OPENING SLIDE
INTRODUCTION
• When you hear a Christian talking about walking in the Spirit, have you ever wondered what they mean?
• Sometimes when you examine their life, do you think they even know what that phrase means? 🤣
• Today we begin a four-week series looking at what Galatians 5 tells us about walking in the Spirit.
• We see throughout the New Testament that we can only be like the Father by imitating the life of the Son and walking hand in hand with the Spirit.
• This series will consider ways to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) through the new year.
Galatians 5:25 CSB
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
I hope that everyone who has Jesus as their Lord and Savior will make this verse their life verse in 2026.
• This verse is vital to our growth in our faith because most of us don’t wake up one morning and decide to stop following Jesus.
• We don’t announce, “Today I’m done walking with the Spirit.”
• What usually happens is much quieter.
• We get busy.
• We get comfortable.
• We start trusting routines instead of relationships.
• We keep moving—but we stop paying attention to who is setting the pace.
• And before long, we’re still walking, but we’re no longer in step.
• Paul understood this problem; this is why before Paul ever commands believers to “keep in step with the Spirit” (v.25), he addresses what will either enable or sabotage that walk.
• Living by the Spirit—walking with, in, or in accordance with the Spirit— is one of the most challenging things we are called to do.
• Why is it such a difficult task?
• We will examine a couple of reasons why this morning, but on top of those issues, one of the most predominant reasons is that walking by or keeping step with the Spirit requires us to do something we don’t always want to do: surrender!
• That’s why, before he ever tells the Galatians to “keep in step with the Spirit,” he presses pause and asks a hard question:
• What are you really building your life on?
• Because here’s the truth:
• You can’t walk in step with the Spirit if your foundation is cracked.
• You can’t run well if you’re listening to the wrong voices.
• And you can’t stay on course if you treat truth as optional.
• In Galatians 5:6–9, Paul isn’t correcting bad behavior as much as he’s confronting misplaced trust.
• The Galatians hadn’t abandoned Christ—but they had begun adding to Him.
• And that small shift was enough to throw them off stride.
• If the foundation is off, the walk will be off.
• Let’s begin with Galatians 5:6.
Galatians 5:6 NET 2nd ed.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight—the only thing that matters is faith working through love.
MAIN POINT 1
SERMON
I. Walk on the Right Foundation
• Many of the Christians in the Galatian church were beginning to become confused.
• The Judaizers had infiltrated the church, leading people astray with their false teaching about the Gospel.
Galatians 2:4 NET 2nd ed.
4 Now this matter arose because of the false brothers with false pretenses who slipped in unnoticed to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves.
• These people were trying to get folks to follow the Jewish laws instead of accepting the grace of God through Jesus.
• To take the first step in the Spirit correctly, one must understand what doesn't matter.
• Paul asserts that "in Christ Jesus," external distinctions like circumcision or uncircumcision mean nothing.
• Paul dismantles both legalism and license in one sentence.
• Circumcision (religious performance) and uncircumcision (religious freedom) are neutral.
• What truly matters is faith—but not faith that stays theoretical.
• Genuine faith always moves outward in love.
Here is the connection to walking in the spirit
• The Spirit does not empower self-effort; He empowers surrendered faith.
• Love is not the result of walking in the Spirit—it is the evidence.
• If love is absent, something is wrong at the foundation.
• The phrase "faith working through love" uses the word energeo (where we get "energy").
• This is a middle-voice participle, meaning faith is not passive; it is an active, energizing force.
• Legalism focuses on the "circumcision/uncircumcision" (external markers).
• The Spirit-led walk ignores these and focuses on a faith that is constantly "energized" by love.
• You cannot "keep in step" with the Spirit if you are standing on the foundation of your own performance.
• You must stand on the finished work of Christ.
• You cannot keep in step with the Spirit while trusting yourself.
• The Christian life doesn’t begin with “try harder” but “trust deeper.”
• What am I relying on to be right with God?
• Does my faith show itself in love toward others?
• Am I driven by emotions or love?
