Truth That Makes A Difference

Have you ever sat in a class and wondered, “What difference does this make? Am I ever really going to need this in my life?”

A few months ago I had strep throat, and as I lay in bed I began to wonder why it was such a big deal to take all of the antibiotics that I was prescribed since we never did when I was growing up. So I decided to look it up and it turns out that if you don’t finish taking your all of your medicine, ever if you feel good, you could only weaken the virus instead of killing it which could cause the virus to become immune to the antibiotics which would make it stronger than the medicine. To say the least, that bit of information caused me to be dedicated to taking my prescription. It was a bit of truth that made a difference.

Well, just as we sit in class and wonder that, we should also approach the truths of Scripture with that same question. As we consider the great doctrines of the Bible we should think, “Okay, I understand that, now what difference does that make? How does it apply to my life?”

We live in a culture where people are dying to find belonging. For instance, people are often afraid to publically voice their opinions out of fear of being cancelled. And the reality is that we all want a sense of belonging don’t we? We need family and friends around us to encourage us when we’re down, to love us when we’re hurting and to celebrate life’s big moments with us. It really makes a difference to know they’re there.

Well, as we look at Galatians 5:23-26 today, Paul brings out a statement that makes a difference and the statement is that we belong to Christ. And knowing that He has purchased us with His blood, Paul gives us three differences to come out of that truth.

Galatians 5:23-26 (CSB) “Gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. 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.”

Striving With Sin

In Galatians 2:20 Paul says “20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” This is describing what Christ has done for us, but here in Galatians 5:24 he describes something done by us.

In Matthew 16:24 Christ says

Matthew 16:24 NKJV

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

John Stott says that Paul picks up on this and further states that, “We must not only take up our cross and walk with it, but actually see that the execution takes place.” So, Our fight with sin must be deliberate.

In Matthew 5:29 we read,

Matthew 5:29 NKJV

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Jesus isn’t teaching that we should actually hurt ourselves physically, but He is using hyperbole to highlight how serious sin is and how committed we should be in following Him.

In the Roman world, to be crucified was a horrible thing to witness. It was humiliating and was reserved for the most wicked criminals in society and knowing that that’s the case Paul is stating that we should see our sinful desires as deserving nothing more than to be crucified.

But it is not a quick death. It would take a long time for these criminals to die from crucifixion but once they were crucified there was no hope for them. They were going to face death. The Romans would place soldiers around the cross to keep anyone from taking down the criminal. And this is how we should be with our sin. John Brown said, “Crucifixion produced death not suddenly but gradually. 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 expire.”

J Denney said, ‘Ideally, we must understand, this crucifixion of the flesh is involved in Christ’s crucifixion; really, it is effected by it. Whoever sees into the secret of Calvary … is conscious that the doom of sin is in it; to take it as real, and to stand in any real relation to it, is death to the flesh with its passions and desires’

Last year there was a UFC fight between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling. In the fight Sterling is clearly injured and falls to his knees when out of no where Petr Yan, after being warned, illegally knees Sterling in the face which hurt Sterling seriously.

Though that was an uncalled for act, there is no such thing as an uncalled for act of war against our sin.

This passage is teaching us that there isn’t a shortcut to spiritual victory in our lives but that we must be consistent and focused in fighting our sin. No peace treaties or negotiations, this is war. FF Bruce put it well when he said, “What has been effected once for all by the cross of Christ must be worked out in practice.”

Submission To The Spirit

Marching band and unity in movement

In Galatians 5:25 Paul says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25 (CSB)

The phrase, “keep in step with” is a military term meaning to stand in a row with but it was also used in ancient times to mean you were following someones philosophical principles. So, Paul is encouraging to believer who has crucified the legs that once carried him into sinful passions now to arise and follow the Spirit into conformity with Christ.

Walking by the Spirit is the outward expression of an inward reality. If we live by the Spirit inwardly then we will walk with the Spirit outwardly and that will result in us looking more like Christ in our words and deeds. What Paul is doing is putting shoes on this theological truth.

Since Christ has redeemed us and His Spirit indwells us, we should let Him led us in our daily lives.

And this really flows into the last point and verse for our series.

Solidarity With The Brethren

How do the truths that we’ve heard today fit in with our daily life? Paul draws them to a tee here as he points to what we think of self and how we treat those around us. John Stott said, “This is a very instructive verse because it shows that our conduct to others is determined by our opinion of ourselves.”

Paul warns us of being conceited which is what it means to be prideful and arrogant or to set value on things that don’t even matter. Remembering the issues going on in the Galatian Church, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine that the legalists were bragging on their new status as being the “true sons of Abraham” and the Libertines were bragging on their “freedom from the moral law” and so there very easily could’ve been a sense of arrogance among this church. They were apparently provoking one another, or challenging each other to contests for a chance to prove they’re better than their other brothers and sisters. And lastly we see that they were envious of each other, or jealous of another’s gifts or achievements.

But as we reflect on our lesson for today, realizing that because of Christ we are alive to righteousness and that we are called to make war with our sin by the Spirit’s power, we should be careful to listen to Philippians 2:3

Philippians 2:3 NKJV

3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Conclusion

And with this said, this truth of our belonging to Christ should bring forth unity amongst the Church. This should be a place of belonging where we come for encouragement as we fight sin day by day.

John Piper said, “If you are not at odds with sin, you are not at home with Jesus, not because being at odds with sin makes you at home with Jesus, but because being at home with Jesus makes you at odds with sin.” - John Piper

So, I want to give us three lessons here today:

The Cross that separated me from eternal death also separates me from sin.

The Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in me and I can rest in Him to lead me daily.

God has blessed me with a local church family to encourage me in my Christian walk, so I should be thankful for them and an encouragement to those around me.