Bible Discussion Thread

Comments on Galatians 5:18 �But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law�.
We know from 1John 3:4 that �sin is the transgression of the law�. When Christ died, �he did away with the Law� (the Old Covenant), and we entered a New Covenant ( Jeremiah 31:31, Hebrews 8:8). Now we are under Grace ( Romans 6:14).
So, let me see if I understand this �process of salvation� correctly: (1) I hear the Word of God which tells me that He loves me ( John 3:16), and that He died for me though I broke no Law. (2) I accept that I am a sinner, even though the Law that would have condemned me does not exist anymore. (3) I receive Christ as my personal Savior, Who saved me from sins that actually don�t exist, since I was born after Christ died and made the Law obsolete and of non-effect. (4) I get baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, and I am no longer under the Law, which was nailed to the cross. (5) Having received the Holy Spirit, I am now under grace. I am free from the Law, and basically I can do anything I want, since there is no more Law to condemn me. (6) Yes, it would be nice to express the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance etc. (verses 22, 23); but these are optional, �because against such there is no law�.
Now, do the statements 1-6 make any sense? I know that many Christians think so. But, let�s see: Perhaps they would have made sense if only Apostle Paul hadn�t mentioned the works of the flesh: �Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like (and the list goes on): of the which � I have also told you in time past, that THEY WHICH DO SUCH THINGS SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD� (verses 19-21)� Hey, what happened to grace? We�ve already established that I can�t keep the Law because the flesh is against the spirit ( Galatians 5:17). Even Apostle Paul says: �For the good that I would, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do� ( Romans 7:19). What�s going on here? The sins mentioned above are transgressions of the Moral Laws that have been �abolished, nailed to the cross, gone�. Now you tell me that I can�t inherit the Kingdom of God with all that love, sacrifice and grace? It seems to me that Apostle Paul is contradicting himself: or, is he? This chapter teaches that the Moral Laws were not included with the rest of the Mosaic Laws that ended at the cross, and that we still have to keep them. They were in effect when you and I were born, and are in effect today: we broke them, and this is why you and I are sinners in need of Christ�s forgiveness and redemption. But for sure, in this letter to Galatians Apostle Paul is talking about circumcision and other Ceremonial Laws fulfilled by Christ (verses 2, 3, 6, 11, 13). You just can�t have it both ways! Brother R.R. came up with a �good excuse�: I can�t memorize the Ten Commandments; therefore I don�t need to keep them. But Apostle Paul disagrees; he says: �I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me� ( Philippians 4:13). Amen.