What Now?
Text: Gal. 5:13-26
Introduction
1. Illustration: There were many dilemma’s at the end of the Civil War. How do we rebuild the country? How do we heal the deep wounds that tore the nation apart for four bloody years? For the now free slaves the dilemma was now that we are free what do we do with that freedom? Most of them had been slaves all their lives, and now that they were free the question was, "Now what do we do?"
2. As Christians we have a very similar question. Now that we are free from our spiritual bondage what do we do?
3. Paul gives us four keys to living in our freedom...
a. Be good stewards of your freedom
b. Be aware of the battle
c. Be cautious of the acts
d. Be led by the Spirit
4. Read Gal. 5:13-26
Proposition: Since we are free in Christ we need to make the most of that freedom.
Transition: The first thing we need to do is...
I. Be Good Stewards of Your Freedom (13-15).
A. Serve One Another
1. In the first part of this chapter Paul's emphasis was upon the fact that we are free. Now he instructs what we should do with that freedom.
2. He says, "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."
a. The call to freedom (v. 13) restates the earlier call to freedom (v. 1) but takes the implication of freedom now in a different direction.
b. Whereas before freedom did not lead to circumcision, now it does not lead to indulging the flesh.
c. Paul insists that freedom should not be used "to indulge" (Gk. aphormen) the flesh. This Greek expression for "to indulge" is metaphorical and picturesque.
d. It is sometimes translated "an opportunity for" (RSV), "an excuse for" (New Century Version), or "a base of operations for" (The New Translation).
e. The term was originally a military description of the army's "base of operations" or a "starting point" for some kind of military maneuver, but it also acquired a metaphorical sense of "opportunity," "pretext," or "occasion."
f. "Flesh" is not effort necessarily (though that could be involved); rather, "flesh" is unspiritual life.
g. Thus, "flesh" becomes closely attached to living "under the law" because, as Paul explains throughout his letter, allowing one's life to be governed by the law is choosing not to live under the guidance of the Spirit (McKnight, The NIV Application Commentary – Galatians, 266).
h. Christian freedom is freedom to serve one another in love.
i. Love for other believers flows outward from what God has done in each believer’s heart.
j. The Greek word for love (agape) refers to selfless, self-giving love. Christian freedom does not leave believers wandering through life without laws, rules, restraints, or guidelines.
k. Instead, they freely live according to God’s standards and glorify God through loving service to others.(Barton, Life Application New Testament Commentary, 788).
3. Furthermore, Paul says, "The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
a. In our passage, Paul says two things about love: (1) the Galatians are to "serve one another" in love, and (2) the entire law of Moses is summed up in the commandment from Leviticus 19:18: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
b. There is no question about what Paul is doing here: he is taking away the law of Moses in the letter to the Galatians as passé, but he does so by way of fulfillment.
c. He tells the Galatians that their desire for moral guidelines is the best guideline.
d. If you live in the Spirit, he writes to them, you will have love (5:22), and living in love is far better than the law because it is the fulfillment of the law (McKnight, 268).
e. Paul says, "Ok, so you want to live by the law, then do what the law really means and not just keep a bunch of regulations and rituals.
4. However, the Galatians had been doing just the opposite, for Paul says, "If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."
a. The ancients (especially in the Old Testament and Jewish sources, e.g., Proverbs 30:14) used the metaphor of being eaten by others as a grotesque description of a horrible fate or inconceivable wickedness (literal cannibalism horrified ancient sensitivities even more than it does modern ones) (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
b. Paul says literally: "If you keep on biting and devouring each other you, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."
c. Technically, Paul could have said: "If you keep on biting and devouring each other, you will be destroyed by each other."
d. The addition of "watch out for" puts emphasis, emotionally, on the sin.
e. The problem of the Galatians is typically human: egos enter into the debates between people and before long the issue is who is going to win; it becomes who is right, not what is right (McKnight, 266).
