Sowing to the Spirit

Bible Passage: Galatians 6:6–10

Good morning church family.

Last week in our time together we looked at some verses from the 5th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatian church, specifically about the importance of walking by the Spirit. It is important because… …we resist the flesh by the power of the Spirit. …we reject the destructive deeds of the flesh when we walk by the Spirit. …we reap the fruit of the Spirit if we keep in step with the Spirit.

All of this is under the context of Paul calling the Galatian believers to stand firm in their freedom in Christ and not to submit to what he calls the yoke of slavery. We saw last week that Judaizers had come in after Paul had proclaimed the gospel on his missionary journey in this region and God had called men and women to himself in faith and there were churches established in these areas. Paul wants these believers to understand that they are free in Christ and do not have to follow the traditions and ceremonial laws of the Jewish people in order to be included in God’s kingdom. However, he doesn’t want them to misunderstand and use their freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. There is a tension here that we would do well to acknowledge.

We cannot earn our salvation through works of the flesh, we have received the free gift of salvation in Christ by grace through faith. In fact, Galatians includes Paul’s very clear teaching that we are not justified by works of the law but by faith in Christ. Which Paul includes himself and other Jews as beings saved in the same way. But, that doesn’t mean what we do in the flesh doesn’t matter, otherwise Paul would not warn us to not use our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, which leads Paul to his statement in chapter 5 (ESV) 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit,

Paul calls us to live our lives differently than those who are enslaved to sin and death, who are still under bondage. Those who have been made alive by the Spirit, should live in step with the Spirit.

And while we saw the importance of it in last week’s text, in our text this morning, I believe Paul moves to the danger of not doing it as well as the blessing of doing it. He also gives us a powerful image to understand what walking by the Spirit looks like in our day to day lives. That imagery is of sowing and reaping which Paul explains points to a spiritual principle we need to understand.

Within our text this morning, Paul is going to address why this simple principle is often overlooked, how it applies to our walk with Christ, and finally what we should do in light of this truth.

If you have your bibles, open to Galatians 6, verse 7. Since it is only four verses, this morning let’s read through them and then come back and look at them individually.

Galatians 6:7–10 ESV

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.

Paul is short and to the point in these verses, some of his final words before he concludes his letter. Paul begins this short section with a strong warning. Our first division this morning is…

I. THE PROPENSITY TO BE DECEIVED.

Galatians 6:7 ESV

7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

Do not be deceived- This is Paul’s primary command within these verses. The word itself means to wander or roam, but it is used metaphorically in the scriptures to describe a wandering away from truth into error. Either by one’s own will or by being led away from the truth. Both Paul and James use it this way. James 1:16–17 “16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 “9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 “33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.””

Jesus used the same language over and over again as both a warning and a condemnation. As an example of each. Matthew 24:4 “4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.” Mark 12:24 “24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?”

This deception is one of Paul’s primary reasons for writing the churches in Galatia, as we mentioned last week in our study of chapter 5. This is what he addresses so strongly in what we know as chapter 3. Using different language to deal with the same issue of being led astray, he says. Galatians 3:1-6 (ESV) 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Paul is concerned that they are being led astray into error, specifically concerning circumcision and Jewish law.

Often, the call to not be deceived is a call to be on guard against false teachings, but we are reminded in 1 John 1:8 that we are fully capable of deceiving ourselves. 1 John 1:8 “8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Paul issues a similar warning in 1 Corinthians 3:18 “18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.” God says in Jeremiah 17:9 “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

But as if it is not enough to be deceived by false teachers, or deceived by our own heart and thoughts, Paul warns us that Satan, the great deceiver, is also actively trying to deceive us. 2 Corinthians 11:3 “3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

I point this out because scriptures shows us that there is always a present and real danger of being deceived. To say it another way, as fallen human beings we have the propensity to be deceived.

However, the Bible tells us that we are not always unwilling participants. There is a sense, in our flesh, that we often want to be deceived, because it allows us to gratify the desires of the flesh. Paul warns his protege Timothy concerning this tendency of men to find teachers who teach them what they want to hear in his second pastoral letter to Timothy. 2 Timothy 4:3–4 “3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Listen, you are not the exception. In the battle against the flesh we have to realize that sometimes it is not murder vs righteousness, but sometimes it is truth verses almost true. I have seen people latch onto false teachers and teachings because what they are teaching allows them to claim to follow Christ and still fulfill their own passions. Whether it is the prosperity gospel that appeals to our greed and self-centeredness or some gnostic teaching that gives us a sense that we are the only ones that are right and we do not need authority or accountability.

