West Loop Church UBF

Audio version of the Message:

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

"And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. "

When Paul wrote the book of Galatians, he divided his letter into three sections. Chapter 1 and 2 was his personal testimony of how he met Jesus and how the Gospel worked in his life. Chapter 3 and 4 are doctrinal. He clearly states that we are saved by faith and grace and not by works of righteousness and the law. Finally, Chapter 5 and 6 are the practical implications of the gospel message. He wants to address how the gospel becomes “real” in our daily life.  Last week we learned about freedom in Christ. With all this talk of freedom, it would be easy to think that the Christian life is one spiritual triumph after another. We are free from sin. We are free to serve. Yet the reality is that Christians often suffer bitter spiritual defeats. We are prone to old sinful bad habits. We do not always want to serve. We want to be productive employees at our workplaces, but we engage in unproductive activities such as surfing the web or taking two hour lunch breaks. We want to read the Bible, but we end up looking at shameful things on the internet.  Are we truly free? How can we explain the apparent contradiction between our freedom and our failings? 

We learn in Galatians 5:16-26, Paul does not gloss over the human condition. He teaches us that Christian life is battle between the flesh and the Spirit. He teaches we cannot have victory over sin by trying to live a moral life. He teaches us that only by belonging to Christ Jesus we have victory over the desires of the flesh and bear fruit of the spirit. In other words, Christian life is not about moral transformation, but gospel transformation. May God bless each of you bear the fruit in your daily life.

First, The war within (16-18)

Look at verse 16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

This verse contains both a command and a promise. Paul commands us to walk by the spirit. What does Paul mean by "walk by the spirit"? This walk entails a day-by-day, step-by-step, minute-by-minute existence in which a Christian yields each moment of his life to the control of the Holy Spirit. This walk is not only in our public life, but in your private life as well. In verse 16, we also see a promise. “You will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”  The promise is emphatic: You will not gratify the desires of the flesh. We are not fighting a losing battle. Nor will the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit end in a stalemate. One day the Spirit will gain total victory, and the flesh will torment us no longer. Then we will be free in all the ways that the Spirit wants to make us free: free from sin, free to serve, and free to fulfill God's law. We will be free to do what we most want to do, which is what God wants us to do.

Walking in the Spirit is not as simple as it sounds, although the command itself is very simple. What makes the command so challenging is the presence of conflict. What is this conflict?

Look at verse 17, 18, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." "

This verse describes the war within, the constant conflict raging inside the human heart. One desires grapples with the other, like two giant sumo wrestlers trying to push one another out of the ring. Often times the flesh wins the battle. The result of this conflict is that we do not always do what we want to do.  What did Paul mean by "the flesh"?  The NIV version says “desires of the sinful nature”. Paul did not mean the body. The human body is not sinful; it is neutral.  For example, if you get a ticket for speeding, do you rebuke your car? We don't say the car is sinful. It is the driver who in error. The flesh is more than the body. It is the part of me that does not want what God wants, my corrupt human nature in all its weakness and depravity. The body is part of that fallen condition.

We need help for the flesh is too powerful. We need to submit to the Holy Spirit moment by moment.  Although that sounds easy to do, it's really not. Everyday we are bombarded by images, people, entertainment and events to gratify the flesh. The other day, a biker cut in front of my lane and yelled at him to stay on the shoulder of the road. He got upset and chased me down until I got home. He was over 6' 5" and he looked like he was about to punch me, in a split second, I prayed for the Holy Spirit and I apologized. Then he rode off. God saved me from a terrible alteration. If it was not for the Holy Spirit, I would be preaching with a black eye.

Second, the weeds of the devil and the fruit of the Spirit (19-23)

Look at verse 19-21, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Scholars have also called verse 19-21 "Weeds of the devil".  People work very hard to find meaning, happiness and fulfillment apart from God. However, the flesh leads them to dark, violent and dangerous places. What are some works of the flesh? The works of the flesh manifest through sexual immorality.  God did create sex to be a beautiful and enjoyable expression of love, but only between a man and wife in marriage. But the flesh corrupts this intimacy between a man and a woman. Sex becomes a tool of abuse, power and manipulation.  The works of the flesh manifest impurity.  Impurity was used in other ancient writings to refer to pus that oozed from an unclean wound. The works of the flesh has a habit of making pure and good things infect with sin and impurity. Sensuality is more than sexual pleasure. The Greek word “aselgeia” conveys the idea of someone who has gone so far in sin that they don’t care. Rather they condone and encourage others to live immorally.

Works of the flesh can manifest, "idolatry and sorcery" From our counterfeit God lectures, we learn an idol is when we make it the ultimate in our life. The idol can come in a form of a girlfriend, boyfriend, a career. Even good things such as our children, our church and even the righteous things we do. Sorcery uses incantations and drugs as a form of escape from responsibilities and troubles.  There are works of the flesh that manifest socially "enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy." They also manifest in addictions "drunkenness, orgies" Paul also ends saying "things like these." Basically, saying the works of the flesh is endless since the heart is deceitful and wicked. Human beings invent all kinds of evil that are too shameful to mention.

