What Not To Do To One Another
“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
“But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” Paul (Galatians 5:13, 15)
Love and Lordship in Focus…From last week’s “one another” we build on serving without favoritism to serving all others, especially believers, in love. This also implies that we can actually serve in our flesh without loving as there would be no need for this command if that were not the case…think about it.
So there are things that we must battle and deny… “not do” …to one another even after we become believers in Christ.
Right after Paul tells us to “serve one another in love” in Galatians 5:13, he shares something that he often does in his Spirit inspired words…he exhorts and admonishes us in the negative – what not to do or stop doing.
Look at Galatians 5:15 and he gives us a negative “one another” command, “If you keep on biting and devouring each other…you will be destroyed by each other.” But I thought Christians always serve, share with and give to one another in love. Obviously he needed to address the issues of pride, selfishness and anger that still reside in our flesh even after we come to know Christ.
This usually begins when we fail to honor the freedom we have in Christ and use it for fleshly, sinful purposes to please ourselves and ultimately bite, devour and put down others.
Which “person” are you feeding? Are you following through with the serving and loving “one anothers” of The Spirit…or do you need to hear the disciplinary and corrective “one another” to stop back-stabbing, snipping at and destroying one another?
I suspect that we need both or The Holy Spirit would not have inspired Paul to share this with us as believers. I know I’ve had to learn to grow in both serving and loving as well as letting go of my own selfish desires and glory, not trying to drag others down to my level.
This is why forgiveness is so important (Matthew 6:14-15), both forgiving others when they have wronged us and seeking forgiveness when we have wronged others!
Verse 16 tells us how to follow through by choosing The Spirit rather than our flesh! Let’s be sure that we’re not allowing our petty, fleshly desires to drive us to pick at and try and bring down others but rather choose to lift them up in The Spirit…no matter who they are or what they’ve done!
Food for Thought…Something that is so often missed in our churches today is the teaching and discipling of dying to self and not gratifying our own desires…thinking that because we’re saved and free we can choose whatever we want. If that were the case Holy Spirit would never have to instruct us in what not to do!
Love in Action –
- Spend time with Him in His Word and prayer daily – read and study the Scriptures in this post as a way to start
- Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you
- What areas in your life create difficulty causing you to abuse the freedom you have in Christ?
- What part of today’s message do you need to take action on to die to your flesh and walk in The Spirit so as not to wrong or put down others?
Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.
Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, it’s quite clear that even as believers we must learn to avoid and deny those desires and urges in our flesh that cause us to abuse the freedom we have in Christ and Holy Spirit. Help me to do so by obeying these commands in Scripture as to what I’m to do in The Spirit and what I’m to avoid in my flesh by The Spirit. In Jesus Name. Amen.