The warning to not be deceived is for you this morning and it is for me. There is not one Christian that is not in some way or another deceived about something. Our prayer is that if we are deceived, God would use his Word to break those strongholds and areas where we have bought into lies.

Paul’s warning here concerns perhaps the most dangerous and the most common deceit among professing Christians. What is this deceit? That there are no consequences for our sin.

That because we are under grace and not law, because we have been forgiven, because we are secure in Christ, because God’s grace is greater than our sin, because we haven’t contributed to our salvation by works and we cannot sustain our salvation by our works, then we have a certain impunity with which we can sin. To this, Paul says, do not be deceived. This kind of thinking, that there are no consequences for sinning against a thrice Holy God, that because we are in Christ we can do whatever we want, this outright abuse of God’s grace and mercy, Paul calls this ‘turning our nose up and sneering’ at God. Mocking God. The natural reaction is ‘I would never mock God’ and yet Paul says if we believe that we can live anyway we want to and still reap the full blessing and goodness of God, we are in fact not only mocking God with our life, we are deceived.

Then Paul states the principle behind why this kind of thinking is dangerous. Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. This is a fundamental law written in to God’s creation. From the very beginning, God wrote this law into his creation. Listen to Genesis 1:12 (ESV) 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. It is immutable and inviolable. If you plant seeds for an apple tree, you are not going to get an orange tree. If you sow wheat, you are not going to get corn. This is at once, both easy to see and easy to understand. To think differently, Paul says, would be to be deceiving ourselves. You cannot sow one thing and reap another. Now, Paul’s application is not agricultural, but spiritual. The same law that governs the earth is at work spiritually in the world. Let us turn our attention from the propensity to be deceived to the…

II. THE PATTERN OF CHRISTIAN LIVING.

Galatians 6:8 ESV

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.

Here Paul applies the principle of sowing and reaping to spiritual life. Paul presents two options for sowing. We can sow to our own flesh or we can sow to the Spirit. This dichotomy between flesh and spirit is not new in Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches. We saw last week Paul’s contrast between works of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit, walking by the Spirit or gratifying the desires of the flesh. As we heard from Galatians 3 when he contrasts them like this, Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

The desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit are opposed one another. A life lived in the flesh looks very different than a life lived in the Spirit. Paul has made this clear, but how are these kinds of lives produced? He tells us in verse 25 of chapter 5, if we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Last week, we looked at one part of what this looks like. When we, through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, put to death the flesh we are keeping in step with the Spirit, which places us in the place where God’s sanctifying work in us will allow us to reap the fruit of the Spirit. The other part is having denied the passions and desires of the flesh, we embrace the desires of the Spirit, what Paul calls sowing to the Spirit, from which God will bring to maturity the fruit of the Spirit.

When Paul talks about the flesh, he is talking about human earthly nature apart from divine influence. Paul uses ‘flesh’ of the whole man, body and soul, reason and all his faculties included, because all that is in him longs and strives after the flesh. To speak of the flesh is to speak of that which is not under the control and influence of the Spirit of God. To sow to your own flesh then is to do anything from a strictly earthly desire, to be motivated by our natural passions. The seed we sow to our own flesh is not just what we would call big sins like murder or adultery, but rather it is anything we do according to our earthly nature. Listen to the list Paul gives in Colossians 3.

Colossians 3:5-17 (ESV) 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. sexual immorality- any sexual activity outside of God’s design impurity- impure motives passion- depraved lusts evil desire- wicked cravings covetousness- greedy desire to have more If that list seems familiar, Paul uses many of the same words in Galatians to describe the works of the flesh. Interestingly they deal mostly with motivations. Motives, lusts, cravings, desires. Paul goes on in Colossians.