B. Good Use
1. Illustration: A parable is told of a community of ducks waddling off to duck church one Sunday to hear their duck preacher. After they waddled into the duck sanctuary, the service began and the duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly. He pounded the pulpit with his beak and said, With these wings, there is nowhere we ducks can not go! There is no God-given task we ducks cannot accomplish! With these wings we no longer need walk through life. We can soar high in the sky! Shouts of Amen!¨ were quacked throughout the duck congregation. The duck preacher concluded his message by exclaiming, With our wings we can fly through life! WE......CAN.....FLY!!!!¨ More ducks quacked out loud AMENS! in response. Every duck loved the service. In fact all the ducks that were present commented on what a wonderfully convicting message they had heard from their duck preacher....and then they left the church and waddled all the way home. APPLICATION: Too often We waddle away from worship the same way we waddled in....Unchanged.
2. Since we are free in Christ, our lives should mirror his nature.
a. 1 Peter 2:16-17 (NIV)
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
b. Jesus did not set us free so we could stay the way we were before.
c. Jesus did not set us free so that we could continue in bondage.
d. Jesus set us free so that we could be transformed.
e. Jesus set us free so that we could be different.
f. Jesus set us free so that we could make a difference.
g. Jesus set us free so that people could see him by the way we live our lives.
3. The best way we can show the transformation in our lives is by serving one another in love.
a. John 13:14-15 (NIV)
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
b. The best way to show people Jesus is not by wearing the coolest Christian T-Shirt.
c. The best way to show people Jesus is not by blasting K-Love on the radio so loud it vibrates every window in a 20 mile radius.
d. The best way to show people Jesus is to act like we've been with Jesus.
e. The best way we can show people Jesus is to treat one another like family.
Transition: The next key is to...
II. Be Aware of the Battle (16-18).
A. In Conflict
1. Anyone that has been a Christian for an extended length of time know that there is a battle going on both in the world and inside of us.
a. All you have to do is watch the news or get on the internet and it is obvious that there is a spiritual war going on outside of us.
b. However, we are also aware that there is a constant tug of war going on inside of us as well.
2. Paul explains it like this, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
a. The word so ties in with verses 13-15.
b. In other words, here is the problem and here is what you need to do about it.
c. The strategy for removing the divisiveness that marred the Galatian church was to live according to the new life given to them by the Holy Spirit.
d. God sent the Holy Spirit to be with and within his followers after Christ had returned to heaven.
e. The phrase conveys the meaning of the literal translation “by the Spirit keep on walking.”
f. Walking means “living” in this context, and it emphasizes the moment-by-moment contact with and guidance by the Holy Spirit for daily decisions and activities.
g. Living “according to the Spirit” should be a daily, continuous action by Christians. He is always present, but we must be in touch with him and stay open to his guidance and correction.
h. The result? You won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
i. When we become believers, our sinful nature still exists. But God asks us to place our sinful nature under the control of the Holy Spirit so that he can transform it.
j. This is a supernatural process. We must never underestimate the power of our sinful nature, and we must never attempt to fight it in our own strength
(Barton, 789).
3. Paul continues his exhortation with, "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."
a. After making his point that freedom is not an excuse for indulging the flesh, Paul clarifies what he means by a life of freedom.
b. Such a life, he says, is living in the Spirit. But this life is a war, a war between the Spirit and the flesh.
c. But this war is not some "personal psychological struggle" or the "struggle within a person's soul."
d. Paul is dealing here with opposites. When a person lives in God's Spirit, he or she escapes the power of flesh and the power of law.
e. But this life of the Spirit is a battle—a battle over God's will; those who are engaged in it recognize that flesh and Spirit are opposites.
f. When one lives in the flesh, one does not do what God's Spirit wants (McKnight, 268).
