesus Christof Latter-day Saints
and the Jehovah's Witnesses live under a set of laws and socialexpectations
that can be smothering. This is because whensomeone's salvationis tied to
her behavior, attitude, appearance, and following a setof rules, then there can
be little freedom to live, to make mistakes, and to grow. Instead, she lives in
mild fear. The result is living in a church systemwhere appearance is
important, where failure is lookeddown upon, and where your socialstatus
depends on your outward godliness. Therefore, in such churches, people will
put on a goodface, a proper smile, and not really share serious issues in their
lives.
Such attitudes are ungodly.

It is a goodthing that Jesus loves us in spite of what we are, in spite of our
imperfections. Jesus does not love us because ofour appearance, orbecause
we can keepourselves from sinning, or because we have it all together, or
because we are sincere. Instead, he loves us because ofwho he is, not because
of who we are.
1 John 4:19, "We love, because He first loved us."
God is holy, beautiful, pure, infinite, righteous, and as the Scripture says,
"Godis love," (1 John 4:8). The nature of love is to give, "ForGod so loved
the world he gave his only begottenson," (John 3:16). Love is other-centered
and sacrificial(John 15:13). And, God loves us because ofhim, not because of
us. In other words, God loves us because ofeverything that he is not because
of who we are.
Therefore when we love God, it is a response to his first loving us. And just as
a parent's love is not conditioned on the performance of the child, neither is
God's love for us conditioned on ours. But, wheneverthere is a religious
system that fails to stand on the true gospel(the loving sacrifice of Christ
alone), then there is no true indwelling of God. And, because he is not really
living inside of the person, the person has to keepthe Laws and ordinances to
make up the difference. He or she has to perform properly, has to do right,
and maintain that lifestyle in order to be acceptedfully as a proper, spiritually
mature person.
That is why religious groups that preacha false gospelwill replace the truth
with regulations. They do so because they don't understand that the
regulations, those laws of purity that they must keepto be acceptable to one
another and to God, revealtheir lack of true freedom in Christ. There is a
simple principle found in Scripture that is applicable here.
1 Timothy 1:9, "realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person,
but for those who are lawless andrebellious, for the ungodly and sinners..."
Try to considerthe Law as an external set of rules that guide us. True
Christians are not obligatedto keepthe Laws of God in order to be forgiven
of their sins. If that were the case, then salvationwould be basedon our

ability. It would also mean that God would be showing favoritism by "saving"
someone who has been "goodenough." Instead, the Law is a guide for the
true Christian. the Law helps us when we have doubts about what to do or
not to do. But it is not our keeping the Law that makes us right before God -
or before eachother.
Romans 3:28, "Forwe maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from
works of the Law."
Romans 4:5, "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who
justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness."
Romans 5:1, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
(By the way, justification is the condition of being righteous before God
according to the Law.)
But when we are Christians, we are indwelt by the Lord Jesus (John 14:23).
He lives in us and because he does, we don't need that law. We have him. This
is not to say that it is okayto break the Law of God. We ought not to steal. We
ought not to lie. But when Christ lives in us and when we experience his love
and presence, then we "accidentally" keepthe Law because the love of God
flows out of our hearts. Loving God and loving our neighber is the fulfillment
of the Law (Matt. 22:37-40). Thatis freedom.
Freedomin Christ
Luke 4:18, "the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to
preach the gospelto the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to setfree those who are
oppressed."
John 8:32, "and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
John 8:36, "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."

Acts 13:38-39, “Therefore letit be known to you, brethren, that through Him
forgiveness ofsins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who
believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through
the Law of Moses."
Galatians 5:1, "It was for freedom that Christ setus free; therefore keep
standing firm and do not be subject againto a yoke of slavery."
One of the signs of being a true Christian, besides believing in the true gospel,
is experiencing a sense of freedom. We realize that we do not have to keepthe
Law in order to please God. We realize that God's favor upon us is not
dependent upon our obedience, orour law-keeping. God's favorupon us is
because ofwhat Christ did on the cross. Therefore, we are free.
We are free to drink coffee, siptea, watch a movie, dance, laugh, have a drink,
and enjoy life. Yes, we are free to do these things and other things...but
without sin.
However, our freedom means that we must not stumble anyone else. We must
not abuse our freedom. We are not to be so careless. Onthe contrary, we are
free to live and not have to worry about how our behavior affects God's
attitude towards us because his attitude is one of love and acceptancethat is
guaranteedby the sacrifice ofChrist. But, this is not to say that he won't
discipline us if we stray. After all, God disciplines those whom he loves
(Hebrews 12:6). We must be careful not use our freedom to stumble anyone
else.
Romans 14:21-22, "Itis good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do
anything by which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have
as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn
himself in what he approves."
1 Corinthians 8:13, "Therefore, iffood causes my brother to stumble, I will
never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble."
Galatians 5:13, "Foryou were calledto freedom, brethren; only do not turn
your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one
another."

These are, in a sense, New Testamentlaws. But think about what they are,
Loving God and Loving your neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40). They are a call to
express the love that you would have from God to your brothers and sisters in
Christ. You are not to abuse your freedom and so cause them to stumble in
their faith.
Dying with Christ to the Law
There is a conceptthat a lot of Christians are not aware of. I often teachit to
them so they can experience more of the freedom they have in Jesus. The
conceptis simple. As Christians, we have died with Christ and therefore we
have also died to the Law. It means that the Law has no more jurisdiction
over us.
Romans 7:1, 4, 6, "Ordo you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those
who know the Law), that the Law has jurisdiction overa personas long as he
lives?...4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law
through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him
who was raisedfrom the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.... 6
But now we have been releasedfrom the Law, having died to that by which we
were bound, so that we serve in newness ofthe Spirit and not in oldness of the
letter."
Galatians 2:19-20, "Forthrough the Law I died to the Law, so that I might
live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
Becausewe are "in Christ" (1 Cor. 15:22), it can be said that when he died on
the cross, we died with him. This is why it says that we have been crucified
with Christ, (Romans 6:6). Therefore, we are freed from the Law.
Romans 7:4, "Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law
through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him
who was raisedfrom the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God."
All things are lawful

1 Corinthians 6:12, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are
profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by
anything."
The reasonthat all things are lawful to us as Christians is because we have
died to the Law and the Law has no jurisdiction over us. This means we are
incredibly free. We are free to try and please Godand fail and realize that our
failures do not severour relationship with him, nor do they jeopardize our
salvation. We are free indeed to succeedandfail. We are free to love God and
love our neighbor. We are free to have fun, to not be perfect, to not have to
please our friends in church for socialacceptance,and achieve spiritual
worthiness. We are free to rest in Christ and in our freedom, we canexplore
what it means to live life and not live in fear. We are free from the
requirements of the Law and so we are free to rest in Christ."
BIBLEHUB.COMRESOURCES
The Two Selves
Galatians 5:17
W.F. Adeney
I. EVERY MAN HAS TWO SELVES - A HIGHER SELF AND A LOWER
SELF.
1. A bad man has his better self. When temptation is away, in calm thoughtful
moments, or when he is strickenby mortal illness or bowedwith a great
sorrow, or perhaps when the beauty of a sunset or the strains of sweetmusic
call up memories of childhood, the true self will rise in the heart of a wicked
man with pain and unutterable regrets.

