In Defense of the Holy Spirit
2 Peter 3:1-2
October 27, 2013

Over the course of the past few months
We have been talking about the Holy Spirit.

• We talked about who He is – namely God in us
• We talked about what He does
(Sanctifies, Equips, Seals, Guides, etc.)
• And we talked about how we are to respond to Him

Most recently learning that we are to
“Be filled with the Spirit” and we are to “walk by the Spirit.”

And I told you from the beginning that I really didn’t know how long this study would go, because I didn’t have a real good handle on where we would go from week to week.

And honestly I had thought about concluding with the last sermon
And moving on with our next study this morning.

However, I think we’ll go one more here this morning,
And it is in reference to the conference that Carrie and I just attended.

We spent last week in Sun Valley, CA (just outside of Los Angeles)
At Grace Community Church at a Truth Matters conference.

The theme of this conference was “Strange Fire”
(you can listen to it at gty.org)

And the root of this name comes from Leviticus 10

Leviticus 10:1-3 “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the LORD spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.”

Now we don’t know the specifics of what Nadab and Abihu did.
We know they offered “strange fire”,
Which could indicate fire from the wrong source.

But it wasn’t just the fire that was the issue,
It was that in their worship they failed to treat God as holy.

And not only did God consume them with fire, but adamantly stated,
“By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy”

Obviously this was a grievous offense.
God must be treated as holy.
And this isn’t an isolated incident.
Numbers 20:8-12 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.” So Moses took the rod from before the LORD, just as He had commanded him; and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

There again, what seemed like a small matter to us,
Was in fact a very serious matter to God.

Moses failed to treat God as holy
And he was denied access into the Promised Land.

• We could go to 1 Samuel 15 and see Saul disobey the Lord in regard to Agag and God departing from Saul from that day on.

• From there we could go to 1 Chronicles 13 and see David transporting the ark to Jerusalem. Now, they weren’t doing it as God had prescribed, for the priests were supposed to carry the ark, but David had it on a cart.

And when the oxen stumbled and the ark nearly fell, Uzza put out his hand to catch the ark, and the Lord struck Uzza dead.

You don’t mess with the holiness of God.

• We could move on to 2 Chronicles 26 and watch Uzziah try to enter the temple to burn incense to God even though that was only for the Levites, and God struck him with leprosy until the day of his death.

• We could even move to the New Testament to Acts 5 and see a man and woman named Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit about their offering, and we could watch God strike each of them dead.

And I think you get the point.
God is holy and He must be treated as holy.
Failure to do this is an offense to God and is dangerous for the offender.

We must worship God the way He commands to be worshiped.
• That includes a true understanding of who He is.
• That includes a true understanding of what He does.
• That includes a true submission to His required methods of worship.

And we know this.
If someone comes in and starts maligning the person of God we rise to defend Him.
If someone accuses God of being unjust or unloving or not real, we defend Him.

If someone comes in and maligns the person of Jesus we rise to defend Him.
If they say He isn’t God, or isn’t man, or wasn’t holy, we defend Him.

Well one of the points of this conference was
Why do we not do this for the Holy Spirit?

• If believers will rise to their feet to defend the person of God (and they do)
• And if believers will rise to defend the nature of Christ (and they do)
• Then why won’t believers rise and defend the person of the Holy Spirit?

We must defend the truth about the Holy Spirit.

Now we learned a lot at the conference (we’ll talk some later)
• Cessationsim
• Reformers view of charismatic doctrine
• Effect Charismatic doctrine has in Africa

But we can’t talk about this all right now.

But if I had to summarize the point of the conference
(and I only do this because it fits so exactly with what we have been talking about)

Here were the three main points of the conference.
1) THE SPIRIT IS BEING BLASPHEMED

And we say that because not only is He worshiped wrongly,
But He is accused of doing things that He does not do.

Matthew 12:31-32 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Jesus did true miracles and unbelievers attributed them to Satan.
Today people do false miracles and attribute them to the Spirit

• TONGUES TODAY IS NOT NEW TESTAMENT TONGUES
• PROPHECY TODAY IS NOT NEW TESTAMENT PROPHECY
• MIRACLES TODAY ARE NOT NEW TESTAMENT MIRACLES

And the burden does not fall on me
To prove what they are doing is not legitimate.
The burden falls on them
To prove what they are doing is Biblically legitimate.

What is done today is not the same.
Yet it is commonly attributed to the Holy Spirit.
It is false worship.

And yet it is staggering how unbiblical much of what goes on today
In the name of the Holy Spirit actually is.
• We have people “slain in the spirit”
• We have people “speaking gibberish”
• We have people “twitching and falling”
• We even saw a group doing “The Holy Spirit hokey pokey”

The Spirit is blasphemed

2) THE SCRIPTURE IS BEING IGNORED

This desire for new revelation, whether it be tongues or prophecy
Is really nothing more than a rejection of the true revelation,
Which is Scripture.

Has Scripture lost its sufficiency that we are in need of something new?
Certainly not!

Is Scripture no longer “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”?

When Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would “guide them into all the truth” (John 16:13) or that He would bring to their remembrance “all that I said” (John 14:26) was He lying?

Experience has become the new sovereign,
Scripture is pushed to the back with a token place at best.

That is a real tragedy because the gospel (not experience)
Is the real power of God for salvation.

The Spirit is blasphemed, The Scripture is ignored
3) THE SAINTS ARE BEING SILENT

We don’t speak out against it.
We hear of stories, we hear of experiences, and we just let it go.
We don’t challenge it, we don’t call it out, we don’t condemn it.

We just let it go because someone told us that
To oppose it is to oppose the very work of God.

NOT TRUE
That is not the Holy Spirit, we have seen what He does.
We know His fingerprints.

He convicts, He guides, He glorifies Jesus, He sanctifies, He equips,
He seals, He intercedes, He gives life.

The fall out is that our silence gives them a supposed acceptance
And this false gospel is literally being broadcast all over the world.

The Spirit is Blasphemed, The Scripture is Ignored, and The Saints are Silent
And this just cannot continue.
Now, I don’t want to keep going on this conference,
Because at the very heart of it, those men may in fact be speaking the truth,
But we don’t stand on the authority of those men.

We stand on the authority of Scripture, so this morning
I want us to see this very thing in the Scriptures.

Now, hang on to your seat for a second, because this is going to hit you a little funny this morning, but our text is the entire letter of 2 Peter.
(I know, you just looked at your watch and thought, “no way”)

But hey, it’s pastor appreciation Sunday, so you’re stuck!

But I want you to see the letter as a whole because I want you to realize
That Peter sounded this same alarm as the last thing he ever wrote.

This letter was written around AD 23 or 24.
Peter was martyred in AD 24

This letter was written at the end, and incidentally Peter knew it.

2 Peter 1:13-15
Do you hear Peter’s concern?
The things he is writing aren’t anything new, they are reminders.
And the purpose is not to enlighten you to new doctrine,
But rather to stir you up to remember the old doctrine.

And Peter does it because he knew the time of his departure had come.
He was about to die and his one concern was that
The next generation would not lose sight of the truth.

And incidentally the truth Peter wanted them to remember was simple.
It was that Christ, through His word,
Has given you everything you need to live the Godly life.

2 Peter 1:1-4

You don’t need a supposed secondary filling of the Holy Spirit.
You don’t need some new experience with the miraculous.

Peter wants you to know that you have everything you need.

And he builds on that by telling you to act on that truth.

2 Peter 1:5-8

And you see it don’t you.
THIS is what a Christian pursues.
We aren’t after experiences or mystic events.
We are pursuing practical godliness that is evident in our lives.
If you live like this, you are useful to the Lord.

And that is what Peter is stirring them up to remember.

And incidentally all of these truths and matters of guidance
Are preserved for us in the Scriptures.

2 Peter 1:19-21

Do you see Peter’s point here in this first chapter?

• I am about to die.
• I am writing because I want to leave on your mind what being a Christian is really all about.

• It’s not about seeking mystical experiences or secondary fillings.
• You already have everything you need to live a godly life.
• The Scriptures explain it all – they are sufficient.
• You just need to pay attention to the Scriptures.

NOW WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE PETER WAS CONCERNED?

2 Peter 2:1-3

There it is.
You need to get a handle, not only on the truth, but also the source of the truth, which is Scripture because the deceivers are on their way.

There are people coming who will lie to you and manipulate you
And tempt you and seduce you and lead you to destruction.

And don’t think God won’t destroy these people and their followers.

2 Peter 2:4-10
God knows how to punish the ungodly.

So you be godly, as the Scripture indicates.
Don’t get sucked away by these coming false prophets.

BUT WHO ARE THEY?
WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

Peter actually gives four criteria by which you can spot these people.

1) THEY REVILE THINGS THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND
2 Peter 2:10-13a

“revile” translates BLASPHEMEO
It means “to speak profanely or to rail at”
And because people see that they “revile angelic majesties”
Most assume that they speak bad about good angels.

Listen to me, if someone came in this church and started railing at Gabriel or Michael would you have any problem spotting them as false prophets?

