July 3, 2022 - Life in the Spirit
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The Christian life - as the apostle Paul has been recently pointing out to the Galatians - is a life of war.
And it’s been interesting to hear Paul speak this way - because when he does - it SEEMS as though the Christian life - is...
Performance based
That if you PERFORM up to a certain standard - then in the end - you’ll MAKE IT!
Last week we looked at - The War Within...
And we COULD HEAR the tension of this WAR in our text last week...
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.
We can HEAR in this verse - the WAR that would play out WITHIN the Christian.
The WAR that - IF we are HIS - we’ve ALL been a part of.
Now - as we mentioned last week - THIS WAR that we all experience as BELIEVERS in Christ...
THIS WAR - has caused MUCH - salvific doubt over the centuries in the lives of believers...
Believers can fall into - DOUBTING their salvation when they look at their life - and they experience this...
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
it’s crystal clear here - that our lives - AS CHRISTIANS - will be marked by an - INNER DICHOTOMY
And it’s this truth that - TODAY - will be...
elevated with an ETERNAL ULTIMATUM…(so kinda scary)
AND - at the same time
be GROUNDED in rock solid assurance of Faith…
And so let’s get right to our text....we’re actually gonna step BACK INTO a couple verses from last week to start...
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.
As you know - especially if you attended our last Bible study...
GRAMMAR plays a HUGE role in how we interpret the Bible...
And so if we were to go back to the verse we began with today, we would read this...
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Sounds like an important verse does it not?
NOW - ON IT’S OWN - we read this and we may draw a conclusion...
But grammatically, the verse is begging us to do something...
The verse BEGINS with a conjunction… (but)
Which TELLS US - a comparison is being made…with information BEFORE this verse
SO we need to read the prior verse (AT LEAST) to get a better context for this verse...
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.
Remember this verse from last week?
It tells us that AS BELIEVERS - we should be PREPARED for - - WAR
An INNER war!
An INNER struggle - that may lead to -
confusion
worry
even DOUBTS of salvation!
EVEN DOUBTS of SALVATION....
next verse
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
SLIDE: Having the Spirit: Removes Condemnation Under the Law
Having the Spirit
Having the Spirit
Another way to THINK ABOUT being - Under the Law - is to equate that idea - with being - Under God’s Wrath...
When we are UNDER the Law....we are UNDER God’s wrath!
Why?
Think about what - UNDER the LAW - means...
If we just go back to chapter 3 of Galatians, we’ll see Paul address this...
22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
This is saying that BEFORE Jesus came - everything was - UNDER - what?
Under sin...
WHY? because ALL have SINNED and fallen short of the glory of God! (Romans 3:23)
next verse...
22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
v22 told us that before Christ came - we were UNDER SIN...
v23 said - before Christ came - we were held captive UNDER THE LAW...
Is this teaching that the Law is SIN?
NO - remember what the Law does?
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
The law - REVEALS our SIN...
See - when we’re UNDER the LAW - the law is not the problem…WE ARE the PROBLEM!
The LAW SHOWS US - that WE are the problem!
Our SIN - is the problem!!
And the Bible is CLEAR on this...
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
Think through what this is saying...
Paul is saying....
Whether you HAVE the LAW or NOT, you will PERISH - why?
Because of SIN!
[Read verse again!]
This is saying - ALL will PERISH because of SIN....
Perish - FOREVER - APART from GOD - because of SIN...
Again - see - UNDER the Law - there is CONDEMNATION!
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
See it?
UNDER THE LAW - without the shedding of blood - there is NO forgiveness of sins!
Under the law - there is CONDEMNATION!
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
UNDER the LAW - there is - CONDEMNATION!
To be UNDER the LAW - is to be UNDER the WRATH of GOD!
Now - back to our text today....
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
and our point from this was what?
Having the Spirit: Removes Condemnation Under the Law
See - to be LED BY the Spirit - the IMPLICATION IS - you HAVE the Spirit!
