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.”
