Galatians 5:14-15 Love Your Neighbor, For Hateful Actions Only Destroy

Galatians 5:14-15 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

Why should we use our freedom to love one another rather than for the purpose of gratifying the sinful desires of the flesh? Because this is the fulfillment of the Law. The Law can be summarized in one statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” How so? Aren’t we supposed to love God? Yes, this is the great and foremost commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). To love your neighbor you must love God. Paul is assuming that his audience is already seeking to love God completely, and so his encouragement is to love others.

The Galatians were so concerned with fulfilling the Law, and yet they were neglecting this, the most central tenet of the Law. If they really desired to keep the Law (and Paul is assuming that they do, since they so strongly desired to keep circumcision), then Paul is going to show them how to keep the Law. Rather then growing vicious toward one another as they had been, Paul is telling the Galatians to practice love. If they continued to “bite and devour one another,” treating one another with contempt and hatred (probably in speaking lowly of one another), they were bound to destroy one another rather than building one another up. If they were not careful, they were sure to destroy one another, and that is not a good show of Christian love, but of worldliness.

We face many of the same problems in the church today, brothers and sisters, and so need the same exhortation. So many times those in the church do not merely argue on matters of disagreement, seeking to build one another up in the truth, but rather they slander one another and say all kinds of hurtful accusations. They show little respect for one another and so resort to emotional arguments and defamatory speech. This happens far too often. There is only one solution to this, dear Christian: you must learn to “love your neighbor as yourself.” All destructive language comes forth out of a heart of hatred. The only way is to replace that hatred with the love of Christ; and that only comes from hearing, really hearing and digesting His Word (Romans 10:17). Only from a heart filled with such love will be able to love others rather than seeking to “bite and devour” and “consume” them.