Articles
Walk the Walk
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Gal. 5:25)
“You can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?” Oddly enough, Paul is the one who coined that phrase. In chapter five of Galatians, Paul is addressing the Judaizing factions prominent in the churches of that area. Their insidious influence was tearing at the underbelly of the church. Paul challenges them and the brethren that remained faithful to align their pattern of life after the doctrine of Christ.
In this context we find two familiar sections: works of the flesh (vv. 19-21) and fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22f). The latter is an instruction manual on how to properly use the freedom granted by the Spirit (vv. 1, 13). These were the ones who had been distracted from the task at hand – holiness. The former is a characterization of those who merely “talk the talk.” These were the leaven that had leavened the whole lump. These were those false teachers who were “accursed” in 1:6-9.
So which are you? Do you merely talk the talk or do you walk the walk? Is your religion merely a façade to hide the works of the flesh that truly characterize your life? Do the words of Paul in verse 24 ring true for you? “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Can you say with Paul, “I die daily”? (1 Corinthians 15:31)