He is talking about people who revile fallen angels.
HOW DO I KNOW?

Jude 8-10 “Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.”

They aren’t talking about reviling good angels,
They are talking about reviling fallen ones.
Even Michael wouldn’t do that, but these men will.

They are “Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.”

Even good angels don’t have the audacity to do what they do.

Ever seen it?
“We bind you Satan – we rebuke you Satan – we command you to leave Satan”

Peter says, “Watch out” they don’t have a clue what they are doing, it is all for show, they are not real.

(VERSE 12-13a)

And we see that sort of pompous junk all the time in this movement.
Peter was warning about them 1,990 years ago just before he died.

These false prophets revile the things they don’t understand.
2) THE REVEL IN THEIR WORLDLY EXCESSES
2 Peter 2:13b-16

“they count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime”

“revel” is a word that means “luxuriousness or daintiness”

In other words they put their luxurious lifestyles on display.

Jesus was poor
The apostles were poor
But not these people
And what is worse, you and I know where they got it.
They exploited the poor, promising them prosperity
For a seed faith gift of as much as they could give.

Is that not what Peter said earlier in the chapter?
2 Peter 2:3 “and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

That is what they do.
(VERSES 13b-14)

Don’t miss that Peter also uses words of sexual scandal,
And we’ve seen our share of those over the years as well.

And you get the picture of who these guys are.

In fact, Peter even gives you their mascot.
(VERSE 15-16)
• You remember that prophet for profit don’t you?
• Willing to haggle a price for what it would cost to curse Israel.

These men are no different.
They love their sin, they revel in it, they live luxurious lives
And have no problem putting it on display.

They aren’t new. (because Satan isn’t new)

Matthew 23:14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”

Peter compares them to Balaam and says it is “madness”

Do you see that these guys are coming?
• You had better cling to the more sure word of Scripture.
• You had better seek the godliness God requires, not the gold fortune they are offering.

Don’t get seduced by their reveling in their luxury.

Remember Asaph nearly did.
Psalms 73:3-9 “For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.”

But God straightened Asaph out didn’t He?

Psalms 73:16-20 “When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.”

I know they look prosperous, I know they are inviting,
But don’t step into their snare.

And that is the tragedy – MANY DO.

They Revile what they don’t understand
They Revel in their worldly excesses
3) THEY RECRUIT THOSE WHO LOVE SIN
2 Peter 2:17-19

You see it again, these men have no value at all.

People say you can’t mess with these guys, because they must be doing some good, I mean can their television ministry be all bad?

Well, is a spring without water of any use?
There is nothing of value.

So why do people follow them?
BECAUSE THEY ARE OFFERING WHAT PEOPLE WANT.

People want prosperity and that is what they are selling.
(VERSE 18)

They use their sensuality to entice people.
That, by the way, is why they revel in the daytime.

No, it doesn’t look good that they preach from crystal cathedrals.
That is a clear contradiction of Scripture.

However, it’s hard to seduce a man who wants to get rich
If you preach from a barn.

So they put their riches on their arm
Because it makes their prosperity message sell.

The guys are so dangerous.
That’s why Peter says you had better stick to the scripture,
And seek out godliness.

If you venture off that path these men are waiting to ensnare you.

They recruit those who love sin

4) THE RETURN TO SIN THEY CLAIM TO HAVE OVERCOME
2 Peter 2:20-22

Peter nailed them didn’t he?
• Scandal after scandal after scandal
• Financial scandal
• Sexual scandal

And they return to it because that’s who they are.
Washing a pig doesn’t mean they aren’t a pig any longer.

And you can take a servant of Satan and put him in a church,
But that doesn’t make him a servant of God.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

Peter wants you to know where these guys are headed.

AND THAT BRINGS HIM BACK TO HIS MAIN POINT.
2 PETER 3:1-2

Wake up, cling to the Scriptures, both the old and new testaments.

That is the problem.
• The Spirit is being blasphemed
• The Scriptures are being ignored
• And the Saints are sitting silent – or are sleeping

Someone has to wake up and expose these people.
Someone has to revive their concern for Scripture.
Someone has to promote true godliness.

Now if we stand to expose them does that mean they will stop? No

2 PETER 3:3-4

Mockers will mock, that is what they do.
The fight will come.
But listen, you have the truth on your side.

Don’t let them seduce you away from it.

Incidentally the truth they work against in chapter 3
Is that the judgment is a myth.

They say it won’t happen.
And if you are preaching a prosperity message and drinking up the world as fast you as you can, you had better hope it isn’t coming.

But we’ve heard that message too lately.

Half of these preachers aren’t sure if God will send people to hell or not.
Most are convinced everyone is getting in.

The judgment will come, they will be destroyed,
And sadly they will take others with them.

And obviously there is much more that could be said, but I’ll direct you to the close of the letter.

2 PETER 3:17-18

There is Peter’s closing plea.

It is a plea for you
• To know who they are
• To guard yourself
• To grow in the truth
• And in this way to glorify Jesus

See friends there is an entire movement that is pulling people away
By convincing them that the Holy Spirit is the One
Who authors all of these bizarre events.

• They convince people that He is the One behind their ecstatic utterances, their prophecies, and their miracles.

• And they convince people that He is the One who will make the rich, you know give them “Your Best Life Now”.

But that is blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
He didn’t come to do all that.

• He came to give you life
• He came to sanctify you
• He came to equip you to serve God
• He came to guide you
• He came to seal you
• He convicts of sin
• He guides us into truth
• He glorifies Jesus

And our command is to let Him fill us and to walk by His strength.

Not to get sucked away by the hucksters
And not to stand idly by while other people are led astray.

We have spent several months studying
Who the Holy Spirit is and what He does.

Now, if someone attacked the existence of God would we not rise to our feet and defend that there is a God and He is holy? That He is good and loving and gracious?

If someone attacked the deity of Jesus, would we not rise to our feet and defend that He most certainly is God? That He is the only Savior? That He is sufficient?

So why do we stand by and let people misrepresent the Holy Spirit
As someone that the Scripture never says He is?
We must defend Him as well.

We started this study saying that so many in the church
Are actually afraid of the Holy Spirit,
Namely because He has been so misrepresented.

People are afraid if they seek the Holy Spirit
Then the wildest and strangest behavior is going to happen.

They think what they see on television will happen to them.

That is not the Holy Spirit, and don’t let their blasphemy of Him
Cause you not to trust Him.

• You know who He is.
• You know what He does.
• Trust Him
• Worship Him
• Follow Him
• Defend Him

Because plenty of others are distorting Him.

John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

How to Walk by the Spirit
James 4:1-10
October 13, 2013

As you know we have been studying the Holy Spirit.
Who He is – What He does – What He expects

And most recently we have been talking about the command to
“walk by the Spirit”

We looked at Romans 8 and saw that
It is every believer’s obligation to “walk by the Spirit”

And then last week we studied Galatians 5 and saw that
Every believer is dependent to “walk by the Spirit”
Since in their flesh they have no ability to do what God requires.

And as we have studied this, it has been my desire to give you
A sort of practical, “How To” in regard to walking by the Spirit.

When we talked about being “filled with the Spirit” the practical “How To” was easy. Colossians said, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you”

But a practical “How To” passage in regard to walking by the Spirit
Is a little more difficult to come by.

And so I am going to tell you from the outset this morning that the passage we are studying in James is not a direct passage
Which explains practically how to walk by the Spirit.

In fact there is some disagreement among scholars as to
Whether or not James is even writing to believers here at all,
Or if in fact he is writing to imposters who are really lost and need to be saved.

SO WHY CHOOSE THIS PASSAGE?

Because walking by the Spirit is a matter of submission.
You are either obeying and trusting the flesh
Or you are obeying and trusting the Spirit.

And the path for a sinner to be saved and the path for a saint to be revived
Are in many ways the exact same path.

So whether James is here writing to believers, or if James is writing to those who only think they are believers, it really doesn’t matter to me.

What we find here is some of the most practical and clear instruction on how to quit living according to the flesh
And how to start living according to the Spirit.

Now just a little intro to the book of James
So we all know where he is coming from.

This James is not the brother of John, who was a disciple of Jesus.
That James was the first disciple to be killed.
His death is recorded in Acts 12:2

This James is the half-brother of Jesus.
(called a half-brother since Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father)

James was not a believer while Jesus lived.
John 7:5 “For not even His brothers were believing in Him.”

However, after Jesus rose from the dead
He appeared to James and James became a believer.

This reality then gave James a very unique perspective.
• James didn’t listen to Jesus teach for 3 years.
• James watched Jesus live for 33 years.

• James didn’t get a lesson in theology from Jesus.
• James got a front row seat to righteous living from Jesus.

James was there as kids when Joseph and Mary said to stop talking and go to sleep.

James was there as teenagers when all the other kids wanted to go behind the barn and smoke.

James saw how Jesus related to the kids who were picked on.
James saw how Jesus responded to every day dilemmas

James saw righteousness displayed daily.

