Living by the Spirit - Galatians 5:16-6:10

Introduction

Before I dismiss the children I’d like to take a moment to share

Some of you may know that Daryl and Laura Tolan are loved members of our church family who have recently moved to Springfield

But they are here with us today and will be around after the service if you would like to take the opportunity share your love and encouragement with them.

Alright, children can be dismissed and if you have your Bibles, you can turn to Galatians chapter 5, we will be starting at verse 16.

Last week we looked at the first half of Chapter 5 and learned some things about our freedom in Christ

we learned that, in Christ, we are free from the law - we are free from trying to earn God’s favor or God’s love by DOING things.

instead, IN CHRIST, we are fully and freely accepted by God - our actions have no bearing at all on God accepting us.

IN CHRIST, we are fully and freely accepted by God

IN CHRIST, we have full and free access to God as our heavenly Father.

And, if we are going to really experience the fulness of this freedom, we can’t use our freedom to serve the flesh

In other words, if our freedom in Christ moves us to indulge in the flesh, we are misusing our freedom, and we are really just going into a different kind of bondage

God wants us to experience our freedom - and the verses today will help us see how to fight against the flesh so that we can experience the freedom of the Spirit.

These verses are all about living by the Spirit,

Living by the Spirit leads us away from the flesh and into freedom.

POINT (SLIDE) THEN READ

I. Living by the Spirit leads us away from the flesh and into freedom (5:16-26)

English Standard Version (Chapter 5:16-26)

5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

verse 16 shows us

A. We fight the flesh when we walk by the Spirit (5:16)

Walking in the Spirit means living life under the influence of the Spirit (guided by, led by, governed by…)

And we have this stunning promise - will NOT, NOT gratify the flesh, cater to the flesh.

drive home the absolute promise here

Transition: As we walk BY the Spirit, we move away from the flesh.

There is this battle going on inside of us

B. The battle inside of us is described (5:17-18)

On one hand - the Spirit lives in us

The Spirit is God and so, the Spirit loves the things of God — points us outward - STEP 2 - Continue to DRILL DOWN THE CYCLE

And as he works inside of us, the Spirit draws our attention outward - opening our eyes to the beauty and majesty and glory of God.

1 Corinthians - 2

Ephesians - 3

On the other hand, the flesh is our fallen sinful nature that has been there since we were born

The flesh is selfish and always wants to pull our focus and our attention inward

The flesh wants to replace God with anything else

The flesh is opposed to God

As believers we have both the Spirit freedom and the flesh of bondage and slavery working in us

There is a battle inside as they and oppose each other, as they work against each other

Transition: and in verses 19-26 Paul gives us two pictures - he shows us what the flesh DOES and what the Spirit PRODUCES.

First, Paul pulls back the curtain on the works of the flesh, and we get:

C. A picture of death, destruction and bondage (5:19-21)

As we read through this list, possibly there are some that we could cross off

But, it doesn’t take long to realize this really hits home

Especially when we remember that Jesus compared lust to adultery and anger to murder

And Paul also covers things here like jealousy, especially over the things or success of someone else

And idolatry, loving things in place of God. Paul says when we covet, when we want more and more things, regardless of our need - that is idolatry

Or, what about rivalries - which includes selfish ambition

We don’t have to look very hard to see that we are not free of these things

And in case we DO think we are in the clear - Paul includes - and things like these

The point is this - none of us are free of these completely

And wherever these things exist, they bring destruction and bondage with them.

These are the works of the flesh, they are against God

Now, we know that in Christ we are freely and fully accepted by God as our heavenly Father

BUT, it should give us pause - when we realize this - these works of the flesh that continue to plague us

Apart from Christ, these would be the things that would bring God’s judgement against us

Transition: We need to hear this! We need to be aware of the impact that the flesh still has on us

NOT so that we pick up the law and try to clean ourselves up

BUT so that we see the bondage that still weighs us down

AND SO that we grow in our desire to move AWAY from that bondage and TO Freedom in the Spirit

The works of the flesh are bondage, destruction and death

But the fruit of the Spirit is:

D. A picture of life and freedom (5:22-25)

Listen to them again: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;

Note the harmony and enjoyment that flows through these

even the world knows these are virtues, though it might try to redefine them

these are good and right and beautiful things

While God’s law condemns the works of the flesh

there is no law against these things

they flow from the character of God

So, we have this battle between the flesh and the Spirit inside of us

But this is not some balanced tug of war -

Paul says in verse 24 - those who belong to Christ - those who have faith in Christ and are accepted by God

We have crucified the flesh

There are two things we need to know here - when we put our faith in Christ, his victory over sin and death became our victory.

Through our faith in Christ we dealt the flesh a death blow. To be blunt, we cut off the head of the flesh, it no longer reigns over us

We need to rest in that victory that Christ gives to us

Because, even though we dealt the death blow, the flesh still clings to us even as it loses power

And from a place of victory in Christ, we are called to fight hard against the flesh and the bondage that it brings.

And as we rise to fight, we absolutely must remember, we fight the flesh when we walk by the Spirit, when we are led by the Spirit, when we keep in step with the Spirit - when our lives come under the influence and guidance of the Spirit

this is THE way that we push back against the flesh.

this is THE way that we move into our freedom in Christ

When we pray

And when we grow in our understanding of God’s Word (study, teaching, singing, preaching)

And when we spend time together as Christians, encouraging each other and loving each other

And when we are reminded of God’s love and faithfulness to us through baptisms and communion

These are called the means of grace - when we are taking part in these things, the Holy Spirit is at work inside of us, expanding his influence in our lives

Through these means of grace

The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the beauty and glory and majesty of God - we see how pure and perfect and good he is

And, as the Spirit opens our eyes to the glory of God, he opens our eyes to our own sinfulness - to the works of the flesh that still exist in our lives, reminding us of our need for a Savior

And, as we see our need for a Savior, the Spirit again and again points us to Christ, where we are reminded of God’s great love for us, we are reminded that we can confess our sins and be comforted by our heavenly Father, we are reminded that God accepts us - fully and freely, in Christ

And the Spirit guides us to soak in God’s love and mercy and grace given to us through Christ, the Spirit then moves us to humbly love others with the love of Christ.