4. Then Paul says, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law."
a. In general we see something fundamentally important here as to how Paul depicts the Christian life.
b. It is life in the Spirit, the life of a person who is surrendered to letting the Spirit have complete control.
c. But we see here also that one does not gain this life by discipline or by mustering up the energy.
d. One does not huddle with oneself in the morning, gather together his or her forces, and charge onto the field of life full of self-determined direction.
e. Rather, the Christian life is a life of consistent surrender to the Spirit (McKnight, 269).
B. Spiritual Tug of War
1. Illustration: In the early days of his struggle toward the truth, Augustine made a prayer, "Lord, save me from my sins, but not quite yet." Then, sometime after that, he prayed, "Lord, save me from all my sins, except one." And then came the final prayer, "Lord, save me from all my sins, and save me now!" It was when he made that final decision against evil that the victory was his.
2. There is a spiritual battle within each one us.
a. Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
b. Yes there is a battle within us, but the worst thing we can do is to try and fight that battle on our own.
c. Our enemy is crafty, cunning, and been at this for a long time.
d. But we have a champion on our team.
e. We have an advocate who is unbeatable.
f. We have a counselor who has never lost a case.
g. He is the Holy Spirit, and if we will submit to his leadership, submit to his guidance, we will win the battle.
Transition: The next keys is to...
III. Be Cautious of the Acts (19-21).
A. Act of the Sinful Nature
1. Now Paul talks about the two sides that are at war within us: the sinful nature and the Holy Spirit.
2. First he talks about the sinful nature. He says, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
a. Paul divides the "works of the flesh" into four areas that we cannot discuss in detail:
(1) sexual sins: "sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery";
(2) religious sins: "idolatry and witchcraft";
(3) social sins: "hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy";
(4) drinking sins: "drunkenness, orgies, and the like."
3. These four areas are typical areas for problems of excess.
a. The third area appears to be Paul's focus, for it has more detail than the others—the social sins that the flesh was working in their midst.
b. The flesh destroys fellowship, unity, and holiness.
c. What is most important, and what sounds like Jesus, is Paul's final word: "those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God" (v. 21).
d. Whether a person made some kind of profession of faith, whether a person had a charismatic experience, or whether a person endured a great deal of suffering does not matter if he or she lives in the flesh.
e. One's final standing before God, Paul contends, is directly related to whether or not a person lives in the flesh or in the Spirit (McKnight, 270).
B. Stay Away From
1. Illustration: As believers we must continually affirm brokenness as a virtue. Brokenness does not diminish your strength.
a. Once brokenness is absent in the church, we lose our moral compass. Our collective consciences becomes numb.
b. Brokenness keeps us on our toes. It refines, perfects, and purifies us. It is what makes us disciplined.
c. A broken man who mortifies himself, who dies daily, is a strong individual with a solid core. He is a true disciple.
d. Discipline is central to our success and it guards us against temptations and mistakes. It helps us to avoid the malpractices – Kingdom Malpractices – that can destroy our faith.
e. The secret to breaking out is discipline which helps us to avoid making serious covenant or kingdom malpractices like unforgiveness, secret sins, abuse to yourself, family, profanity, idolatry, anger, bitterness, fornication, adultery, murmurings, disrespect to authority, immoral practices, deliberately breaking the laws of the land and knowingly engaging or supporting or validating immoral practices.
2. We need to practice the discipline of brokenness before God.
a. Psalm 51:17 (NIV)
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
b. We need to practice saying no to sin and yes to God.
c. We need to practice giving up those thing which tempt us to sin.
d. We need to stop going to those places, or putting ourselves in those situations that we know lead us into sin.
e. We need to be broken before God and recognize that we are nothing without Him, and everything else is garbage in comparison to Him.
Transition: But how do we do this? The answer is in the fourth key...
