Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Galatians 5:13-26), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [13-15] Paul helps the Galatian believers to understand that they are no longer “under” the law, that the law no longer condemns them for having failed to keep it, that they are “free” from the law. At the same time, he quotes from the law (Leviticus 19:18), and he advocates for keeping the heart of the law, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. How can a Christian live free from the law, yet at the same time desire to keep the law? When you consider the law of God, do you view it as oppressive or as an opportunity to love? Can you understand the specific commandments as distilling down to the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself? Is it easy to love and serve your brother or sister in the church?

• [16-24] Christians have a battle going on inside them, between the flesh (the old, unbelieving, unredeemed, sinful human nature) and the Spirit. Even though our flesh has been crucified with Christ (v. 24), it is still something we struggle against throughout this life. Our ultimate identity is spiritual in Christ, but we are constantly plagued by the temptations and sin of the flesh. Is the reality of this battle discouraging or encouraging to you? To which “works of the flesh” are you tempted? Are you concerned that these things define you to such a degree that you “will not inherit the kingdom of God”? If you are concerned about this, what can be done about it? What help is there for you in the fight against your own flesh?

• The fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23) describes how God himself would live if he were a human being in right relationship to God, which is what we have in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Jesus lives this way through the power of the Spirit, who is the divine Uniter of Persons. And Jesus has given us his power, his Spirit, to bear this fruit as we abide in him (see John 15:1-17). Do you have the Christ-centered Spirit? How do you know?

• (Questions by Tim Keller…) “Examine yourself. How can you see the fruit of the Spirit growing in your life? Do you have natural characteristics which could be confused with the fruit of the Spirit?”