HOW IS A CHRISTIAN TO LIVE?
The Fruit of The Spirit (Part 1)
Galatians 5:16-25
• Galatians 5:16-25 (NIV)
[16] So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. [17] 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. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. [19] 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. [22] 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. [24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. [25] Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
INTRODUCTION:
What does it mean to be a Christian—a follower of Jesus Christ? People would answer that question in different ways. Perhaps the best answer is to say a Christian lives their life like Jesus. Real Christians don’t just ask, “What would Jesus do” they do it!
HOW IS A CHRISTIAN TO LIVE? How are we supposed to live like Jesus?
Here is an even better question: How can you and I be recognized as a Christian by the people around us? Do we live in such a way that other people will know we are Christians?
God has shown us how to live like Jesus in the pages of the Bible, and one of the best descriptions of the Christian life is found in Galatians 5. If you are going to live your life like Jesus, then it all comes down to this one simple instruction: LIVE BY THE SPIRIT.
The Spirit-filled life is a life lived like Jesus; that’s how you and I are to live our lives. We are to live by the Spirit.
When you learn to live the Spirit-filled life—a life like Jesus, then the fruit of the Spirit develops and matures within your life. If you want to know specifically what Jesus was like, and if you want to know how God wants you to live from day to day, then look no further than the fruit of the Spirit.
THREE QUESTIONS—how, who, and what? How is a Christian to live? Who am I living for? What does it take to live the Spirit-filled life?
1. HOW IS A CHRISTIAN TO LIVE?
1. We live our lives differently. (verses 16-17)
• Galatians 5:16-17 (NIV)
[16] So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. [17] 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.
Put simply, when we come to Christ we are to live our lives differently. No longer do we live for ourselves; instead we live by the Spirit—we live our lives like Jesus.
Paul tells us to live by the Spirit and not by what Paul called the “sarx.” “Sarx” is literally translated flesh. The King James Version translates this literally: “. . . Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.”
When Paul says not to follow the desires of the flesh—the “sarx”—it would be better translated HUMAN NATURE instead of sinful nature. I like how the Message Bible says it.
• Galatians 5:16-17 (MsgB)
[16] My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. [17] For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness.
We are all born with a sinful nature. In other words, we are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners.
Is “sarx” literally “flesh—is it better translated “sinful nature” or “human nature?” Let me encourage you to replace “sinful nature” with “human nature” or simply “flesh” wherever you find it in your Bibles. Why? Here’s the short answer.
When we come to Jesus we are “born again” and Christ makes “all things new.” The sinful nature is replaced with the Christ’s Spirit within us.
One thing doesn’t change when I come to Christ. I still live in a human body; I am still a human living in a flesh and blood body. Therefore, I need to learn to live according to the desires born of the Spirit and not the impulses and urges of my human body.
God made our body to function in certain ways, and He wants us to learn to control the desires of our flesh or human nature. Let’s try to figure out what Paul meant when he said live by the Spirit and not the flesh, because God has taken care of the sinful nature when we were born again and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
Now let me add for the sake of argument that Susie doesn’t completely agree with me about the sinful nature. If you would like to have some “God talk” and work this out for yourself, then let me encourage you to take a closer look at these passages (and by the way use more than one Bible translation to help you get the full meaning of each of these texts): John 3:3-8; Romans 6:1-7; 7:14—8:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:13-26; James 1:13-15.
How is a Christians to live? First, we live our lives differently; we live by the spirit and not according to the desires of the flesh, and:
2. We live our lives in freedom!
• Galatians 5:18 (NIV)
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
• Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? (The Message)
Jesus has set us free from the power of sin and death! No longer is sin our master. Now we are led by the Spirit. We are free to obey God and fulfill His purpose and plan for our lives.
• 1 Timothy 1:9 (GW)
. . . Laws are not intended for people who have God’s approval. Laws are intended for lawbreakers and rebels, for ungodly people and sinners.
As believers we have God’s approval through His Son Jesus Christ. We have been set free!
• John 8:34-36 (NIV)
[34] Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. [35] Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
So how is a Christian to live? We are to live differently! We no longer slaves to sin striving to satisfy the desires of the flesh. We live our lives by the Spirit free from the power and dominion of sin.
2. WHO AM I LIVING FOR?
Are you living for yourself or for the Spirit? We must daily make the choice who we will to live for. Will we live selfishly seeking to please the desires of our human nature, or will we live our lives according to the Spirit? It is easy to tell who you are living for—Paul says it’s obvious.
• Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)
[19] The acts of the [flesh] 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.
What is Paul telling us? If you want to know who you are living for look at the way you live your life. A self-centered human nature will always lead to sin. If you are living to please the desires of your flesh then the outcome is always the same: sin piled upon sin.
We find a solemn warning for those who live to please themselves.
• Galatians 5:21 (NIV)
. . . I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
When we believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins and confess Him as Lord of our lives we are forgiven; we are made a new creation in Christ Jesus, set free from the power of sin. We were dead in our sins and transgressions against God, but we are made alive in Christ.
