Galatians 5:16-18 Walk by the Spirt

Walk by the Spirt.

5:16-18 False Gospel if I just try had enough, I will master my sin… (No, only by walking in the Holy Spirt is it possible).

From Last time, Paul was warning against using freedom to sin, and indulge in the flesh, and fights and bite and devouring one another. Paul Still sharing the gospel about Jesus; that they were called to freedom, that freedom was and is given to have fellowship with God and one another, not to do whatever we feel like, that is by the way not freedom but slavery to our own passions. Paul has from the intro to the letter spoken the good news about Jesus to the Galatians reminding them about it. Explaining it rebuking false teaching and now in the letter Paul is giving practical advice on how to live.

Then how would a person then not follow one’s own passions? Paul writes that in the next passage.

Walk by the Spirt. And you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (PPT about walk.)

That is freedom, from the law and form the desires of the flesh, to walk by the Spirt.

If we look around in culture and in some churches we might find

The false gospels of today are: You can do it! – Just pull your self up, get it together, I did it so can you, this is a gospel of the flesh, by my strength, my power, my passion, = my self-righteousness, (I am God, or my savior). One of the reasons that this gospel is false is that most people can’t do it, few people have the ability to change their behavior in a way that last. (People can do it for a time – if you look at eating healthy loosing weight, excises, reading the bible in a year, or every day, doing good works, ) Lasting life style change is said by researchers to be one the hardest to do for people. (Ligealismen, Jews, I can kill sin on my own with my strength and obedience). (Down side pride, and disgust for other people not made the same).

In opposition to this gospel the opposite has been presented:

What about the other gospel, that is not much of a gospel, don’t worry about it, you can’t change so don’t try, I mean you can try but it wound help. (Body positive movement) People keep doing what destroys them, addiction, and more. Greed, gossip. People say I can’t change so I will not do that. It might even be seen as untrue to oneself to change. (Sinners, and the people that gave up on Jesus, - embrace sin, )

The true gospel of Jesus Christ, does not get is strength from you or me, but form the work of Jesus Christ, (his life, death, resurrection, coming back) and the giving of the Holy Spirt, that gives us power, wisdom, all we need to live our life in Christ Jesus.

It does not mean that we float to Jesus and in to the power of the Holy Spirt, in the morning everyday – as Paul also writes there is a dalily, minut by minut choises to make, in our life will I walk in my own strength and power or walk by the Spirt, (death to self, taking up my cross). That daily minut by minut desition, in based on weather we trust that Jesus is what we really want most. – When it is not, we will not walk by the Spirt by walk instead by the flesh,

To be able to walk by the Spirt you have to have the Spirt of God, the Holy Spirt, - It is a gift, that one gets as we leave our way sin, repent = turn around, trust in Jesus Christ as Lord God, and savior. Then Jesus and God – in The Holy Spirt takes residents in us, and daily we can walk by the Spirt, - (The Spirt teaches us about Jesus and help us live our life in Christ).

The Christian life is not without effort, and work, and doing hard things, it is filled with them, the good part it is not in our own strength we are called to walk and do the works, but we are called to walk, by and in steep with the Spirt.

Thinking about walking, - walking by or with the Spirt – keep in step with the Spirt, - be aware, adjust, not to fast, not to slow, in the right pace.

How is the Spirt working, what is plan for today, Gods plan, the one you don’t have power to do, by the Spirt dose, are you/me keeping in step, walking by the Holy Spirt.

Being led by the Spirt Paul writes is shows that we are not under the law, but under the grace of God, and live by the faith that Paul pointed to, like Abrham that belived by faith, beliving in the promise of Jesus Christ, and us and the Galatans knows Jesus the messiahs story more clear. The we can be lead by The Holy Spirt day, by day, in to relationship with God and others, loving God and our naigburhg.

So we are not to find stengh in our self, and we are not to give up, instead look to Jesus Christ, for power and stenght that is given us, to walk by the Spirit. That we might do what God has for us…