Text: Galatians 5:16-18, Title: The Battle Within, Date/Place: NRBC, 6/10/07, AM
A. Opening illustration: Tell about the woman who was an impulsive shopper. Husband confronts. She repents and is really trying to make a change. He tells her to tell Satan to get behind me. She buys another dress and tells him the story about seeing and trying on the dress, and Satan telling her it looked good from the back.
B. Background to passage: Paul has worked so diligently to persuade the fence-straddling Galatian believers that they are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And now he continues his thoughts that right doctrine should bring about right living; moving deeper into the discussion of sanctification. Define it as a cooperative effort between the Spirit of Truth and the will of man, without either of which the process stalls. He gives the key truth to living a truly sanctified Christian life. See also Romans 7:14-8:14.
C. Main thought: In the text, he gives the “what” and then two “why”s about how to live what you believe.
A. A Command & Condition (v. 16)
1. Sounding a little like his Lord and Master, Paul sets off these remarks as special with, “but I say to you.” Literally he says, “by/in the Spirit, walk…” Emphasizing how the believer is to grow in holiness and sustain purity, he puts Spirit first. “Walk” means to walk about or around in something. This is a present tense verb meaning continuous action. Paul intended this walking in the Spirit to be a pattern of life, a daily discipline. It means to go where the Spirit is going, to listen to His voice, to discern His will, and to follow His guidance. And he says when you do, you will not fulfill or complete the desires of the flesh. This word for desire doesn’t necessarily mean evil desires. Paul speaks about the flesh here as being the old man, the unredeemed part of us that longs for perfection, but lacks the ability.
2. Rom 7:18, 22, 8:5-8, 12:2, 1 Peter 4:1-2,
3. Illustration: “A walk in the Spirit will of necessity be a walk in accordance with the Word the Spirit has inspired. The same results are said to flow from being filled with the Spirit in the first cast, and being filled with the Word in the second. To remain filled with the Spirit, and thus enjoy His continuing sanctifying work, will mean continuing to be filled with the Word. The relationship is obvious.” – J. Oswald Sanders,
4. So the admonition to us is to constantly live under the control of, the empowerment of, and in obedience to the promptings and the will of the Holy Spirit living within us. So how do we walk in the Spirit? 1) Begin each day by renewing your mind to the Word of God. Be purposeful about your selection of reading based on the particular sins that you are struggling with. Be thoughtful and meditative about what you read. You don’t have to stop in the morning either. In fact, you would do well to continually refresh your mind to what is truly important. You have to remind yourself that your job, your life is a kingdom oriented life. Also, you can fill your mind with good books about deep spiritual things, and with music that sets your attention on Christ. 2) Pray that God would help you be sensitive to the inner promptings of the Spirit. If we are not careful, we get so hung up in doing what we are doing that we never listen. Jesus’ entire ministry was one of interruptions, distractions, and things that are out of the norm. The Holy Spirit isn’t required to live by our schedules, rules, or priorities. Be willing to altar your previous plans, priorities, or rules to accommodate His leadings. 3) Keep constant fellowship with other Spirit-filled believers, heed their warnings, listen to their advice, ask God to help lead you through them. 4) Keep short sin lists, and be quick to come in heart-felt repentance in accordance with the renewed desires within to honor Christ.
B. A Nature of Suppression (v. 17)
1. Paul then gives the first “why” to walking in the Spirit. He says that the flesh “lusts against” or is “opposed” to the Spirit. This word means to seek to suppress. This verb is present tense, again indicating continuing action. There is a battle going on in the redeemed that pits the old man against the new man. And according to Paul there is no middle or neutral ground. One is always trying to suppress the other. But the will of man is requires to get involved. To not be involved is to be on the wrong side. Note that the desire to do right is always present. If people lack the desire to do right, then they probably are not saved at all. Paul indicates here as well as Rom 7, that the desire is critical to the legitimacy of the Christian, not necessarily the sin.
2. Rom 13:14, 7:15, 24, 6:6-14, 8:11-14, 1 Pet 2:11, 1 Cor 9:27, Heb 12:3-4, Jer 17:9
3. Illustration: “There’s two dogs that live in me, one’s the old dog, he’s mean and vicious and hard and sinful. Then there’s the new dog who walks after Christ. He said they’re constantly fighting to have control of me. Which one wins? The one I feed the most, that’s which one wins.” “Until you believe that this life is war, and that the stakes are your own soul, you will probably play at Christianity…there will be no blood-earnestness in your life about warfare on your own sin…and if that’s where you are, your position is very precarious, the enemy has lulled you into a peacetime mindset,” –Piper, Bailey Smith causing such a stir at SEBTS b/c everyone who had every sinned in a major way after their salvation experience was really lost.
