Let us return to the second verse of the first chapter of Galatians in order to determine to whom Paul was writing. We discover that Paul was writing "unto the churches of Galatia."

Therefore Galatians 5:19-21 above is speaking of those who have received Christ.

Not only had the Galatians received Christ but they also had received the Holy Spirit.

This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Galatians 3:2)

Consider the implications of what Paul has stated here. "You have received salvation through Christ. You have received the Spirit of God. You are not to go back under the Law of Moses. I am travailing until Christ is formed in you so you will begin to experience and manifest the power and glory of the new covenant.

"However, let me exhort you along this line: You are to cease, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the practices of lust and violence that characterize the unsaved. You are to stop your adultery, your fornication, your worshiping of idols, your wrath. If you do not, you shall not inherit the Kingdom of God!"

It is clear from the writings of the New Testament that if we do not begin to show the righteousness of Christ in our daily behavior we are not being saved at all. We hold the ticket but we are refusing to get on the ship.

What does it mean to be saved through grace by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

It means to come to Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Then we are to keep coming boldly to the Throne of God so we may obtain the Divine power and wisdom we need in order to live as a Christian should.

If we do not put on the Lord Jesus Christ and then make no provision for our flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof, we are not a Christian at all. We are professing Christ but not possessing Christ. If the fruit of righteousness is not beginning to appear, if the new creature is not coming forth, salvation is not working in our life.

If someone says to a Gentile Christian, "You must keep the commandments of the Lord if you would enter the Kingdom of God," his answer will be, "I am not under the Law but under grace." What he means by this, although the statement is taken from the Scriptures, is unscriptural. He means that he does not have to live righteously in order to go to Heaven because God has forgiven his sins "by grace."

He ought to say, "I am not under the Law of Moses but under the law of the Spirit of God, and the righteousness of the Law of Moses is ascribed to me as I follow the Spirit." Then he would be scriptural (Romans 8:4).

The formation of the image of Christ in us requires time for its achievement. Each day we must press forward, through the Holy Spirit, into increased godliness of behavior.

We can know today if we are being saved. We are being saved if the Spirit of Christ is working in us and we are turning away from the world.

If the Spirit of Christ is not producing in us the aspects of the Kingdom of God, which are, righteousness, holiness, and obedience to the Father, we are not being saved at all. We have a head knowledge of Christ. We have assented mentally to the facts of the Christian salvation.

But we are not being saved!

Salvation is not belief. Salvation is transformation! (from A Study Guide for the Book of Galatians)