The Book Of Galatians – Chapter 5:12-15 - Message 19 – Freedom Brings Extra Responsibility – How To Love One Another, And Christian Cannibalism Series

When we are liberated from the bondage of sin, all the past shackles fall off and we are new creations in Christ Jesus. That is what believers’ baptism by immersion signifies. We are dead to the old life and have risen to a new life. I think it is lamentable that believers’ baptism is so lightly thought about when it was so fundamental to preaching and practice in the early church.

When we were saved the Lord moved us into His sheepfold of freedom. We must live and function in that freedom, not start sniffing the outside air through the fence, and worse still, jump the fence to a life of shame and one that brings no glory to the Lord; the old life that did you no good.

“an opportunity for the flesh” means reverting to the old terrible live of sin to satisfy all the base desires of the sinful man. Yes, Christians are capable of this, it is sad to say. Worldly and licentious Christians are a fact, but they live in disobedience. They try to serve TWO MASTERS – the Lord and the old nature; or if you like, the new nature and old nature.

That is an impossibility. Jesus Himself stated that – {{Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve TWO MASTERS, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”}} That was the same problem the Israelites had in Elijah’s time. {{1Kings 18:21 Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between TWO OPINIONS? If the LORD is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him,” but the people did not answer him a word.}}

The people could not serve the LORD and Baal. It was one or the other. The Christian can not serve the old nature and the new nature. It is one or the other. We know the old nature rises up to try to take mastery, but we must not let it. I know I won’t get this illustration correct, but a China man said once these two natures are like two fighting dogs at war with each other. “Well,” asked friend, “which one is winning?” The answer was, “The one I feed the most.”

There is a lot of truth in that. Feed the old sinful passion and it takes control over your mind and heart. Feed the new nature with the word of God, and prayer and fellowship with God’s people and you are on the winning side.

One positive about Paul’s writing is that he often combats the negative with the positive. He does that here in this verse. Paul says (here the negative) not to turn your freedom into a chance for the sinful flesh to gain control, BUT (now the positive) through love serve one another. He does the same here as you will see – {{Ephesians 4:28 “Let him who steals, steal no longer, BUT rather let him labour, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.”}}

And again, in the next verse we have the idea again – {{Ephesians 4:29 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, BUT only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.”}}