Suggestions for leading a study:
Spiritual Two-Stepping
Discussion Questions
-In
Galatians Paul says we are saved by grace and free from the law. Do you think that means “anything goes?”
(see verse 13)
-According to v.13, what should we
consider ourselves free to do, rather than self-indulgence?
-Serving other people is usually
associated with slavery, not freedom.
What do you think the connection is?
Does verse 14 clarify that?
-Verse 16 tells us to “go on living”
by the Spirit. This speaks of an
ongoing, habitual activity in our
lives. Given the previous discussion,
what do you think the Spirit will be helping us to do?
-Review how verse 14 sums up the
entire law. Now read through the lists in verses 19-23. Are these “acts of the sinful nature” and
“fruits of the Spirit” primarily personal, or do they relate to how we love our neighbor as ourselves? In what ways?
-Compare verses 15 & 16 with
verses 25 & 26. They both mentions
something we should do. What is
that?
-What do these verse mention that we
shouldn’t’ be doing?
-Based on our discussion, what do
you think should be the primary result of walking with the Spirit?
The
goal of this study is to get us to see that the result of walking in the Spirit
should be healthier relationships.
-In Galatians Paul says we are saved by grace and free
from the law. Do you think that means
“anything goes?” (see verse 13)
For more information on this subject, study Romans
6-8. The bottom line is that we are not
free to sin, but free from sin.
Verse 13 makes it clear that the freedom we have from the law is not
intended to facilitate indulging the
desires of our sinful nature.
-According
to v.13, what should we consider ourselves free to do, rather than
self-indulgence?
This verse tells us to rather “serve one-another in
love.”
-Serving
other people is usually associated with slavery, not freedom. What do you think the connection is? Does verse 14 clarify that?
This points out what may seem like a contradiction to
us. We usually associate freedom with
the ability to fulfill personal desires or being able to achieve our own
individual goals, especially in America.
For Christians, freedom from the law enables us to pursue helping other
people rather than trying to achieve our own righteousness through obeying a
set of rules and regulations. Verse 14
makes it clear that the essential nature of the law and what it really
intended—to help people love each other—is still very much in full force and
effect. Remember that Jesus said he did
not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. (Matthew 5:17)
-Verse
16 tells us to “go on living” by the Spirit.
This speaks of an ongoing, habitual activity in our lives. Given the
previous discussion, what do you think the Spirit will be helping us to
do?
The verb form Paul uses is a present tense, something
which in Greek implies a continuing activity, similar to the being filled of
Ephesians 5:17. The “So I say” that
begins this verse is meant to connect it with the previous verses, which
clarify for us that freedom from the law means freedom to serve each
other. Given that, it is fair to
conclude that walking with the Spirit (or living by the Spirit, depending on
your translation) will help us love and serve one another. God helps us be able to focus on other
people and their needs rather than the “desires of the sinful nature”, which
are inevitably selfish.
-Review
how verse 14 sums up the entire law. Now read through the lists in verses
19-23. Are these “acts of the sinful
nature” and “fruits of the Spirit” primarily personal, or do they relate to
how we love our neighbor as
ourselves? In what ways?
Note that the acts of the sinful nature are specified
as primarily things that we do while the fruits of the Spirit are primarily
character traits—who we are becoming.
In both cases, they are not just personal issues, but clearly relate to
our relationships with other people.
Hopefully the previous discussion will help people see that God’s
primary interest in regards to this topic is healthy relationships. A discussion as to how each specific thing
either destroys or builds relationships would take hours, so the basic
conclusion will have to remain pretty generalized.
-Compare
verses 15 & 16 with verses 25 & 26.
They both mentions something we should do. What is that?
Verse 16 says to Walk by the Spirit (NIV) and verse
25 says to live by the Spirit (NIV).
They both refer to the same essential thing.
-What do
these verse mention that we shouldn’t’ be doing?
In verse 15 we should avoid “biting and devouring”
each other (NIV) and verse 26 “provoking and envying” each other.
-Based
on our discussion, what do you think should be the primary result of walking
with the Spirit?
These two “bookends” for this passage make it clear
for us that walking with the Spirit is not just a personal “feel good” thing,
but the practical way in which God wants to enable us to avoid unhealthy
approaches to our relationships and rather serve one another in love, thus
fulfilling the law from which we have been set free.