Once Works, Now Fruit

Galatians 5:16-26

Intro:

Go ahead and open up your Bibles to Galatians 5, if you got them. If you don’t the words will be on the screen, please stay off your phones— we want to try to limit distractions.

As you are getting to the passage, I want us to think about something.

As a junior higher is there times where you look back at what you use to do as a grade schooler or in some cases as a 6th or 7th grader and think to yourself.... what the heck was I thinking?

I mean why did I wear that?

Who is this person?

I remember back in the grade school days that I would hang off the monkey bars trying impress the ladies.

And I would swing back and forth— one because my arms were super weak and I was trying to not fall but I though maybe it would impress them.

Or playing tag you would always go after the gal or boy that you liked.

Nothing says I like you more then chasing someone down and tagging them so hard they fall to the ground— then they scrap their knee, blood is everywhere, they blame you and any shot that you had with her was just gone forever.

I mean that could happen— I’m sorry Nicole!

You guys still do yearbooks right?

You have a chance to look through your old life and go— what on earth?

I have my junior high yearbooks here.

Our Junior high was 7th and 8th grade

Here is what I looked like in 7th and then in 8th.

My mom always made me wear a collared shirt.

Always in every year book photo I was dressed up.

While you may have lived through the awkwardness— nothing will prepare you like reading the signatures from others— 19 years later!

Here are a couple.

I do not even want to know the stuff I wrote in other people’s books.

I’m sure that we all have things that we did that we would never do today.

We have changed— we have matured— we have grown up.

And at some point when we are getting older our interest change— our personality changes— and literally we change.

Life transforms us.

It has too.

In the same way when we become believers in Christ, our life changes.

We move away from what we once were but Now Are.

Our life changes.

I would say for the better.

We live differently then before.

It is the same process as looking back on the silly stuff we did in grade school or even now in Junior high— and saying I’m different now.

That idea of once but now becomes so clear to us in the book of Galatians.

Paul is writing to the people and is instructing them on how to live.

He wants them to put away the fleshly desires— the works of the flesh— things stuff that is not good and he wants us to move towards the fruit of the spirit!

To give up the past— what we use to do but now we live differently because of the faith we have in Christ.

So our first point today is we want to walk by the spirit, not by the flesh.

Body:

Walk by the Spirit, not by the flesh (5:16-18)

As Paul is wrapping up here he is giving his advice to the church here in Galatia.

Galatians 5:16–18 CSB

I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

When Paul says “I Say Then” he is saying here is my advice, I, Paul am telling you this.

Please listen to my advice that I am giving to you.

What is interesting here is that Paul is giving them a command that is followed up with a promise.

Walk by the spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Walk by the spirit= Command

That verb walk is pretty interesting, as Paul was writing this, the people here would have known what Paul was saying.

Galatians (2) Conflict and Victory (5:16–18)

In Paul’s vocabulary, to walk in the Spirit or be led by the Spirit means to go where the Spirit is going, to listen to his voice, to discern his will, to follow his guidance.

Walk in this case mean to submit ourselves to the Spirit.

If you do this then you will not carry out the desires of your flesh.

Now we are only able to partake in this command and promise because of verse 13

Galatians 5:13 ESV

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

We, who now have the Holy Spirit are called/commanded to live according to the Spirit.

Is all based on the freedom we now have.

For our freedom from the law is what makes following Christ make sense.

We follow after Jesus, not to elevate our status— for he says that no one is righteous.

We follow Christ because of the freedom he offers us.

That freedom is from the flesh— but we must walk in accordance to the Spirit.

Right now you may be thinking— the flesh isn’t so bad Zach.

I mean lot of people do good things.

You would be correct there are people who do good things who do not know Jesus.

Yet, they are not for Jesus— they have desires that are selfish and are opposed to the Spirit.

The flesh is at war against the Spirit.

It always will be.

The only time that this will not take place, is at the end of time, where flesh does not exist anymore.

In that time we will not have to fight against the desires of the flesh.

Now you may be wondering what are the works of the flesh, and we are going to cover this.

Again this is Paul’s advice to them.

And Paul is clearly writing to them because this has become a big issues.

Galatians 3:3 CSB

Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?

Church of Galatia you have started with the Spirit, in order to walk by the spirit but now you are living in the flesh.

For the flesh and Spirit of opposed to each other.

This is a good reminder for us that:

Galatians (2) Conflict and Victory (5:16–18)

No Christians are so spiritually strong or mature that they need not heed his warning, but neither are any so weak or vacillating that they cannot be free from the tyranny of the flesh through the power of the Spirit.

But before Paul gets into the examples of what is fleshly.

He points again to those who are led by the spirit— are not under the law.

The law if you recall is what the Jews would call the first 5 books of the Bible.

A good Jew would follow this and its commandments.

This does not mean that the law is no more, that the old testament has no bearing on our lives.

Galatians (2) Conflict and Victory (5:16–18)

Rather believers are now energized to fulfill the true intention of the law precisely because they have been set free from the law by the possession of the Spirit.

Paul speaks this in Romans 8:3-4

Romans 8:3–4 CSB

For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

We have freedom that has come from Christ— so we are no longer slaves but now children— like we talked about last week.

We no longer live by the flesh but we walk by the spirit.

This the heart of what Paul is telling the people here.

Illustrate

Have you ever ask for advice from someone, and once they were done giving their novel of an idea— you went a different direction?

I had a buddy in college that would do this all the time.

He would ask for my advice, I would give him good sound advice, that would take hours of my time, to only have him go a different direction to then be hurt later one?

Anybody relate to that more?

