Balancing Our Christian Lives Gal5 1-26

Balancing Our Christian Lives

Introduction:

1.      Do you remember when you first learned to ride a peddle bike?

2.      I remember learning to ride a bike…

3.      It took awhile… You see we lived on a farm that was about a mile back a dirt road and the only pavement or concrete around was the milking parlor, and you can’t ride a bike in there so I learned on the dirt road.

4.      Now you have to understand another important part of this story.

a.       Directly across the dirt road from our driveway was a deep ditch and a fence across the top.

b.      Well one time as I came down the driveway I was doing good so my dad let go and off I went.  But the problem, up to this point was that I didn’t know how to turn, yep you guessed it… straight into the ditch.

c.       I came crawling up out of the ditch unhurt.

d.      And there were plenty of other times trying to learn that my front wheel would hit a pot hole and the handle bars would go sideways and over the handle bars I would go. 

5.      I am sure you all have some interesting stories about learning to ride a bike.

6.      It took time, it wasn’t just a quick jump on and off you go.

7.      But do you remember that feeling when you finally got it?!?!?!?

a.       You were free!  You could go much further from home!  You could cover more ground on a bike than you could on foot!

b.      It was freeing, liberating, the chain was broke and you were FREE!!!

8.      Well you see that is in essence the same thing that happens when we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.  We are “Set Free from the Yoke of Slavery”.

9.      But we will get to this in a minute…

10.  For two weeks we have been reading through Galatians in our Quite Time.

11.  Any of the teens and leaders who are on track and up to date with their reading will recognize our passage for this evening is today’s reading in part.

12.  Actually we are going to cover today through Wednesdays.

13.  Now this doesn’t excuse any of you from doing it the next couple days but this should HELP you When you read it!!!

14.  Please turn with me to Galatians 5:1-26  Read

15.  In this passage Paul is encouraging the Galatians to hold onto that freedom that they have been given in Christ.  You see there were those who were trying to make them live by the OT Law, they were known as Judaizers.

16.  So how do we balance our Christian lives?

17.  We are free from the Law but that doesn’t mean, “Do whatever you want!”

18.  Where is the balance?  What are we to do?  How are we to live?

19.  We are going to look at three aspect of the Christian life.

20.  How to Stand, How to Run, and How to Walk

Outline:

I         How to Stand – Stand Firm! (Vs. 1-6)

A      How do we Stand firm?

1        Don’t be burdened by the yoke of slavery again. (Vs. 1)

a         We have all seen a movie where someone has been imprisoned for a long time and their time is up.  They are set free.

b        They are escorted to the gate and let go, told to “Go you are Free!”

c          More times then not when they are released they don’t know what to do, where to go, who to “fit in with,” and they end up right back in prison.  Sometimes on purpose because they were comfortable there, they “fit in.”

d        This is especially true of someone who has served a very long sentence.

e         They got so accustomed to the lifestyle of an inmate that when they are released they feel lost and uncomfortable.  As strange as it sounds they were comforted by the lifestyle of being a prisoner. 

i          The rules, the walls, the bars, the fences, and the wardens where a comfort to them and they felt secure and comfortable.

ii        They can’t function on the “outside” because they don’t know what to do.  There are no guidelines, they are too free!!!

f         This was the exact same problem that many of the Christians of the early church faced. 

i          They had lived their whole lives “under The Law” and now that they were free they didn’t know what to do.

ii        I mean think about what a strange change that must have been for so many people… their whole world was turned upside down.

iii      They no longer had to offer sacrifices for their sins, they no longer had to go to a priest to commune with God (they could go directly to him), their whole way of life was changed. 

g         Just think about what we “Baptist” would do if all of a sudden everything that we were familiar with just here in church was COMPLETELY CHANGED.  We would go through the roof.  “WE’VE NEVER DONE IT THAT WAY BEFORE!!!  WE ALWAYS DONE IT THIS WAY!!!

h        Can you imagine the uproar?!?!?!?!?

i          WOW, that is what was happening, the Galatians were falling right back into the “Yoke of Slavery” they were comfortable there.  They had rules and regulation. They knew what to do and what NOT to do!!!

j          Read Galatians 4:8-9

2        Don’t require circumcision. (Vs. 2)

a         This circumcision is literal and also figurative.

i          We all know what circumcision was literally – well this was an Old Testament sign that you were a practicing Jew and believer in God.

ii        It was only a sign but these Judaizers were “requiring” it for Salvation.

b        Figuratively it represented the Old way or the Law, which Christ came and fulfilled, therefore we are no longer bound by it or required to live by “The Law.”  We are Free!

c         In essence they believed in Christ but could not let go to the Old Life. 

d        They wanted to add to the Cross and what Christ did for them.

e         By requiring anything apart from Grace (what Christ did for us on the cross) we make Christ of NO value to us.  When we add to the cross we eliminate the cross and His death means nothing.  We are saying that the cross wasn’t sufficient. 