4. Never forget the fact that you are in a war! The American church has been lulled to complacency by a lack of persecution and by a lack of understanding of the true depravity of our own hearts. And we don’t have a wartime mentality—rationing supplies, prayer without ceasing, life and death mentality, single-minded purpose, etc. At all times, in all places, in every area of your life, you are in a fierce battle to take you out. Satan will take you down if you don’t fight. Your flesh will take you down if you don’t fight. You must actively engage your own life, body, mind, will, and emotions to offset the working of the old man. You cannot live the Christian life in cruise control. You are either gaining ground or losing it. We must remember that theologically we are free from the bondage of sin. In the spiritual realm, you are not bound to sin any longer. When you sin now, since you have come to Christ, you do it by choice or habit (which really is a choice). So really this is a war to actualize what in reality already is. But it requires active involvement on your part. You must fight against the sins that plague you. Don’t give up that long war that you have been conducting against your pet sin because you have had setbacks. However, if you can sin without remorse, and there is no desire in your heart, or those loved ones around you, you should be worried!
C. A Diametric Opposition (v. 18)
1. Paul reminds them of the heart of the argument for the entire letter. And he restates, but in a different way the opposition that lies between legalism or the law and the Spirit. So he equates at some level (the level of self-effort and self-sufficiency) the flesh and the keeping of the law to attain righteousness. You must trust in Christ for justification and lean on the Spirit for sanctification. I would argue that the bible teaches that if you are obedient to the Spirit, not only will you not complete the desires of the old man, but you will fulfill the law. And a believer does that through love.
2. Gal 3:3, 5:13-14, Rom 8:2-4, 13:8-10, 2 Cor 3:6,
3. Illustration: title of Piper’s chapter in Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: Don’t fight fleshtanks with peashooter regulations, the Pharisees were good religious, rule-keeping people, talking to Bonnie the other day about Benny’s desire to always be at church, not that everybody has too, but his desire is great,
4. If you are walking in the Spirit, obeying His promptings, agape loving others more than self, loving God with all your heart, you will fulfill the commands laid out in the law. You won’t do it perfectly, but imperfectly, and one day that will be perfected. I think the main point of application on this is that when we fight sin or minister or whatever, we must do it trusting in the Spirit, and not in our flesh or self-reliance. Sometimes we try to kill sin with willpower Christianity, making rules and regulations (even if they are only for ourselves). Remember that self-discipline is good, but its purpose is not so that you can look spiritual or have lots of knowledge, but so that you can be close to Jesus. The purpose of discipline is godliness. Avoid discipline for its own, or pride’s sake. Stop evaluating others spirituality based on how well they keep the rules, but upon their desire for Christ. Trust the Spirit in your discipline. And draw near to Him with your heart, and raise your affections to Christ, long for Him along with the Spirit.
A.
Closing illustration: I was reading about a Christian guy named Roger Simms. He was just discharged from the army. And was hitchhiking his way back home. And he was picked up by a guy driving a Cadillac. The driver said, "My name is Mr. Hanover. I’m headed to Chicago. I have a business there. Come on in."
After talking about many things, Roger felt led of the Spirit to share Christ with him. But he kept putting it off, until he realized he was just thirty minutes from home. It was now or never. So, Roger cleared his throat, "Mr. Hanover, I would like to talk to you about something very important." Then he shared the gospel. And he asked Mr. Hanover if he would like to receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger’s surprise, the Cadillac pulled over to the side of the road. Roger thought "Oh boy, I’m about to get kicked out of the car." But the businessman bowed his head and received Christ right on the spot. And then he said, "Roger, this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Thank you so much."
Five years went by, Roger married, had a two-year-old boy, and a business of his own. Packing his suitcase for a business trip to Chicago, he found the small, white business card Hanover had given him. In Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises. The receptionist said, "His wife is here." So she came out. And extended her hand. "You knew my husband?" And Roger told how her husband had given him a ride when hitchhiking home after the war. She asked, "Can you tell me when that was?" He said, "It was May 7, five years ago, the day I was discharged from the army. I shared Christ with him. He pulled over to the side of the road and wept against the steering wheel. He gave his life to Christ right on the spot." And then explosive sobs shook her body. And she cried openly. She said, "I prayed for my husband’s salvation for years. I really believed God would save him." "Roger said, "Where is your husband?" She said, "He’s dead. He was in a car crash after he let you out of the car. He never got home. You see-I thought God had not kept His promise." Sobbing uncontrollably, she added, "I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His word!"
B. I was burdened to pray one day. So when I got home from work my wife who usually would be home, was not home. So I to my room to pray and God led me to pray for a baby in our family. As I prayed fervently in the spirit, I did not know why, but I prayed for about an hour. When I finished praying the phone rang and it was my wife. She was very upset and distressed, she kept saying she killed the baby, she killed the baby, I asked her what baby? She said, my sister just killed her baby. She threw the baby against the dresser. The baby was only a few months old, about four months. So I told my wife over the phone, that’s impossible, I just got through prayer for that Shamira. I’ll be right there. So I went to hospital and my wife and mother-in-law were waiting outside the intensive care unit when I got there. God had assured me while on my way to the hospital that the baby is alright. So when I got there, they were upset telling me what had happened, I told them don’t worry everything is going to be alright. As soon as I said that the doctors rolled the baby out of intensive care, and the baby was sitting upright on the bed, and I said see I told everything is alright. This four month old who suffered multiple skull fractions and was unconscious when rushed to the hospital, had the doctors scratching their heads in amazement could not understand how this child lived. Today that child is 18 years old is in her right mind. When we fervently pray for others, God will hear when we call. My prayer that day was Lord please bless that child
C. Invitation to commitment
