Galatians 5:18

Galatians 5:18. But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under (the) law. Comp. Romans 8:14: ‘As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.' The Spirit ‘leads' and guides men as moral and responsible beings, but does not drive or force them; hence it is possible to resist and to quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19), to grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30), and even to blaspheme Him and thus to commit the unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:32). Paul's conversion was sudden and radical, out not forced; he might have ‘kicked against the goads' (Acts 26:14), although it was ‘hard' (not impossible) for Him to do so. ‘Ye are not under the law,' under the dominion of the law which threatens death and keeps the conscience in constant terror. The law is a restraint of the flesh; to be free from the flesh is to be free from the restraint and curse of the law. The Spirit leads us into the fulfilment of the law of love (Galatians 5:14), and the law ceases to be a yoke for trembling slaves, and becomes a rule for loving and grateful children and freemen. Luther: ‘So great is the power and dominion of the Spirit that the law cannot accuse the godly. For Christ is our righteousness whom we apprehend by faith. He is without sin, and therefore the law cannot accuse Him. As long as we cleave fast unto Him, we are led by the Spirit and are free from the law.'