And because of this James has absolutely no use for skin-deep religion.

He is not interested in your theological writings…
He could care less about you religious resume…
James is only concerned about practically living the life God intended.

And that makes his book a perfect place to turn when we are looking for
A practical lesson in how to walk by the Spirit and not the flesh.

And to do that this morning we are going to look at James 4.

3 main points
#1 THE FLESH’S DESIRE
James 4:1-3

And just by reading those four verses you understand why many commentators
Come to the conclusion that James is writing here to the unsaved.
They are filled with “quarrels and conflicts”,
They are full of “lust”.
They are “envious”,
They are murderers.

And even in verse 4 James calls them “adulteresses”
Who are enemies of God.

That certainly sounds like a lost man.

If you couple that with the fact that in verse 8 he calls them “sinners”
We seem to have them pegged.
We could certainly call them lost people.

However, if they are lost, they don’t know it.
Because these people are in the church.

They consider themselves to be believers.
They consider themselves to be the redeemed.

And so at the very least they are those
Who have made a profession to follow Christ.

Are they lost?
Are they saved?
I don’t know…

What I do know is that regardless of their spiritual standing
Before God it is obvious what direction they are walking.

These people are filled with the flesh.

All of those characteristics that James reveals about them, does that not sound just like those “deeds of the flesh” we read about last week?

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

And so we can make one confident assessment in regard to these people.
Saved or lost, they are obviously not walking by the Spirit.

There are three real giveaways here in this verse.
1) Who they Follow
2) How they Fight
3) What the Feed

1) WHO THEY FOLLOW (1)
“What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?”

So obviously these people are living lives of conflict.
There is not peace, or patience, or brotherly love.

They are exactly what Paul warned the Galatians about
In the text we read last week.

Galatians 5:15 “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”

That is who they are.
And James wants them to know why

“Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?”

In other words, “Isn’t the source of your fighting your flesh?”

And that makes sense to us,
Go work the nursery some time.

It’s not hard to figure out why the toddlers fight.
If Quincy and Tyler go after it in the nursery it won’t be over a theological issue.

It will be over one of them having what the other one wants.

The flesh isn’t hard to figure out.
And James says that is why you are fighting.

You are following the flesh.
• Every single little impulse that your flesh desires, you act on it.
• When everyone does that it’s only a matter of time until the fight breaks out.

They followed the flesh.

Who they follow
2) HOW THEY FIGHT (2)
“You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”

They are filled with all these lusts for things they don’t have.
And in order to get them, what do they do? They “commit murder”

There are things they want but can’t get, so what do they do? The “fight and quarrel”

And notice the whole time WHAT THEY DON’T DO.
“You do not have because you do not ask.”
It is the most basic and primitive response of the human flesh.
I mean it sounds like cave men.

You have rock – I want rock– I hit you in head with club – Now I have rock

That is about as basic and beastly as it gets
• Forget asking nicely
• Forget sharing
• Forget saying please

And in a spiritual sense, forget petitioning God in prayer for the situation.
THEY ARE FIGHTING TOTALLY IN THE FLESH

But Paul explained spiritual warfare.
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

But that isn’t these people.
These people are following the flesh and they are fighting with the flesh.
There is no hint of spiritual discipline in their life at all.

It’s all about what the flesh wants and they use only the flesh to get it.

WE’VE ALL SEEN THIS (even in church)
It’s not hard to recognize that this is not a person walking by the Spirit.

Who they follow How they fight
3) WHAT THEY FEED (3)
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

We saw that one coming didn’t we?

They don’t want things to be a better servant.
They want things to gain a better advantage.

We learned recently that we are to stop feeding the flesh.
Paul said, “Make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts”

But that is exactly what these people are doing.
They follow the flesh
The fight with the flesh
And they feed the flesh

And I think we can all confidently say that
This is not a person who is walking by the Spirit.

Agreed?
Now, you and I both know that this is not what God desires for us.
So let’s look at the next point

The Flesh’s Desire
#2 GOD’S DESIRE
James 4:4-6

And James wastes no time relaying the massive problem
With the type of selfish living explained in the first three verses.

(4) “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

James couldn’t possibly be clearer.
Can’t you see that this type of lifestyle is exactly contrary
To the life God has for you?

• You are seeking the world…
• You are craving the world…
• And that is contrary to the life God desires…

1 John 2:15-16 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

Living your life to gratify your flesh
Is not at all what God wants from you or for you.

And trying to accomplish all your desires
By the strength of your flesh is also contrary to God’s will.

SO WHAT IS GOD’S DESIRE?
(5) “Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
God puts in His children all that He hopes to receive from them.

• God doesn’t want you walking by the flesh…
• God doesn’t want you warring in the flesh…
• God doesn’t want you feeding the flesh…

HOW DO I KNOW THAT?
Because He gave us a different Spirit when He saved us.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
That was Paul’s whole point to the Galatians.

Don’t walk in the flesh.
Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

James just outlined the pathetic way that people in the flesh live
And clearly indicates God has no desire for you to live that way.

God wants you to exhibit “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”

And I know that because that is “the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”

• God didn’t put a selfish Spirit in you…
• God didn’t put a greedy Spirit in you…
• God didn’t put a carnal Spirit in you…
God put the Holy Spirit in you…

And incidentally the Spirit God put in you is greater than the flesh.

That is what James means in verse 6, “But He gives a greater grace.”

God can overcome your wicked flesh with His wonderful Spirit.
It is possible through His tremendous grace.

“Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

God opposes those who insist on walking in their own strength
And according to their own flesh.

But those who humble themselves and ask for His help, God is more than happy to extend to them the grace by which they can have victory.

And so the point thus far is simple.

There is a flesh – but don’t follow it.
God has given us His Spirit – walk according to His desire and strength.

So we could easily say at this point,
“Don’t walk by the flesh, walk by the Spirit”

But we have already said that a few hundred times
Over the last few weeks.
What we want to know is HOW to do that.
#3 YOUR DECISION
James 4:7-10

6 simple and basic commands.

And as I told you at the beginning I’m not concerned if we are talking to a phony believer who really needs to be saved or if we are talking to a fleshly believer who needs to repent.

The path is the same for each man.
Both need to kiss the flesh good-bye and choose the Spirit.

1) SUBMIT (7a)

“Submit therefore to God.”

The idea here is that you finally let go of control
And allow God to have full control of your life.

When I was a kid I used to watch professional wrestling. And there was one wrestler I just hated, his name was “The Nature Boy Rick Flair”.

(And if you know who that is, then shame on you, I was only a kid at the time and didn’t know any better)

But Rick Flair had a signature move called “The Figure Four”
It was some sort of way he twisted his legs up in yours and when he took you to the grown the pain appeared to be tremendous to such an extent that the other wrestler would submit.

He would give in.
He would quit fighting.
Rick Flair wins
Whatever he wants

And that is what James tells you to do with God.
There is a reason you are walking by the flesh and not by the Spirit,
And that is because you have thus far refused to submit to God.

2) RESIST (7b)

“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

“the devil” is a master deceiver and his main tool is temptation.
He constantly offers you the things the flesh desires.

Your command is to “resist” his bait.
Say no to his candy

Quit taking what he is offering.
And if you do “he will flee from you”
You are going to have to determine to say no to the temptation.

BUT THAT IS HARD…
3) DRAW NEAR TO GOD (8a)
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

When you are a teenager, people offer you all sorts of things.
Drugs, pornography, alcohol, etc.

And I had my fair share offered to me as a teenager as well.

But you know I don’t recall a single person ever offering me that
When my momma was with me.

One is because they didn’t want to mess with my momma.
Two is because they knew I didn’t want to mess with my momma and I was much more prone to resist if my momma was near.

And there you have it.
Are you having difficulty resisting temptation,
Then “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

I promise it’s not nearly as hard to say no to temptation
If you are walking hand in hand with Jesus.

This would be that being filled with the Spirit that we have talked about.

Submit Resist Draw near
4) CLEANSE (8b)
“Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

It’s called repentance.
It’s called confession.
It’s called turning and walking away.

And when he says to “purify your hearts, you double-minded”
He is referring to you setting it straight in your mind
Exactly how you are going to live.

That is the second time James used that word.
James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

That was a man who didn’t know what he wanted.
That was a man who didn’t know what he believed.

And that is no way to repent.
Look, you have to decide either sin is ok or it isn’t.
Either you are ok being a sinner or you aren’t.

You can’t leave drunkenness, but keep adultery.
You can’t leave adultery, but keep gossip.

It’s time to make a conscious decision in your heart.
Are you ready to leave sin or not?

Yes?
Then “cleanse your hands” and don’t vacillate as you do it.

Joshua said:
Joshua 24:14-15 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Elijah said:
1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”

And that is what James is saying.
For crying out loud either leave sin or don’t, but don’t play around.

If you are serious about living according to the Spirit God has placed in you, then make a full blown 100% decision
To leave sin in your life.

“Cleanse your hands”

5) MOURN (9)
“Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.”

Obviously this is not a command forbidding the Christian virtue of joy.

