Both are Equally Dangerous

STRIFE, n. [See Strive.]

1. Exertion or contention for superiority; contest of emulation, either by intellectual or physical efforts. Strife may be carried on between students or between mechanics.

Thus Gods contended, noble strife, who most should ease the wants of life.

2. Contention in anger or enmity; contest; struggle for victory; quarrel or war.

3. Opposition; contrariety; contrast.

As I read the 10 verses of our 30 Day Challenge I decided to read all of Galatians again. When I flipped my Bible back to the beginning, a hi-lited and underlined section of 2 Corinthians caught my eye:

2Corinthians 13:5-7 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.

The common theme in most of Paul’s letters is “how are you walking?” “Are you walking in the flesh or in the Spirit?” Paul gives us plenty of warning of walking in the flesh, and plenty of promise of walking in the Spirit.

A good question to ask is, “how do I know which one I am walking in?” Just as Paul has said, “examine yourselves.” You do not give much thought in to putting your feet on the ground in the morning when you wake up, or walking to the bathroom, or walking to the kitchen for your morning coffee. You can still be half asleep and you will still easily do those things. Walking through your morning routine is almost effortless. So it is with walking in the flesh versus walking in the Spirit. Walking comes naturally; what do you do most naturally day to day? Examine yourself in light of Galatians 5:15-26; do you see the fruit of the Spirit continually increasing in your life and do you desire more?…or do you see the desires of the flesh continuing to be satisfied in your life with a continued appetite for more? Seems like a pretty simple test if you make an honest assessment. Not perfection, but direction…is your direction moving toward the Word or the world?

What does all this have to do with strife? There are some people that choose to be at odds with people for the sake of being at odds. I have a friend that makes the Gospel as offensive as he can make it when he preaches. I have another friend that will argue until the cows come home that the letters of Paul are not necessarily God’s Word, all under the pretext of wanting to disregard Paul’s warnings in Romans 1.

In both cases, legalism and liberalism, they are “warring” for an un-noble cause. One to point a condemning finger; and one to try and justify continued sin. Both create and feed strife. One seems hardcore, and one seems compassionate…both are equally dangerous to their hearer.

Isn’t it interesting that the same one that wrote warnings about not falling away from Grace, in to legalism, in the beginning of Galatians, is the same one that warns about walking in the flesh later in the same letter?

The first 10 versus of the letter begins its warning about those adding to the Gospel; and the last 10 versus of chapter 5 warn us of the difference between walking in the flesh and in the Spirit. To war against legalism and liberalism is equally noble; but, to create strife because you are trekking down the ditch of either one is one of the most unloving things a person could do. Both give a false sense of eternal security; but neither gives any real hope because there is no hope in either ditch:

Galatians 1:1-10 Paul, an apostle–not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead– 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel– 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 5:16-26 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.