IV. Be Led By the Spirit (22-26).
A. But The Fruit of the Spirit
1. Now Paul contrasts the works of the sinful nature, the flesh, with the fruit of the Spirit.
2. He says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
a. Paul describes "flesh" under the term works, while he sees the Spirit's work as "fruit." The former is plural while the latter is singular.
b. Is there anything significant in the change of terms or the change of number?
c. Above all, it must be observed that works has been a term of negative associations in Galatians and that Paul probably delighted in associating the "works" of the flesh with the "works of the law."
d. The change of terms to "fruit" evokes a different image: from one of human responsibility to one of divine enablement.
e. Paul’s introduction of the word fruit is filled with meaning.
f. By it Paul conveyed the meaning of a full harvest of virtues.
g. Fruit is a by-product; it takes time to grow and requires care and cultivation.
h. The Spirit produces the fruit; our job is to get in tune with the Spirit.
i. Believers exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, not because they work at it, but simply because the Holy Spirit controls their lives (Barton 790).
3. Since the "Fruit of the Spirit" is something that is produced in our lives there has to be a place for that produce to be stored. So in order we have to clean out the store room to make room for it.
4. Paul says, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
a. As if summarizing his whole point, Paul says that (1) those who have surrendered themselves to Jesus Christ "have crucified the flesh" and so should not be involved in the works of the flesh;
b. (2) those who have been given God's life by the Spirit and Christ should march according to the Spirit's orders; and
c. (3) those who live in the freedom of the Spirit should not be conceited and so fight with one another (McKnight, 271).
d. Believers know that this does not mean our sinful nature really dies—life would be so much easier if it did!
e. Instead, our sinful human nature continues to persuade and seduce us. Like a real crucifixion, the death of our sinful human desires is slow and painful . . . and lifelong.
f. In many ways, our sinful human desires may need to be “re-crucified” daily. But the picture conveyed by this “crucifixion of the sinful nature” shows us that God has broken the power of sin at work in our body.
g. That remains a fact even when it may not feel that way to us. We need no longer live under sin’s power or control.
h. God does not take us out of the world or make us robots; we will still experience the temptation to sin, and sometimes we will sin (Barton, 791).
5. Paul's answer as to how to crucify the sinful nature in us is, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
a. Because it is the Holy Spirit who gives new life, believers ought to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of their lives.
b. Apart from the working of the Holy Spirit, a person cannot please God.
c. When the Holy Spirit leads, believers must follow.
d. Since believers have been made alive by the Holy Spirit, he ought to direct the course of their lives.
e. Unless we actively pursue contact with the Holy Spirit and obey his leading, we will be unable to resist the passions and desires of our flesh (Barton, 791).
B. Spirit Led; Spirit Filled
1. Illustration: In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below. News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident. It wasn't a technology problem like radar malfunction--or even thick fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship's presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports, neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late.
2. If we want to crucify our sinful nature we have allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.
a. Romans 8:13-14 (NIV)
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
b. As we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit he begins to put to death our sinful nature.
c. As we yield to the Holy Spirit he begins to kill the things in our lives that keep us from God.
d. As we yield to the Holy Spirit he begins to transform us into the image of Jesus.
e. As we yield to the Holy Spirit he begins to replace the acts of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit.
f. As we yield to the Holy Spirit we fall deeper in love with Jesus!
3. The more we yield to the Spirit the more we will be filled with the Spirit.
a. Ephesians 5:18 (NIV)
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
b. The phrase "be filled," in Greek means, "be continually filled."
c. The more we allow ourselves to be filled with the Spirit, the less room there is for sin in our lives.
d. The more we are filled with the Spirit the less we will desire the works of the flesh.
e. Let's strive to be continually filled with the Spirit!
Conclusion
1. Paul gives us four keys to living in our freedom...
a. Be good stewards of your freedom
b. Be aware of the battle
c. Be cautious of the acts
d. Be led by the Spirit
2. What are you doing with your freedom?
3. Are you cautious of the acts of the sinful nature in your life?
4. Are you being led by and filled with the Holy Spirit?