What this is, is a command telling a person in sin
To quit rejoicing in their iniquity.

It’s time to see your sin for what it really is and start hating it.
It’s time to see that your life is not where it should be and grieve over that fact.

Perhaps the main reason people continue to walk in the flesh
And fail to walk by the Spirit is because
Instead of hating their sin, they love it.

It goes back to that reality we mentioned a few weeks ago.
People try to resist the flesh without killing it.

You can’t.
You have to make a foundational choice.

Is your sin you friend or your foe?
Do you hate it or not?

James says that if you are going to walk by God’s Spirit you must.

6) HUMBLE YOURSELF (10)

“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Of course submission is included here, but it is more than that.

It is to quit relying on your own strength and start relying on His.
It is to come to Him for help
And not to try to arrogantly do it on your own.

We’ve talked about it quite a bit lately,
But in your flesh you have no ability,
And to fight the battle in the flesh is certain failure.

• It’s time to approach God
• It’s time to bow to Him
• It’s time to submit to His plan
• It’s time to quit listening to the enemy who tells you your flesh is enough
• It’s time to quit holding on to the sin that is killing you

If you want to sum it all up – Die to self!

Beyond that, do you recognize how closely this list resembles the list Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount?

Matthew 5:3-8 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Those are the same attitudes James mentions.

DO YOU KNOW WHY?
Because those were the attitudes that he saw in Jesus
Every day of Jesus life.

He knows that is the path to walk.

So let’s get practical for a moment.

You understand the command to be filled with the Spirit.
And you understand how to do that:
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.
(In short, fill up with what you want to be full of)

You also understand the command to walk by the Spirit.
And now you understand how to do that:

Quit trusting in your own strength and trying to be your own boss:
• Submit to God
• Resist the devil
• Draw near to God
• Cleanse your hands
• Mourn over your sin
• Humble yourself before God

That is how you do it.

And frankly, as we said before, I don’t care if you are a false believer
Who needs for the first time to get real with God,
Or if you are a genuine believer who has fallen out of fellowship –
The path to renewal is the same.

SO:
We know we are obligated to walk by the Spirit
We know that we are dependent on the Spirit to walk righteous at all
And now we know how

Humble yourself, hate your sin, and submit to God

And here is the promise:
“and He will exalt you.”

He will lift you up
He will cause you to live according to His will

It’s really not hard to understand, it’s your decision.

Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Walking by the Spirit
Galatians 5:13-25
October 6, 2013

As you know we are studying the Holy Spirit.
Who He is, What He does, and most recently, How we are to respond to Him.

And in that study we have thus far seen two basic commands.
1) “Be filled with the Spirit”

And we understand that to mean that
We must allow the Holy Spirit to have more of us.

We must let the word of Christ dwell within us richly
And the effect of that will be our encouragement to others,
Our praise of Jesus, and our gratitude toward God.

2) “Walk by the Spirit”

And we began examining this command a couple of weeks ago
As we studied Romans 8.

Thus far we have simply noted that we are obligated to do this.

Because we are free from condemnation and because we are being freed from corruption through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Then we are obligated to walk by the Spirit.

And we have discussed to some degree what that means.

In our human body, if we are to walk it requires a couple of things.
1) Our brain must send the instruction
2) Our muscles must provide the strength

When we are filled with the Spirit – we are letting Christ’s word dwell within us, and thus we are receiving the instruction.

When we walk by the Spirit – we are depending upon the Spirit’s power to give us the ability to carry out the command.

We are learning that apart from Him
We cannot fulfill the life that God desires.

We need to “walk by the Spirit”

And that means that not only do we need to do what He says,
But use His strength to do it.

This morning we]re going to look at a practical example of doing that.

We are going to look at a command in Scripture and see how the only possible way to obey it is through the power that the Holy Spirit provides.

So let’s look at our text this morning.
We find ourselves again in the book of Galatians.

This verse is actually where we started in this study a little over 5 months ago.

Hopefully you will remember that the Galatians were struggling
With what we called “Post Legalism”

• Legalism would be trying to do enough good works in the flesh to earn your entrance into heaven.

• Post Legalism would be trusting Christ for salvation but then trying to finish the work through your own efforts.

That was the Galatians.

They had trusted Christ, they had been justified through His atoning death on the cross, but now they were confused.

The Judaizers had come in and were telling the Galatians that in order to be pleasing to God they must be circumcised.

That was a dangerous message promoting human effort
And nullifying the work of Christ.

Paul was livid and out of that anger he penned the letter to the Galatians.

Now he spent 4 ½ chapters outlining in great detail
The problem with Gentile circumcision and
The purpose of the Law and the dangers of legalism.

And the final point Paul made was that the Galatians no longer had to be put under the Law for Christ had set them free.

Galatians 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

Thanks to the work of Christ the Galatians were free from works,
Free from legalism, free from earning salvation through the Law.

Christ had already done it all.
Christ had accomplished it all.

The Galatians were free.
• They didn’t have to be circumcised…
• They didn’t have to honor dietary restrictions…
• They were not under all the rules and ordinances of the Law…

And freedom is a wonderful message.
Everyone loves the concept of freedom.

However, no sooner does Paul introduces freedom to the Gentiles
Than does he instantly give them a warning as to its danger.

(5:13) “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Paul knew that freedom was wonderful, but freedom does have a flaw.
(A flaw we see in our world today)

And this is the flaw:
It has always been the inclination of sinful man
To try and use freedom as a justification of evil.

For example in our day:
• Homosexuality is freedom of an alternative lifestyle…
• Abortion is freedom of choice…
• Idolatry is freedom of religion…
• Blasphemy is freedom of speech…

However man was granted freedom through the work of Christ, but man is not afforded the luxury of being free to rebel against God.

And Paul is about to warn the Galatians that
This is not at all what God had in mind when He made us free.

Paul states is clearly when he says, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn you freedom into an opportunity for the flesh…”

Don’t try to make your freedom from the Law into a license to be lawless.
Don’t use your freedom selfishly.

“but through love serve one another.”

It is the opposite of selfishness.
Self-Sacrificing-Service

Paul is actually asking you to lay your freedom down
For the sake of your brother.

(14) “For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

Notice that Paul has told them they are free from the Law,
But all of a sudden he is asking them to fulfill it.
Here is the reality.
• The righteous requirement of the Law has never left.
• It is God’s Law, it is God’s righteousness, and it is always required.

The Christian, however, is free from working to earn that righteousness.
WHY?

It’s what we learned the last two weeks.
Romans 8:3-4 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

A Christian is not free from meeting the righteous requirement of the Law,
He is free from having to work to do it.

A Christian still meets that requirement, but he does so through the atonement of Christ and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

But the requirement of the Law is still very much in effect.

That is what Jesus meant when He said:
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

Jesus didn’t come to get rid of the Law, or lower the standard.
He came to make a way for you to fulfill it.

And that means that the love the Law requires
Is still required of us today.

And that is Paul’s point.
The Galatians, even though saved through Christ, still had to honor the command in the Law to love one another.

They could not use the name of “freedom” to allow them to be selfish
And forget about their brothers.

(15) “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”

If you use freedom as a right to do whatever you want whenever you want,
This whole thing will implode.

Instead, you must understand your freedom in Christ,
And then lay it aside and willingly become your brother’s servant.

You are free, now become your brother’s slave.
And incidentally this is not a foreign thought.
Ephesians 5:18-20 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;”

Do you know what the very next verse is?

Ephesians 5:21 “and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”

Being spirit-filled produces this type of submissive attitude
Paul is referring to here with the Galatians.

So you are free, now give it up and serve your brother.

And if you want some specifics in this regard, look down to verse 26.
(26) “Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”

Paul was calling for them to quit trying
To establish some sort of ranking order.
Quit trying to belittle your brother to elevate yourself.

Instead, serve your brother.
(6:1-6) “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load. The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.”

And we can’t get into great detail here, but the truths are tremendous.

So you have a brother who has stumbled in sin.
• Don’t use that as a chance to leap frog him in the order.
• Don’t beat him down to puff yourself up.

Instead “restore” him.
And then, when you pick him up; HOLD HIM UP
“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfil the law of Christ.”

Let go of your rights and freedoms and serve your brother.

(7-9) “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

And you can hear Paul’s point.
By ignoring your brother you may look better in the world’s eyes,
But not in God’s.

And then Paul closes the whole theme that he started back in chapter 5 here in verse 10 by saying: “So then, while we have opportunity let us do good to all people, and especially those who are of the household of the faith.”

So Paul’s command is unmistakable.

You are free
• Now give that freedom up and become a slave to your brother.
• Live for what is best for him, not what is best for you.

You are free to love
You are free to serve
You are free to bear one another’s burdens

Now, let that just soak in a minute.
It sounds great doesn’t it?

In fact we read a passage like that an immediately look at our neighbor and say, “Hey, you should do that!”

But trying to work it out in our own life is much more difficult.

I am convinced that there is nothing harder to do in this life
Than love people like God says to love them.

