Works of spirit verses the flesh
Updated: Jul 4
Hello, Andrei!
Thank you for your thoughtful question. Greetings from the State of Texas to România! I am curious how did you find my youtube chanell?
I get why this passage has troubled you. Many of us have heard it explained as though Paul were saying that if we fail in these areas, God will reject us forever.
But I don't believe that is Paul's message.
When you read Galatians as a whole, you'll notice that Paul is confronting the idea that our standing with God depends on our performance. His central message is that we are justified by the faithfulness of Christ, not by keeping the law. If Paul suddenly ended the letter by saying our eternal destiny depends on perfect behavior, he would be contradicting everything he had been teaching.
In Galatians 5, Paul contrasts two ways of living: life according to the flesh and life according to the Spirit. The "works of the flesh" describe what happens when we live from the illusion of separation from God, trusting ourselves instead of resting in His life. Those things produce destruction, broken relationships, and bondage.
When Paul says that those who practice such things "will not inherit the kingdom of God," I understand him to mean they cannot experience the life, freedom, joy, and peace of God's kingdom while continuing to live in those destructive patterns. The kingdom is not merely a place we go after death. It is the life of Christ shared with us now.
The good news is that Jesus did not come to save us from a wrathful God and avoid hell. He came from the bosom of God to reveal the Father, expose the union humanity has with Himself, and set us free.
Through His death and resurrection, He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. He has delivered us from sin and death!
The Holy Spirit is not threatening us into obedience. He is awakening us to who we already are in Christ. As we trust Him, the fruit of the Spirit naturally begins to grow: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
So don't let fear be your motivation. Fix your eyes on Jesus. As you discover the Father's love revealed in Him, your life will be transformed from the inside out. That is the gospel Paul preached, and it is still good news today.
I think the strongest case is made not by focusing on Galatians 5:21 alone, but by reading Galatians 2–5 as one continuous argument. Paul is not ending his letter by replacing the law of Moses with a new law of moral performance. He is contrasting two ways of living: life according to the flesh and life according to the Spirit. That preserves the flow of his entire letter and keeps Christ at the center of the gospel.
Grace and peace to you, my friend.
James
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