Walk by the Spirit

INTRODUCTION

Spiritual Formation Needed

Researchers have discovered certain people are genetically destined to excel in athletics. According to their studies, the A.C.E. gene is longer in athletes than in those who are not agile, fast, or well-coordinated in their movements. Researchers also observed that people who are born with a longer A.C.E. must work out to take advantage of their hereditary advantage.

Similarly, those who receive Christ are capable of a life of spiritual victory. When we become a Christian and receive the Holy Spirit, we have the power to say no to sin and yes to righteousness. But as with those genetically predisposed to athletic success, we must "work out."

Pulitzer Prize winning Poet and Author Carl Sandburg on Human Nature

There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.

BIG IDEA: Are you going to live like a Hippo or sore like an Eagle?

Look back at 5:13-15

“Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.”

How do we use our Freedom as an opportunity for the flesh? It would seem that our freedom can lull us into a false sense of security. We then become lazy in how we see and deal with the flesh!!!!!!

In , Paul asks a rhetorical question about continuing to sin in order that grace might be multiplied. He answers this question with another: “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (). This raises the question of why believers still struggle with sin. Are some believers somehow defective?1

NOTE: Paul then warns in vr15 that you do not bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. (we are all in the battle against the flesh) this means kick each other when your down.

NOTE: The great lie happens when we say, “Come to Jesus and everything will be OK, all of your problems will fade away, and you will live in this spiritual utopia.”

THE GREATEST PROBLEM WE HAVE IS THAT WE ARE CHRISTIANS YET WE STILL SIN

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1.You must stop acting naturally before you can start living spiritually.

Paul’s answer to the abuses of the flesh is to be continually Spirit-controlled; then people will cease to act naturally’, and so they will cease to ‘fulfill or gratify their own desires.

*The Greek verb for walk refers to ones conduct. The phrase is often translated “live by the Spirit.”

*No one was ever more conscious of the tension in human nature than that of Paul.

Spirituality Is the Christian Life

Spirituality is a slippery term but the phenomenon itself is not new. Christian spirituality is nothing other than life in Christ by the presence and power of the Spirit: being conformed to the person of Chris, and being united in communion with God and with others. Spirituality is not an aspect of Christian life, it is the Christian life.

Number #1 Question I get is How do I know God’s will for my life.

The #1 job we have is the act of Sanctification and Sanctification happens from the inside out. We are being sanctified so that we will do what is right.

ILLUSTRATION

Being born with a sin nature is a little bit like inheriting a garden.

Let's say that you inherited an enchanting garden. And for 10 years, you just let it thrive. You let it do anything it wanted. You never pruned back the weeds. You never got rid of the pests. You never worked with the roses. You just let it quote-unquote "thrive."

Let's say that you inherited an enchanting garden. And for 10 years, you just let it thrive. You let it do anything it wanted. You never pruned back the weeds. You never got rid of the pests. You never worked with the roses. You just let it quote-unquote "thrive."

And after 10 years, what is it? It's a disaster. It might even be way past the point of no return. And you go to a master gardener and you say, "Hey, this is not fair. I want my money back. I just did everything I could to let this garden thrive. I let it do exactly what it wanted." You know, the master gardener's going to laugh at you and say, "Buddy, gardens come with weeds! It's part of its nature and by failing to deal with that, you destroyed it."

THE SPIRIT NEVER LEADS SOMEONE INTO SIN

In most religion, the motivation for morality is fear-based.

In gospel Christianity, the motivation is a dynamic of love.

5:14 “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

HOW DOES OUR BATTLE WITH THE FLESH MAKE US STRONGER?

| For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.   6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

NOTE: At the root of our passions and desires is to take something to please or gratify ourselves that is not ours to possess.

Charles Spurgeon-

The Holy Spirit when he comes into our lives becomes the author of all our desires.

THE STRUGGLE

We prefer ourselves

The worst enemy we have is the Flesh v. 17

“Make no provision for the flesh.”

There are two opposing natures at work in every Christian: the Spirit and the sinful nature.

Augustine used to pray, “Lord, deliver me from that evil man, myself.”

*Jesus came to rescue us from ourselves.

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus.

The “sinful nature” translates the Greek word sarx, which in some Bible versions meaning “flesh”.

SARX (fesh)refers to the basic fallen corrupt nature of man, that is not exclusively limited to the body, but also the mind of the man that is infected by sin. “Transformation of our minds.”

PNEUMA (spirit) represents the new man, the regenerated man.

The flesh in the New Testament, when opposed to the Spirit, is the sin-desiring aspect of our whole being as opposed to the God-desiring aspect.

*Basically it is the part of our hearts and lives that has not yet been renewed by the Spirit. It is clear that this battle is being waged inside of us.

Our sinful nature was there, ruling unopposed, before we were Christians. The Spirit, however, entered Super-Naturally when we first became Christians and has begun the renewal that is now our “new nature”. Paul puts it this way in Ephesians:

“to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through sinful deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

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2.You must Crucify your selfish heart before the Spirit can lead your selfless heart.