Living by the Spirit sets us free - but there is a reason and a purpose for this freedom :

Living by the Spirit sets us free to love others! And as we move into chapter 6 we see some practical ways this plays out, first lets look at verses 1-5

POINT (SLIDE) THEN READ

II. Living by the Spirit sets us free to love others - Part 1 (6:1-5)

English Standard Version (Chapter 6:1-5)

6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

A. Main point - Care for each other when you stumble (6:1a AND 6:2)

Describe the stumbling here - is it on accident - probably would include foolishness?

Note the demeanor - gentle

When we are walking by the Spirit - when the Spirit is pointing us to Christ - when we are experiencing the freedom that we have in Christ - we are being set free to look outward to the cares and need of others

And, in this case, we are being called to help those who have fallen into sin - not to leave them there, but to lovingly come alongside them and restore them with gentleness

Now, it is good and right to love each other - we need this, we all have blind spots, we all have different areas of weakness - and so we really need to look out for each other

We really need to love each other well here - walking in the Spirit sets us free to do that - in the Spirit we can love each other — and we need to make sure we are caring for each other with open eyes, in humility.

When we recognize that someone is stuck in the muck and the mire of sin, we are called, we are instructed by God to help - but we need to make sure we don’t get sucked in and end up stuck ourselves.

B. Care for each other in humility - don’t get stuck yourself (6:1b)

We need to care for each other with humility, recognizing that we are not above the one who is stumbling.

Illustration - Journey — was helping us do something, and said she would go find Tylen…

could be with great intentions / or could be just foolishness - I won’t get burnt

Give real application -

gossip, things that can suck us in quickly —

makes it hard for us to RESTORE if we fall in ourselves

When we are walking by the Spirit, we will grow in love for others, and we will be moved to help them.

At the same time, we need to allow the Spirit to expose our own weaknesses and areas of sin

This will keep us humble, so that we can love well, and love responsibly.

We want to help those who are stuck, but we don’t want to get stuck ourselves AND, verses 3-5 show us

we don’t want to BE stuck ON ourselves.

C. Care for each other in humility - don’t be stuck ON yourself (6:3-5)

It is not good to be looking around, constantly comparing ourselves to others.

This will hinder us from helping them when they need it.

One, it will be easy to lack concern when we see a brother or sister in trouble

That’s their own fault, I would never have done that, I don’t have time to help them deal with that...

It’s hard to be motivated to help when that attitude sets in

And two, it’s hard to be motivated to lift others up when we are propping ourselves up by their failures -

at least I’m not struggling like they are - not very high motivation to lift them up

and it’s hard to be motivated to restore someone in gentleness when their stumbling is making us feel good about ourselves.

But, walking in the Spirit sets us free to love because the Spirit guides us to take our eyes off of ourselves.

The Spirit reveals our sins and humbles us

And points us to God’s love for us in Christ - THAT becomes our motivator to restore with a spirit of gentleness.

Then, in verses 6:6-10, we see pt 2 of Living in the Spirit sets us free to love others.

POINT (SLIDE) THEN READ

III. Living by the Spirit sets us free to love others - Part 2 (6:6-10)

English Standard Version (Chapter 6:6-10)

6:6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 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.

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

A. These verses call us to be generous in doing good and loving others

Could be resources, energy given to others

Could also include care and support for each other (attention)

But this call to love well is tied to the Spirit, and, just as importantly, this call to love well is tied to a biblical principle

You reap what you sow.

There are consequences for our actions.

in other words, what we DO has an impact on what we EXPERIENCE

B. Sowing to the flesh leads to destruction (6:7-8a)

If we sow to the flesh, if we pander or cater or give in to the flesh, the consequence is destruction.

As believers, when we give in to the flesh, when we allow the flesh to be in control of our thoughts and decisions

we grieve the Spirit of God living in us

We will lack growth, we will lack on our freedom

because of the flesh, relationships will be hindered and disturbed, there will be friction

our light to the world will dim

because we are moving into slavery and bondage.

For non-believers - sowing to the flesh is all we know, it rules us,

the flesh has not received the death blow - it still rules over you

and it leads to eternal destruction under the wrath of God.

On the other hand, as believers we are able to sow to the Spirit, we are able to give the Spirit influence in our lives through those means of grace - where the Spirit goes to work inside of us

C. Sowing to the Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit - including love and generosity (6:8b-10)

When the Spirit is gaining influence in our lives - primarily through those means of grace…there are consequences:

Sowing to the Spirit WILL produce the fruit of the Spirit - this is a promise that gives us strength to keep going

As the Spirit works, we are being set free from our inward focus and we are moved to be loving and generous toward others with what God has given us.

And when we sow to the Spirit, when the Spirit is gaining influence in our lives, we are able to experience more and more in this life the taste of eternal life, with all of its power and promises

And ultimately, all who have the Holy Spirit living in them WILL enter into God’s eternal kingdom - where we will know the ultimate freedom - freedom from the presence of sin and freedom to worship God in his actual presence!

Conclusion

We all look forward to THAT ultimate freedom

And we can get a taste of it here today, on this earth when we live by the Spirit.

Living by the Spirit leads us away from the flesh and into freedom, where we are set free to love others.