Galatians 5:16-24

Introduction:

My attention was grabbed in the past few days by a video that popped up on my youtube feed

-The video was done by a guy named Jared Smith

-You see recently, a prominent leader in Charismatic Christian circles, is being investigated for a sexual scandal

-And this youtuber, Jared, went to this fallen leader’s seminary or school of ministry that he started

-So I was curious, and began watching the video

-Jared grew up in conservative Christian circles, and claiming to have been a zealous Christian from his early teenage years on, is now an atheist

-But he’s not bitter atheist who is out trying to debunk Christianity

-He still claims to like religion and tries to put out thoughtful, reflective, and fair content

-So in this video, he opens up about his time in a Christian high school and then at this school of ministry, and how he tried to hard to remain sexually pure and to fight against temptation

-He says that he spent a lot of time studying the Bible and praying, and seemed to be doing everything in his power to maintain purity

-But he talks about this leader and how it seems that he may have fallen into sexual sin, and he lists several other Christian pastors and leaders who have also fallen into immorality

-And he talks about his own struggles while he was in Christianity with this same issue, and he comes to the conclusion that, as much as he wishes that he’s wrong, it seems that nothing in Christianity has the power to keep a person from giving into impure lusts and desires

-He comes right out and says, “none of it works.”

-And I found is video heartbreaking and thought-provoking,

And I want to consider Jared’s question today as we look at our text: Is there anything out there that deliver us from our fleshly desires?

So let’s review briefly where we’ve been briefly, then we’ll read the text and pray

-Remember, Paul is writing to the Galatian church and telling them that salvation is by grace through faith alone, not through keeping the Mosaic Law

-He must tell them this because a group of false teachers known as the Judaizers have come in and told them that they can please God and earn their standing with Him by keeping the Law

-Paul has spent 4 chapters fighting against this idea, and then in 5:13-15 he warns against falling into fleshly living

-Just because we can’t please God by obeying the law doesn’t mean we should just live however our flesh desires

Now, I’ve got 3 points this evening, but my first point is going to take up the most time, and the other 2 points will be pretty brief

-I think it’s really important for me to set the context and help you see how I’ve come to my conclusions from the text, so stay with me as we walk through together what it means to walk in the Spirit

**Read text and pray**

1. The reality of the Spirit (5:16)

-Now, I must confess, I’ve always felt a certain level of frustration towards this text for a lot of my life

-The reason, is that Paul tells Christians to walk in the Spirit, and then, he never tells us how to do that!

-If you look through this passage, there are no specific descriptions or techniques given on how to walk in the Spirit

-He tells us the result of walking in the Spirit: you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh in verse 16

-He tells us about the battle between the flesh and Spirit in verse 17

-He tells us that those who are walking in the Spirit aren’t under the law in verse 18

-And he tells us how to how tell if you’re walking in the flesh or the Spirit in verses 19-24

-But Paul never explains to us how to walk in the Spirit in this passage

-So, over the course of my Christian life, I would hear various sermons on this passage on how to walk in the Spirit or I would read various books or see posts on social media about it, and I’d get all kinds of explanations

-Some who are in more of the charismatic or mystical camp would say that walking in the Spirit means listening to the still small voice of God, as if God is whispering in your ear throughout the day

-People who believe this say things like, “The Spirit wants me to go eat at McDonald’s today. I don’t know why, but that’s what he’s telling me!”

-Or, “the Spirit told me I ought to go over to my neighbor Jeff’s house today. I don’t know why yet, but I wanna walk in the Spirit and that’s what he’s telling me.”

-The problems with this kind of view are numerous, but one of the main ones is that you’re essentially always looking for extra-biblical revelation from God, thinking that God is somehow speaking to you outside of the Scriptures, and He’s not!

-Furthermore, that interpretation doesn’t fit the book of Galatians at all

-The problem Paul is dealing with in the book is not “how do I know where to go to lunch today?” or “what is God’s will for me today?”

-The problem he’s dealing with is that the Galatians are being told that in order to please God, you’ve got to keep the Law

So that’s not what walking in the Spirit means

-Others would say something like, “you’ve got to just let go and let God! When the temptation comes, let go and let the Spirit fight the battle!”

