WORKS and Fruit

Today I want to talk to you about the New life in Christ. We are having baptism’s today where there are 6 people ready to make a public confession that Jesus is Lord of their life and they are not afraid to call Him Lord. They are not afraid to be identified with his death, his burial, and more importantly His Ressurection in life. They are saying that they have died to the old way of life and they are raised in newness.

We will be in the book of Galatians today, and I want to talk to you first about the Power of the Gospel, but then we will transition to what New Life actually looks like. Because there is a lot of confusion today.

First let me give you an overview of the book because the Apostle Paul was writing this epistle to address some things that were going on in the church. Now we tend to think that well there was probably a lot of wicked things like sexual immorality, like what was happening in the Corinthian church, a young man was sleeping with his step mother..

Or maybe that there were all sorts of divisions in the church like in Corinth, were Believers were were divided, some were saying I follow Paul's teachings, another group were saying that they were following the charismatic teacher Apollos, and for the super-spiritual they were saying well I only follow Jesus teaching. That type of division and hypocritical spiritual superiority takes place today, certainly. I have never seen so many people ready and willing to bash other teachers in the church at large. Never have I seen so many Christians super ready to call someone a false teacher or prophet over things that are really secondary issues. Yes call them out when they are plainly teaching something contrary to the gospel.

The believers in Corinth were even having believers sue one another in a court of law...

But no that is not whats going on.

THE DANGER OF LEGALISM

Let me tell you what was going on, widhat was happening was the opposite of these things. They faced a new enemy, a camouflaged enemy. One that didn’t come with easy to spot overt wickedness. They were coming in with false doctrine. But it wasn’t easy to spot because they were using parts of the Old Testament, they were using the Ol Covenant to tack on to the Gospel Of jesus Christ.

You see these false teachers were coming in to the Body and telling the Christians there that they were living Holy enough. Yes, yes jesus is good but this is what you are supposed to look like, act like, sound like. Yes Yes Jesus, but jesus alone is not enough… It is Jesus plus....

And watch how Paul starts out His letter in verses 6-10

Galatians 1:6–9 ESV

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

See the problem is that these Phony teachers were coming in and they were not outright denying the gospel, but in verse 7 they are troubling the believers and they are distorting the gospel. The KJV says that they are perverting the gospel. They were taking that which was taught to them in its truest and purest form… the Good news, and they were taking that recipe that Paul had laid out and they are adding their own ingredients. Namel, they were saying yes, Jesus good, but you still need to be circumcised. Yes Jesus is good but you still need need to do this and this… and listen there is still Christians today inisde of the church doing the same thing. Sure they may not tell them they need to observe the Sabbath or get circumcised, but American Christianity has its own version. We want to get everyone cleaned up, quite doing this, you need to quite doing that.... and while all these things may be good common sense stuff if we don’t watch it we give in to the grip of a legalistic spirit, and then we begin to look down on others because they are not as far along as we think we are.

Jesus was constantly Critizing people that weighed others down with burdens that they could not bear, weighing them down with law type of things while rejecting the Spirit of the Law. That is when your life becomes governed by rules instaed of just walking in freedom, you have given the law power to do what it could never possible do, and that is to provide freedom.

Paul was freedom fighter. He wanted peope to be free, and he attacks those who were perverting freedom. Who were saying you had to do this before you could be saved.

Satan is the ultimate pervert. He has taking everything that is good and holy and twisted it all around. And He says in Galatians 1:12- listen this gospel, this radical freedom was not made up by me, no man gave it to me, but it was recieved. And who did Paul recieve it from? Grom God

Galatians 1:12 ESV

12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Paul is saying I didn’t invent it, God is the one that revealed it

Dr. Eddleman, who was the former president of New Orleans Seminary, said, “What a wonderful salvation!” He’s talking, now, about the gospel of grace. He said, “You cannot beg it. You cannot buy it. You cannot borrow it. You cannot steal it. You cannot earn it. You cannot learn it. You cannot merit it. You cannot inherit it. It is internal, external, eternal. By the work of Christ on the cross it was completed, and can never be depleted or repeated.”

Galatians 4:7 ESV

7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

With the True Gospel, listen you are free from Legalism. You don’t have to be fear mongered into anything anymore, you don’t have to give in to people that would try to tie you up with all kinds of legalistic things......