2. A goodman has his lowerself. The human saint is far removed from the
heavenly angel. The body and its appetites are with him; the soulhas its
meaner powers, its earthly passions, its self-regarding interests. There are
times when the spiritual life is dull and feeble; then some sudden temptation,
or even without that the depressing atmosphere of the world, will revealto a
man his worse side.
II. THE TWO SELVES ARE IN CONFLICT. Theyare not content to lie at
peace eachin its own domain. Both are ambitious to rule the whole man.
While the flesh brooks any restraint, the Spirit strives to bring the body into
subjection. Thus it comes to pass that life is a warfare and the Christian a
soldier. The battle of life is not mainly a fighting againstadverse
circumstances and external concrete evils of the world. "A man's foes are they
of his own household," nay, of his own heart. The greatconflict is internal. It
is civil war - rebellion and the effort to quell it; of all wars the most fierce.
III. THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE TWO SELVES IS SUCH THAT
EACH IS HELD IN CHECK BY THE OTHER. "Ye cannot do the things that
ye would." There is a dead-lock. Eacharmy holds itself safe in its own
entrenchments. Neithercan turn the enemy's position. Not that there is
perfect balance of power. In most of us one or other force gives a temporary
advantage. In many the lower selfhas the upper hand; in many, let us thank
God, the better selfmaintains the supremacy. But neither has the victory that
will enable it to drive the other off the field. Bad men, now and again, see
yawning before them deep, black pits of wickedness, fromthe brink of which
they start back in horror, arrested by the invisible hand of conscience. No
man is wholly bad, or he would cease to be a man - he would be a devil. On the
other hand, it is clearto all of us that no goodman is wholly good.
IV. IN THE STRENGTHOF THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST THE BETTER
SELF OF THE CHRISTIAN WILL ULTIMATELY OBTAIN COMPLETE
VICTORY. The stress and strain of the waris but for a time. In the end all
enemies shall be subdued. Meanwhile the secretofsuccessis with those who
"walk by the Spirit." So greata hope should lighten "the burden of the
mystery."

"The heavy and the wearyweight
Of all this unintelligible world." Now life is broken, confused, inconsistent,
discordant. But this is but the time of passing conflict. With victory there will
come true harmony of being and growthto the full stature of the soul. -
W.F.A.
Biblical Illustrator
But if ye be led of the Spirit ye are not under the law.
Galatians 5:18
The guidance of the Spirit
Chas. H. Parkhurst, D. D.
1. The Spirit is a person. The personality of the Spirit is a doctrine freely
confessedby us in our creed, but often denied by us in thought, converse,
prayers. He comes to have with us only the indefiniteness of an impulse and
the impersonalness ofan influence, with none of that substantive being,
intelligence, and will that constitutes the Holy Spirit a true and complete
personality.
2. The Spirit is in some way the continuance to us, under altered conditions, of
that same Jesus, who once walkedamong men in visible form, and in the
utterance of tones that were audible. In a way He is the Son's messenger;and
so, in letting ourselves be actuatedby the Spirit, we are living still under the
same personalregime as did the disciples who walkedin the companionship of
Jesus.
(Chas. H. Parkhurst, D. D.)
Christian freedom

The text has its affirmative and also its negative element. In neglecting the
latter, and addressing ourselves (as is more satisfactory)only to its affirmative
and constructive aspect, it needs to be acceptedas our basalprinciple, that
through whatever stages God's governmentpasses, God's governmentnever
ceases,and that changes ofdispensationare not breaks in Divine authority,
but alterations simply in God's method of administering His authority. This
principle is distinctly implied in the text. The Jew as such is under the law,
amenable to God's authority as exercisedthrough Moses:the Christian as a
Christian is also under a kind of law, amenable to God's authority as
exercisedthrough the Son, the Holy Spirit — sovereignty, Divine sovereignty,
carrying its exercise through both dispensations in one uninterrupted
continuity without hint of break or interregnum. Now the conceptionwe are
likely to have of Christianity is of a system under which there is largerliberty
enjoyed than under the systemof Moses;and this conception, provided only
we associate with the word "liberty" its true notion, is justified, and justified
by the Scripture (John 8:32, 33, 36; 1 Corinthians 7:22; 2 Corinthians 3:17).
But I question if we are all of us, or even most of us, quite careful or accurate
in the notion we have of the thing called"freedom." Freedomis not
exemption from government; rather is freedom a form of government.
Anarchy, lawlessness, is the opposite of government; freedom is a special
variety of government. Politicalfreedom is civil authority vested in a
particular way. Christian freedom is Divine authority vestedin a particular
way; so that in coming out from the bondage of a Jew into the freedom of a
Christian, there is no inquiry to be had respecting the abatement of authority,
but only respecting the new point at which authority is vestedand the new
manner in which it is exercised.
Freedomonly for the spiritual

"If... A man may live in an age of gospel, but it does not follow from that that
he lives under the administration of the gospel. Christ has come into the
world, but it does not follow that He has come into my heart and set up His
throne there. The Holy Spirit is abroadin society, and there are thousands
and hundreds of thousands that are being led by that Spirit. It does not follow
from that, that I am being led by it. If I am led by it, I am not under the law; if
I am not led by it, of course I am under the law. I have not escapedthe
pressure of Divine authority at one point until I have first put myself under
the pressure of Divine authority at another point. We read in the Book of
Numbers that a man gatheredsticks on the .Sabbath, and he was stonedat the
Lord's command; and our thought perhaps is that God used to be very
particular. We read in the book of Joshua that Achan, the son of Zerah, was
guilty of embezzlement, and that at the Lord's command he and his sons and
his daughters were stoned with stones and burned with fire; and our thought
perhaps is that the Lord used to be very particular. He used to be particular
to be obeyed. There is so much in the New Testamentrespecting love, liberty,
and the abolition of old ordinances, that we allow ourselves sometimes to be
betrayed into supposing that the old dispensationwas the dispensation of
man's submission to God, and that the new dispensationis the dispensationof
God's submission to man; that the gospelis a kind of giving up on God's part,
a sort of confessionthatHe is not disposedto be particular about little things
any more, and that it hardly avails Him to attempt to be particular about little
things. Now, this conceptionof the gospelas an economyof Divine
relaxation," Divine "letting down," Divine "giving up," is one that yields
bitter fruit; it makes the gospelcontemptible by making it irresolute...
Calvary proves that the truth is exactly the opposite of such a notion as this —
that God thinks so much of His own sovereigntythat He would rather have
Divine blood shed than not have you and me respectthat sovereigntyand
come into terms of gentle allegiance to it .... The man who discards the
punctilious observance ofGod's outward statutes because he lives in an age of
gospel, without having first submitted himself to the governance ofan inward
Christ, and to the laws written by the Spirit upon the fleshly tables of the
heart, has detachedhimself from God at one point, without having first
attachedhimself to God at another point.

Superiority of spiritual to legalguidance
The old administration was an administration of exterior lines that men could
see:the new administration is an administration of interior personalimpulses
that men canfeel. God drew the lines: Godgives the impulses. Moses was the
agencythen: Christ is the agencynow; one government underlying both, one
sovereignadministrative in both. In one case it was government by
communicated statute; in the other it is government by immanent leadings. In
one the law was a thing distinct from us, and laid down for us to run upon,
like railroad-irons spiked and bedded before a locomotive;in the other the
impulse is a thing inwardly containedand inseparable from us, in a certain
way like the instinct of a bird guiding it southward at the approachof winter.
In various ways might this distinction betweengovernment by applied
constraint and government by containedmotive be illustrated to us. Any bar
of woodor metal you canbalance upon a pivot and constrain into a north and
south direction; a magnetic needle delicatelysuspended in the same waywill
constantly constrainitself into a north and south direction. An applied
constraint in one instance, an immanent tendency in the other. Although it
will occurto you, I hope, that even this immanent tendency of the magnetized
needle becomes operative only as celestialpolarity makes itself in a delicate
way inwardly felt. The needle would not move only as the heavens move in it.
Or again — one pupil solves a problem according to the rule statedin his
arithmetic; another pupil solves the same problem purely at the direction of
his ownmathematical insight. The result may be the same — the steps by
which the result is reachedmay be the same;but in the latter instance the
process will be purely intellectual, and in the former to a considerable degree
mechanical;for betweensuch constrainedoperations of mind and the
operations of a Babbage's calculating machine the points of resemblance are
obvious and striking. This contrast, however, must not betray us into
supposing that our gifted problem-worker is not as amenable, quite as