-As if you just go limp and let the Holy Spirit somehow controls you

-But this leads to a poor and unbiblical view of sanctification, and there’s nothing in the text that tells us to let go and let God

Others would say, “walking in the Spirit means that you’ve got to constantly remember that you have the Holy Spirit, and you need to constantly be reminding yourself that you’re dependent on Him in some kind of subjective way.”

-First of all, that sounds exhausting

-Scientifically, it’s not possible to really concentrate on two things at once, and so it’s not possible to constantly think about the Holy Spirit all day

-And second, once again, that’s not what God says in the text.

-He could have put that in there, but He didn’t

-Some would say, “Well, walking in the Spirit means you’re in prayer and the Word a lot and really trying to grow in the Lord.”

-I think prayer and being in the Word is very important! I think those are good things to emphasize

-However, Paul says nothing about reading the Scriptures or praying in this passage

Finally, some might say, “walking in the Spirit means you try really hard to produce all of the things listed in verses 22-23. Work on your love, and work on your joy, and your peace, etc.”

-Those things are certainly important and we should be trying to become more loving and joyful and all of that

-But Paul doesn’t say to go work on those things or produce them in yourself

-The whole section from 19-23 is showing us how we can tell if we’re walking in the flesh or the Spirit

-So this is why this passage has always vexed me to a certain extent

-And all the explanations that I’ve heard or that I’ve put forth when this comes up — all the answers ultimately seem (to me, at least) unsatisfying

-Namely because none of these explanations of how to walk in the Spirit arise from the text

So I’m sitting there in the past couple weeks, thinking about this text, praying through it, and then I begin to realize something

-If Paul doesn’t answer the question directly of how to walk in the Spirit, then perhaps it’s because it’s not a question that Paul is all that interested in answering

-Perhaps Paul makes no attempt to explain how to do this, because it’s not the main point of what he’s talking about

-You see, I don’t think Paul is trying to give us a technique on how to live better as Christians

**Here’s what I mean:

-You and I use various techniques in all different facets of life

-A technique is a practice or a trick you use to bring about a certain result more effectively

-So for example, recently a friend of mine taught me a technique on how to get your wife to actually tell you where she wants to eat

-As a husband, I’ve learned that my wife loves to talk to me and tell me all kinds of things, many of which I would never even think to ask about

-But for some reason, whenever I want to know where she wants to eat, she says something like, “you choose Braden.”

-And I say, “No really, I want to know where you want to eat. I’m taking you out for your enjoyment.”

-And she says, “it’s ok! I’ll be good with whatever! I don’t really care.”

-And I’ve been married long enough to know two things:

1. My wife is trying to be kind and thoughtful towards me.

2. There are definitely a few places my wife would love to eat given the choice

-So how do I figure out where she wants to eat?

-Well, a friend of mine taught me a technique recently

-So what you do, is you say, “Hey dear, I’m going to take you out to eat tonight! Guess where we’re going??”

-And, hopefully, if the technique works, she’ll excitedly ask, “Are we going to olive garden??”

-And now you know where she wants to go, and you say, “you got it! we’re going to olive garden.”**

****

-Now, oftentimes, Christians approach this passage, this “walk in the Spirit” command as if God is trying to teach us a technique, a method, a trick almost, to get us out of sin and temptation

“If you use this ‘walk in the Spirit’ technique, all your spiritual struggles will be gone!”

But if we’re paying attention to this passage in the whole context of what God is saying in the book of Galatians, I think we’ll realize that God is not trying to teach a technique here

-Instead, God, through the words of Paul, is pointing to the reality of our union with Christ

-You see, before salvation, people have no possibility of every doing anything that pleases God

We see that here in Galatians 3:11

Galatians 3:11 NKJV

But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident

We see it also in Romans 8:8

Romans 8:8 NKJV

those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Your neighbor or coworker may be a kind person

-They are capable of doing right by you and others

-That’s why you see unsaved people do very kind things for other people

**at the gym where I go and play basketball, there is a set of twins, two guys that are around 50 years old

-And they’re two of the nicest people that play basketball there

-They don’t curse, which is unusual over there

-They generally are happy

-They have a tight-knit family

-They look out for people at the gym and show kindness to some of the people who want to play who maybe aren’t very good

-And they’re both agnostics**

****

-You see, unsaved people can do good things for other people horizontally

-But an unsaved person is completely incapable of doing anything whatsoever that is pleasing to God vertically

-it’s not in them

Now, the Judaizers think that the way to overcome sin and the flesh and be pleasing to God is through keeping the Law

-But remember, Paul’s already covered this: the Law has no ability to keep us from sinning or help us please God

-The Law is really only able to condemn us and show us our sin

-So how on earth can we stop living sinful and fleshly if the Law is unable to help us?