Is your spiritual life a checklist to be completed or a relationship that is being energized by the love of God?
• Being "in Christ" refers to our union with Him.
• In this union, religious checklists and external badges of status are rendered meaningless!
• The only thing that is important is your faith working through love!
• Faith is understood not merely as mental assent, but also as "faithfulness" or "obedient faith."
• The "love" mentioned here is specifically love for one’s neighbor or brother.
• This was crucial in Galatia because the Judaizers were creating division by refusing table fellowship to Gentiles.
• A faith that saves is a faith that demonstrates its existence through love to God and people.
• To keep in step with the Spirit, your faith must express itself through loving action, not isolation or division.
• Let’s move to verses 7-8.
Galatians 5:7–8 NET 2nd ed.
7 You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you!
MAIN POINT 2
II. Recognize the Distractions That Hinder Your Race
We need to understand that the Christian life is a race that requires focus.
• To illustrate his point, Paul uses the Olympic metaphor of a race.
• The Christian life is pictured as a footrace.
• Paul assumes something important: the Galatians were running.
• The Galatians had made good progress in their daily walk under Paul's initial teaching
• Going back to the metaphor of the race, the Galatians had started well.
• Back in the day when I ran track, I would come out of the gates fast; it all looked good until it didn’t.
• The Galatians had responded to the Gospel; they were moving forward and growing in their faith, until they weren’t.
• Paul asked them, "Who prevented (or hindered) you from obeying the truth?"
• Back to the metaphor, why are you now losing the race?
• The word translated "prevented” is a military or athletic term.
• It describes someone cutting in front of a runner or bumping them out of their assigned lane, thereby disqualifying them.
• The "first step" to getting back on track is recognizing you have been bumped out of your lane by false teaching.
• The issue for the Galatians was not a lack of effort—it was a loss of focus.
• In the ancient world, a runner could be disqualified if someone illegally stepped into their lane and disrupted their stride.
• Paul uses that image to say, “Someone interfered with your race. Someone cut you off.”
• Walking in the Spirit is not passive.
• It requires attentiveness to pace, direction, and alignment.
• You can be sincere, active, and even religious—and still be off course.
Progress in the Christian life is not just about movement—it’s about obedience to the truth.
• The goal of the race is to obey the truth so one can reach the finish line.
• Obeying the rules does not earn us the finish line; it is the proper response from those who are going to finish the race.
2 Timothy 4:6–8 NET 2nd ed.
6 For I am already being poured out as an offering, and the time for me to depart is at hand.
7 I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!
8 Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day—and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.
• The truth" refers to the specific truth of the gospel—that salvation is by faith in Christ, not by works of the Law.
• To keep in step, one must habitually obey this specific revelation.
• Paul doesn’t say the Galatians stopped running.
• He says they were kept from obeying the truth.
• That’s subtle—and dangerous.
• Most spiritual distractions don’t shout, “Abandon Christ!”
• They whisper, “Add this.”
• “Supplement that.”
• “Surely this will make you more complete.”
• This is what the false teachers were doing to the church, and the people were listening to said teachers and were being distracted from the Gospel.
• Remember that Paul said in verse 6 that the only thing that is important is faith working through love.
• When your theology forgets this point, your theology is wrong.
False teaching often arrives wrapped in:
• Spiritual language.
• Biblical vocabulary.
• Concern for growth or maturity.
• Paul asserts, "This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you."
• The "persuasion" refers to the arguments used by the Judaizers to convince believers to adopt Jewish laws.
• "Him who calls you" refers to God.
• Since God is not the author of this confusion, the distraction is alien to the Spirit.
• If the message did not come from God, it likely originated from the world or Satan.
• To keep in step with the Spirit, one must discern that these distracting arguments are not from the Father.
• Not every spiritual voice deserves spiritual authority.
The Enemy of Truth Often Looks Like a Helpful Coach
• Paul asks, “Who cut in on you?” —not “What?”
• This reminds us that distractions are often relational, not just theological.