You can’t be LED BY the Spirit - if you DON’T HAVE the Spirit...
Those who HAVE the SPIRIT - are no longer UNDER the LAW…No longer UNDER condemnation...
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
SO - i hope we GET IT!
It’s good Paul starts here BECAUSE - what comes next will sound like - a PERFORMANCE based religion...
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.
What does this SOUND LIKE?
Sounds like - a WORKS BASED religion!
DO THESE THINGS - and you will NOT enter heaven
I’ve heard Pastors I RESPECT - USE these verses to try to CONVINCE people - to NOT SIN!
And I just think that’s OFF...
Stay with me!
We just heard about - WORKS of the FLESH!
Let’s jump to verse 22 to read it- and then we’ll circle back...
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.
OK, these 2 verses HERE are going to INFORM our THINKING about the prior verses...
There are 2 things we need to consider to THINK PROPERLY thru these verses...
BECAUSE - Paul here is NOT preaching a works-based religion!
So why does he speak this way....
What 2 CATEGORIES are being discussed in this passage?
Let’s look at verses 19 and 22...
SLIDE: Gal 5:19, 22
We have 2 categories listed here…AND NOTICE the labels given them...
SLIDE: Gal 5:19,22 - highlights
And these labels are important…because they point to a Spiritual reality
The first category that Paul walks us thru - is -
SLIDE:
Works of the flesh
The Works of the Flesh are WORKS that we perform - that FLOW FROM - our flesh!
Now - REMEMBER our text from last week...
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.
Our FLESH - DESIRES - at EVERY MOMENT - to dishonor God
Our FLESH is SATURATED in SIN...
To the DEGREE - that it’s PART OF OUR NATURE
And Paul made it clear that EVEN as Christians - we’ll deal with SIN in our lives
What WORKS does our flesh PERFORM?
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.
NOW - HERE Paul says that if you DO these things, you WON’T inherit the kingdom of God!
BUT - in Romans 7, Paul tells us that he HIMSELF - did things he DID NOT want to do...
That SIN still worked in his outer flesh!!
So how does that work?
The KEY to knowing how this works is this -
EVEN Christians will DEAL with SIN...
BUT - BEING Christians - we - - HAVE the SPIRIT of God IN US!
Hopefully we know - that when you put your faith in Christ… you receive the Holy Spirit...
The Spirit - UPON FAITH - dwells within the believer...
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
And SINCE we ARE SEALED with the Spirit - that means we HAVE the SPIRIT!
And HAVING the Spirit - yes - we may struggle with the bad list of things that Paul mentions - BUT
HAVING the Spirit - we are now a NEW CREATION!
NOT Perfect… but NEW…NOW - in Christ!
And if we HAVE the Spirit - that means we will begin to CHANGE to be like Jesus!
And the OTHER Category that Paul mentions in our text - will BEGIN to SHOW itself...
What will begin to show itself?
SLIDE:
Fruit of the Spirit
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.
And so what we need to see from this explanation from Paul - is this...
SLIDE: Having the Spirit: Empowers Growth in the Nature of God Himself
Having the Spirit
Having the Spirit
*How many of you remember your NEW BIRTH?
For those of you who remember - what was it like - the NEXT day?
Were you COMPLETELY changed?
Were you addicted to THIS or THAT the day before - but then - BOOM - It was gone?
NO - We all know that the NEW BIRTH doesn’t - MAKE US PERFECT!
We still find that we - STRUGGLE with sin...
We actually LIVE OUT - Romans chapter 7
BUT - upon Faith in JESUS CHRIST - we DO become NEW...
And we BEGIN to be transformed - into the image and likeness of Christ as we begin WALKING now in the newness of LIFE!
And now HAVING the SPIRIT -
works of the FLESH no longer DOMINATE our lives...
FRUIT begins to grow...
FRUITS of the Spirit!