-Well, through our union with Christ, we have been given the Holy Spirit who now resides in us

-And because we have the Holy Spirit, we now have something that we used to not have

-We have something that the Judaizers didn’t have, something that Muslims don’t have, Mormons don’t have, Buddhists don’t have, and something that all our unsaved friends and family members don’t have

-We have the Holy Spirit in us, who gives us the ability to say no to sin and to do things that are genuinely pleasing to God

-So, you might say, I still don’t know how to do that

-Yes you do, and I’ll show you

-That verb “walk” in “walk in the Spirit” has a continuing force

-It’s like Paul is saying, “keep on walking in the Spirit”

-You see, every time you’ve ever done something that is pleasing to the Lord

-When you’ve sacrificially given to the church, or to missions, or to others

-When you’ve spent time in the Word because you want to know God better

-When you’ve responded in love towards a family member or neighbor who doesn’t deserve it

-When you’ve come to church and genuinely worshipped God through the singing, or Scripture reading, or submitting to His word

Every time you’ve ever done something that keeps you from sin and that pleases God, you’re doing that in the power of the Spirit

-You used to be incapable of that, but now you have the ability (because of the Spirit) to say no to sin and yes to pleasing God

-And that’s the reality that God is trying to point us to

-He’s just warned us in 5:13-15 that we shouldn’t live out the desires of our flesh

-And now he’s telling us in verse 16, “you don’t have to fulfill those desires, because you have the Spirit. You can choose to say no to the flesh, and yes to God.”

**The reality of the Spirit**

2. The inevitability of the battle (5:17)

Notice what he tells us next about the nature of this battle:

Galatians 5:17 NKJV

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

-You see, everyday, there is a battle going on if you’re a Christian

-You have the choice to either live in a fleshly sinful way, or to say no to the sinful flesh and yes to the Spirit of God

Now, please understand, there is no battle going on in the life of the unbeliever

-there is no battle of flesh vs. Spirit going on in their life

-They have no way of curbing their flesh and pleasing God

**now, I’ve never been to Las Vegas, but one of the most famous landmarks in Vegas is the fountains outside of the Bellagio hotel and casino

-these are world-famous fountains that have been designed to do a unique waterworks show for each song that is played over the speaker system

-So whatever song is being played, let’s say, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra

-The fountains will display all kinds of unique colors and bursts that is synced up to that particular song

-Now, if you want to be able to pick the song that you want played at a particular moment, all you have to do is pay $250,000 and they’ll let you play the song

-Now, I don’t know about you, but there is no possible way for me to ever be able to choose a song

-I don’t have that option; it’s not possible

-If I sold everything I owned in the world, I wouldn’t even come close

-It’s simply not an option

-However, if Elon Musk were to hand me one of his credit cards and tell me, “This has no cash limit, and you’re free to use it how you want.”

-Now, all of a sudden, I have the choice to be able to pick a song at the fountain if I want to, whereas before he gave that to me, I did not have that option open to me**

***

And before salvation, people have no choice when it comes to whether to sin or whether to please God

-They are not capable of saying no to sin and yes to God

-However, after salvation, because of what God has given us, we now have the choice to be able to say no to sin and say yes to God

-Because you and I now have the Spirit through salvation and union with Christ, we have this battle going on in us

-And notice what this verse it saying: the flesh and the Spirit are mutually exclusive

-It’s either one or the other

-And notice that last phrase: “so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

-What Paul is saying there is that there is no third option

**I don’t know if you’ve ever been put in a situation where there was an argument or debate going on between two people and you’d rather just stay out of it**

-I can remember the super awkward situation that would come up every now and then when I was a kid and I’d go over to a friend’s house

-And we’d go over and my friend would say something like, “Let’s go into my parents room and jump on their bed.”