When God talks about love
• He isn’t talking about sentimentality
• He isn’t talking about fondness
• He isn’t talking about attraction

When God talks about love He is talking about sacrifice.

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

1 John 3:16 “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

God’s love always denotes the sacrifice of self for the good of another.

And let’s be honest, that is extremely difficult.
It’s difficult because when we are honest, we love ourselves.

Our flesh is built with a natural “self-preservation” setting.

And willfully choosing to suffer so that someone else can rejoice
Is a hard thing to do.

In fact, I’ll go one further and say that it is impossible.
(on your own)

And that is why Paul gives us this middle section of Scripture here.
In between the commands to love our brother
Paul gives us a truth that sits at the center of it all.

In verses 16-25 Paul gives us the explanation as to how
To live and walk in the love and service that Christ demands.

(And incidentally these verses are the explanation
As to how to fulfill all that Christ desires from you)

And do you want to know how you are supposed to be able to sacrificially love your brother and serve him?

ANSWER:
(16) “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Now in this case the desire of the flesh would be the selfishness
That Paul has just referred to.

The secret to not doing that is to let the Spirit produce in you
What you cannot otherwise produce.
You are going to have let the Spirit do His work.

And this morning I want to show you why.

I want to show you why are not only obligated to do it,
But why you need to do it.

And Paul gives the Galatians three reasons here.
#1 THERE IS A FIGHT THAT ONLY HE CAN WIN
Galatians 5:17-18

In verse 16 Paul told us that if you don’t want to carry out the desire of your flesh, the only way is to walk by the Spirit.

If you try to battle it on your own, you will fail miserably.

And we saw that last week didn’t we?
Romans 7:18-19 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”

You can’t pull this off in your own flesh.
There is nothing good in your flesh.

To put it plainly, that it is a fight you can’t win.

However, it is a fight that the Holy Spirit can.

First Paul reminds of the battle:
(17) “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”

That’s another way of saying the same thing he said back in Romans 7.

There is a battle inside me.
My flesh vs The Spirit – and the NEVER agree.

Now, that is a good thing.
For apart from the Holy Spirit you can’t oppose the flesh at all.

This is really one of the biggest deceptions of lost sinners in the world.
They think they are free because they have rejected the Law of God.

But that is not true.
They are in fact slaves to their sinful nature.

Jesus said:
John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”

Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”

They think they are free because they are doing what they want.
No, they are in reality doing what the flesh wants
And they can’t stop if they try.

Even those who seem to put their lives together never escape their slavery.
Matthew 12:43-45 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Even if they seem to clean up their life, don’t assume they are free.
They are owned by the enemy and slaves to their master.

And perhaps you remember what it was like to be there.

You could try all you wanted, but there was no way to win.

Well that is why we love the Holy Spirit.
• He can actually oppose the flesh.
• He can actually defeat sin.

In fact Paul goes on to say:
(18) “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”

That is another way of saying that if the Spirit is leading you,
Then you aren’t doing anything that the Law condemns.

So on your own, you cannot win the fight, you will fail every time,
But if you walk according to His strength, you can.

There is a fight that only He can win.
#2 THERE IS FRUIT THAT ONLY HE CAN PRODUCE
Galatians 5:19-23

And this is of course one of the most popular passages in Scripture.

Please notice that neither of this lists is comprehensive.
• Paul ends the list regarding the flesh by saying “and things like these”
• And Paul ends the list regarding the Spirit by saying “against such things”

And the main point is that they are contrasts.
The flesh produces one type of fruit.
The Spirit produces another.

And again here is the point.
If you do not have the Holy Spirit then
You can only draw from one list, and that is the flesh.

For the second list are fruit that only the Holy Spirit can produce.

(19-21) “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Now let me first of all point out to you that all of these “deeds”
Run contrary to the love that Paul has just required from the Galatians.
And there is a time to go through each of these individually and spell out what they are, but this morning I simply want you to get the general idea.

There are SEXUAL SINS
“immorality, impurity, sensuality”

There are SPIRITUAL SINS
“idolatry, sorcery”

And the biggest list is SOCIAL SINS
“enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these”

And the reality of those sins has always been clear.
“those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

We just learned last week that if you walk in the flesh you must die.
You are still under the law of sin and of death and that is what is coming.

If your life is characterized by the flesh then you are in trouble.
But listen to me.
That list is all that a natural man can produce.

A natural man does not have within him
The capacity to produce anything more.

We saw it last seek:
Romans 8:6-8 “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Those who walk by the flesh cannot produce Godly fruit.

And that means that the command Paul gave earlier to “through love serve one another” is not even possible by human means.

You do not have the ability in your flesh to love like God requires.
There is a fight you cannot win and there is fruit you cannot produce.

But the Holy Spirit can.
(22-23) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Here is the Spirit’s fruit, and notice that “love” is first on the list.

The love that Paul just commanded
Can only be produced by the Holy Spirit.

And that is also true of these other attributes:

“Joy” – the world has momentary happiness, the Holy Spirit can produce joy even in adversity.

“peace” – which is of course peace with God. The world uses all sorts of gimmicks to try and calm their anxiety, peace only comes through the Holy Spirit.

“patience” – also called long-suffering. That is a virtue that only the Spirit can produce in you.

“kindness” – the world is good at manipulation. Car salesmen are nice when they want to sell you something, but genuine kindness is from God.

“goodness” – it carries the idea of moral integrity and godly living.

“faithfulness” – only comes from the Spirit because only He can produce long-suffering. Only He can cause you to cling to God through adversity.

“gentleness” – also called meekness. It is submission and only He produces it.

“self-control” – perhaps the most telling. He can actually set you free from the flesh and grant you the ability to say “no”.

But the point to this list is that only the Holy Spirit can produce them.

And “against such things there is no law.”

You say, “Can I walk on the grass?”
I say, “There’s no law against it.”
You say, “Can I love people or be joyful or have patience?”
I say, “There’s no law against it”

See there is a specific lifestyle that God expects of all humanity,
But it cannot be produced in your flesh.
It can only be produced by the Holy Spirit.

There is a fight only He can win There is fruit only He can produce
#3 THERE IS FREEDOM ONLY HE CAN SUSTAIN
Galatians 5:24

Please notice the tense.
“Those who belong to Christ HAVE crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Now that is a little different than what we talked about earlier.

Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”
EXPLANATION: On man kills a snake, but it continues to move…
“It’s dead, but it doesn’t know it”

If you have the Holy Spirit, that is you.

Your flesh has been crucified with Christ.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Your flesh is dead and powerless to control you.
However, like that snake it still thinks it’s alive
And it still thinks it has control.

Sadly, sometimes we still think it has control too.
And to that Paul said, “then kill it”

It’s already been defeated, but if you need to kill it again then do it.

And that is the victory that the Holy Spirit has given.
• He fought a battle we couldn’t win
• He produces fruit that we can’t produce
• And He gives us freedom we didn’t even know we had.

That freedom is the freedom not to do what the flesh desires.
Apart from the Holy Spirit we cannot, but with Him we have victory.

And then comes one more appeal from Paul.
(25) “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit”

• If He is the One who gives life to our mortal bodies…
• If He is the One who fights a battle we can’t win…
• If He is the One who produces fruit we can’t produce…
• If He is the One who grants freedom we can’t sustain…

Then not only are we OBLIGATED, we are DEPENDENT.

You must quit trying to win the battle by your own efforts
And start letting the Holy Spirit produce His fruit in you.

You can’t love like Paul requires, but He can.
And if you are filled with the Holy Spirit
And walk according to His strength then you can to.

We must walk by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Walk by the Spirit (Part 2)
Romans 8:1-13 (10-13)
September 29, 2013

As you know we are studying the person, purpose,
And expectations of the Holy Spirit.

We have seen who He is.
We have seen what He does.

And CURRENTLY we are studying those passages
That reveal the expectations as to how we are to respond to Him.

Recently we spent a few weeks dealing with the command
“Be filled with the Spirit”.

• And we understand that primarily to mean that we are to allow the Holy
Spirit to have all of us.

• We do this when we study the Scripture (which He inspired) and allow those
truths to abundantly dwell within is.

• In order to do this we must kill of the flesh by starving it, because the flesh
wars against the Spirit in our lives.

So our desire is to kill the flesh and “be filled with the Spirit”

LAST WEEK we moved on to begin looking at another command
That deals with our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

WALK BY THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

Another way this same reality is stated is to “live according to the Spirit”

On one hand it refers to a believer who will do what the Spirit says.
It is a believer who reads the Scriptures,
Understands them to be the words of God, and then obeys them.

They live their life according to the instruction of the Holy Spirit.
They walk according to the directions that the Holy Spirit has given.

But there is another reality in this as well, and that is that not only do believers live according to the Spirit’s guidance, but that believers also live by the Spirit’s ability.

In an illustrative sense it would be like this.

You have a physical body.
In order for that body to walk, many things must take place.
1) Your brain sends the signal to the direct your body to move.
(That would be like the Spirit telling us where and how to go)

2) Your muscles must contract giving your body the power to move.
(That is also done by the Spirit)

And this is important to understand.