We had a meeting the other day and we were trying to figure out how to get those that smoke away from the front door, listen families don’t want to walk through cigarette smoke to get through the front door of the church. But there are some that will make you feel like if you are going to be really holy you need to quite smoking. Or that you need to quite smoking before you come to Christ… Listen that is not the gospel… it has nothing to do with the gospel don’t get it confused. Is it nasty? Yes, Is it unhealthy? Absolutely. Will it keep you from following Jesus, no, unless you die prematurely from lung cancer.

By the way if you want to go down that route you might want to take on the biggest killer of Americans. Not cancer, not automobile wrecks or suicides. The number one killer of Americans is Heart disease. So before you take down Marlboro or Budweiser, you might want to take McDonalds down first.

PASSAGE INTRO

Galatians 5:1 ESV

1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:16–26 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 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. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

ESV16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 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. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Works of the Flesh. The word translated here works can also be translated “DEEDS”. This is opposed to the word Fruit that is contributed to the Spirit. The Deeds are done, Fruit is bore.

They are dirty deeds indeed. I don’t care how good you think yourself to be, how self righteous you think you are. If you are not filled with the Spirit of God you are producing these deeds. This describes a work of the flesh, the deeds of humanity operating a part from God’s Spirit. This is why no flesh will be justified apart from the shed blood of Christ..

The First three in this list all involve sexual immorality ....

Galatians 5:19 ESVNow the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,

1) Sexual Immorality speaks of any kind of sexual act with anyone that you are not in a God ordained marriage. rememeber that God is the one that created sex to begin with and that is to be enjoyed in the bounds of Holy matrimony. 2) Impurity- has to do with the thought life , wrong and impure thoughts. Can me a mind that is ravished with pornographic images or thoughts, impure movies or reading literature3) Sensuality - This is having a lack of restraint when it comes to enjoying things with the five senses. I refers to an overindulgence in anything, rather eating, sex. The Bible speaks of the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. Much of the shows and movies that Holleywood puts out are what would be called sensuous. it addresses the itch in the sinful soul. Sensuality is one of those things that are hard to define but you know it when you see it. Like one man said I may not be able to define pornography but I know when I see it.

Galatians 5:20 ESVidolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,

4) Idolatry- You say isn’t that like the little figurines that they used to worship. Well an idol is actually anything that you love or fear more than God. It can be your family, carrerr or hbby. It can 5 ) Sorcery -witchcraft, but the Greek word (pharmakeia) literally means to enchant with drugs. "It is an instant gratification that leads to an instant hell"David Wilkerson said I have yet to meet anyone involved in Satan worship that has not taken drugs to mystify their experience 6)Enmity- This is any kind of bitterness or hatred that you harbor in your heart7) Strife - These are people that are always got something to say about everything. Illustration... They are like porcupines, they have a lot of points but you can't get near them.8) rivalries- Selfish ambitionSelf Seeking, always looking out for their personal gain. They will do whatever they have to to get where they want. 9) Dissensions and Divisions- These are people that are always diving. They divide families, they divide Churches 10 ) Orgies - This word in translated in the King James version is courousing or reveling. It speaks of people that are constant partying. . They think that life is one big party all the time. Constant entertainment. This desensitizes them and they do not have one serious thought about life Now notice the struggle going on Verse

Galatians 5:17 ESV17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Galatians 5:22–24 ESV22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

THE KEY TO LIVING THE SPIRIT FILLED LIFE ISN”T TO NOT THINK ABOUT IT. ITS Not to get a checklist of I’ m not going to do this or this. in order to overcome you must have life inside that is not your own. Now the Bible makes it clear that through Christ.He says if you walk by the Spirit, you will not satisfy the desires of the FleshGalatians 5:16Walking By the Spirit first takes and act of your WillThe journey of a thousand steps begins with the first step. If I am going to climb the tallest mountain in the world. I must take the first step out of the house. So many of us just want God to do it all for us..Work like it depends on you, pray like it depends on HimA good definition for willpower is you provide the will, He will supply the power. Walking in the Spirit means You must stay in boundsHe says to walk “in the Spirit” . Keep in step with the Spirit