The reason that Galatians was written is found in Chapter 1, albeit a bit hidden, but openly in Chapter 2. The big enemy of the early Church was twofold: (i) the flesh with its intrinsic Adamic nature, and (ii) the Law of Moses. Persecution by the Gentiles only came later. In Galatians, these two points came together. Certain men, probably of the Pharisees, seeing that the gospel of Jesus could not be stopped, came and taught the once Gentile Believers that it was all well and good believing in Jesus, but that sanctification to lead a holy life and do the will of God, came by following the Law of Moses. Now, this problem is still prevalent today, and is rife on this Forum.
The strength of this argument again twofold: (i) The Law was given by God and is good, spiritual and "unto life" (Romans 7), and (ii) the obvious effects of having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of GOOD and Evil is to clothe oneself with works of Law. The trouble with this all is that God allowed 1,500 years of Law to show that no man can keep the Law, and that the Law could not sanctify a man. It could only point to judgment. Now, the weakness lay not in the Law. It lay in man's flesh (Rom.8:3). The Law addressed the flesh and in man's flesh nothing good "dwelt" (Rom.7:18). Man is "carnal" through and through, and the only cure for this is the death of the flesh.
God's solution to man's utter ruin lies with Himself. In the Person of the Holy Spirit is the solution to a human nature devoid of God's nature. To get this nature a man needs a second birth by this Spirit (Jn.3:3-6). This same Spirit is the Agent who sanctifies a man's character (2nd Cor.3:18). And again, this same Holy Spirit is the Agent Who raises a dead man to human life again (Rom.8:11). That is, a man is WHOLLY RECOVERED not by efforts of the flesh, but a cooperation with God Spirit. The flesh must not be reformed. The flesh must not be taught. The flesh must not in any way be pandered to in the daily life of a Christian. The flesh must be put on "our" cross daily (Lk.9:23).
Galatians 6:7-8 does not say;
7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever EVIL man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth EVIL to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
It says that ANYTHING that is sown by the flesh will produce corruption. The flesh is the result of eating from a Tree. The fruit is deadly WHETHER GOOD OR EVIL! Maybe an example will suffice. In a Local Assembly it is noised about that a certain family have had no food for two days. What shall the Church do? If the Local Assembly has thirty families and each cook two extra meals a month for this family, the burden is easily distrubuted and the hungry family is filled. Is that not GOOD? NO! It is NOT GOOD! You may say; Brother, are you a Christian? Have you no compassion? And did the Lord not admonish us to help those in need? Will you not, by your hardheartedness, destroy the Christian testimony? The answer is something else:
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
My duty is FIRST to ASK THE LORD. I must FIRST put my WORKS before the Holy Spirit. He is my HEAD. He is my BOSS. Why should I approach the Lord on such a clear matter of LAW (James 2:15)? The reasons should be obvious. (i) God is your Lord and Christ is your HEAD. A body that jerks around without commands from the head is a spastic. And (ii) The Lord KNOWS THINGS YOU DO NOT. What if, unbeknown to you, the brother resigned his job and is not working? Then the mind of God is shown, not by James 2:15 but by 2nd Thessalonians 3:10-12. If you feed such a man you might do GOOD, but you have SOWN TO THE FLESH! God gave the command in Eden that the man shall work for his bread. A man who sits at home while his Christian brethren work for him is thumbing his nose at God. And God's solution is his empty belly, and even the empty bellies of his family! If you feed such a man you "sow to corruption". You might say;
"Well ... I'll feed his wife and children only!" Is this GOOD or EVIL???
ASK the Holy Spirit!!! Anything done OUTSIDE of the Holy Spirit is of the FLESH and you will reap corruption. It is not a case of God punishing you. It is a principle of Genesis 1:11-12. Whatever you sow, that crop will be harvested. Sow a million dollars in a Missionary Association and you will reap famine if it was not an instruction of the Holy Spirit. Cast out a demon without a command from the Holy Spirit and on that fateful day before the BEMA (Rom.14:10; 2nd Cor.5:10), you will hear these words.
21 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:21-23)
If you are not sure if these were Christians, I can supply at least ten proofs why they were. Here are two;
- In verse 21 the word "saith" is present continuous tense. That is, they say "Lord, Lord" to Jesus through their lifetime (Rom.10:13). But "shall" is future tense. That is, these were men who NOW call Lord, Lord, meaning Jesus, shall ... at a later date, be denied entry and must "depart".
- In Mark 16:17, casting out a demon is a "sign" of a believer. Jesus Himself said that neither Satan nor his minions would ever do this because his kingdom would collapse (Matt.12:24-25).
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