A person who knows the will of the Spirit,
But who tries to carry out that will apart from the power of the Spirit will only find a life of failure and frustration.

So when we not only walk in obedience to the Spirit’s instruction, but we must also walk according to the Spirit’s power.

And those are the two realities we have been dealing with.

1) We are filled with the Spirit (let the word of Christ richly dwell within you) – getting the instruction.

2) We walk by the Spirit – letting His power accomplish in us what we cannot do on our own.

Now we began talking about this reality last week.

You need to understand that all believers do in fact walk by the Spirit.

That is because all true believers in Christ
Have come to the understanding that
They cannot save themselves by their own efforts.

They have embraced Ephesians 2:8
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

All true believers have to be there.

Otherwise you are still depending on your own works to save you and that is not walking in the Spirit’s power, that is walking in the flesh.

And we learned where walking in the flesh will get you.
Romans 8:5-8 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

In the flesh you operate by your own logic through your own strength,
And you fail every time.

But that is not us.
All true believers do walk by the Spirit.

But what we are talking about is not just the reality that we do walk by the Spirit, but the obligation that we must walk by the Spirit.

On one hand, it is who we are.
On the other hand, it is what we must do.

It is that unique tension that exists in many areas of Christianity.

Thanks to Christ the Christian is righteous.
And yet the Christian is commanded to be righteous.

Thanks to Christ the Christian is pleasing to God.
And yet we are called to live a life that pleases God.

Thanks to Christ the Christian bears fruit.
And yet we are commanded to bear fruit for God.

And it is the same way with walking by the Spirit.

The Christian does walk by the Spirit
And yet he is also commanded to walk by the Spirit.

In fact, as we are studying, he is obligated to do that.
Romans 8:12-13 “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Walking by the Spirit is not an optional reality for a believer.
It is who he is, and it is what he must do.
He is obligated to do it.

And last week we started examining why.

And the first reason why he is obligated is this:
#1 WE ARE DELIVERED FROM CONDEMNATION
Romans 8:1-9

Verse 1 says a believer now has no condemnation before God.
God is not angry, there is no punishment coming.
All of God’s wrath toward you was satisfied on Christ.

And that is what Paul said in verses 2&3

We once were under the system of sin and of death.
(If you sin, you die)

But the Spirit set us free from that
By making us righteous and thus giving us life.
This happened because Christ came in the likeness of man
And took our punishment and killed our enemy.

And the reality which we saw was this:
Romans 8:4 “so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

What Christ did was to make us practically righteous.

He didn’t take our sin and take our condemnation and give us His Spirit
And make us righteous so we could continue wallowing in the mud.

He did all those things so that we could live righteous.
And because of that we are obligated to live righteous.

If He set us free from sin, death, wrath, and condemnation, don’t we then owe it to Him to live as He intended?

It’s like a POW
You break behind enemy lines, you take out the guards, you open the jail cell…
After you do all that, don’t you expect the prisoner to at least leave the cell?

We owe it to Christ to live the righteous life
That can only be done through His Spirit.

Now this morning we are going to examine the second reason
We are obligated to walk by the Spirit.

#2 WE ARE BEING DELIVERED FROM CORRUPTION
Romans 8:10-13

Now before we get into these verses
I want us to take a little “flash back” first.

And for the flash back I want you to look back at Romans 7

Many of you are already familiar with this passage
Because so many of us have felt Paul’s pain
And lamented with him in these verses.

Paul has been talking about how the Law revealed his sin,
And ultimately condemned him.

And the point of Paul’s argument here is to point out
That his problem is not the Law.
(Many people blame the law for their failures)

Paul’s problem isn’t the Law, it is the flesh.

Notice what he says:
(7:14-16) – THERE IS A BATTLE WITHIN ME

We know there is a battle because Paul adamantly states that
He is not doing what he would like.

There is an obvious standard that he would “like” to achieve,
However he instead too often ends up dong the thing he “hates”

There is a battle being waged within him.

But that’s not all
(7:17-20) – I AM LOSING AND SIN IS WINNING

So many people today blame their failures on someone else.
We either have bad parents or bad leaders or bad circumstances

Paul says that his problem is his own sinful flesh

When you read those verses you can sympathize with Paul in his struggle

It is the heart of a person who loves God and loves God’s Law,
But despite their desires still seems to fall in defeat.

Been there?
We have all felt the remorse of stumbling in sin.

Now this battle brings Paul to draw a very astute conclusion.
(7:21-23) – I CAN’T WIN THE BATTLE

He fought the flesh, he fought sin,
But he lost and he ended up a prisoner of war.

And many understand this as well.
They fight and they strive and they still fail.

And more than one person has bowed their head in defeat and said, “I just can’t help it.”

Now here is where Paul takes the very important next step.
(7:24-25) – PAUL ASKS FOR HELP IN THE BATTLE

Remember, I told you that one of the punishments for murderer’s in Paul’s day was to strap the corpse of the person they murdered on their back until the decay literally seeped into the body of the murderer and the infection killed them…

Paul said that is how he feels.
He feels like he has a dead man strapped to his back.

And he wants to know who will help him.

Pay special attention to his answer:
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”

Now you recognize that Paul is thanking God
For what He did through Jesus.

And if you’ll remember what we studied last week,
You’ll remember exactly what God did through Jesus.

Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

Now also pay attention to what Paul said back in 7:25.

In his mind he served “the law of God”,
But with his flesh he served “the law of sin.”

Did we not talk about the “law of sin” last week?
It was that system that we were all under.

And Paul here recognizes that he was struggling with it.
He said in verse 23 that he was a “prisoner of the law of sin”
And then in verse 25 that he was “serving” the law of sin in his flesh.

So long as Paul fought this battle in his own strength, he lost every time.
So long as Paul walked in the flesh he was constantly defeated.

He could want, and he could cry, and he could push, but he could not win.

It did not matter how badly he wanted to win, he could not do it.
He remained a prisoner.

However, Christ came and set us free from the law of sin remember?

He did that so that we could be righteous.

And now we walk by the Spirit (and in the Spirit’s power)
And we fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law.

That means walking by the Spirit can allow us to accomplish
What walking in the flesh never could.
Walking in the Spirit frees us so that we can be righteous,
And that brings me back to the reality that Paul is showing us
Here in 8:10.

Notice what Paul says:
(10) “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”

NOW THIS IS JUST A PRESENT CHRISTIAN REALITY.

Don’t miss the condition – “If Christ is in you…”
None of this applies if the Holy Spirit does not dwell in you.

But if He does, your “body” may still be “dead”,
But your “spirit” is now “alive”.

Paul is speaking of our current situation.
• We now have the living Spirit of God within us.
• We are now spiritually alive thanks to the Holy Spirit.
• But we do still live in the old flesh.

When you got saved you didn’t get a new body, you got a new heart.

And you are all with me to this point.

You say, “That’s just the problem. I’m like Paul in Romans 7 and my new heart is frustrated by my old body.”

The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak
And even though I am now saved, I still don’t do what I wish I did.

But listen Paul is telling you that it doesn’t have to be this way.

(11) “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

This verse is so important.

First let me remind you exactly who is in you.
“the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead”
• Jesus took our sin
• Jesus took our punishment
• Jesus died

Now I don’t know a lot about medicine or medical treatment,
But I have learned that when death sets in, doctors quit.

• I’ve heard of doctors treating cancerous tumors…
• I’ve heard of doctors opening a skull and operating on a brain…
• I’ve heard of doctors taking a heart out of one body and putting it into another…
• I’ve heard of doctors making prosthetic arms and legs to replace lost ones…
Doctors will attempt just about anything in regard to the human body,
But one thing they all have in common, is they quit when death occurs.
Death is too powerful.

But we are here talking about the Spirit who conquers death.
We are talking about the Great Physician who raised Jesus from the dead.

That is power like you and I cannot fathom.

And listen, that is the same Spirit who dwells in you.

The same Spirit who called Jesus up from the tomb,
Now dwells in you.

And here is what Paul says He will do in you.
“He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Now we are all aware of the resurrection.
We all know that when we die (and this body must die) that we will be raised
again in an imperishable body.

And in one sense Paul is saying that it doesn’t end in death for a believer.

BUT THAT IS NOT ALL THAT PAUL IS SAYING HERE.
We don’t get life once the body dies.
We have life now, even though the body is dying.

Remember what Jesus told Martha?
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

And here is the point.
God has already put in you all the power you need
To live the righteous life you desire.

God, through His life giving Spirit, will give life “to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

He will give you the ability to escape corruption.
Not physical corruption, but spiritual corruption

This is Paul’s point.
• I once was a man frustrated with my inability to do what I desired.
• I was a broken man continually losing the battle against sin.
• But finally I begged for help and was set free from the law of sin and of death,
• And when I started walking by His Spirit instead of in my own strength, I found freedom from condemnation, and freedom from corruption.
His Point?
WE DON’T HAVE TO SIN ANY LONGER

Now, if you fight this battle in your own strength
And by your own ability, you will never win it.