Oh man, it drives me nuts.

If you are asking for someone’s feedback or advice and then we do not take it, what are we going?

9/10— the when we tend to ignore advice it is because we are acting in the flesh and not walking in the spirit.

We have these lamps down in our basement.

They get super hot.

How do I know this?

I can smell the dust in the air as it meet the light bulb getting burned up.

It seems like something is burning when these lights are on.

I changed a bulb once, after it had been on— and ouch did it hurt.

I am really nervous that they may actually burn our house down someday.

Why you ask?

Because my children always leave them on.

And I tell them please turn off the lamps, when you are not using them.

What question do they always ask?

Why?

Now my oldest likes to learn the hard way.

So one day the light was on and Evey wanted to see how hot this light bulb was that her Dad keeps telling her is hot.

She did!

It burnt her finger!

She was in tears and I’m pretty sure she slept with an ice pack on the rest of the night.

Application

Here is the deal, had she just trusted my advice that the lamp was hot she never would have touched it.

When we hear advice and we choose to play with the fire anyway

You are going to get burned.

When we give into our flesh instead of leaning into the Spirit we will get burned.

We must choose to walk in the Spirit— follow the Spirit, go where the Spirit goes, listen to His voice, follow His guidance.

For we know that the flesh and spirit are at odds with each other.

So we must ask what is the works of the flesh?

I mean maybe you are thinking, maybe what I am doing is not in the list of things of the flesh— maybe it is in the works of the Spirit.

Shall we go to the next point to see flesh vs Spirit?

Once works of the flesh, now fruits of the Spirit (5:19-23)

Paul is going to give us two list.

One is of the flesh.

This list is talking about the parts that are worldly, they don’t elevate Christ, but rather ourselves.

The second list is that of the Spirit.

Many may recognize this list, as call it the fruits of the Spirit.

This is evidence that we are living a life in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

Galatians 5:19–23 CSB

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

Now we see there are two list here.

Galatians (3) The Works of the Flesh (5:19–21)

Paul did not contrast the works of the flesh with opposing works of the Spirit. The “works” of the flesh are the products of fallen human beings in their devising, conniving, and manufacturing (in the sense of “made with one’s own hands”) efforts at self-actualization.

The first list is not meant to be everything under the sun.

Yet, Paul seems too nail just about everything.

These 15 items of fleshly desires are many desires we have probably done right or at least partook in.

He even ends it with anything similar.

This list is huge and as we read this we may be thinking, my man I am living in the flesh.

And to be truthful you might be.

You may not be a believer in Christ meaning that ya, you would be living according to the flesh.

But if you are follow of Christ let me help shed some light here.

at the end of this list, Paul says somethings the scope of this.

in verse 21:

“that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Hold on before you start saying, ZACH that doesn’t help!

The key word here is practice.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE.

Are we going to still sin, even if we are in Christ?

Yes.

For no one is perfect.

We all sin— this does not mean that we will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Nor does it mean that every time we sin we have to ask Jesus into our hearts again.

BUT what it means is that we are not making a living in the flesh.

That we are trying to walk in the Spirit.

That we are not living in sin.

That we are not living in unrepentant sin.

Now we could walk through all the sin that is here, but we do not have time for that.

Sin is a selfish expression of the heart.

Our heart condition is for us and only us.

Yet, when we live by the Spirit here is what Paul says should fill us up.

Galatians 5:22–23 CSB

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

The first thing to notice is how this list of spiritual fruit differs from the previous list of “works of the flesh” (5:19-21).

Notice that the works of the flesh are generally just that—works.

However, the list of fruit of the Spirit mostly consists of qualities or conditions.

There are plenty of people who don’t have sex outside of marriage, don’t get drunk, and don’t watch R-rated movies, but they are also loveless, joyless, impatient, unkind, and ungentle.

This is one of the major problems with so many approaches to Christian discipleship today—they are focused more on doing different rather than becoming different.

By calling these qualities and characteristics the “fruit of the Spirit,” Paul showed that the Spirit produces these things.

We aren’t passive in demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit, but we aren’t the prime cause of them either.

If we have repented of our sin and placed our faith in Jesus Christ——the Holy Spirit goes to work bearing the fruit of these things in us.

So what is left for us to do?

Put to death the flesh (5:24-26)

Galatians 5:24–26 CSB

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Here is the reality:

If you are follower of Christ— you have crucified the flesh.

You have put the flesh to death.

Galatians (4) The Fruit of the Spirit (5:22–26)

Crucifixion of the flesh is described here not as something done to us but rather something done by us. Believers themselves are the agents of this crucifixion. Paul was here describing the process of mortification, the daily putting to death of the flesh through the disciplines of prayer, fasting, repentance, and self-control.

Jesus calls us to this every day.

Luke 9:23 CSB

Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Pick up your cross and follow me.

Put to death the flesh— and walk in the Spirit.

It is interesting that Paul chose the word Crucifixion— but it seems to make sense.

You see crucifixion does produce death, but it is not suddenly but gradually.

Galatians (4) The Fruit of the Spirit (5:22–26)

True Christians do not succeed in completely destroying it (that is the flesh) while here below; but they have fixed it to the cross and they are determined to keep it there till it expires.” This verse tells us that there is no shortcut to spiritual victory in the life of the Christian.

Are there going to be days where we mess up, yep— how about everyday.

But there is hope in one day that the flesh will be now more.

Our desires will not be for our selfishness but rather for God and God alone.

Let us walk in the spirit and we will love each other— we will seek unity with one another and we will lift others above ourselves.

Very Different then when I was in JH— to where I am now.

Let’s pray