Galatians 5:15 Commentary and Bible Study

Paul seems to have heard reports of such things happening among them; the language would otherwise be too severe. In spite of their emphasis on the law they had signally failed to keep it and this is always the case where men try to keep God’s commandments under a system of works. What they seem to have been guilty of is quarrelsomeness, gossip, hostility and evil speaking about one another. This made them resemble wild animals more than Christians who are supposed to love one another, therefore Paul uses words that would normally be associated with nature, red in tooth and claw. At the fall, not only did sin change the nature of man and enter his heart, but God reflected these changes in the world around him. He made human sin to also affect the animal kingdom so that there is no part of creation that is free from the curse. He did this so that as man looks at the beasts, he sees a reflection of his own heart. He sees creatures that consume each other and tear each other to pieces with an instinctive savagery which knows no mercy. Man is given an insight into what he is capable of when sin controls his being. Certainly it is true that in the case of the animals, because they do not possess a moral nature or a conscience but blindly follow their instincts, there is no guilt involved in this behaviour. Man on the other hand is very different. He is made in the image of God and all that he does is done by the exercise of his will and in full awareness that he is observed by a holy God. There is kindness and protectiveness in the animal kingdom especially in parental care of young, but there is also extreme brutality even towards offspring in some species. These things are all done by instinct and without moral choices, but they are examples to man of behaviour that should make him recoil from showing the same cruelty himself. It is God’s mercy to us that we can learn these lessons by observing the animal kingdom without necessarily being involved in the evil ourselves. All this has happened because of human sin. It is then a shameful thing for the Galatians to descend to the level of the beasts whose behaviour is intended to make them fear the consequences of such things. The result, if they do not repent and turn from it, will be that they will destroy each other exactly as wild animals do, for the exercise of such savagery must result in harm. No one can play with cruelty and unkindness without it leading to the destruction of the whole community. Just as it is not possible for animals to attack each other and no harm to come from it, so when men and women attack each other with vicious words, they will tear apart the church of God. They will destroy all fellowship and create barriers which it is very hard to recover from. They will ruin any witness to those unbelievers who may be looking on and will rather teach that the Church of Christ is something to be avoided.