Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (2025)

Gal 5:16-24; Proverbs 4:10-23

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we have today in our Old Testament Lesson and our Epistle lesson encouragement to walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. For since Christ has died for us, and set us free from Sin, and rescued from that bondage to death and decay and freed us from our chains. It would do no good for us to run headlong back into wickedness and to our own destruction. Far too many do this thinking that Christ freed them from death that they might live for themselves and their pleasures, or that God does not take sin that seriously since it has been forgiven by the blood of Jesus, but they tragically fall.

Flesh against Spirit

Flesh refers to the sinner.

We also refer to it as the Old Adam, the sinner that we are born with and that stays with us and seeks our own destruction. He is the one inside of us that has to die that we might be set free from the bondage to satan. Whereas

The Spirit refers to the christian.

Why the word Spirit? Well this is the Spirit of Sonship that has been poured into our hearts that we might cry abba Father, and points to the work of the Holy Spirit who brings dead sinners to life in Christ that we might look ahead to heaven with Joy. The trouble is that

These two are at war.

This is why you get the tension found throughout Holy Scripture that there appear to be inside of every Christian two competing desires that are at war with one another. In a fashion there are two different men inside of us that are opposed and seeking the destruction of mankind. Now we have to be careful because this is

Different than Worldly Conflict

Sin will oppose sin.

That’s worldly conflict, this is not the same all internal conflict is not necessarily the conflict of a christian against his sin. Quite often the people in the world will find that there is a conflict raging against competing sinful desires.

Pride fighting against Greed.

When a person’s pride is wounded, they became nigh unbearable as they seek to harm those who have disrespected and dishonored them, and they become a living terror. However, they might find themselves torn between their love of material goods and the revenge they desire. Are they willing to lose everything they have built up for the sake of their pride? But

This is not evidence of faith.

This is a conflict between competing sinful desires, greed can also be pitted against lust, that you have these desires but you don’t want to lose the life you have in child support or alimony, or you have greed pitted against wrath, you want to get revenge but at what cost, the loss of your temporal goods? No matter where you end up this is sin. This is why the Scriptures tell us that what does not produce from faith is sin, even though you might have a noble pagan, they are not seeking what is good. For the Christian they find themselves with a conflicted

A Conflicted Soul

The Spirit is at work in you.

He does not pit sin against sin, but would have us stay and dwell in what is right true and proper. He creates life and faith inside of us that instead of chasing after what is evil that we

We seek what is good.

What is right and what is proper. Look at the list that is mentioned here of fruits of the Holy Spirit that we are to bear. What a joyful that these are all treasures that God would have us enjoy and cultivate, and yet we find

We find sin close at hand.

It keeps on dragging us back down into the old ways. Instead of cultivating these good fruits and chasing after them, would have us instead cling to our sinful past and bring us down into death. So what are we to do, and how is the new man to survive when we are surrounded and living in this sinful flesh?

Crucifying Sinful Desires

At the Cross, sin dies.

This is where it can finally be laid to rest, its why we continue to preach Christ for there upon the Cross Jesus became sin for us. Why do we come back week after week and lay our sins once again upon the head of Christ, because He can lay them to rest in the cross. For there upon Calvary he became sin for you. Earlier in this Epistle that Jesus became a curse for us. There is no sin too vile, to evil, to wrong that it cannot be forgiven and Christ take it down into the grave for you that you might live. So that is why we are encourage to confess our sins for God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We lay here the sins we cherish.

This is where it gets hard, we understand the big sins and we think ah well I don’t have any of those so what do I have to worry about. The trouble are our pet sins, those that we hold on to, that we make room for in our life, and that we justify holding on to just another day instead of putting them to death. They are sins that we really don’t want to let go of and tell ourselves that it would be too hard to live without, and so we hold on to them because they are part of who we are.

Look at the list.

Look at the works of the flesh, which we are warned a person will not inherit the kingdom of God if they continue in them. What sin do you make room for, do you excuse, and continue practicing? Why be mastered by your sin, when Christ gave up his life to set you free from it? Why continue in that which brings nothing but death? Recognize it for the evil that it is, and lay it upon the head of Christ who came that you might be free. The longer one has been practicing a sin, any sin, the more used to it you become and the more you learn to rely on it. It’s scary to let them go especially when you have practiced them for years. It’s ok to let them go, for Christ has something better.

The Fruits of the Spirit

These are what Jesus gave us.

We are encouraged of course to develop each of these fruits as Christians and some grow easier than others, but first see how Jesus cultivated each of these for you. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

What fruit here is unwanted?

Which of these fruits has made the world worse than it was before. Each one of these fruits is needed in this world. They don’t grow in the darkness of sin, but only in the Light of Christ who is the light of men. We want these fruits to grow and to be a great blessing not just for ourselves for Christ has blessed us with these fruits already. We

Let them grow to share. them with our neighbors.

We are Christians who have inherited the treasures of heaven, and been given the gift of the Holy Spirit who have been set free from the powers of sin, and death. Then what we shoudl do is cultivate these fruits that Christ gave to us. Now do our fruits compare with the great fruits that Christ gives? No, but are they still a blessing to those who are starving? Yes. So share them with our neighbors and when they say well don’t you need these, we can say in good cheer, My Lord and Savior makes sure I am well fed, and if you would want to come with me, I know a place where you too can receive these gifts.

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, until that day that we enter paradise we are caught up between these two opposing wills, and what we should do day by day is learn to oppose the will of the flesh which seeks only to tear down and destroy. Rather we wish for the Spirit of God to be in us that these new fruits might grow. So I would urge to consider what sin do you hold on to? And lay it at the cross and receive the fruits that Jesus won there for you. Then look at these fruits and see what is lacking in you, and need by your neighbors, and spend time in study of the word and prayer, that you may bear fruit and be a blessing to your neighbors. It isn’t easy, but sanctification never is that is why the Holy Spirit works with us that we might grow in holiness. In jesus name. Amen.