But if you walk according to the Holy Spirit and in His power
You find the ability to overcome.

We already have everything we need to live a holy life.

Listen to what Peter said:
2 Peter 1:2-3 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

We have everything we need for life and godliness through Christ.

THAT IS WHAT PAUL IS SAYING.
We have been delivered from condemnation
We are being delivered from corruption

And if you find yourself still overcome by specific sins
And unable to defeat them
Perhaps it is because you are fighting them in your own strength.

When you walk according to the flesh you are destined to lose.

Paul said:
Romans 7:18 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.”

You don’t have the ability in your flesh to win,
So walk according to the Spirit.
Trust in His ability.
Follow His leadership.
Be filled with His will.

That’s why Paul could tell the Galatians:
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

If you think this battle can’t be won,
Then you haven’t realized exactly who is in you.

He can free you from corruption.

If you need proof, just look at how far you’ve come.
Are you the same person you were when you were saved?
Of course not He has been changing you.
No sin so far has proven beyond His ability,

And neither is the one you struggle with now.

But you’ve got to quit fighting it in your own strength
And start submitting to Him.

BUT YOU SEE HERE THE THINGS HE HAS DONE.
He has delivered us from condemnation
He is delivering us from corruption

AND THIS BRINGS US TO THE OBLIGATION PART.

(12-13) “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

• Because of what God has done.
• Because of what Christ has done.
• Because of what the Spirit is doing.

We have an obligation.
“NOT TO THE FLESH”

You’ve spent enough time walking by the flesh
And doing what the flesh desires.

If you are still walking by the flesh “you must die”
Because you are still under the law of sin and of death.

Walking by the flesh will never gain you victory.

“but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

You must – I must – walk by the Spirit.
This isn’t an option.

We must see that in our own strength we cannot win the battle,
But through the Spirit who dwells in us,
Not only do we escape condemnation, but we can escape corruption.

And because we can, we are obligated to.

Now this morning you will notice that
We are once again partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
And certainly all that we’ve seen the last two weeks about us
Being rescued from the law of sin and of death through the sacrifice of Jesus
Is enough to move us to gratitude to partake of the table.

But I want you to know that this idea of obligation
Is also linked to the Lord’s Supper.

We are familiar with the passage in 1 Corinthians 11
Where Paul tells us to examine ourselves and partake of the table of the Lord in a worthy manner.

But 1 Corinthians 11 isn’t the only place
Where Paul mentions the Lord’s Supper in that letter.

He first mentions it in 1 Corinthians 5.

Now you will remember that chapter because it is the chapter
Which speaks of the man who is sleeping with his father’s wife.
And that isn’t really even the main problem.

The main problem is that the Corinthians had grown complacent with it.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.”

See the Corinthians had adopted this “sin is inevitable” mentality.
They had grown to accept their immoralities.

Paul was livid.
And he commanded the Corinthians to pass judgment on this man.

Now the first reason he commanded them to do so was because this man was a threat to corrupt the whole body with his immorality.

1 Corinthians 5:6 “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?”

If you let one man live in that sin,
Then others will think it is ok and follow in his steps.

But the other reason Paul wanted him gone was because partaking in the Lord’s Supper while tolerating, practicing, or accepting sin was a farce.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Paul said when you partake you need to do so
With the understanding that what Christ came to accomplish
Was holiness.

If you aren’t partaking with a spirit leading to holiness
You are missing the point.

And this is what I want you to understand as we partake this morning.

Certainly we first must remember the sacrifice of Christ.
• We must remember the high price He paid in coming in the likeness of man and as an offering for sin.

But we also must remember the aim of it.
• We must remember why Christ did it.

He did it to make you holy.
And if that were not enough,
He sent His Spirit to make your holiness possible.
AND THAT IS THE POINT.
We come to the table, remembering what Christ did,
But also understanding what Christ wants.
Because He died, because He rose,
And because His Spirit now dwells in you,
You are free from condemnation
And you are being freed from corruption.
Understand as you partake that you are also under obligation.

Church, we must walk by the Spirit.
• We must yield our lives to His leadership.
• We must be filled with Him.
• We must trust His ability to make us righteous.
This is how we truly honor Christ during this ordinance.

We will pray and then have a time of preparation
And then partake of the table of the Lord.
LORD’S SUPPER

Romans 7:24-8:4 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

• Give bread to deacons
• Deacon prayer
• Deacons pass out bread

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

• Take Bread

Romans 8:9-13 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

• Give juice to deacons
• Deacon prayer
• Deacons pass out juice

1 Corinthians 11:25-26 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

• Take Juice

• Prayer
• Parting Chorus

Walk by the Spirit (Part 1)
Romans 8:1-13 (1-9)
September 22, 2013

As you know we are studying the Holy Spirit.
We have studied who He is.
We have studied what He does.

And most recently we have begun looking at some of those commands
That have to do with how we relate to Him.

The last several weeks we looked at: “be filled with the Spirit”

And of course the reality is that the Holy Spirit desires to fill you
And have full control in your life.

• You are first going to have to allow yourself to be filled with Him
(“let the word of Christ richly dwell within you”)

• And you are going to have to choose to let Him dwell there.

• We do this by killing off the flesh (by starving it) and thus making
it easier for the Spirit to have control.

• And when this occurs in a life, it is evident by their speech.
They speak to one another teaching and admonishing.
They praise Christ with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
They give thanks to God for everything

And that sort of sums up the idea of being filled with the Spirit.

This morning we move on to a new command.
WALK BY THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

Now we’ll get to that passage a little later,
But it is important to at least have a basic understanding here
At the outset as to what it means to “walk by the Spirit”

And the answer is really seen in reading that verse.
He first says that we “live by the Spirit”

Obviously he is not commanding you to stay alive.
He reminding you that the Spirit supplies the life you live.

And it is the same when he says to “walk by the Spirit”
The Spirit supplies you with the ability walk differently, let Him.

It is not just a command to do what the Spirit says,
It is a command walk in the strength that the Spirit supplies.
When we do get to that verse you will see that Paul is talking
Primarily about our relationships with one another.

And Paul is appealing to the Galatians to let the Spirit guide their walk
Instead of the flesh.

So walking by the Spirit is actually not that different
From being filled with the Spirit.
It simply means to live, using His strength and guidance.

I will also say this from the outset.
Walking by the Spirit is without a doubt the secret to the victorious life.

Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

The Spirit is supplying you strength and guidance to do God’s will.
Only He can allow you to conquer the flesh.

Now, if you choose instead to walk by your own strength.
Or “Do it on your own”
Then you are destined to fail.

So use the strength the Spirit supplies and find victory over the flesh.

Now we are going to begin our study in Romans 8:1-13

And the main point is obvious.
WE ARE OBLIGATED TO WALK BY THE SPIRIT.

(12-13) “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Paul is extremely clear there.
“we are under obligation”

In other words, we owe this to God.

Now, that obligation is “not to the flesh”
Which is another way of saying, we don’t owe the flesh anything.

Peter said it like this:
1 Peter 4:1-3 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.”
We’ve devoted enough time, energy, and resources to the flesh.
We don’t owe it anything.

But we are obligated to the Spirit.
(we are obligated operated on His strength, not our own)

This morning I want to begin to show you why.

There are two main reasons.
#1 WE ARE DELIVERED FROM CONDEMNATION
Romans 8:1-9

Everyone loves Romans 8:1.
It has been called the most hope filled passage in all the Bible.

Those who are in Christ have “now no condemnation”

And again, if you are familiar with Romans,
You know that Paul has been building to this point throughout the book.

• We’ve seen the substitutionary atonement in chapter 3
• We’ve seen the justification by faith in chapter 4
• We’ve seen the sufficiency of Christ’s righteousness in chapter 5
• We’ve seen the reality of grace in chapter 6
• We’ve seen the deliverance of Christ in chapter 7

And really 8:1 is a culminating thought
To the entire book of Romans up to this point.

• Based upon what Christ has done…
• Based upon the believer’s faith in Him…
• Because of the tremendous grace of God…

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
And we can’t stay there forever,
But we do desire just to sort of bask in this reality for a while.

Romans 8:31-34 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

It is impossible to condemn one of God’s children.

• You have a God who wants your pardon so badly He killed His own Son.
• You have a God who knew you when you were really bad and still justified you.
• You have a Savior who intercedes daily for you.

Nothing sticks on a believer.
The accuser can hurl accusations at you all day long,
But he cannot cause you to be condemned.

Because Christ already paid your debt, the Judge stamped it official,
And the enemy has no leverage.

God’s children are fully forgiven.
“there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

And that is just a tremendous reality.
And we could really spend a lot more time there,
But we’re going to move on because I want you to see
How this all ties in to our obligation to walk by the Spirit.

So Paul makes this bold and tremendous statement in verse 1,
And then he begins to support it in verse 2.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

So you want to know why a believer is no longer condemned
And that is what Paul answers here.

