Don't Allow Sin to be King

Romans 8:12 relates well with Galatians 5

The words in verse 12, "let not sin reign," are in a construction in the Greek which forbids the continuation of an action already going on. The word "reign" is in the Greek "reign as king." The tense speaks of habitual action. "That you should obey" is literally, "with a view to habitually obeying." The word "lusts" is literally "cravings." "Therefore" does not go back to "sin" but to "body." . . . "Lusts therefore" refers to the cravings of the human body, which cravings come from the sinful nature. The translation reads, "Therefore, stop allowing sin to reign habitually as king in your mortal bodies, with a view to your habitually obeying the cravings of that body." God is never unreasonable in His demands upon His own. What He asks of us is always within our ability to fulfill as we appropriate the divine resources of grace. Since the power to sin is broken and the divine nature is implanted, we are well able to keep sin from reigning in our bodies

(Treasures from the Greek New Testament, pp. 96-98).

Don't be Immature in Using Your Freedom

But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.

At Robertson word pictures: "turn not your liberty into an occasion for the flesh" (eiv apormhn thi sarki), as a spring board for license.

The Old Identity

Galatians 5:13
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

Sinful nature is how NLT describes the greek word sarkos.  KJV uses "works of the flesh", Barclay uses "the lower side of human nature", Amplified has "doings (practices) of the flesh", Phillips "activities of the lower nature", and Wuest "actions of the evil nature".

Understanding our Identity

Galatians 5:13

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

We are called.  Our calling is the new identity we have in Christ.  In this new identity as a child of God, as a born again person, as a new creation, freedom is a characteristic trait.  We have been given freedom.  In our immaturity we can use that freedom to satisfy our sinful natures or use it in a mature way to serve one another in love.


And Identity is what identifies us with something.  Our new nature in Christ should identify us with God.  We are learning to walk in His nature, we are becoming like Him.

Three Phases

Galatians 3: 1-5

Paul give focus to one of the key characteristics of the true gospel here in Galatians 3.  Salvation happens through the empowering of the Holy Spirit as well as continued growth happens in the same way.

In 1 and 2 Paul clarifies that we recieve the Spirit initially because of belief in the message of the gospel and then in 3 and 4 he reinforces that this is how we continue to operate and grow.  And in 5 he goes on to talk about the power of the Spirit in working miracles happens because of this same belief in the gospel of Christ.

Faith is never created from human works, but in belief in Christ.

Empowered Initially and Continually by the Spirit

Galatians 3:2   Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 

Paul has confronted Peter and the Judaizers about following another gospel.  Here Paul is giving a characteristic of a false gospel as compared to the true gospel.  He points out to them that truly following the gospel is being empowered by the Holy Spirit which was given to them because they believed the message of Christ.  Walking with God is a continuing to walk in belief which gives the Holy Spirit control in our lives.  

Paul is using questions here to break down the false message and point the people back to the core message of the gospel.  The core message is belief in the testimony of Christ which results in life (Spirit guided life).

Affirmation from the Pillars

Galatians 2:9  In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews.


Paul uses this affirmation to solidify his case for apostolic authority.  These three who were at the top of the ladder when it came to influence of the New Testament church gave Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship.  This signified that they agreed with Paul and his call and what he and Barnabas were doing.  This affirmation identifies Paul as a partner with the three.