6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Verse 17 is the key to sowing to the Spirit. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. The contrast is immediately visible. Do not operate out of your earthly lusts and desires, but rather in the name of the Lord Jesus. This can even include what we would call good things. If you are acting or speaking through the motivation of the flesh, to get what you want, to satisfy your flesh, to advance yourself, to please yourself, it doesn’t matter what it is, it is bad seed and it will produce rotten fruit. You mean to say, that I could give the most eloquent sermon or the most beautiful lesson in Sunday school and that be a bad seed? In my life, absolutely. Do you mean that I could have so much knowledge about the Bible and be able to articulate all mysteries and knowledge and my teaching be a bad seed? Do you mean that I could literally give all my money away to the poor and that be a bad seed?

Remember Paul’s love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13, didn’t he say as much there?

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (ESV) 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Isn’t Paul saying that the motivation behind what we do matters when it comes to what the outcome that action or word produces? Absolutely he is. Doesn’t Jesus say the same thing? Matthew 6:5 (ESV) 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

So what does Paul say this kind of seed will produce? 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption The word corruption is used in the New Testament to refer to the idea of something perishing from corruption or decay all the way to eternal misery in Hell. How are we to interpret what Paul says here? I think two things are helpful. One, look at what he contrasts it with, eternal life. Then corruption may very well refer to death, especially the idea of temporal death or loss. Two, listen to what James says. James 1:13-15 (ESV) 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Lured and enticed by our own desire, which gives birth to sin, and when sin has been sown and is fully grown, it brings forth, or we reap death. That which is devoid of life. That which has nothing to do with the life that God gives. Let’s revisit what Paul the works of the flesh are. Galatians 5:19–21 “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.”

Not only do a lifestyle marked by these works show that we do not have the life of Christ in us and he says we will in no way inherit the kingdom of heaven, these actions will only ever produce death. James 1:19-21 (ESV) 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

If we want to experience the fullness of life that God has for us in this life we must not sow to our own flesh. When Paul says we will reap from the Spirit, eternal life, I think our minds immediately go to life after death, when in reality, eternal life starts for the believer at the moment of conversion. We often put eternal life as something we will experience, when the reality is we have been made alive in Christ now, and while we will not experience the fullness of eternal life until we are with Christ fully and finally, we are meant to experience the blessings of eternal life to some extent now in this life.

John MacArthur says it this way, Some Christians sow to the flesh seemingly every day and wonder why they don’t reap a harvest of holiness or usefulness. Let me make it simple: holiness is a harvest. Holiness is a harvest of sowing to the Spirit, not the flesh. Sow to the flesh, you harvest corruption. In the case of the believer, this corruption is simply the corruption of your Christian experience: the loss of peace; the loss of joy; the loss of worship, service, usefulness.

He goes on to say, What Paul means is we’re going to reap the full blessings contained in that life which is already ours in Christ. And what are those blessings? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, other blessings. The Christian who sows to the Spirit reaps the full blessing, the plentitude – all the satisfactions, all the joys of eternal life, enjoying peace, joy, love, patience, goodness, kindness, being conformed to Christ.

If your Christian life is not marked by the fruit of the Spirit, then it is an indication that you are not keeping in step with the Spirit, you are not sowing to the Spirit. What a pitiable condition! To be set free from the rule of sin and death and yet choose to live your Christian life sowing to your own flesh, reaping no blessings of being united in Christ and joined with His life.

Maybe you have recently been trying to live in step with the Spirit, maybe you have been trying to crucify your flesh daily and you say, Pastor, I haven’t seen any fruit. Let me ask you this, if you went out today and planted a good seed in good soil, would you expect to have fruit tomorrow? Of course not. In the same way, we are promised that when we sow to the Spirit we will reap Eternal life, but even in Paul’s choice of words, there is a recognition that we must persevere in sowing if we are going to see the fruit. Let us turn our attention to our final point this morning. Each of us has been given…

III. THE PERIOD FOR SOWING.

Let’s pick up in verse 9.

Galatians 6:9–10 ESV

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.

When can we expect to reap? In due season. Literally, each one in their own right time. We are not in control over the harvest time, we are only in control of what we sow. God is the God of the harvest, it is in his time and his will when we see the fruit from our sowing. Paul acknowledges that this may cause us to grow weary and worse, we may even be tempted to give up. Grow weary- sometimes translated as ‘to lose heart’ to fail in heart, to faint I think the idea here is sowing sometimes takes a long time and is often difficult work, and yet we will never see the harvest to its intended end if we get discouraged, lose heart, or shrink away from the work Give up- if we do not give in to the weariness and quit.

