"When Christians Sin"_Galatians 5:16-26

Scripture Reading

Welcome

Glad you’re with us

Our scripture reading is: Galatians 5:16-26

Galatians 5:16–26 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 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. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And 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.

(Pray…)

Background

My message: “When Christians Sin”

Sin is touchy subject

The world does not like that word - they like to use other words…(mistake, error, accident…)

The church doesn’t always talk about it

But it’s important that we do

Even Barney Fife said that sin is “one subject you just can't talk enough about”

So we are going to look at it, specifically when Christians sin

Sin is destructive -

It tears apart societies - makes us divided

It starts wars

It can tear apart a marriage and a family

Smaller sins can lead to larger sins, which can be more costly

Sin elevates self

It is selfish

hateful

unfaithful

harsh

miserable

and evil

I know of no Christian who is completely immune to sinful desires. We have been saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8) and we are new creatures in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), but sometimes we fall into our old habits. The good news is that when we sin, Jesus is our advocate (1 John 2:1) - and he has forgiven us of all our sins; past, present, and future.

But if we have been made new in Christ, why do Christians still sin? And why do some Christians still deal with long-term habitual sin? The reality is that while we continue to exist in this life, we are still fleshly beings. The Apostle Paul points out the difference in “walking in flesh,” as opposed to “walking according to the flesh” (2 Cor 10:2-4). Christians walk in flesh, but we no longer live by, or according to our old selves.

To make his point in that passage, he reminds us that we are no longer fighting a war according to the flesh. Jesus won that war against sin and flesh on the cross. When Christians sin, we are essentially fighting the remnants of the war in which we are already victorious.

The reality is that we have been set free in Christ. And Paul makes it clear that not only are we set free from sin, we are also set free from the law which condemned our sinful lifestyle. This is an important distinction as it reveals the grace God has given us. We are no longer under condemnation (Rom 8:1) from the law. If we are led by the Spirit, we are not under the law. We still walk in flesh, but we live under God’s wonderful grace! The two are not mutually exclusive.

The mature Christian is never happy with presuming upon his grace. Our sin bothers us (as it should). Anything which interferes with our communion with the Lord is troubling, to say the least.

I have read numerous articles, and have attended many pastor seminars and men’s conferences that address this subject of a Christian’s sinful tendencies. The advice given is broad: get an accountability partner, read your Bible every day, write your sins on a piece of paper and “nail it to the cross,” install blocking software on your computer, etc. I’ve even heard Christians say to simply stop banging their head against the wall and accept the fact that we can never stop sinning this side of heaven. I think some of those things are fine, but we are missing something big if we neglect the Holy Spirit who is already at work in us.

Everything I am saying about freedom in Christ and everything I’m leading up to about dealing with our sin has been spelled out in the book of Galatians. Paul makes it clear - we are free in Christ and so we need to walk in the Spirit and allow the Spirit to help us with our sinful desires.

Galatians, chapter 5 contains two contrasting lists. These two lists are mutually exclusive to one another. Verses 19-21 contain the “works of the flesh”. Verses 22-23 contain the “fruit of the Spirit”. Notice in this passage that Paul refers to “desires” and “works” (plural), but then he says “fruit” (singular). Paul’s list of sinful deeds is not exhaustive - the list goes on and on. But when the Bible talks of the “fruit of the Spirit,” it refers to a completion of his ongoing work in us while we walk in the flesh. This is not about what he’s already done for us at the time of our salvation - this specific “fruit of the Spirit” is present today and ongoing for the rest of our lives. He makes us free from sin and free from the law.

[It’s impossible for us to lead perfect lives on Earth because we still walk in flesh.]