Galatians: “Walk in the Spirit” (September 25-October 1)

What would you do if a friend was overcomplicating their life and making themselves miserable in the process? How would you help them find joy?

Paul addressed this challenge in his epistle to the Galatians. Sincere converts to Christianity were overwhelmed by Jewish converts who wanted to impose on them all of the demands of Judaism in addition to their newfound faith. Paul wanted them to experience the freedom of the gospel: freedom to follow the Spirit and act according to true principles, without constantly wondering if they were failing to live up to the strict demands of the law. Here is my summary of the epistle in six simple sentences, one per chapter:

1. The gospel is not of man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
2. We are dead to the law and alive in God.
3. You started your journey by faith, so keep moving forward in faith.
4. You are children of God, not His servants.
5. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.”
6. Plant spiritual seeds, and you will reap eternal life.

Here are some specific lessons I’ve learned from this epistle:

1. “The just shall live by faith.”

In Paul’s epistles to the Romans and to the Galatians, he quotes Genesis 15:6: “[Abraham] believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (See Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6.) Think about that! Just choosing to believe was enough to get him started. He didn’t have to earn God’s promises. He had to exercise faith in God.

In Galatians, Paul goes on to quote from the prophet Habbakuk: “The just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). It might be more comfortable to know before we do and to see before we believe, but growth comes from trusting in God and acting in faith.

Here’s a blog post on the topic:

• “The Just Shall Live by Faith”

2. “Ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

God loves all of His children and invites them all to come to Him. Paul emphasizes that we must not allow the distinctions we commonly make between people to divide us. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

In the Book of Mormon, Nephi made a similar assertion: “He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile” (2 Nephi 26:33).

The differences between us are real and obvious, but they are unimportant compared with our goal of being one—completely united as disciples of Christ.

See the following post:

• How Are We “All Alike Unto God?”

3. “Stand fast…in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.”

“O foolish Galatians,” Paul lamented, “who hath bewitched you?” (Galatians 3:1). Who in their right minds would throw away the freedom God had given to them and subject themselves to unnecessary and unrealistic demands? He encouraged them to hold their ground. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

After the prophet Alma established the church at the waters of Mormon, he and his people escaped from the armies of King Noah and established their own city. Shockingly to him, his people wanted him to be their new king!

Don’t you remember how much we suffered under King Noah, he asked. Don’t you remember how much we longed for this freedom? “And now as ye have been delivered by the power of God out of these bonds; yea, even out of the hands of king Noah and his people, and also from the bonds of iniquity, even so I desire that ye should stand fast in this liberty wherewith ye have been made free” (Mosiah 23:13).

Two other people in the Book of Mormon used this same expression: Alma’s grandson Helaman, as he praised the courage of his young soldiers, and the chief judge Pahoran, as a rallying cry for the armies of Captain Moroni. (See Alma 58:39-40, Alma 61:9, 21.)

When God has blessed you with freedom, whether political or spiritual, don’t throw that freedom away. Be vigilant. Remember the pain you have experienced in the past and avoid the things which led to that pain.

Here’s a blog post on this topic:

• What Does It Mean to “Stand Fast in the Liberty Wherewith God Hath Made Us Free?”

4. “Bear ye one another’s burdens.”

The apostle Paul was careful not to become burdensome to the people he taught (2 Corinthians 11:9, 2 Corinthians 12:13-14, 1 Thessalonians 2:6). He recognized that a disciple of Christ tries to lighten people’s loads, not add to them. He encouraged members of the church in Galatia to do the same for one another: “Bear ye one another’s burdens,” he wrote, “and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

When Alma established the church at the waters of Mormon, he gave his people the same direction. When they were baptized, they would “come into the fold of God,” he taught, and they would need to “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light” (Mosiah 18:8).

Here’s a post about this imperative:

• What Does It Mean to Bear One Another’s Burdens?

5. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

It seems obvious that the outcomes we experience depend greatly on our actions. Paul has just spent the entire letter urging the Galatians to rely on Jesus Christ instead of trying to be perfect alone. Now, at the end of the letter, he emphasizes this point with an agricultural aphorism: You reap what you sow.

He doesn’t mean to say that we’re on our own, of course. Quite the opposite. “He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.” Try to do it on your own, and you will achieve a very human outcome. “But he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). Invite God into your life, and try to align your will with His, and amazing things will happen!

The metaphor works well for another reason: We can plant seeds, but we can’t make them grow. Only God can do that. Sowing is an act of faith, relying on His grace to produce the desired outcome. Earlier in the letter, Paul describes the “fruit” of the Spirit: attributes we will develop as we invite the Holy Ghost into our lives: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance.” Then he adds, “Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). When we are following the Spirit of the Lord and acting in harmony with these Christlike attributes, we need not be anxious about whether we are breaking some law or failing to follow some celestial rule. There is no law against doing good!

See the following blog posts:

• Limhi and the Law of the Harvest – Mosiah 7:30-31
• How Can I Learn to Recognize the Holy Ghost?

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