For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14
In the book of Galatians, Paul has been telling us that we are no longer under the law. But here he tells us that we have to live a life of love that fulfills the law. That sounds confusing!
Our freedom in Christ is the freedom of the Spirit. This is the freedom to live a life of love that fulfills the law— not as a means to acceptance with God, but as a fruit of acceptance with God. If this sounds like a fine distinction to you, then you need to see the difference.
Imagine a woman who sets her eye on a man and decides that she wants to have him for her husband, so she seduces him. She gives herself to him in the hope that this will draw him into a lasting relationship.
Now consider a second picture. Imagine a woman who meets a man and is captivated by him. Over time, he comes to love her and she comes to love him, and they are married. Then she gives herself to him.
There is all the difference in the world between these two pictures. Giving herself to the man in order to make him her husband is a dark kind of manipulation. Giving herself to the man because he is her husband is the natural fruit of the relationship and is a thing of great beauty.
Any attempt to use the law to secure a relationship with God is sheer manipulation, and it will not work, for no one manipulates God. Fulfilling the law freely by living a life of love is the natural fruit of a relationship with God. It is a beautiful expression of our freedom in Christ.
Do you view your good works as the fruit of your faith or the means to acceptance by God?
Really think about your answer. God wants the first and not the second.
