By Pastor James Kimathi
In the last post, we saw death to the law is the only way to escape the dominion of the law of the mind that is over every human being. We also saw that believing that we died with Christ sets us free from trying to please God by keeping a set of laws.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [a]adultery, [b]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, [c]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [d]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law (Gal. 5:19-23, NKJV).
Notice that the scripture above says that the works of the flesh are evident and then Paul lists these works of the flesh.
Why are they evident? It is because in Romans 7, Paul writes that sin uses the law to be manifested, to become evident.
The power of sin is at work with or without the law. However, once the law is introduced, sin becomes defined. Therefore, where previously an action was considered okay, the introduction of the law defines that action as sin. This is what brings shame and lack of confidence in God. Unfortunately, this is why most people’s christianity does not seem to bear fruit; because they lack confidence in God, so much so that even when they come to pray, they are already defeated.
The power of a person who produces results in prayer is depicted by the state of righteousness in their lives. God answers prayer not just because of fervency but also because of how righteous you are.
Unfortunately, when you lack confidence in God; when you doubt God, the Bible says that you will not receive anything from him. The works of the flesh are what cause us to doubt if we are aligned to God. However, Paul also introduces the fruits of the spirit that are produced by those who have died to the law. He then writes that against these fruits there is no law. In other words, those who produce the fruits of the spirit do not need to live under any instruction.