Keep In Step

Scripture Text: Galatians 5:13-26

 

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

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. 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, forbearance, 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 flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

 

Sermon Notes:

We are living in this amazing grace of God. We experience it every day in our salvation and in the process of living for Christ, our sanctification.

Today we come to the meat of sanctification. God is working on all of us through his Spirit. If we have received the gift of God’s grace, then he is making us more like Christ. This is the work of the Spirit in us.

Understand Yourself:

“For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want” (v17)

• We who believe are being changed into the image of Christ. This process of sanctification sometimes confuses us. We continue to sin after we are saved and receive God’s grace. Why? Sometimes we sin so profoundly that we wonder if we really belong to Christ. Sometimes we struggle with sin so desperately that it feels we are back in its grip rather than in the grip of grace.

• There is no escape from this struggle while you are in the body. This struggle is going on inside of every person in this room. There are no exceptions. This is the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit, between the old you and the new you.

• The flesh is not about the meat on your bones. It’s about the condition of your mind and heart. Paul uses the word “flesh” to describe our nature, our condition, away from God, our sinful and rebellious selves. The flesh always struggles against the Spirit.

• There is no magic pill for you. This struggle will go on as long as you are in the body and here on this earth. You cannot eradicate the flesh in your mind and heart. You will continue to struggle with evil desires, temptations, and the sin that so easily comes upon you.

• Your desires will sometimes lead you astray. The flesh and the spirit “are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want” (Gal. 5:17). The flesh is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh. Therefore, you cannot simply do whatever you want.

• The struggle manifests itself in different ways. For the believer it is often the unholy temptation to twist your freedom into selfish advantage rather than humble service.

• Some of you are prone to pride. That is your struggle. You think of yourself more highly than you ought to think.

• Some of you are prone to greed--an inordinate desire for more than simply eats you up every day. It may be pleasure. It may be money. But you are consumed by the pursuit of more.

• And some of you struggle with sloth. You are so undisciplined in your behavior. You beat yourself up every day because of it. You wonder why you cannot be more useful, more productive. But if you do not watch yourself, you slide right back into that bed, into that couch. The clock is ticking, and you are spending the precious minutes, hours, and days of your life in a wasteful way.

• Take a look at the list of the obvious works of the flesh: “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” (Gal. 5:19-21). Then Paul warns us, “that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (v21).

We cannot live here. To live perpetually in these attitudes and activities is to deny the grace that saved us and to demonstrate that we have never really received the grace of God.

But to struggle with envy, impurity, rage, and selfish ambition—this is the very condition of all people. All of this describes the activity of the flesh. For now, this is our condition. When we get to heaven this will no longer be our condition. But for now we cannot escape it. We are in an internal struggle that is really the defining battle of our lives.

 

Prepare Yourself:

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25).

The Apostle Paul mentions two helpful truths that will keep you walking in the way of Christ. These ought to be foremost in your mind and heart every day. They will guide you into God’s wisdom, and they will help you identify and resist temptation.

• You have a moral and ethical center: the great commandment: “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal. 5:14). This great command is addressed and approved by Jesus. It is also addressed and approved by Peter, James, John and Paul. It comes from Deuteronomy 6:5, love God with all your heart, and Leviticus 19:18, love your neighbor as yourself.

• This command is explanation. It tells you why you live a faithful, honest, and holy life. It is the reasoning behind your behavior. This is your ethics.

• This command is obligation. It tells you what you are to do in this world in obedience to Christ. John 13:34: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” We serve one another following the example of the foot-washing Jesus.

• This command is description. It tells you how you are to live in this world. We saw this last week in “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” This is our morality. It describes our behavior in the world—loving others. In this we are following the example of Jesus. We are walking as he walked (I John 2:6).

• This command is discipline of the highest order. It is not a command that you get down one day and move on to something else. It stands before you as a goal for your daily living. It keeps your eyes open for the neighbor who needs you. It stretches you every day with the challenge of caring for others as you care for yourself. It keeps you straining to reach the goal for the prize that lies before you. It challenges you to do with your freedom what God has done with his freedom—love.

• You have the Spirit of God within you. This is God’s gift of grace to you. You received the Spirit when you first trusted Christ. The Spirit abides within you—lives within you.

• You are to walk by the Spirit. This will keep you from indulging your destructive desires that weaken you morally and spiritually and relationally.

• You are to be led by the Spirit. Following the prompting of the Holy Spirit in your heart will prevent you from falling into the pride that tries to keep the law rather than remaining in relationship with Christ.

• “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). Last week we read of these Galatians: “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?” (Gal. 5:7). That was a running metaphor. Now we come back to a walking metaphor about keeping in step.

Graham is going to be three years old in a couple of weeks. He has a small hand but a good grip. His legs are short. So when he is walking beside me, I slow down so we can walk together. But Graham is easily distracted—“Squirrel!” And he will turn on a dime and go

The same is true with us. We get impatient. We get distracted. We get fearful or angry. And suddenly we know we are not keeping pace with the Spirit.

Conclusion: Someone is pacing you, setting your perfect pace. The Holy Spirit is doing what no other person in the world can do. He is predicting perfectly the pace that will move you forward and keep you on course. Your task in Christian living is to love your Neighbor, and keep in step with the Spirit.