• What voice is "cutting in" on your race right now?
• Is it a voice of grace or a voice of "persuasion" that makes the gospel feel like a heavy burden?
• The danger is not that they say everything wrong—but that they shift our confidence away from Christ.
• The Spirit leads us toward dependence on Jesus, not confidence in ourselves.
• Anything that moves your trust from Christ to performance, rules, or approval is pulling you out of step with the Spirit.
• Staying in Step Requires Discernment and Resistance
• Paul doesn’t gently suggest caution—he issues a warning.
• Discernment is not suspicion; it is spiritual maturity.
• Resisting distraction is not arrogance; it is faithfulness.
• Guarding truth is not divisive; it is loving.
• Walking in the Spirit means constantly asking; is this pulling me closer to Christ—or subtly replacing Him?
• Does this deepen faith—or redirect it?
• You cannot keep in step with the Spirit if you are running by someone else’s rules.
• The Spirit of God will never contradict the truth of God’s Word.
• If distractions pull us off course from the outside, Paul now warns us about something even more dangerous—what we tolerate on the inside.
• Let’s look at verse 9.
Galatians 5:9 NET 2nd ed.
9 A little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise!
MAIN POINT 3
III. Be Aware of the Hidden Danger of Doctrinal Indifference
• Paul shifts metaphors—from running to baking—but the warning intensifies.
• Paul isn't just worried about a big, obvious heresy.
• He is worried about "a little" leaven.
• Yeast is small, almost invisible, and easily dismissed.
• But once introduced, it changes everything.
• Small compromises in how we understand the Gospel eventually change the "taste" and "texture" of our entire walk.
• Paul’s point is simple and unsettling:
• False teaching does not need to be dominant to be destructive.
• Error does not need to be loud to be lethal.
• What seems insignificant today can shape the whole community tomorrow.
• Spiritual danger often enters quietly, not dramatically.
Doctrinal Indifference Is Not Neutral
• The Galatians weren’t openly rejecting the gospel—they were tolerating additions to it.
• That’s doctrinal indifference:
• “It’s not that important.”
• “It’s just a small issue.”
• “We don’t want to make a big deal about it.”
• But Paul refuses to minimize the issue because truth is not optional—it is formative.
• We must know why we believe what we do, as it shapes our view of God, grace, and the Spirit, among other things.
• Indifference to doctrine always produces distance from the Spirit.
• Legalism, or "doctrinal indifference," is rarely an overnight event.
• It is a slow fermentation.
• If we stop caring about the purity of the Gospel, our "walk" becomes sluggish and eventually stops reflecting Christ at all.
• We often think "small" theological errors don't matter as long as we "love people."
• Paul argues that the wrong doctrine (yeast) actually destroys the very love (the dough) we are trying to produce.
The Spirit of Truth Cannot Be Separated from the Truth of the Gospel
• Walking in the Spirit is not just about emotion, experience, or intention—it is about alignment with truth.
• The Spirit reveals Christ, guards the gospel, and leads Christians into truth, not away from it.
• When truth is treated casually, the Spirit is resisted—whether intentionally or not.
• You cannot claim to walk with the Spirit while ignoring what the Spirit teaches.
What We Tolerate Will Eventually Transform Us
• Yeast works slowly—but relentlessly.
• A small compromise in belief becomes a shift in practice.
• A softened stance on truth becomes a distorted view of grace.
• A casual attitude toward doctrine becomes confusion about the gospel.
CONCLUSION
CLOSING SLIDE
• We’ve seen that the Spirit-led life isn't a sprint we run alone; it’s a rhythm we keep with God.
• Right now, look at your 'lane.'
• Have you allowed someone to cut in on you?
• Have you allowed a 'little yeast'—a small thought that you have to earn God’s favor—to sour your joy?"
• I invite you to clear the track today.
• If you’ve been running on the wrong foundation, come back to the Cross.
• If you’ve been distracted, fix your eyes on the One who called you.
• Let’s resolve that this week, our only goal is faith expressing itself through love."