amenable, to authority, as the boy who ciphers with his finger on the rule.
When a man becomes a genius, a mathematicalgenius if you please, he passes
out from under the constraints of his book, but not from under the supremacy
of his science.There is no caprice about genius. Genius does not care much for
a setof explicit regulations, but that does not mean that genius is lawless;in
fact no mind comes so close to, and into such loyal intimacy with, the very
substance of mathematicallaw as the free and the gifted mathematician. So
far from genius discarding law, rather is it the supreme joy of genius to re-
enactthe eternaland unwritten law in the chamber of its own intellect. And
howeverthe Christian, the moral genius, may discard systems of detailed
ordainment suited to a slow-pacedHebrew, so far from a Christian's denying
the greatsupremacy beneathwhich he stands, rather is it his sovereignjoy to
re-enactin the senate-chamberofhis own conscience the unwritten law that
abides eternalin the bosom of his Lord.
The Spirit's leading
H. Melvill, B. D.
We cannotput one footbefore another in religion, exceptas we are led; and if
there be difficulty of a more than common order, it is that which encounters
the man who takes upon himself to be his ownguide in seeking salvation. We
are not, indeed, machines; we are not to be the subjects of an uncontrollable
impulse, or a rigid compulsion, destroying free will, and forcing us into
righteousness;but if we be not, drawn, we must be led; if there be no bending
of the will which would destroy our moral responsibility, there must be a
bending of the will which would incline us to godliness. Helpless andhopeless
is man's natural estate:born in sin, cradled in sorrow. The Spirit of the living
God enters into this alienatedcreature, lifts him. from the dust, urges him
with vigour, and introduces him into the circle of the celestialfamily, leading
him to the knowledge ofall that is most blessedand to the love of all that is
most beautiful, leading him from ruin to triumph, from the wreck of all that
Adam was to the fulness of all that Christ Jesus is. Whom else, then, shall I

take as my guide? Shall I be led by reason? Meteorof a day, I cannot trust
thee. Shall I be led by philosophy? Device of man, thou canst not bring me to
God. hie; Spirit of light, Spirit of truth, enter Thou into our souls, and. go
Thou before us, as went the fiery cloudy pillar before Israelof old; and we will
follow Thee, and we will obey Thee;making it our confidence, that, if we are
led of Thee, we are sons of God and heirs of immortality.
(H. Melvill, B. D.)
A disposition to follow the guide needed
The case is not merely that the man has. losthis way. The traveller who is
conscious thathe has wandered from the road is uneasyat advancing, so that
he will climb every little eminence as that from which he may hope to catch
some landmark; and if none be around him, he will look up to the stars, and
seek to learn from the constellations the direction he should take;and all his
actions will betray his anxiety. If he hear but the barking of a shepherd's dog,
or discern a glimmering light amongstdistant trees, there will be an eagerness
in endeavouring to procure intelligence, and to seek guidance. Butthere is
nothing of all this in the moral traveller. He will follow with obstinate
determination the path upon which he has entered. And though there be much
to assure him of his error — the rugged rocks, and deep mountains, and
tangled forests — he will nevertheless push desperatelyon, pausing now and
then for a moment, as though half conscious thatall is not right, and then with
a more doggedresolutionhurrying forward in the same hopeless course.Thus
he requires something more than a guide; he must be furnished with a
disposition to follow. And when we saythat the Spirit of God leads the true
Christian, we do not mean that it merely goes before him as a guide and a
director to the city of refuge. Nay, but that it takes hold on him, as did the
angelwhen he brought Lot out of Sodom. We rather mean that the Spirit
literally leads him by dwelling in him, residing in him as a quickening and
actuating principle.

The leading of the Spirit
R. W. Evans, B. D., Bishop Hall.
These words have before now been must mischievously mistakenby ignorant
persons who were glad enough to suppose that by Christian privilege they
were put out of the reachof the law. The meaning is as follows: — The Holy
Spirit of Godputs into the heart of man the Spirit of Christ, and this is the
Spirit to think and do "whatsoeverthings are true, whatsoeverthings are
honest, whatsoeverthings are just, whatsoeverthings are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoeverthings are of goodreport." Now if a man have in
himself the spirit for a thing, what needs he any outward ordinance to compel
him to it? To the man who is led by the Spirit the works ofthe law of God are
the natural outward, working of his spirit, as natural to him as the very
motion of his limbs; he does not want them to be written down, any more than
he requires to be told that he must move his arms and legs, and they can
neither condemn him nor justify him; he is what he is without them, before he
comes to them; and, as St. Paul says, he, "through the Spirit, waits for the
hope of righteousness by faith;" so independent is he of them. Is it not
manifest, then, that he who is led by the Spirit is not, under the law? Let us go
on, then, to know more concerning this Spirit, in which we are calledinto such
glorious liberty. It is, as I have said, the Spirit of Christ within a man, formed
there by the renewing power of the Holy Spirit; it is the new, the inner, the
spiritual man, and the walk of this man is, of course, a following of Christ, a
continual working out of that which he believes;for instance, he believes that
Christ was crucified, therefore he crucifies the flesh with the affections and
lusts; he believes that Christ died, therefore he reckons himself dead unto sin;
he believes that Christ rose again, therefore he reckons himself alive unto God
through Him; he believes that Christ ascendedinto heaven, therefore he sets
his affections onthings above;he believes that Christ is sitting at the right
hand of God, administering His kingdom and interceding for His people,
therefore he does all that His kingdom may come and His will be done, and is

instant in prayer; he believes that Christ will come againto judge the quick
and the dead, therefore he does the part of a faithful servant in watching and
waiting for his Lord. Our notion of perfect liberty in the flesh is to do
everything that we like; but experience soontells us that the notion is
impossible. But the true Christian does everything that he likes, for he does
everything from the heart, because ofthe spirit which is within him. This it is
to be led by the Spirit; this is the liberty wherewithChrist hath made His
people free. Shall we not desire to stand fast in it? Shall we surrender
ourselves to the bondage of the law? Let us only considera little farther the
difference of these two states.
1. To be under the bondage of the law, is either to take merit to ourselves for
obeying it, or to bring its vengeance upon us by disobeying it; in either ease it
is a hard master indeed.
2. Surely, then, there is no real liberty but that wherewith the gospelof Christ
makes us free. Let me state a few particulars of this also. The man of God,
continuing in the word of Christ, and led by the Spirit, uses the law as he does
a road; he is not guided by it, any more than a man perfectly acquainted with
a country is guided by it, but he uses it to travel along through this world, and
he delights in it, as in a road to a better place, and as in the exercise ofhis
spirit. As for the commandments of God, he loves them, and in His statutes he
meditates. The word of God is a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path.
He feels no unwillingness; he has no mind for pleading excuses andmaking
delays; but he deplores the weaknessofthe flesh, which in this body of sin
cannot follow up the willingness of the spirit, and he strives to put to full
accountall the means which God hath so graciouslygiven in Jesus Christ our
Lord for enabling him to keepthe precepts and testimonies of the Lord. He
takes to himself no merit for keeping them, any more than for eating or
drinking, or satisfying any craving of his nature; the leading of the Spirit
makes the will of God his will, and therefore doing the will of God is doing his
own will, so that while he keeps the law he is not subjectto it.
(R. W. Evans, B. D.)Beside the spirit of our mind (Ephesians 4:23) every man
is led by some spirit or other.

1. One is led by the spirit of error (1 Timothy 4:1).
2. Another by the spirit of giddiness (Isaiah19:14).
3. Another by the spirit of bondage (ver. 1; Romans 8:15).
4. Another by the spirit of the world (1 Corinthians 2:12).
5. The regenerate by the Spirit of God.
I. HOW MAY A MAN KNOW THAT HE IS TRULY LED BY THE SPIRIT?
The Spirit leads —
1. In a right way: the way of God's commandment.
2. By a just rule: the word of truth.
3. Sweetlyand justly.
4. In a constantway of progression, from grace to grace.
5. In a way opposedto the flesh.
II. WHO ARE THOSE WHO ARE NOT LED BY THE SPIRIT?
1. Those who go in a known evil way.
2. Those who are led by their ownimaginations without any warrant from the
Word of God.
3. Those who are carriedby passions and distempers even in a goodway.
4. Those who make no progress.
5. Those who fulfil the lust of the flesh.
(Bishop Hall.)
I. THE NEED OF GUIDANCE AND HELP.
1. We are ignorant of the road.
2. Have defective vision and cannot see our way.