Keeping in step with the Spirit, standing against attacks from the enemy, influence from the world, and desires from the flesh is not easy, it is hard work, and Paul’s point is that if we want to see the good fruit we must not get discouraged, we must not shrink back from sowing, we must not give up or we will never see the blessings of the harvest.

Christ is the prime example of this kind of labor. He poured himself out in obedience to the Father, perfectly obeying His father, doing the works of Him who sent him and not reaping the fruit of that obedience until on the other side of the cross. Hebrews says it this way, Hebrews 12:3 “3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

So then. Since we will reap what we sow either good or bad, since it will be in due season, or God’s timing, since we are called to not give up or grow weary, since all of that is true, Paul says, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone.

The statement, as we have opportunity is a reminder. Paul is not using the word opportunity as we normally do. The word he uses is not talking about a moment in time where things align, or an opportune moment, an event in time, or an intersection of circumstances. The word he uses describes a measure of time, a season. He says, while we possess the seasonable time. As long as God leaves us here on Earth we are in the seasonable time to do good, as long as God wakes us up with new breath in our longs and a new day before us, as long as Jesus remains seated at the right hand of the Father, we are perfectly placed to do good through the influence and power of the Holy Spirit. There will come a day when our life here is over, whether by physical death or the return of Christ and we will no longer have a battle to wage against our flesh. And friends, as amazing as that sounds, and as blessed as that day will be, it will mean that our opportunity to reject the flesh and walk by the Spirit for God’s glory and our good will have come to an end. Now is the time to do good.

I once heard an old proverb that says, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now. You don’t have yesterday, you have today, you have this moment, you are in the opportune season for sowing to the Spirit.

What does that look like? Let us do good… Let us do ‘what is upright, honorable, and acceptable to God’. Having sown to the Spirit and operating out of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; let us conduct ourselves towards one another in ways of service that are upright, honorable, and acceptable to God, in the name of Christ, grateful we have the opportunity.

To who? To everyone. All. But in case you are wondering where to start, Paul says, especially those who are of the household of faith, or in the greek The Faith. Those who profess faith and belief in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior. To get even more specific, especially those whom you have covenanted together in the local body with.

Let me walk this out the best I can in the way I understand it. If we will reject the desires and passions of the flesh and sow to the Spirit, through engaging God’s word, through prioritizing prayer and worship, through gathering with the saints, we will reap new passions and motivations that are characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; and as we serve one another for their good and God’s glory out of these spirit given motivations we are sowing new seeds that we will reap one day in heaven with our Lord.

If we do not grow weary, if we do not give up. Paul’s call in Galatians is to persist, look to Christ, love and serve one another in the name of Christ and the power of the Spirit. Conclusion:

I’d like to wrap today up with a story. When my grandfather retired, for the second time, he expanded his garden quite a bit and from time to time, we, as his grandchildren, would help him with various gardening tasks. Mostly helping harvest corn or peas or watermelon, or shelling peas, etc… I remember one time, my sister and I helped him plant corn. We dug the holes, we planted the seed, and we covered it over again, and if I’m not mistaken, watered it for the first time. You could say that we sowed the seed. But, my grandfather had gone out and purchased that seed, he had previously tilled the ground to prepare it to be planted, he directed us where to dig, where to placed the seed, and how many seeds in each spot. Then he cared for the garden daily, protecting it from animals, making sure it got weeded and cared for, and yet, when it was time, I got to participate in the sweetness many times over what my work produced, because of the kindness and goodness of my grandfather.

Friends, don’t you see it. The Bible says God prepared the good work beforehand for us, the seed, furthermore, Christ is there with us handing no more to us than we can handle at a time for each spot, and the Holy Spirit telling us where and how to plant it. God cares for it, watering it, protecting it, giving the increase, until one day we will share in a harvest so much richer than anything our efforts could have produced.

This is the invitation we have from the Father. To be about His work, to labor in the kingdom, for the kingdom, faithfully sowing to the Spirit, trusting that God will bring a harvest.