I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Galatians 1-6

I have always struggled to encapsulate Paul’s teachings about living a righteous life, but not being bound by the law.  Today I finally saw the way to sum up Paul’s teaching on the subject.  We cannot find favor with God by following a set of rules.  Our reconciliation with God will not and cannot come from obedience to rules, because no set of rules can cover every possible contingency.  However, once we have been reconciled to God through accepting His gracious gift, we will desire to do what is right.  

In fact, once he has established that we cannot gain favor with God by our actions, Paul goes on to tell us to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives.  He contrasts doing what the Holy Spirit desires with doing what our sinful nature desires and writes that our freedom from the law should result in us allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our actions.  I am only going to point our a couple of the things Paul warns us are a result of following our sinful desires: lustful pleasures, hostility, outbursts of anger, envy, etc..  You should read his whole list for yourself and recognize that he states that it is not comprehensive.  I will however list the fruits which Paul tells us will appear in our lives if we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and act according to the desires which He gives us:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Especially note that last one.  With a little thought we can see that self-control provides the key to resisting the desires of our sinful nature.  Love informs us as to why we should not give in to sinful desires and self-control provides us with the means to do so.  The other fruits which Paul lists are corollaries of those two.