3. Are lame and impotent.
II. WE SHOULD SEEK FOR THIS GUIDANCE AND HELP. This is what a
lost, benighted, or disabled traveller does. Man, however, does the opposite,
and pursues his journey perversely, blindly, helplessly.
III. WE MUST BE PROVIDED SPIRITUALLY WITH WHAT AN
ORDINARYTRAVELLER HAS MENTALLY,
1. A disposition to seek the right way.
2. A willingness to receive every help in the pursuit of it.
IV. THIS IS SUPPLIED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD.
1. He leads by dwelling in the believer as a quickening and actuating principle
ever aspiring after knowledge andholiness.
2. Under His guidance the believer advances —(1)in knowledge
(a)of the personand work of Christ;
(b)of the issues ofobedience and suffering;
(c)of Christ's spiritual kingdom.(2) In holiness.
(a)In inward graces;
(b)in outward deportment.
V. THIS LEADING IS NOT DRIVING.
1. The free will is not destroyedby uncontrollable impulses or rigid
compulsion.
2. The will is so influenced as to be inclined to holiness.
(H. Melvill, B. D.)
The spiritually guided not under the law

H. W. Beecher.
I. NEGATIVELY. I am not under the law — of picking pockets. Ifthe law
were abolishedto-morrow, I would not pick anybody's pocket. I am not under
the law of murder; for if there were no gallows, norofficer, nor judge, nor
court, I would not murder. I am not under the law to drunkenness. I can go by
a whole regiment of shops and never think of turning in. I am above it. I have
the law within me. I do not abstain from gambling because gambling is
disreputable, and I fearlosses. Ido not gamble because I do not want to. I do
not avoid bad company because I should lose respectability; but for the same
reasonthat musicians do not sit down and work out discords, and who keepto
harmony because harmony is so sweet, and discordso painful. And so in
regard to spiritual things, we are led by the Divine Spirit into such a state of
approbation and satisfactionin the higher things, that we do not want the
inferior, the antagonistic, the antithetic.
II. POSITIVELY. There is not in all the statute books in the world one single
word saying to the mother, "Thou shalt love thy babe." There is not a Church
or creed which says, "Thoushalt feed thy babe." But see the mother as the
twilight darkens, sitting with her child as it draws sustenance fromher own
bosom, and singing sweetcarols,and counting it the proudest of all the hours
of the day. She has the love of the mother in her, and does the things that
ought to be done, because she loves to do them — it is automatic. So if ye be
led of the Spirit ye do the things by the law that is in you, and by your
spiritual preferences and loves and likes, which otherwise are commandments.
(H. W. Beecher.)
From bondage to liberty by obedience
H. W. Beecher.
Considerhow many laws there are which affecta man's body — the laws of
light, of heat, of gravitation, of sleep, of digestion, of exercise,dec., etc. When
men are young and inexperienced, and have no one to teachthem they get into
trouble by violating these laws. They have no mind to keepthem, and they

suffer in consequence. Theyare in bondage respecting these laws. But as they
learn more perfectly, so that they use their eyes according to the law of light,
and their ears according to the law of sound, and their mouth according to the
law of health; selecting this thing because the law requires, rejecting that
because the law forbids it — then they are setfree from these trials, and pass
out of a state of bondage into a state of liberty. The little child when it begins
to walk has to think where it shall put this foot and where it shall put that,
and has to poise itself carefully, and use its mind as well as its body. But a man
walks without thinking. What is the difference? One is under the law — has
not learnedit — is yet subjectto it; the other has learned it so perfectly that
he is emancipated from it. The man does automatically, what it requires an
effort on the part of the child to do. The child is in bondage and the man is
free, because the child does not keepthe law, and the man does.
(H. W. Beecher.)
The Holy Spirit our light
NewmanHall.
A man has losthis way in a dark and dreary mine. By the light of one candle,
which he carries in his hand, he is groping for the road to sunshine and to
home. That light is essentialto his safety. The mine has many winding
passages, in which he may be hopelesslybewildered. Here and there marks
have been made on the rocks to point out the true path, but he cannotsee
them without that light. There are many deep pits into which, if unwary, he
may suddenly fall; but he cannot avoid the danger without that. Should it go
out, that mine will be his tomb. How carefully he carries it! How anxiously he
shields it from sudden gusts of air, from waterdropping on it, from
everything that might quench it! The case describedis our own.
(NewmanHall.)

The Freedomof the Spirit
Canon Liddon.
2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty.
1. To possessthe Lord Jesus Christis to possess the Holy Ghost, who is the
minister and guardian of Christ's presence in the soul. The apostle's
conclusionis that those who are converted to Jesus have escapedfrom the veil
which darkened the spiritual intelligence of Israel. The converting Spirit is the
source of positive illumination; but, before He enlightens thus, He must give
freedom from the veil of prejudice which denies to Jewishthought the exercise
of any real insight into the deepersense of Scripture. That sense is seized by
the Christian student of the ancientlaw, because in the Church of Christ he
possesses the Spirit; and "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
2. The Holy Spirit is calledthe Spirit of Christ because He is sent by Christ,
and for the purpose of endowing us with Christ's nature and mind. His
presence does not supersede that of Christ: He co-operatesin, He does not
work apart from, the mediatorial work Of Christ. To possessthe Holy Spirit
is to possessChrist; to have lost the one is to have lost the other. Accordingly
our Lord speaks ofthe gift of Pentecostas if it were His ownsecondcoming
(John 14:18). And, after telling the Romans that "if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ he is none of His," St. Paul adds, "Now if Christ be in you, the
body is dead because ofsin." Here Christ's "being in" the Christian, and the
Christian's "having the Spirit of Christ," are equivalent terms.

3. Freedomis not an occasionallargess ofthe Divine Spirit; it is not merely a
reward for high services orconspicuous devotion. It is the very atmosphere of
His presence. WhereverHe really is, there is also freedom. He does not merely
strike off the fetters of some narrow national prejudice, or of some antiquated
ceremonialism. His mission is not to bestow an external, political, social
freedom. Forno political or socialemancipationcan give real liberty to an
enslavedsoul. And no tyranny of the state or of societycan enslave a soul that
has been really freed. At His bidding the inmost soul of man has free play. He
gives freedom from error for the reason, freedom from constraintfor the
affections, freedomfor the will from the tyranny of sinful and human wills.
4. The natural images which "are used to setforth the presence and working
of the Holy Spirit are suggestive ofthis freedom. The Dove, which pictures His
gentle movement on the soul and in the Church, suggestsalso the power of
rising at will above the dead level of the soil into a higher region where it is at
rest. The "cloventongue like as of fire" is at once light and heat; and light and
heat imply ideas of the most unrestricted freedom. "The wind" blowing
"where it listeth"; the well of water in the soul, springing up, like a perpetual
fountain, unto everlasting life — suchare our Lord's own chosensymbols of
the Pentecostalgift. All these figures prepare us for the language of the
apostles whenthey are tracing the results of the greatPentecostalgift. With
St. James, the Christian, no less than the Jew, has to obey a law, but the
Christian law is "a law of library." With St. Paul, the Church is the Jerusalem
which is "free";in contrast with the bondwoman the Christian is to stand fast
in a liberty with which Christ has freed him; he is "made free from sin, and
become the servant of righteousness."St. Paul compares "the glorious liberty
of the children of God" with the "bondage of corruption"; he contrasts the
"law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus,"whichgives us Christians our
freedom, with the enslaving "law of sin and death." According to St. Paul, the
Christian slave is essentiallyfree, even while he still wears his chain (1
Corinthians 7:22). Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is —

