Galatians 5:22 (NKJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love….The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the church of Galatia to address the false teachings by the Judaizers which advocated that Gentiles had to be circumcised and thus leading back to the work of the law for salvation. The Apostle Paul confronted the Apostle Peter for being a hypocrite as Peter did not address this critical issue while he was there. It is dangerous if the church were to revert to a set of laws telling us what is sin.
Having a set of laws without an intimate relationship with Jesus and being influenced by the power of the Holy Spirit is just a religion that teaches us to be good. The set of laws will become a burden and a yoke on the people without any ability to help them have a right standing before God.
Romans 10:4 (NKJV) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Galatians 2:21 (NKJV) I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Likewise, we are in danger of being legalistic and having a form of outward religion without really living out new lives in Christ today. There is a tendency for us to lead very carnal and outwardly religious lives dictated by our flesh if we are not aware that we have to allow the Holy Spirit to influence us in our new lives in Christ. Then it is just a religion and not a life with God.
It is through the finished work of Jesus Christ and His work of redemption that we can have peace with God who has given us the gift of righteousness the moment we started believing in Him.
A huge difference stands between having a religion and a revelation of the kind of relationship that we can have with God.
2 Timothy 3:5,7 (NKJV) having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!….. always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
We are living in the last days which is the time from when Christ first appeared until His second coming. People living in the last days are characterised by all kinds of self-centredness and unnatural perversions. Some will maintain an outward pretence, speaking with Christian vocabulary but refusing the reality that Christianity offers. The Apostle Paul mentioned that people in the last days are always learning about God, but not really coming to the knowledge of the truth. The accumulation of knowledge of God has to come to a point where they realise, “Wow! This is who I am, this is what I have, and this is what I can do in and through Christ!”. Through such revelation, the life of the believer changes as he walks out the truth.
We need to be aware of the help that is available to us by the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth that we are a new creation after the born-again experience. Those who have a relationship with God are sensitive to the leading and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and have the knowledge of the “new man” in Christ Jesus.
Let us live from the inside out because of the relationship we have with God and the Holy Spirit that we have within us.
Sermon Series: Fruit of the Holy Spirit – LOVE
基督教是一个宗教还是一个关系?
加拉太书5:22 (NKJV)但圣灵的果子就是仁爱…
使徒保罗写了此信给加拉太教会，指出犹太派基督徒的错误教导，就是主张外邦人必须受割礼，导致又回到了靠行律法来得救。使徒保罗质问使徒彼得是伪君子，因为彼得在那里时没有提到这个关键的问题。如果教会重新用一系列的律法来告诉我们什么是罪，这是很危险的。
没有与耶稣的亲密关系，没有受到圣灵大能的感动，而只有一套律法，那只是一种教导我们要良善的宗教。这套律法将成为人们的负担和枷锁，却无法帮助他们有资格站在神面前。
罗马书10:4 (NKJV) 律法的总结就是基督，使凡信祂的都得着义。
加拉太书2:21 (NKJV)我并不废掉神的恩;义若是藉着律法得的，基督就是徒然死了。
同样，我们正处于守律法和外在宗教形式的危险之中,没有真正活出基督里的新生命。如果我们不知道必须让圣灵来影响我们在基督里的新生命，我们就会倾向于过一种由血气支配的非常属肉体并且徒有其表的宗教生活。那么它只是一个宗教，而不是与神同行的生命。
只有通过耶稣基督既成的工和祂救赎的工作，我们才能与神和好，当我们开始信祂时，神就赐我们公义为礼物。
笃信一个宗教与明白我们与神之间能够拥有的关系，其间有着巨大的区别。
提摩太后书3:5,7 (NKJV)有敬虔的外貌，却背了敬虔的实意。这等人你要躲开……常常学习，终久不能明白真道。
我们活在末世，就是从基督第一次显现到祂第二次再来之间的这段日子。活在末世的人以各种各样的自我为中心和不自然的堕落为特征。有些人会保持一种外在的伪装，言必称基督，却拒绝基督教所提供的事实。使徒保罗提到，在末后的日子里，人们总是学习关于神的知识，却没有真正认识真理。关于神的知识积累必须达到一个程度，就是认识到:“哇!这就是我，这就是我所拥有的，这就是我靠着基督所能做的!” 通过这样的启示，当信徒行出真理的时候，他的生命就改变了。
我们需要觉察到圣灵的大能对我们的帮助，以及我们在经历重生后成为一个新造的人这一事实。那些与神相交的人会敏锐于圣灵的引导和赐能，并且认识基督耶稣里的“新人”。
让我们活出由内而外的生命，因为我们与神和圣灵的关系在我们里面。
讲章系列: 仁爱 – 圣灵所结的果子