There is no law? Yikes! That’ll leave a mark. Without law, the world descends into a constant Black Friday frenzy at WalMart.
Yet, in Galatians 5:22-23, the Bible declares no law exists if certain conditions are met: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
The implication of these verses is there is no need for the law if certain conditions are met.
An adequate paraphrase would be as follows: If every person allowed the Holy Spirit to grow His fruit within them, we would all enjoy an amazing quality of life immersed in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If everyone lived 100% of the time imbued with these qualities, no need for police or prisons would exist.
For example, the kind of love expressed here is agapao. Agapao love is selfless love, signifying someone who has this enormous capacity to love everyone else, anyone else, more than he loves himself. It’s the love of self-sacrifice for others.
Imagine a world in which 100% of the population exhibited agapao love 100% of the time. Would we need police or prisons? Possibly one protestation before a judge might be, “Your Honor, my neighbor is driving me nuts with his selfless love. Please order him to stop loving me so much.”
Suppose, then, a prison for people who loved too much existed. Wouldn’t that be an excellent place to land?
What if people were filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit 100% of the time? Joy is an inner quality of being which never dims or fades regardless of circumstances.
Imagine a world in which everyone possesses an overwhelming abundance of joy in their hearts. Grumbling and complaining disappear forever.
Now we have selfless love and indestructible joy—what a combination—exhibited everywhere in every person. Any need for law? For overworked cops and prisons? For worn out judges?
How about a complete overhaul of every person’s life with the Holy Spirit’s peace? Patience? Kindness? Goodness? Faithfulness? Humility? Self-Control?
I get it. It’s unrealistic to believe our world would ever become this. But are you personally able to enjoy a life in which no need for law in your own life exists? The answer is yes.
It happens through Jesus. In Matthew 5:17, He says, “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
Jesus fulfills the law by becoming the sacrifice necessary to correct all wrong-doing. He sheds His blood and dies on the cross, so that we could gain freedom from our sins. He lives again to demonstrate we can have life in a perfect eternity if we put our trust in Him. Our wrongdoings no longer condemn us. When we stand before God the Judge, He declares us free because His Son’s sacrifice paid the penalty.
One more event occurs. God, the Holy Spirit, comes and dwells within us. He desires to grow His fruit within us. More and more, our lives are saturated with His version of love rather than a mere human version.
That includes the other qualities of His fruit: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. His versions of those qualities fill our lives.
When a person’s life follows that path, he begins residing outside the need for law in his life. It’s not that he’s free to operate against the law. It’s that the law will never need invade his life.
A path to freedom from the accusatory law exists for any person. First, he recognizes he can never follow the law perfectly. Secondly, he turns to Jesus, who stands ready to pay the penalty for him. Thirdly, the Holy Spirit begins growing amazing qualities in his life, which turn him away from ever desiring to break the law again. That’s the path of the easy yoke which Jesus offers.