I. MENTALLIBERTY.
1. From the first God has consecratedliberty of thought by withdrawing
thought from the controlof society. Societyprotects our persons and goods,
and passes judgment upon our words and actions;but it cannot force the
sanctuary of our thought. And the Spirit comes not to suspend, but to
recognise,to carry forward, to expand, and to fertilise almostindefinitely the
thought of man. He has vindicated for human thought the liberty of its
expressionagainstimperial tyranny and official superstition. The blood of the
martyrs witnessedto the truth that, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
mental liberty.
2. In the judgment of an influential schooldogma is the enemy of religious
freedom. But what is dogma? The term belongs to the language of civilians; it
is applied to the imperial edicts. It also finds a home in the language of
philosophy; and the philosophers who denounce the dogmatic statements of
the gospel are hardly consistentwhen they are elaborating their own theories.
Dogma is essentialChristiantruth thrown by authority into a form which
admits of its permanently passing into the understanding and being treasured
by the heart of the people. For dogma is an active protest againstthose
sentimental theories which empty revelationof all positive value. Dogma
proclaims that revelation does mean something, and what. Accordingly dogma
is to be found no less truly in the volume of the New Testamentthan in
Fathers and Councils. It is speciallyembodied in our Lord's later discourses,
in the sermons of His apostles, in the epistles of St. Paul. The Divine Spirit,
speaking through the clearutterances of Scripture, is the realauthor of
essentialdogma;and we know that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty."
3. But is not dogma, as a matter of fact, a restraint upon thought?
Unquestionably. But there is a notion of liberty which is impossible. Surely a

being is free when he moves without difficulty in the sphere which is assigned
to him by his natural constitution. If he can only travel beyond his sphere with
the certainty of destroying himself, it is not an unreasonable tax upon his
liberty whereby he is confined within the barrier that secures his safety. Now
truth is originally the native element of human thought; and Christian dogma
prescribes the direction and limits of truth concerning God and His relations
to man.
(1) Certainly the physical world does not teach us that obedience to law is
fatal to freedom. The heavens would cease to "declare the glory of God" if the
astronomers were to destroy those invariable forces which confine the
movement of the swifteststars to their fixed orbits. And when man himself
proceeds to claim that empire which Godhas given him over the world of
nature, he finds his energies bounded and controlled by law in every direction.
We men cantransport ourselves to and fro on the surface of this earth. But if
in an attempt to reachthe skies we should succeedin mounting to a region
where animal life is impossible, we know that death would be the result of our
success. Meanwhile ouraeronauts, and even our Alpine climbers, do not
"complain of the tyranny of the air."(2) So it is in the world of thought. Look
at those axioms which form the basis of the freestand most exactscience
known to the human mind. We cannotdemonstrate them, we cannotreject
them; but the submissive glance by which reasonaccepts them is no unworthy
figure of the action of faith. Faith also submits, it is true; but her submission
to dogma is the guarantee atonce of her rightful freedom and of her enduring
power.
(3) So submission to revealedtruth involves a certain limitation of intellectual
licence. To believe the dogma that God exists is inconsistentwith a liberty to
deny His existence. Butsuch liberty is, in the judgment of faith, parallel to
that of denying the existence ofthe sun or of the atmosphere. To complain of
the Creedas an interference with liberty is to imitate the savage who had to

walk across Londonat night, and who remarked that the lamp-posts were an
obstruction to traffic.
4. They only cansuppose that Christian dogma is the antagonistof intellectual
freedom whose misery it is to disbelieve. Fordogma stimulates and provokes
thought — sustains it at an elevationwhich, without it, is impossible. It is a
scaffolding by which we climb into a higher atmosphere. It leaves us free to
hold converse with God, to learn to know Him. We canspeak of Him and to
Him, freely and affectionately, within the ample limits of a dogmatic
definition. Besides this, dogma sheds, from its home in the heart of revelation,
an interest on all surrounding branches of knowledge. Godis everywhere, and
to have a fixed belief in Him is to have a perpetual interestin all that reflects
Him. What compositioncan be more dogmatic than the Te Deum? Yet it
stimulates unbounded spiritual movement. The soul finds that the sublime
truths which it adores do not for one moment fetter the freedom of its
movement.
II. MORAL LIBERTY.
1. There is no such thing as freedom from moral slavery, exceptfor the soul
which has laid hold on a fixed objective truth. But when, at the breath of the
Divine Spirit upon the soul, heaven is opened to the eye of faith, and man
looks up from his misery and his weaknessto the everlasting Christ upon His
throne; when that glorious series oftruths, which begins with the Incarnation,
and which ends with the perpetual intercession, is really graspedby the soul
as certain — then assuredly freedom is possible. It is possible, for the Son has
takenflesh, and died, and risen again, and interceded with the Father, and
given us His Spirit and His sacraments, expresslythat we might enjoy it.

2. But, then, we are to be enfranchised on the condition of submission.
Submission! you say — is not this slavery? No; obedience is the schoolof
freedom. In obeying God you escapeall the tyrannies which would fain rob
you of your liberty. In obeying God you are emancipatedfrom the cruel yet
petty despotisms which enslave, sooneror later, all rebel wills. As in the
material world all expansionis proportioned to the compressionwhich
precedes it, so in the moral world the will acts with a force which is measured
by its powerof self-control.
3. As loyal citizens of that kingdom of the Spirit which is also the kingdom of
the Incarnation, you may be really free. "If the Son shall make you free, ye
shall be free indeed." Politicalliberty is a blessing; liberty of thought is a
blessing. But the greatestblessing is liberty of the conscienceand the will. It is
freedom from a sense of sin when all is knownto have been pardoned through
the atoning blood; freedom from a slavish fear of our Father in heaven when
conscienceis offered to His unerring eye by that penitent love which fixes its
eye upon the Crucified; freedom from current prejudice and false human
opinion when the soul gazes by intuitive faith upon the actualtruth; freedom
from the depressing yoke of weak healthor narrow circumstances, since the
soul cannotbe crushed which rests consciouslyupon the everlasting arms;
freedom from that haunting fear of death which holds those who think really
upon death at all, "alltheir lifetime subject to bondage," unless they are His
true friends and clients who by the sharpness ofHis own death has led the
way and "openedthe kingdom of heavento all believers." It is freedom in
time, but also, and beyond, freedom in eternity. In that blessedworld, in the
unclouded presence ofthe emancipator, the brand of slavery is inconceivable.
In that world there is indeed a perpetual service;yet, since it is the service of
love made perfect, it is only and by necessitythe service of the free.
(Canon Liddon.)

COMMENTARIES
EXPOSITORY(ENGLISHBIBLE)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(18) Ye are not under the law.—Strictly, Ye are not under law—law in the
abstract. The flesh and law are correlative terms: to be free from the one is to
be free from the other. The flesh represents unaided human nature, and law is
the standard which this unaided human nature strives, but strives in vain, to
fulfil. By the intervention of the Spirit, the law is fulfilled at the same time that
its domination is abolished and human nature ceases to be unaided. In its
highest part it is brought into direct contactwith the divine nature, and the
whole tenor of its actions changes accordingly.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
5:16-26 If it be our care to act under the guidance and powerof the blessed
Spirit, though we may not be freed from the stirrings and oppositions of the
corrupt nature which remains in us, it shall not have dominion over us.
Believers are engagedin a conflict, in which they earnestlydesire that grace
may obtain full and speedyvictory. And those who desire thus to give
themselves up to be led by the Holy Spirit, are not under the law as a covenant
of works, nor exposed to its awful curse. Their hatred of sin, and desires after
holiness, show that they have a part in the salvation of the gospel. The works
of the flesh are many and manifest. And these sins will shut men out of
heaven. Yet what numbers, calling themselves Christians, live in these, and
say they hope for heaven! The fruits of the Spirit, or of the renewednature,
which we are to do, are named. And as the apostle had chiefly named works of
the flesh, not only hurtful to men themselves, but tending to make them so to
one another, so here he chiefly notices the fruits of the Spirit, which tend to

