O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
(Galatians 3)
Before we jump on the bandwagon bashing these believers, let's remember that Paul was not doubting their faith. He was questioning their actions, their lifestyle. It's a temptation we all have. On the one extreme is legalism, where we fall back into our dependence on the flesh - trying to please God by our "doing", even when we know He accepts us by our faith. The other is libertinism, whereby we fall back into the desires of the flesh, as if our faith really does not matter in everyday life. When we live by faith, and the power of the Spirit, the flesh "stays in line", instead of taking over again. Both are foolish, because true wisdom says "I need God, I trust Christ, and Greater is He that is in me!" Let us live by the Spirit, and not by and for the flesh.
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