3        Don’t be obligated to the law. (Vs. 3)

a         By observing even just one part of the Law, they were placing themselves back under the boundaries of the Law.

b        Now the Law that God gave was good but the law that they had was corrupted because of all the Man made additions to the Law.

c         They had become so afraid of breaking the law that they made up “additional laws” to “help” them keep “God’s Law.”  

d        They became so legalistic that it was an impossible way of life. 

e         We do the same thing in our lives and church all the time.  We make up “Laws” to try and “Help” us.

i          Especially in the areas of music, dress, those we associate with, etc.

ii        We are so Afraid of Offending someone that we as churches make up these “Guidelines” so that we don’t Offend anyone. 

f         Legalism is a big problem in our churches these days. 

i          Far too many people are trying to put the “Yoke of Legalism” on each other.

ii        Judging each other by how good we are compared to one another.

iii      Whether others are doing things that we have declared wrong that Scripture does not say is wrong. 

iv      Any rules that we have that are not found in Scripture are man made additions to God’s Word (the Bible)

4        Don’t become Alienated from Christ. (Vs. 4-6)

a         If we are trying to be justified by the Law or anything that we have made up to make ourselves look righteous… we are actually pushing ourselves further away from God.

b        Vs. 6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

c         The more “Self-righteous” or “Legalistic” we become; the more we alienate ourselves from God.

B       This is why we have to stand firm in our freedom. 

1        If we let people, they will ALWAYS try to entangle us in the “Yoke of Slavery”

2        We are scared of freedom, because there are no boundaries.  They say!

3        But before we get into that lets go to our next point.

C       We see how we are to Stand – Stand Firm.  Now let’s look at how we are to Run.

II      How to Run – Run Well! (Vs. 7-15)

A      Paul often compares the Christian life to a race

1        Philippians 2:16 “as you hold out the word of life – in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.”

2        Galatians 2:2 “I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.  Bit I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.”

3        Paul is now comparing their Christian lives to a race.  Saying that you were doing a good job keeping your eyes on the finish line, the goal.  But wait!!!

B       Who cut in on you? (Vs. 7)

1        Those who cut in on you are distracting you from the Truth.  They are leading you astray!

2        They are taking your eyes off of the finish line and goal. 

3        Obviously this kind of leading and distraction does not come from God(Vs. 8)

C       Paul then goes into an illustration:  (Vs. 9)

1        Yeast:  almost ever time that yeast is used in the Bible it represents – Sin.

2        This is no exception.  This yeast (bad teaching) may only have come into the church through one person but it is working its way through the whole church. 

a         That is how Satan gets his foot in the door.

b        He can’t come in with a whole parade and a mass of people.

c         That would be too obvious, and we would throw him out.

d        He will use just one maybe two people that will spoil the whole batch.

3        Yeast works the same way use too much and it doesn’t work, you just need a little bit and it works wonders on that dough!

D      Paul offers some encouragement or exhortation (Vs. 10)

1        “I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view.” (Than God’s)

2        But for those who are being used by Satan, they will pay the penalty!!!

E       Again these are those who are trying to add all kinds of “Laws” back to man who has been set free from their grip and power!!!

F        Right here in Vs. 13 Paul chimes in on the Freedom = No limits view.

1        “You were called to be Free, but don’t use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

2        Just because we have been set Free that does not give us any rights to Sinful practices.  We read in Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By No Means!”

3        Just because we have been set free by Grace (Christ’s Cross), that does not give us a license to sin. 

a         It is actually the exact opposite.  We are no longer bound by sin we are freed from sins hold.  We are free Not to Sin!  We no longer have to sin.

b        We now have a choice.  Before we were a slave to the Devil and sin.

4        We are actually now given the awesome responsibility of serving one another in love.  “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself” (Vs. 14)

G      Now that we have seen How to Stand Firm and How to Run Well

H      Let’s take a look at the last one How to Walk

III   How to Walk – Walk in the Spirit (Vs. 16-26)

A      Huh?  Walking or living by the Spirit means that you are no longer gratifying the desires of the sinful nature (Vs. 16)

B       Why not?  Because the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the sinful nature. (Vs. 17)

C       Just in case you are unclear as to what he is talking about he gives us some examples:  Read Vs. 19-21 what a list?!?!?

D      But, Vs. 22, the “Fruit of the Spirit” is: Read Vs. 22-23

1        We now have victory over the sinful nature.  And this is how we do it.  Make the “Fruits of the Spirit” so evident in your life that the sinful nature has no foothold there. 

2        If you belong to Christ then the sinful nature was crucified with Him and it should no longer control you.

3        Just think how much easier life would be if we all displayed the “Fruits of the Spirit in our lives all the time! 

4        We could spend a whole sermon on the Fruits of the Spirit because they are that important.  But that will have to be another day. 

E       Then as it says in Vs. 25 “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”  Meaning display the “Fruits of the Spirit.”

Conclusion:

1. So remember these three actions:
2. Stand Firm In your Freedom!
1. Don’t let other people drag you down and keep you bound by the Law.
2. Because the “Law” can’t save you Only Christ’s Finished work on the Cross can save you.
3. People have always tried to add to that.  Our world is a Faith + Works world religion. 
4. That is what makes TRUE CHRISTIANITY different:

                                                              i.      Eph 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and that not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

                                                            ii.      All other religions add works to their faith.

1. Run Well In Your Christian Life!
1. Keep your eye on the finish line in this Race.
2. Don’t let your “Freedom” become a license to Sin. 

                                                              i.      We are free from sin; not to sin.

                                                            ii.      Now we are free to Serve one another in Love.

1. Walk In The Spirit!
1. We have victory over sin. 
2. Use your victory to display the “Fruits of the Spirit”

Close with Hymn # 388 “I Would Be Like Jesus”