Keeping In Step

This morning we are going to look at what it takes to live out the Christian life, to live a life pleasing to our Lord. As we go through these verses today we are going to paint the picture of a true Christian. If you want to know if someone, or even yourself are saved, ask this question, does their life or your life show the fruits of the Spirit, is it a life bent towards pleasing God. It is important to understand the standard we are called to live and that is perfection (Matthew 5:48). Yes, we are not perfect, but it is to quote John MacArthur “the Christian life is not the perfection of your life, but the direction of your life.” What is the majority of your life say, is it godly or worldly. There is only one way that we make this standard. Today we are going to break the text down into four points: The Command vs 16 & 25, The Contrast vs 17-18, The Flesh vs 19-21 and The Spirit vs 22-26.

Background

Author: Paul

Date: AD 49

Audience: Churches in Galatia

Background

Galatians is a letter written by Paul to the churches in the area of Galatia. This is the only one of Paul’s letters that is addressed to more than one church. It was written around AD 49. Paul wrote this letter to address the issues the Judaizers had caused in the churches of this area. The Judaizers came behind Paul and were telling people that faith in Christ was not enough, they also had to follow the law.

Galatians 5:16-25

Galatians 5:16–25 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.

The Command Vs. 16 & 25

Galatians 5:16 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Verse 16 the Command

The but here shows us that what Paul is going to tell us is contrary to what they are being told by the Judaizers. He is going to set the record straight. Here we have a command, we are to walk by the spirit. In our process of sanctification (growing more Christlike) we are moving in a certain direction, a direction of being Christlike, that is why we are to walk by the Spirit. When we walk by the Spirit we move away from the desires of the flesh which are listed in verses 19-21.

The Contrast Vs. 17-18

Galatians 5:17 ESV

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.

Verse 17 the Contrast

Here Paul shows us the contrast between the flesh and the Spirit. They are contrary to each other, as Jesus tells us in Matthew we cannot serve two masters. We must walk by the Spirit and put away our worldly desires. Tina and I have been listening to some podcasts in the mornings when we are delivering papers, and Friday morning the guy was talking about being successful, he said you can’t just dip your toe in and expect to be successful. This holds true in the Christian life, you can’t just dip your toe in, Jesus tells us we must be all in, that is why the flesh is contrary to the Spirit. The world says whatever feels good do it, the world says its not really that bad so why should you stop, but the Spirit leads us in a different direction away from the flesh. The two are headed in two completely different directions.

Galatians 5:18 ESV

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Verse 18 the Contrast

What does Paul mean we are not under the law. The law is not bad but it only compounds our sin. It causes us to desire what it contrary to the Spirit. What is the first thing most people do when they see a sign that says do not touch wet paint, you want to touch it and see if it is wet, or don’t walk on the grass, you want to step on the grass. Yes these are simple illustrations but they are true. When we are led by the Spirit we are not concerned with the law we are only concerned with the way God is directing us. The Spirit and the law represent mutually exclusive ways of living, either people live by the flesh or they live by the Spirit.

The Flesh Vs. 19-21

Galatians 5:19–21 The Message

19 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; 20 trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; 21 the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.

Verse 19-21 the Flesh

Paul now lists out all the different ways people live in the flesh, this is not an exhaustive list it just gives us a broad view of our fleshly desires. I used the Message on these slide to list out the desires of the flesh because i like the language used it shows the shallowness of these desires. We live in a selfish world full of instant gratification, which is what the desires of the flesh are they bring instant gratification to the individual. When you think of the desires of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit I have an illustration for us, the desires of the flesh are like these individual you can pick and choose individually which sin you are going to commit, yes you can plan out your sin. Some of these desires are very personal and some of them will have an affect on those around us. We all like to think we are good people, but if it were not for the grace of God and the Holy Spirit we would all be living our lives according to this list, we would be sinful and headed straight for hell. Paul paints us a picture of a natural human being outside of God’s grace and the control of the Spirit. If this list is the pattern of your life, you are headed down the wrong path. Yes we all sin, but if it is the main portion of how you live your life out you need to cry out to God to save you.

The Spirit Vs. 22-26

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

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.

Verse 22-26 The Spirit

Vs. 22-23 Now Paul will paint us a picture of what a true Christian looks like, he lists our the traits a Christians has. You’ll notice the first thing listed is love. Remember 1 Corinthians 13, without love we are nothing, it is also what Jesus said was included in the two greatest commandments, love God and love your neighbor. Okay remember our flowers, we picked out the individual sins we wanted, so how is the fruit different. When we are looking at the fruit of the spirit it is a bouquet of flowers all grouped together. You don’t just get one, you get them all. God equips us with everything we need to live out the life He has called us to live. When you live according to the Spirit you don’ have to worry about the law. Do we still have to follow God’s commands, YES, but there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1), we now have the Holy Spirit guiding us towards God not the law.

Galatians 5:24 ESV

24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Vs. 24

Remember we are called to take up our cross, and take it up daily (Luke 9:23). We are to kill our flesh (that is our fallen nature) and live by the Spirit. Sin is like a disease if you only get rid of part of it, it will come back. We are not only in a spiritual war with the world around us be there is a battle that takes place within us, because the flesh is contrary to the Spirit. Each and everyday we must crucify the flesh and its desires and yield ourselves to the spirit.

Galatians 5:25 ESV

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Vs. 25 the Command again

Paul now gives the command again to walk by the Spirit. So, if we claim to live by the Spirit we must walk in the Spirit, we must not just talk the talk but we must also walk the walk.

Galatians 5:26 ESV

26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Vs. 26

This is a freebie I did not include this verse the main text but here it is. Let us not become conceited in our holiness, in our life with Christ. We must remember we are all in different places in our walk with God and should never compare ourselves with other believers. There is only one example we should be looking to and that is Christ.

Keeping in Step

Closing

We should give ourselves an exam everyday, using God’s word we should make sure we are walking by the Spirit and not the flesh. If the main direction of your life is the desires of the flesh, then my friends you need to understand you are headed straight to hell. Today is the day of salvation, do not wait, if God is calling you today you need to respond today. If there is still some flesh in your life that you have not crucified today is the day, ask God to help you eliminate that sin from your life. Remember the standard is perfection, and the only way we can make that is through Christ, we all desperately need Christ in our lives to help us live by the Spirit.

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