Now we must choose to live our life by the Spirit; we must begin to live our lives differently because we have been set free from the power of sin.
Unfortunately we sometimes choose to live to please ourselves. The desires of the flesh capture our attention and we selfishly satisfy our desires—that’s sin. The Bible says if we live that way—if we continue to give ourselves to the desires of the flesh living for ourselves, then we will not enter heaven.
As believers in Christ God has adopted us into His family. We are heirs with Christ Jesus, sons and daughters of God. God expects us to bear the family resemblance—to look like Jesus! That means we are to obey our Father! No more living for ourselves we live by the Spirit!
In the same way it’s obvious to see what it looks like to live for yourself; you can tell if you are living by the Spirit by how you live your life.
• Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
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.
These are the marks of the Spirit-filled life. This is what a life lived like Jesus will look like; it will be a life of love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Bottom line: if you are living your life like Jesus, if you are letting the Spirit direct your life, then the evidence or outgrowth will be the fruit of the Spirit.
• John 15:4-5 (NIV)
[4] Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. [5] "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
We have to be connected to Jesus. Disconnected from Jesus make it impossible for us to produce any fruit; we will have no signs of life unless we remain in Christ. Only in Christ can we live the Spirit-filled life—a life that produces an abundant harvest of the fruit of the Spirit.
A life lived for Jesus will produce fruit and the fruit is evidence of who you are living for. A life lived for yourself produces the fruit of sin and death. The life lived by the Spirit yields spiritual fruit.
Notice: when you live by the Spirit, your life will produce THE FRUIT of the Spirit not THE FRUITS of the Spirit. In other words you can’t go to a spiritual fruit market and pick from 9 different fruits; there is only one fruit.
Which one of the nine expressions of the fruit of the Spirit would you say is the singular fruit contained in all the other? LOVE!
o Love is the blossom which produces the fruit, in other words from love all the fruit of the Spirit is grown. The fruit of the Spirit begins and ends with love. That makes sense doesn’t it? God is love; therefore, the evidence or fruit of God being in our lives will be love.
o Joy is love rejoicing.
o Patience is love enduring.
o Peace is love trusting.
o Kindness is love serving.
o Goodness is love extending.
o Faithfulness is love proving.
o Gentleness is love touching.
o Self-control is love restraining.
How is the Christian to live? We are to live differently!
Who am I living for? The evidence is obvious. If we live selfishly, the fruit will be sin and death. If we live by the Spirit, the fruit will be love, joy, patience, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
3. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO LIVE THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE?
Paul shows us two things it’s going to take if we are going to see the fruit of the Spirit produced in our lives. The first is death to self.
• Galatians 5:24 (NIV)
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
This shouldn’t surprise you. The first step to living a Spirit-filled life is death. We must die to ourselves. If we are going to see the fruit of the Spirit develop in our lives we can’t live for ourselves and the Spirit. One must be put to death.
Paul said, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). Resurrection power comes only after you die to yourself.
You can’t live the Spirit-filled life without the power of the resurrection. And you can have resurrection power until you have died to yourself. WE MUST CRUCIFY—PUT TO DEATH—THE FLESH WITH ITS PASSIONS AND DESIRES.
Death by crucifixion is always painful! No one ever said it would be easy to put to death the desires of your flesh, but it is worth it!
God is more concerned about your character than He is your comfort. God is more interested in developing the fruit of the Sprit—in enabling you to live a Spirit-filled life than He is in giving you an easy life without any problems.
God will use the difficulties in our lives to develop the fruit of the Spirit, but we must choose to live by the Spirit and not according to the flesh. Our human nature will cry out to be made more comfortable, but we must endure the pain of crucifixion so we can live by the Spirit and not the flesh.
What does it take to live the Spirit-filled life? Living the Spirit-filled life isn’t easy. It requires putting our human nature to death, and secondly PERSEVERANCE.
• Galatians 5:25 (NIV)
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
We will all come to times in our lives when we just want to give up—to throw in the towel. Paul tells us not to quit! KEEP IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT.
• Galatians 5:25 (MsgB)
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.
The Spirit-filled life will affect every area of our lives—work it out in detail! Don’t give up until the fruit of the Spirit is seen in every detail of our lives. Let love find its expression in all the areas of our lives.
When it comes right down to it living a Spirit-filled life—living with the fruit of the Spirit abundant in every area of our lives is a matter of life and death for each of us. The fruit of the Spirit leads to eternal life. The fruit of the flesh leads to sin and death.
Look what Peter said about these qualities and characteristics the Spirit will produce in our lives.
• 2 Peter 1:8-9 (NLT)
The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] But those who fail to develop these virtues are blind or, at least, very shortsighted. They have already forgotten that God has cleansed them from their old life of sin.
Conclusion:
How does a Christian to live? Who am I living for? What does it take to live the Spirit-filled life? With God’s help we can see the fruit of the Spirit produced in our lives on a daily basis.