The Nature of the Struggle

The Holy Spirit: Missing

In many Christian circles the Holy Spirit is either neglected, forgotten, or misunderstood. The One given to unite the body of Christ is the center of controversy. So often Christian work is so rigidly programmed that it seems we need to no longer depend on Him--yet Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing." ...

The late Dr. A. W. Tozer, author and pastor, said, "If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.

Sin’s common denominator is, “ I want what I want, and I want it now.”

How we crucify the flesh and produce a fruitful heart

Changing of the mind (Repentance methenoia)

Conviction of sin and righteousness (conviction of what is wrong and what is right, not just knowing)

The spirit working on our consciousness

NOTE: How much of this is mental

SANCTIFICATION BEGINS WITH DOCTRINE (right thinking)

Paul calls the “desires of the sinful nature” epithumia. In older versions it is translated as “Lust.” literally the word means an “over-desire”, an “inordinate desire”; an all controlling drive.

Living the way of the Spirit is what we most deeply “want”, yet the sinful nature continues to generate alternative and competing desires which we experience and can give in to, but which now contradict our most abiding love and goals.

The be a reborn person has both sinful desires and godly desires, but “we” most truly want what our Spirit-renewed heart wants.

How the Sarx Works

Parallelism between verse 16 and verse 18. WE are to “live by the Spirit...(be) led by the Spirit”, in contrast to choosing to “gratify...the sinful nature”.

Notice that one is a choice and the other is being led.

We choose to sin but we are led by the Spirit which is a living being outside of our flesh!!!!!

The sinful nature is the thing inside of us that wants to be our savior and lord.

The sarx-heart functions “under the law”; it rejects the free gift of Christ’s righteousness and salvation, and continues to seek its own way.

What the Sarx Works

Verses 19-21 “the acts of the sinful nature”. Notice they are not all actions; attitudes are just as much over-desires of our sarx.

Now the works of the flesh, Paul says, are plain. They are obvious to all. The flesh itself, our old nature, is secret and invisible, but its works are obvious, you cannot miss them.

verse 19 three words that have to do with the works of the flesh in the area of sexuality: Sexual immorality (porneia), which is sex between two unmarried people; impurity (akatharsia), ie: unnatural sexual practices and relationships; debauchery (aselgia), ie: uncontrolled sexuality.

ILLUSTRATION

Humanity Spent Four Billion Hours Watching Porn in One Year

We spend four billion hours a year watching porn. Sorry. I've just understated the problem. We dedicated well over four and a half billion hours to watching porn on one porn site in 2016. Humanity spent twice as much time viewing porn in a year as it has spent existing on planet Earth. It all adds up to over 500 thousand years worth of porn consumed in the span of 12 months. Since 2015, human beings have spent one million years watching porn.

One million years.

I'm telling you this not only because it's an interesting bit of trivia … but because these figures are serious. More than serious: staggering, incomprehensible, unthinkable, apocalyptic. All the more so for Americans, because we watch more porn than anybody else on Earth.

Porn is obviously America's favorite pastime. According to surveys, almost 80% of American men between the ages of 18 and 30 admit to watching porn regularly. Nearly 70% of men between 31 and 49 admit to it. Half of men from 50 to senior citizen age also confess to regular porn viewing. 30% of younger men say they watch porn every day. Porn viewership is not quite as common among women, but it's far more common today than it was 10 years ago. Remember, too, this is just what people will admit to doing.

It's no wonder that the porn industry is worth $97 billion, which is about 100 times higher than the $750 million it was worth 20 years ago. Today, porn grosses more in a year than Hollywood. It also brings in more money than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined.

verse 20 two words having to do with the area of religion: idolatry and witchcraft. Because idolatry is paired with witchcraft here, it is not referring to the very broad, inclusive practice of making good things like career into a “god” (as it is in and ). Rather, Paul is referring to very specific occult and pagan religious practices.

verse 20-21 eight words that describe how the flesh destroys relationships. Four of these are destructive attitudes.

Finally, there are two more words that refer to substance abuse: drunkenness and orgies. Referring to drinking orgies. Addiction to pleasure creating substances and behaviors.

WARNING: Those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Paul is referring to habitual practice, rather than infrequent, and repented-of, lapses. For someone who continually indulges in the sinful nature without battling against it is to who that the Son has not redeemed them, and that the Spirit has not renewed them.

NOTE: Paul uses two categories to define these sins. One category are sins that are characteristic of religious people (selfishness, envy, jealousy). the other are characteristics of non-religious people (immorality, drunkenness). Before we think our camp doesn’t stink we better take a closer look.

To Be Led by the Spirit

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3. You must stop accepting dead fruit before you can start cultivating living fruit.

To be “led by the Spirit” (v 18) is to change, and be changed, to be the people we want to be because it brings us closer to being the people we were created to be, the people our Spirit and heart wants to be.