-And I’d be like, “Are you sure we’re allowed to do that?” Because I know that my parents would kill me if I did that at home

-And my friend would be like, “of course we are! I do that all the time!”

-So, you don’t want to argue with your friend, because it is his house, but you’re still doubtful that this is ok

-But you go along with it and you’re having fun, and then your friend’s mom comes in the room and finds you jumping on the bed, and so she then begins to yell at your friend, wondering what on earth he’s thinking

-And he is now arguing with his mom, claiming that she lets him do this

-And things get really awkward in this situation

-Because you want to explain to your friend’s mom that this wasn’t your idea, but you don’t wanna throw your friend under the bus

-And more than anything, you just want to hide under the bed or find a good time to run out of the house and go home

-The point is, you don’t want to be part of this conflict

-You don’t want to be on your friend’s side or his mom’s side

-You would rather just be removed from the conflict all-together and go do your own thing**

***

-And Paul’s saying: when it comes to the conflict of the flesh vs. the Spirit, you can’t do that

-That phrase “so that you do not do the things you wish” is best understood as saying, “you can’t be a passive spectator and stay out of this fight! You aren’t free to do just anything you want! Every time you face temptation, you’re either choosing the flesh or the Spirit”

“you’re not just free to do whatever you wish!”

“you’re not allowed to opt out of this battle!”

As a Christian, whenever opportunities for good or evil arise, you’re always choosing to give in to your fleshly desires, or you’re choosing to obey God through the power of the Spirit

**the reality of the Spirit; the inevitability of the battle**

3. The source of power (5:18)

-For the Judaizers, the way to avoid giving in to the flesh and to try to please God was to obey the Mosaic Law

-And for so many unsaved people today, the way for them to live a decent life and not make a wreck of things is to adhere to some kind of moral law that they’ve made up

-Islam, Mormonism, Catholicism, Hinduism, and all other religions offer a moral law, that if you obey it, you can prevent a certain level of sinfulness and please God

-The problem is, it doesn’t work

-You see, people aren’t even capable of living up to their own made-up law

-It doesn’t curb their fleshliness

-and it certainly doesn’t please God

-The Law doesn’t empower us to curb our sin, it only shows us how really sinful we are

-So as Paul is hammering the fact that the Law is powerless to help us, to prevent sin, or to please God, the question would be:

“Then what do we do? What do we turn to?”

-The Spirit of God is the only answer to the problems of legalism and fleshliness

-Legalism says, “if I can just keep the Law, I’ll be able to please God!

-Fleshliness say, “I’m free to live however I want!”

-And neither path works! There’s no hope! You can’t keep the Law and you can’t curb your desires!”

-The only hope is for you to be regenerated by the powerful work of God

-For you to repent of your sins and turn in faith alone to Jesus alone

-And when you do that, you are given the Holy Spirit of God, who is the enablement to live a life that actually pleases God

-You don’t have to live in legalism! You don’t have to live in fleshliness

-If you’ve been saved, you’ve permanently moved out of the realm of the Law, which was powerless to save you

-All the Law could do was show you your total inability to ever please God

-But now, you have that ability through the Spirit

-And every time you obey God:

-Every time you show genuine love to someone

-Every time you’re able to joyfully accept trials

-Every time you are longsuffering towards someone who is being sinful and selfish

-Every time you do something that is genuinely pleasing to God, thank and worship Him for the Holy Spirit, who strengthens and enables you to truly serve and worship Him

Conclusion

-Jared Smith, the atheist youtuber I told you all about at the beginning was right

-Everything he was trying to do to keep himself pure wasn’t good enough

-He was trying so hard to curb his fleshly desires

-And it didn’t work

-He ultimately was incapable of living a life that pleases God

-But it’s because he was missing the one thing that could give him victory

-The reason that Jared was not and is not capable of curbing his sinful flesh and pleasing God is that Jared has never truly been born again and indwelt by the Holy Spirit

-But brothers and sisters, if you’ve been born again, you are capable of bearing genuine fruit and pleasing God

-Just because you have the Spirit of God in you, it obviously doesn’t mean that you’ll always do the right thing and never sin

-That won’t happen until heaven

-But it does that you are capable of obeying God and pleasing Him

or, as Paul likes to call it

“walking in the Spirit”