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
And THESE FRUITS - the very NATURE of God Himself
And so these fruits...
1. Love - we’re not just talking about an ordinary love - this is Christ-like Love (and I would declare - THE love of Christ) - Now growing in us
2. Joy - it’s not just any kind of joy - the fruit of the Spirit is CHRIST-LIKE joy (and I would declare THE joy of Christ)
3. Not ANY kind of peace - but THE PEACE of Christ - now growing in us
4. THE kindness of Christ
5. THE GOODNESS of Christ...
THESE FRUITS - begin to GROW in us!
The nature of God Himself - beginning to SHOW in our lives!
And so - an interesting aspect of this DICHOTOMY in the life of a believer...
Is that you can have 2 PEOPLE...
ONE - an unbeliever
The OTHER - a BELIEVER
And they [could] live the exact same lives (making the same decisions)...
The UNBELIEVER -
a person who loves the world, at times shows fits of anger...
yet - is a kind person, gentle
AND
The BELIEVER -
a person who at times loves the world, at times shows fits of anger...
YET - is a kind person, gentle - a BELIEVER in Christ!
- The [UNBELIEVER] - and the [BELIEVER] - seemingly the same (as we LOOK at their lives) - YET - the believer HAS the Spirit
- and the UNBELIEVER does NOT have the Spirit
The Unbeliever - STILL UNDER the LAW - still UNDER God’s wrath!
The BELIEVER - NOT under the Law - NOT under God’s wrath!
From our HUMAN vantage point - these 2 people = SEEMINGLY the same - yet an ETERNAL difference!
It’s the person who HAS the SPIRIT - AND ONLY the person who HAS the Spirit...(based on FAITH in Jesus)...
… that produces good fruit
Nice people - sincere people - WHO ARE UNBELIEVERS - cannot bear GOOD fruit (in God’s eyes)
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
And so - in a mysterious way - The person who HAS the Spirit of God...
YET STILL deals with SIN in his/her life...
That person - BEARS GOOD FRUIT!
And that person - WHO HAS the SPIRIT - begins to MAKE WAR on their sin!
The Spirit of God - WORKS in the believers life...
And begins to CHANGE the believer!
This is what the SPIRIT DOES!!
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
The Spirit of God - in the life of a BELIEVER - WORKS!!
The Spirit:
- gives life (John 7:38)
- gives gifts (1 Corinthians 12)
- Encourages (Acts 9:31)
- Steps in on our behalf (Romans 8:27)
- Empowers us (Acts 1:8)
CLEARLY, the Holy Spirit doesn’t come to dwell within us to sit and do nothing!
To deny the reality of works (fruit) in the life of a Christian is to deny the very power and promises of the Holy Spirit.
And this is what James is defending in the popular verse we all know...
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
The answer is - NO
Why?
Because where there is no fruit, there is no Spirit.
When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive the promises OF the Holy Spirit.
We just read thru some of them.
The Spirit WILL do these things.
And so - - For Christians - - Good Fruit Happens.
NOT ALL THE TIME - Not perfectly…by no means...
BUT - The Spirit begins WORKING in us - to change us over time!
No doubt - there is a - WAR WITHIN
We feel it - and we KNOW it...
YET...
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
us, who walk not according to the flesh (works of the flesh), but according to the Spirit (fruits of the Spirit)!
SUMMARY
We’ve seen that when it comes to - walking by the Spirit - or walking according to the flesh...
Having the Spirit
Removes Condemnation Under the Law
Empowers Growth in the Nature of God Himself
And so - if we think about it - these points ALL COME DOWN TO - Life itself...
Spiritual life
Where there is Spiritual Life - there is no condemnation
Where there is Spiritual life - Growth begins to happen!
Where there is NO LIFE -
there IS condemnation
and growth isn’t even possible!!
Next week - we’ll answer the question:
Well, if THIS is where life IS - then once I HAVE IT - How should I live?
Let’s pray