make Christians agreeable one to another, as well as to make them happy.
The fruits of the Spirit plainly show, that such are led by the Spirit. By
describing the works of the flesh and fruits of the Spirit, we are told what to
avoid and oppose, and what we are to cherishand cultivate; and this is the
sincere care and endeavour of all realChristians. Sin does not now reign in
their mortal bodies, so that they obey it, Ro 6:12, for they seek to destroy it.
Christ never will own those who yield themselves up to be the servants of sin.
And it is not enough that we ceaseto do evil, but we must learn to do well.
Our conversationwill always be answerable to the principle which guides and
governs us, Ro 8:5. We must set ourselves in earnestto mortify the deeds of
the body, and to walk in newness oflife. Not being desirous of vain-glory, or
unduly wishing for the esteemand applause of men, not provoking or envying
one another, but seeking to bring forth more abundantly those goodfruits,
which are, through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
But if ye be led of the Spirit - If you submit to the teachings and guidance of
the Holy Spirit.
Ye are not under the law - You are under a different dispensation - the
dispensationof the Spirit. You are free from the restraints and control of the
Mosaic law, and are under the control of the Spirit of God.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
18. "If ye are led (give yourselves up to be led) by (Greek)the Spirit, ye are
not under the law." Forye are not working the works of the flesh (Ga 5:16,
19-21)which bring one "under the law" (Ro 8:2, 14). The "Spirit makes free
from the law of sin and death" (Ga 5:23). The law is made for a fleshly man,
and for the works of the flesh (1Ti 1:9), "not for a righteous man" (Ro 6:14,
15).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
To be led of the Spirit, and to walk in the Spirit, are the same thing; and differ
only as the cause and the effect. To be

under the law, is to be under the curse of it, or coactionof it, and an obligation
to the performance of the ceremoniallaw. The reasonis, because the Spirit is
a Spirit of adoption and liberty; and where it is, it teacheth to serve the Lord
without fear from a principle of freedom and ingenuity.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
But if ye be led by the Spirit,.... That is, of God, who is the guide and leaderof
his people. It is a metaphor taken from the leading of persons that are blind;
as such are before conversion, and whom the Spirit of God leads in ways they
knew not, and in paths they had not known: or from the leading of children,
and teaching them to go; so the Spirit leads regenerate persons, andteaches
them to walk by faith in Christ. This act of leading supposes life in the persons
led, for dead men cannotbe led; the Spirit is first a Spirit of life from Christ
before he is a leader; and also it supposes some strength, though a gooddeal
of weakness;were there no spiritual strength derived from Christ, they could
not be led; and if there was no weakness,there would be no need of leading; it
is an instance of powerful and efficacious graceupon them, yet not contrary to
their wills, though they are led, they are not forced; they go freely, being led,
as there is goodreasonfor it; for the Spirit of God always leads for their
profit and advantage, and for the spiritual delight, pleasure, and comfort of
their souls;he leads out of the ways of sin, and so of ruin and destruction, and
from Mount Sinai, and all dependence on a legaland moral righteousness;he
leads to Christ, to his person, for shelter, safety, and salvation, to his blood,
for pardon and cleansing, to his righteousness,for justification, and to his
fulness, for every supply of grace;he leads into the presence of God, and to his
house and ordinances;he leads into the covenantof grace, to the blessings,
promises, and Mediatorof it; he leads into all truth as it is in Jesus, in the
ways of faith and truth, and in the paths of righteousness andholiness, and
always in a right way, though sometimes in a rough one, to the city of their
habitation; he leads from one degree of grace to another, and at last to glory:
all which he does gradually; he leads by little and little into a man's sinfulness,
and to see his interest in Christ, and by degrees into the doctrines of the
Gospel, and the everlasting love of the three Persons;and proportionally to

the strength he gives, and as they are able to bear: now such persons as these
have nothing to fear from the law of God:
ye are not under the law; such are not only delivered from the law in fact, but
in their own apprehensions;they have the comfortable knowledge and
experience of it; the law is no terrifying law to them; it works no wrath in
them; they are delivered from the spirit of bondage to fear, by the Spirit of
God, by whom they are led; nor are they under it, nor do they need it as a
pressing forcing law to duty; they delight in it, and cheerfully serve it, being
constrainedby love, and not awedby fear; nor are its accusations andcharges
regarded, or to be regarded, by such who are led by the Spirit to Christ, the
end of the law for righteousness;and they are entirely freed from its curse
and condemnation, though they are under it, and desire to be under it, as held
forth by Christ the King of saints;and, under the Spirit's influence and
guidance, yield a cheerful and evangelicalobedienceto it.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Galatians 5:18. If, however, of these two conflicting powers, the Spirit is that
which rules you, in what blessedfreedom ye are then! Comp. 2 Corinthians
3:17; Romans 8:2 ff.
πνεύματι ἄγεσθε] See on Romans 8:14. Comp. also 2 Timothy 3:6.
οὐκ ἐστὲ ὑπὸ νόμον] namely, because then the law canhave no powerover
you; through the ruling powerof the Spirit ye find yourselves in such a
condition of moral life (in such a καινότης ζωῆς, Romans 6:4, and πνεύματος,
Romans 7:6), that the law has no powerto censure, to condemn, or to punish
anything in you. Comp. on Romans 8:4. In accordancewith Galatians 5:23,
this explanation is the only correctone; and this freedom is the true moral
freedom from the law, to which the apostle here, in accordancewith Galatians

5:13, attaches importance. Comp. 1 Timothy 1:9. There is less accuracyin the
usual interpretation (adopted by Winer, Rückert, Matthies, Schott,
Baumgarten-Crusius;comp. de Wette): ye no longerneed the law; as
Chrysostom:τίς χρεία νόμου;τῷ γὰρ οἴκοθενκατορθοῦντι τὰ μείζω ποῦ χρεία
παιδαγωγοῦ;or: you are free from the outward constraint of the law (Usteri,
Ewald); comp. also Hofmann, who, in connectionwith his mistaken
interpretation of Galatians 5:14, understands a subjection to the law as a
requirement coming from without, which does not exist in the case ofthe
Christian, because in him the law collectivelyas an unity is fulfilled.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Galatians 5:18. Law finds no just occasionagainstmen who are led by the
spirit, for they themselves check every wrong desire within them, and so fulfil
the whole Law. The identity of Law with justice and right is, of course,
assumed.
Bengel's Gnomen
Galatians 5:18. Πνεύματι, by the Spirit) of God, Romans 8:14, and of
liberty.—ἄγεσθε, ye be led) The middle voice;[52] see Rom., as above, with the
annot.—ὙΠῸ ΝΌΜΟΝ, under the law) Romans 6:14-15.
[52] Ye give yourselves up to the leading of.—ED.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 18. - But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the Law (ei) de
Pneu/mati a&gesqe, οὐκ ἐστὲ ὑπὸ νόμον); but if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are
not under the Law. The sense ofΠνεύματι as denoting the Spirit of God is put
beyond question by the parallel passagein Romans (Romans 8:14), "As many
as are led by the Spirit of God (Πνεύματι Θεοῦ ἄγονται), these are sons of
God." The dative case with ἄγομαι in both passages is illustrated by 2
Timothy 3:6, "silly womenladen with sins, led awayby divers lusts (ἀγόμενα
ἐπιθομίαις ποικίλαις)."In all three casesthe dative must be the dative of the
agent, there being in 2 Timothy 3:6 a slight personification. This use of the