It is because a believer has been set free from condemnation.

Now let’s look at this verse a little more deeply.
What we see here is that Paul references two types of laws.

And incidentally the word “law” here translates NOMOS
Which literally means “that which is assigned”

It refers to an order or a system or a legal requirement that one is under.

And here Paul speaks of two very different systems or laws.

THE FIRST IS:
“the law of sin and of death”

What is this?
• It is the system that came over man after the fall in the garden.
• It is the system that says if a person sins then they must die.

We have read the creation account we know about the incident in the garden with Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden tree.

Sin entered the world and God pronounced a curse.

And then God made a decision:
Genesis 3:22-24 “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” — therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”

Because Adam and Eve sinned they could no longer dwell in the presence
Of a tree that could cause them to live forever.

They were cursed with death, and so they had to leave the garden.

And that is one of the harshest realities of the book of Genesis.
(Incidentally we are going to Genesis after we finish our study of the Holy Spirit)

But if you read Genesis 5 you see the same statement over and over.
It looks like a boring genealogy, but don’t let it full you.

8 times in that chapter the same phrase is used.
“and he died”

Humanity was under a new system, humanity was under new law.
That law stated that if you sin, you die.

It didn’t matter that the Mosaic Law was not yet there.
All the Mosaic Law came to do was clarify what sin was.

Sin was there before the Law and it was the cause of death.
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”

That is the system all humanity found themselves under.

And incidentally humanity is still under that system today.
James 1:15 “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

And perhaps the clearest statement on the issue
Is found in the first half of Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”

That is “the law of sin and of death.”

If you sin, you die.
And because we all inherited a sin nature from Adam, we are born corrupt,
We are born in sin, and we are born condemned.

David said:
Psalms 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

We are born in iniquity.
That is why Jesus didn’t have to come to condemn the world,
The world was already condemned.

But you get the picture, we were all under the same system.

But Paul mentions another system. Paul mentions another law.

SECOND:
“the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus”

• The first law recognized sin and the consequence was death.
• This system recognizes the Spirit and the consequence is life.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There is a new system available.
One that ends in life, not death.

Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”

So this second system took sinners and instead of killing them,
Chose to atone for their sin.

And so this system doesn’t impart death.
This system imparts life.

That is “the Spirit”

The new system only forgives sinners of their sin,
But also makes them righteous.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

And of course the agent of this righteousness is the Holy Spirit.

John 7:38-39 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
• This is a totally new system.
• This is a totally new reality.

And here is the beauty of this verse.
The second system sets you free from the first.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

And that is why there is “now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Condemnation came under the first system of sin and death,
But we were delivered from that system
When Christ paid our debt and gave us His Spirit.

And that is what verse 3 begins to explain.

We say that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” set me “free from the law of sin and of death.”

Ok, HOW?
How did He do it?

(3) “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

Now before Paul gets in to the reality of how Christ set us free from sin and death, Paul first talks about a saving agent that didn’t work.

We have sin in the garden and we have man dying.
But the first thing that came wasn’t Christ.

The first thing that came was “the Law”
And specifically there we are talking about the Mosaic Law

The Law of Moses came in so that there would be no doubt what sin was.

Before the Law men were dying and they didn’t know why.
The Law came in like a cat scan or an MRI to show what the problem was.

It began to reveal what was killing people.
Romans 7:7-10 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;”
The Law came in and showed people their sin.
And the Law was good at that.

But there was something the Law wasn’t good at.
Saving people from their sin.

The MRI could show the tumor, but it couldn’t remove it.

The reason is because the Law was weakened “through the flesh”

See, when you tell someone not to do something,
The entire emphasis is on them.

That is the way all of our laws work.
We are told not to do something, but the decision is all ours.

And that is why the Law failed.
It depended too much on human ability.

It told man what “Thou shalt not” do, but man was too weak to obey.

And so the Law didn’t remove condemnation, the Law increased it.
(The law is only your friend when you are innocent.
If you break it, the law instantly becomes your enemy)

And that is what happened.
Paul said, while we were under “the law of sin and of death”,
The Mosaic Law was absolutely no help.

It did not rescue us, it was too weak.

Let me explain it like this:
• Suppose you go to Africa and someone hands you a wildlife safety booklet, maybe you read it, maybe you don’t.

• And while you are there you come across a lion and you instantly scream and run away. Well the lion chases you, tackles you, and is in the process of digesting you.

• At this point you pull out your safety booklet and read, “Don’t run from lions, they will chase you. Calmly back away”

• Good advice right? But useless now.

What I need is someone to come along stronger than the lion.
I need someone to kill the lion!

Well…
“what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin,”
God took matters into His own hands.
The incarnation occurred.

God became flesh and He took on the “likeness” of humanity.
And He became “an offering for sin,”

The “offering” was the death that was paid on behalf of the sinner.
The O.T. was full of goats and bulls, God’s Son was the ultimate offering.

You know the story.
He died upon the cross for sin that was not His own.

And Paul says, “He condemned sin in the flesh”

The Law came and exposed sin.
Christ came and overpowered it.

Romans 5:20-21 “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

AND THAT IS HOW HE TOOK AWAY OUR CONDEMNATION.
He took away our sin.
He killed our enemy.
He set us free from our fate.
He took us out of one system and put us in another system.

So now here is the reality.
We vile creatures, who because of our sin, deserved only death;
Now find ourselves receiving only life because of the deliverance of Christ.

Now all of that is reality.
But this reality comes with an expectation.

(4) “so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us,

Christ came and did all that so that we could be righteous.

Now, don’t misunderstand this.
We aren’t talking about positional righteousness here,
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICAL RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Christ came and did what He did, not just to remove your condemnation, but to free you up to live a righteous life.

He did what He did so you could live righteous.

BUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO LIVE RIGHTEOUS?
Because we are those “who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

And please get this, Paul is not talking here about what we do,
He is talking about who we are.

This statement is NOT a COMMAND.
He is not commanding you here to walk by the Spirit.

This statement is NOT a CONDITION.
He is not saying this is true if you walk by the Spirit.

This statement is a CHARACTERISTIC
Paul is describing believers.

He is saying that believers are those
Who do walk “according to the Spirit”
AND THAT IS WHY THEY LIVE RIGHTEOUS

SO LISTEN CLOSELY HERE.
Later we are going to talk about the obligation to walk by the Spirit.
But you need to understand first that this is what believers do.

I understand that sounds a little confusing,
But it is like many other spiritual realities.

For example:
• Believers are those who pray, and yet we are commanded to pray.
• Believers are those who bear fruit, and yet we are commanded to bear fruit.
• Believers are humble, and yet we are commanded to be humble.

On one hand it is what we are,
On the other hand it is what we are commanded to do.
It is that tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility.

BELIEVERS ARE THOSE WHO WALK BY THE SPIRIT,
AND THUS THOSE WHO LIVE RIGHTEOUS LIVES.

They are a drastic contrast to those who walk by the flesh.
(5-8) “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Now obviously those people fail
We know that because they don’t please God.

But the reason they fail is because
They do everything in their own power or strength.
They do everything according to the flesh.

When they need answers they consult the flesh
They “set their minds on the things of the flesh”

And this is a grave mistake, because the flesh fails.
It opposes God and will ultimately lead you to death.

But that’s not us.
• Believers don’t do things in their own strength.
• Believers don’t rely on their own merit.
• What we accomplish we accomplish by the power of the Spirit.

We walk in Him.
We are described in verse 9.
(9) “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

We have the Spirit and therefore we are walking by the Spirit.
And walking by the Spirit is why we live righteous lives.

That’s why the righteous requirement of the Law
Is practically fulfilled in us.

NOW – ARE WE AS RIGHTEOUS AS WE SHOULD BE?
NO
WHY?
Because we may walk by the Spirit, but we don’t do it enough.

And that is why Paul refers to the obligation portion of this text.

Romans 8:12-13 “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

On one hand we are those who walk by the Spirit.
On the other hand that is what we should be doing.

WHY SHOULD WE BE DOING IT?
Because of what Christ did in our lives.

Before Christ we did everything we did by our own strength.
• We walked according to our own strength.
• And all that ever resulted in was sin which resulted in death.

But then Christ came.
• He came in the likeness of sinful man and as an offering for sin and He condemned sin in the flesh.

• He transferred us into the law of the Spirit of life.

And instantly our efforts to please God became effective.
Now we actually can fulfill the Law
Because we don’t walk in our own strength,
But in the strength of His Spirit.

Now, if that is true, do you see your obligation?

If He died to allow you to walk by the Spirit, don’t you feel just a little obligated to make an effort to do it well?

We certainly ought to cooperate
And strive then to walk according to the Spirit.

• The Spirit is guiding us…
• The Spirit is leading us…
• The Spirit is helping us walk correctly…

The obligation is that we submit to that guidance and do it better.

 

 
I know we are out of time, and we’ll see the second point next week,
But you get the idea.

We owe it to Christ to walk by the Spirit.
Because He is expecting righteousness
And that is only done by walking by the Spirit.