Family Resemblance

The fruits of the Holy Spirit are, it seems to me, largely fruits of sustained interaction with God. Just as a child picks up traits more or less simply by dwelling in the presence of her parent, so the Christian develops tenderheartedness, compassion, humility, forgiveness, joy, and hope through "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit"--that is, by dwelling in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son. And this means, to a very large extent, living in a community of serious believers. Have you noticed the more time you spend with someone the more you take on their mannerisms and nature.

Paul always chooses his images carefully. And it is very revealing that he talks about “acts” of the sinful nature (v.19), but then switches to speak of “the fruit of the Spirit” (v 22)_. The single word “fruit” takes us to the world of agriculture, and tells us four things about how the Spirit works.

1) Growth is gradual - just like growing a fruit tree is a gradual process it is the same with what is happening in our lives. You might say a couple of years ago I would never have been so patient or self-controlled in that situation. That shows that fruit is growing unnoticed.

2) Growth is inevitable. There will be growth. If someone truly has the spirit inside of them - if they are a Christian - the fruit will grow. Whatever a Christian’s life is like, the fruit of the Spirit will burst through.

3) Growth is internal. (has internal roots) It is not just about traits or characteristics. It is about a change much deeper than that. Think about an apple tree, Do the apples on the tree make it alive? No-if you tied apples onto a dead tree’s branches, that wouldn’t make it alive! The apples don’t give the tree life; they are a sign that the tree is alive. But the life produces the fruit; no the other way around. People tend to see GIFTS as the sign of the Spirits work in someone. But the Bible never does. The only test that the Spirit has really ind-welled you as a child of God is the growth in the fruit of the Spirit.

4) Growth is symmetrical. Paul deliberately uses the singular form of the word “fruit” to describe a whole list of things that grow in a Spirit-filled person. The real fruit of the spirit always grow up together. They are one. You don’t get one part of the fruit without all of the fruit.

Here we have a cluster of 9 Christian graces which appear to represent our attitude to God, to other people and to himself.

Love, Joy, Peace. This triad of general Christian virtues seems to be concerned with our attitude towards God, a Christians first love is his love for God, his chief joy is his joy in God and his deepest peace is his peace with God.

Patience, kindness, goodness. - these seemed to be social virtues, manward rather than Godward in direction. ‘Patience’ is longsuffering towards those who aggravate us or persecute. ‘Kindness’ is a disposition, and ‘goodness’ of words and deeds.

Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. ‘Faithfulness describes the reliability of a person. ‘Gentleness’ is that humble meekness which Christ exhibited.

KEY’S TO GROWING FRUIT

First, we need to remember that we “belong to Christ Jesus” (v 24). All that is His, is ours. Our approval and welcome from the Father rests not on our character or actions, but on His.

Second, because we belong to Christ we “have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” crucifying the flesh is about strangling sin at the motivational level, rather than simply setting ourselves against sin at the behavioral level. “It’s not just Behavior modification yall!”

We must ask ourselves not just what we do wrong, but why we do it wrong. We disobey God in order to get something we feel we must have. That’s an “over-desire”. Lust is taking something that does not belong to us. It is something we have become to believe will authenticate us.

To crucify the sinful nature is to say: Lord, my heart things that I must have this thing, otherwise I have no value. It is a pseudo-savior. But to think and feel and live like this is to forget what I mean to you, how you see me in Christ.

By your Spirit, I will reflect on your love for me in Him until this thing loses it’s attractive power over my soul.

NOTE: Crucifying the flesh does not mean being hard on yourself, especially in a destructive way.

Verse 24

Paul is not simply saying like the campaign against drugs slogan: Just say “no” to sin. Our sarx (flesh) desires to live under the law in some way.

It is instinctively wanting to find a form of self-salvation. Just to say no without examining our motives underneath the wrong behavior can actually be part of a new form of seeking self-righteousness, as we seek to justify ourselves by saying no to ungodly attitudes and actions.

Paul is not talking about a PASSIVE process. A Christian can say I have been crucified with Christ (2:20), as something that has been done to us; we are as free from the condemnation of sin as if we had already paid the penalty ourselves with our own death. 5:24 is talking about an ongoing “crucifixion” which we ourselves do to our sinful nature, as we put to death the old nature within us.

Third, we need to “keep in step with the Spirit” (v25)

This is a process of not simply giving things up, and active process (which we do), and something more than simple obedience (though it is not less than simple obedience).

Don’t forget that the spirit is a living person, who glories in and magnifies the work of Jesus. We must replace our over-desires that lead us to sin with Christ.

This is more than just a passive intellectual exercise.

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Closing

We must worship Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit, adoring Him until our hearts find Him more beautiful than any other object we feel we must have. Then and only then will we put to death the old sarx nature, clearing room for the fruit of the Spirit to grow. Then you will become more of the person you long to be, and God desires you to be.

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

What are you worshiping? Are you going to be a Hippo or an eagle?

The way the spirit changes you is through your mind, that the word and the spirit go together. Cold intellectualism will not change your mind. The word and the spirit go together.

The reason we sin is because our conscience has not been seared by the word of God! So that your conscience will not allow you to act apart from your convictions.

From conscience to conviction from conviction to conscience from conscience to life.