dative is not in prose writers a common construction with passive verbs,
though not altogetherunknown (Winer, ' Gram. N.T.,'§ 3l, 10). In the present
case its harshness is perhaps relieved by the circumstance that the noun does
not representan agent whose personalityis markedly conspicuous abextra;
but rather an internally swaying influence, whoso personalityis a matter of
faith. Hence in 2 Timothy 3:6 we render, "led awaywith divers lusts." This
shade of sense might be representedby rendering, "led with the Spirit." In
Luke 4:1, "led by the Spirit," we have ἤγετο ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι. In all these
passagesthe passive, "being led," must, from the nature of the case, include
the voluntary self-subjectionof those led. In Romans," being led by the
Spirit" stands instead of "walking after the Spirit" in ver. 4; "being after the
Spirit" in ver. 5; "by the Spirit mortifying the deeds of the body" in ver. 13.
Similarly, here it is tantamount to the "walking by the Spirit" mentioned
above in ver. 16. The phrase cannot be fairly understood of merely having
that presence ofthe Holy Spirit. which is predicated of the whole "body of
Christ," even of those members thereof whose conductis plainly not regulated
by the sacredinfluence (comp. 1 Corinthians 12:13; 1 Corinthians 6:19); it
must be understood as describing the case ofsuch as recognize its presence
and yield themselves to its guidance. The sense ofthe phrase, "being under the
Law," is illustrated by Galatians 3:23, "we were kept in ward under the Law;,
Galatians 4:4, "made to be under the Law;" ibid., 5, "to redeem those which
were under the Law;" ibid., 21, "ye who would fain be under the Law;"
Romans 6:14, 15, "not under the Law, but under grace;" 1 Corinthians 9:20,
"to those which are under the Law as under the Law, that I might gain those
who are under the Law." These are all the passagesin which the expression
occurs. The inference is clearthat the apostle designates by it the condition of
such as are subject to the Law of the old covenant, viewedas a whole, in its
ceremonialaspectas wellas its moral; his meaning would not be exhaustedby
the paraphrase, "subjectto the condemnation of the Law." What he affirms
here is this: If in the course of your lives you are habitually swayedby the
inward motions of the Spirit of God, then you are not subjectto the Law of
the old covenant. The connectionbetweenthe premiss and the conclusionhas
been clearly shownby the apostle above (Galatians 4:5-7), it is this, that the
possessionofthe Spirit of adoption proves a man to be a "son" - one who has
attained his majority and is no longersubject to a pedagogue. This aphorism

of the apostle, that if they were led by the Spirit they were not under the Law,
suggeststhe inquiry - But how was it with those Christians who were not led
by the Spirit? Would the apostle teach, or would he allow us to say, that
Gentile Christians (for it is to such that he is writing), and Jewishas well, if
not guided by the Spirit, were bound to obey the Law of the old covenant?
With reference to this point we are to considerthat the apostle has elsewhere
clearly stated, for example in Romans 11, that the Church of God forms, in
solidarity with Israel of old, one "Israelof God," as he speaks in the sixth
chapter of this Epistle (ver. 16); Gentiles, being "graftedin" upon the original
stock, have thus become branches (σύμφυτοι)having one common life and
nature therewith; or, in the language ofanother figure, "fellow-heirs, and
fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakersofthe promise in Christ
Jesus," withthose who originally were heirs and forming the body and
partners in the promised blessing (Ephesians 3:6). This leads us to the view
that God's Law, the revelation of his will relative to his people's conduct,
given in successivedevelopments - patriarchal, Mosaical, prophetical - is, with
such modifications as have been made by the crucifixion and the priesthood of
Christ, and by the mission and work of the Holy Spirit, God's Law relative to
his people's conductstill. The cross and priestly work of Christ, as we are
taught by this Epistle and the Epistle to the Hebrews, do for all Christians
eliminate from this Law its ceremonialprescriptions altogether;but its moral
prescriptions, more fully perfected by the moral teaching of Jesus and his
apostles, are still incumbent upon them. Those Christians who really give
themselves up to the Spirit to be taught and animated by him, who are as St.
Paul says (Galatians 6:1) "spiritual," these use this Law (as Calvin phrases it)
as a doctrina liberalis; the Law of the Spirit of life within them leads and
enables them to recognize, and so to speak assimilate, the kindred import of
the Law embodied in the letter; which thus ministers to their instruction and
consolation(Romans 15:4;2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Corinthians 9:10). The letter of
the Law is now their helper, no longer their absolute rigid rule; as a rule it is
supersededby the law written in the heart (2 Corinthians 3:6-11;Hebrews
8:8-11). As Chrysostomwrites in his note on the present passage, "Theyare
raisedto a height far above the Law's injunction." But in the degree in which
they axe not spiritual, but natural (ψυχικοί, 1 Corinthians 2:14-16;Jude 1:19),
in that degree must they use the letter of the Law, in the New Testamentas

well as the Old, as the rule of their conduct. We, those who have been
sacramentallybrought into covenantwith God, cannot be left to ourselves;
either we must be sweetly, persuasively, instinctively, swayedby the Spirit of
God within, or else own the coercing dominion of the written Law. In fact, the
same individual Christian may at different times be subject to alternation
betweenthese two diverse phases ofexperience, passing over from one to the
other of them according to his fluctuating needs. Christians may, therefore, be
broadly divided into three classes:
(1) the spiritual (Galatians 6:1; Romans 8:1-4);
(2) those who are as yet in bondage to the letter;
(3) those who are living after the flesh - "carnal" (1 Corinthians 3:3).
The above statement of the case commends itself as in accordancewithwhat
the apostle writes in 1 Timothy 1:8-11, "We know that the Law is good
[καλός:cf. Romans 7:12] if a man use it lawfully [νομίμως, according to the
manner in which Godhas directed us to use it in his gospel(ver. 11)], knowing
this [having his eye upon this], that the Law is not made (οὐ κεῖται)for a
righteous man, but for the lawless anddisobedient, for,.., according to the
gospelof the glory of the blessedGod." In contrastwith this Law, coercing
impiety and immorality wherever it is found, whether in the world or in the
Church, the apostle has before in ver. 5 declared that its function is
supersededin the case ofthe spiritual believer: "The end of the
commandment [see Alford] is charity, out of a pure heart and a good
conscience, andfaith unfeigned." The perpetual obligation of the Law given
under the old covenant, subjectto the qualifications noted above, appears to
be emphatically affirmed by our Lord: "I came not to destroythe Law, but to
fulfil: for verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one
tittle shall in no wise pass awayfrom the Law, till all things be accomplished"
(Matthew 5:17, 18). And the recognitionof this principle underlies all his
moral teaching; as, for example, in the sermonon the mount; in his
controversies withthe Jewishrabbins; in such passagesas Mark 10:19;
Matthew 22:37-40. The moral Law given in the Old Testamentamalgamates
itself with that given in the New, forming one whole.

Vincent's Word Studies
The question is, which of these two powers shall prevail. If the Spirit, then you
are free men, no longer under the law. Comp. Romans 6:11, Romans 6:14.
Under the law (ὑπὸ νόμον)
The Mosaic law. We might have expected, from what precedes, under the
flesh. But the law and the flesh are in the same category. Circumcisionwas a
requirement of the law, and was a work of the flesh. The ordinances of the law
were ordinances of the flesh (Hebrews 9:10, Hebrews 9:13); the law was weak
through the flesh (Romans 8:3). See especially, Galatians 3:2-6. In Philippians
3:3 ff. Paul explains his grounds for confidence in the flesh as his legal
righteousness. The whole legaleconomywas an economyof the flesh as
distinguished from the Spirit."
BIBLEHUB.COM HAS ANOTHER STUDY ON FREEDOM FROM THE
LAW, AND THE TEXT IS Romans 8:2
"For in ChristJesus the law of the Spirit of life has set
you free from the law of sin and death."
Biblical Illustrator
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death.
Romans 8:2
Law cancelling law
F. B. Meyer, B. A.

1. Few words are ofteneron our lips than the word law. But we are in danger
of using the word as though laws were impersonal forces, independently of a
controlling mind.
2. But a law is not a force. It is only the invariable manner in which forces
work. Betterstill, it is the unvarying method in which God is ever carrying
out His infinite plans. How wise and goodit is that God generallyworks in
this way, so that we are able to calculate with unvarying certainty on natural
processes.
3. And when He wills some definite end He does not abrogate the laws that
stand in His way, but cancels their action by laws from higher spheres which
counterwork them, e.g., The flight of birds is due to very different causes from
a balloon's. Balloons floatbecause they are lighter, but birds are heavier. The
law of the elasticity of the air sets the bird free from the law of gravitation
that would drag it to the ground. In the autumn fields the children, in
gathering mushrooms, unwittingly eat some poisonous fungus which threatens
them with death. Some antidote is given, which, acting as "the law of life,"
counterworks the poison, and sets the children "free from the law of death,"
which had already commencedto work in their members. So the law of the
spirit of life in spring sets the flowers free frown the law of death of winter.
And "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," setLazarus "free from the
law of sin and death" which imprisoned him in the tomb. And, similarly, the
law of life communicated through the Holy Spirit will setus "free from the
law of sin and death" which reigns in our hearts.
I. THERE IS IN EACH ONE OF US "THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH."
1. This evil tendency is derived from our connectionwith the human family.
Races andchildren alike are affectedby the sins and virtues of their
ancestors.In every man there is a bias towards evil, just as in the young tiger
there is predisposition to feed on flesh, and in the duckling to swim.
2. That tendency survives conversion. "The flesh lusteth againstthe Spirit,
and the Spirit againstthe flesh." Its strivings may be suppressed;but it is still
there, only waiting till His repressive influences are withdrawn to spring up in
all its pristine vigour. Conversionis the insertion of a new principle of life,

side by side with the old principle of death. Consecrationis simply the act by
which we put the culture of our spirit into the blessedhands of Jesus. There is
nothing, therefore, in either of these acts to necessitate the crushing out of any
principle of the old nature.
II. GOD DOES NOT MEAN US TO BE ENSLAVED BY SIN. What a
contrastbetweenRomans 7:23, 24, and the joyous outburst of this text! The
one is the sigh of a captive, this the song of a freed bond slave.
1. Captivity: you have its symbol in the imprisoned lion, or royal eagle;you
have it in the disease whichholds the sufferer down in rheumatism or
paralysis. But there are forms of spiritual captivity equally masterful.
Selfishness, jealousy, envy, and ill will, sensualindulgence, the love of money.
2. But it is not God's will that we should spend our days thus. We were born to
be free; not, however, to do as we choose,but to obey the laws of our true
being. When we free an eagle we never suppose that he will be able to dive for
fish as a gull, or to feed on fruits as a hummingbird. But henceforth it will be
able to obey the laws of its own glorious nature.
III. WE BECOME FREEBY THE OPERATION OF "THE LAW OF THE
SPIRIT OF LIFE." "The law of sin and death" is cancelledby "the law of the
Spirit of life." Life is strongerthan death; holiness than sin; the Spirit than
man. The mode of the Holy Spirit's work is thus —
1. He reveals to us that in the intention of Godwe are free. So long as you
considercaptivity your normal state and expectnothing better there is little
hope of deliverance.
2. He makes us very sensitive to the presence ofsin.
3. He works mightily againstthe powerof evil.
4. He enables us to reckonourselves "deadindeed unto sin" (chap. Romans
6:11). This is the God-given way of overcoming the suggestions ofsin. When
sin approaches us we have to answer:"He whom thou seekestis dead, he
cannot heed or respond."Conclusion:

1. "Walk in the Spirit"; "live in the Spirit"; yield to the Spirit. Do not be
content to have merely His presence, without which you could not be a
Christian, but seek His fulness. Let Him have His way with you. And in
proportion as the law of the Spirit becomes stronger, that of the flesh will
grow weaker, until "as you have yielded your members servants to
uncleanness and to iniquity," you will now yield them to righteousness unto
holiness.
2. And as you find the Spirit of life working within you you may be sure that
you are in Jesus Christ, for He only is the elementin whom the blessedSpirit
can put forth His energy. He is "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus."
(F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
The law of sin
T. Jacomb, D. D.
I. THE LAW OF SIN.
1. The word "law" takenproperly is the edict of a person in authority,
wherein he orders something to be done, backing his or their commands with
promises of rewards, as also their prohibitions with threatenings of
punishment. In this sense there is a law of sin. For —(1) A law is a
commanding thing: it lays its imperative injunctions upon men and expects
their obedience (Romans 7:1). Now, in this respectsin is a law; therefore you
read of the reigning of sin, of obeying sin, of the dominion of sin (Romans
6:12, 14). The subjectis not more under the law of his Sovereign, northe
servant of his master, than the sinner is under the laws of sin. As there is this
domination on sin's part so there is subjectionon the sinner's part; no sooner
doth it command, but it is presently obeyed (Matthew 8:9). And where it
commands and is obeyedthere it condemns, which distinguishes it from all
other laws. It rules of itself properly, but it condemns as it lays the foundation
of condemnation by another — the law of God. And this speaks the
inexpressible misery of the unregenerate.(2)A law is backedwith rewards and
punishments for the furtherance of men's obedience. Answerablynow to this,

sin will be pretending to rewards and punishments, which, though in
themselves they are but sorry things, yet they have a greatpower. For
instance, sinner, saith sin, do but obey me, and pleasure, honour, profit, shall
be thine. But if these enticing arguments will not do, sin then threatens
derision, poverty, persecution, and what not. But note — That sin considered
as simply commanding is not a law, but it then becomes formally and
completely a law when the sinner obeys;so then he owns the power of it. The
laws of usurpers, merely as imposed by them, are no laws, because notmade
by persons in lawful authority; but if a people freely own these usurpers and
willingly put themselves under subjection to them, then, to them their laws
become valid and obligatory.
2. The word "law" is takenimproperly for anything that hath an impelling
virtue in it. It hath the force of a law, and doth that which a true law uses to
do. And, therefore, when sin is the principle which efficaciouslyexcites a
person to those things which are suitable to its own nature, there sin may be
calleda law.
II. ITS MODE OF OPERATION.
1. Sin exerts its powers in its vehement urging to what is evil. Sin in the habit
is altogetherfor sin in the act;indwelling sin is wholly for dwelling in sin.
Though there was no devil to tempt the gracelesssinner, yet that law of sin
which is in himself would be enough to make him sin. Corrupt nature is
continually soliciting and exciting the unsanctified man to what is evil; it will
not let him alone day or night unless he gratify it. What an instance was Ahab
of this. Sin put him upon the coveting of Naboth's vineyard, and this it did
with such violence that he would eatno bread because he could not have his
will (1 Kings 21:5; see Proverbs 4:16).
2. This law of sin shows itself in its opposing and hindering of what is good. It
is a law which always runs counter to God's law. Doth that callfor such and
such duties? Are there some convictions upon the sinner's conscienceabout
them? Doth he begin a little to incline to what is good? How doth sin now
bestir itself to make head in the soul againstthese convictions and good
inclinations!

III. ITS MISERABLE BONDAGE. Suchbeing under the law of sin, it follows
that they are under bondage the very worst imaginable. We pity those who
live under tyrants. But, alas!what is that if compared with this. The state of
nature is quite another thing than what men imagine it to be; they think there
is nothing but freedom in it, but God knows it is quite otherwise (2 Peter
2:19). To better convince you of the evil and misery of this bondage, and excite
to the most vigorous endeavours to get out of it, note —
1. That bondage to sin is always accompaniedwith bondage of Satan. The
devil's reign depends upon the reign of sin; he rules in the children of
disobedience, and takes men captives at his will. Shall a damned creature be
thy sovereign— he who will be thy tormentor hereafter?
2. What sin is.(1) Look upon sin in itself. It is the vilest thing that is: the only
thing which God never made. It is the only thing that God cannot do.(2) Look
upon sin in the management of its power. Usurpers often make goodlaws;and
indeed they had need use their powerwell who get it ill. The philosopher tells
us that the intention of the legislatoris to make his subjects good;but sin's
intention is only to make its subjects bad. Then, this sin is not only out of
measure sinful in the exercise ofits power, but it is also out of measure
tyrannical. All the Neros, Caligulas, Domitians, etc., thatever lived were
nothing to it. This first actedthe part of a tyrant in them before they actedthe
part of tyrants over others. The tyranny of sin appears in many things. Its
commands are —
(a)Innumerable.
(b)Contrary. Lust clashes withlust (Titus 3:3).
(c)Rigorous. It must have full obedience ornone at all (Ephesians 2:3).
(d)Never at an end.
(e)So imperious and cruel that its vassals must stick at nothing.
3. That it is a soul bondage. The bondage of Israelin Egypt was very evil, yet
not comparable to this, because that was but corporal and external, but this is
spiritual and internal. There may be a servile condition without and yet a free

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