At the end of verse 21, Paul says "I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." This battle against the flesh is a matter of life and death. It is a matter of eternal destiny. Apparently, Paul had warned the Galatians about this before. He had told them that while good works cannot get someone into heaven, evil deeds of the sinful nature will not inherit eternal life. "that those who do such things" indicates habitual action, not an occasional lapse. We are all prone to sin and we lapse into the works of the flesh. But here Paul warns those whose lives are dominated by sin, who are committed heart and soul to immorality, idolatry, sorcery and envy. What happens when we walk in the spirit? We bear the fruit of the spirit? What are they?

 Look at verse 22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

In contrast to the weeds of the devil are the fruit of the spirit. Verse 22, the fruit of the Spirit comes from Christ. Pastor James Dunn says the fruit of the Spirit is "character-sketch" of Christ. When a person is in Christ, he gradually begins to bear all the fruits one by one.

The first on the list is Love, which is the highest of all virtues and the foundation of all the other virtues. Here love is from the Greek word "agape." This is selfless and sacrificial affection. Then comes joy. This is more than happiness or contentment. It is joy based on rejoicing one’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ. With joy comes peace, a sense of wholeness and well-being. Since we have peace with God, we are able to make peace with others. Patience is long-suffering patience in the fact of hardship. A patient person has a slow fuse. Kindness is more than a random act of consideration. It is a constant readiness to help, it is the extension of God's grace to the people around us through practical actions of caring. Goodness connotes complete moral excellence. It indicates a willingness to be generous no matter the expense. Next is faithfulness. A faithful person is reliable for important task, loyal to friends and dependable in emergencies. Gentleness, has a sweet temper of spirit towards others and the daily frustrations of life. He or she is not prone to anger, but humble, sweet and mild. Finally, "self-control" which means temperance or moderation, especially in sensual matters like eating, drinking and sex. These list of virtues are endless, they include "hope, godliness, eagerness to learn".

Third,   Belong to Jesus (24-26)

So the pressing question we have is how do we get from the "work of the flesh" (19-21) and the "fruit of the spirit" (22)?  When we read the fruits of the spirit, we become depressed because we don't resemble any of those traits. We become more depressed when we see our lifestyle resembles the works of the flesh. Still we try to bear the fruit of the Spirit. However, the way we often try to get there is through the flesh! Which is making rules, legalism, deciding to get serious, making vows, putting together a plan and just doing it. How does one get from to the fruit of the Spirit? Paul provides the answer in verse 24,25.

Look at verses 24, 25 "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. "

Paul says to “crucify the flesh with its passions and desires." Sin is not your friend. You cannot make a truce with sin. He is truly an enemy.  Sin's goal is to master us and make us a slave. According Genesis 4:7b "...sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." So we have two choices:  Either you put to death sin or sin puts you to death. They are all cause and affect related. All our unwholesome thoughts, words and deeds are directly linked to the flesh. When the flesh dies, then the works of the flesh dies.

How do you kill the flesh? We feel burden by the word "crucified." This seems to contradict when Jesus said his yoke is easy and his burden is light (Mat. 11:28).  The key weapon is in verse 24. When we "belong to Jesus" we crucify the flesh. Paul did not say, “Crucify the flesh, then you can belong to Jesus.” But he said “belong to Jesus and you will crucify the flesh.”

In life, there is sin and Jesus. Our habit is to get rid of sin. But this is a losing battle. Our goal as Christians is NOT to be moral and to get away from sin!! Our goal is not to stop drinking, looking at porn, to stop yelling at our kids, etc. It is not even to resemble the fruit of the spirit! If you think that is your primary goal you have already defeated! This is like pulling the weeds in your garden. You pull it out only to find it has grown back a few days later. To remove the weeds, you have dig deep into the ground and pull out the root. It is then you will no longer have a weed problem. In the same way, we must get to the root of desire. We must be rooted in Jesus. Colossian 2:7 "be rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

Our goal is to “belong to Jesus.”  To belong to Jesus means we are “totally mesmerized, seduced, wooed and enthralled” by Jesus.  Our goal as Christians is to be close to Jesus and to love him. As we get closer to Jesus, we get farther and farther from sin. As we are closer to Christ, the flesh cannot live there. Thomas Chalmers, a Scottish minister understood this truth his book called “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.” He said “The best way to disengage an impure desire is to engage a pure one; the best way to expel the love of what is evil is to embrace the love of what is good instead. To be specific, we must replace the object of our sinful affection with an infinitely more worthy one-God himself.” Chalmers’ point is that we must battle desire with another desire. Whichever desire is the strongest will always determine the outcome.

A pastor said until we (pardon the expression) “lust” for Jesus, then the lust of sex, power, money and other works of the flesh will be too strong.  Lust is more than sexual. To lust for something is a very strong and eager desire to have it. Until we find Jesus more “cool”, more “sexy” will the power of the flesh lose its grip on us. The flesh cannot live in the presence of Jesus. It is crucified. It is diminished and conquered by Christ goodness.  Our love for Christ grows the more we deeply realize we are sinners. This love deepens when we realize God's grace in spite of our sins. On the cross, Jesus took the penalty of sin that we fully deserved. The wrath of God which should have been placed on us, was put on Jesus.  The works of the flesh are replaced by the fruit of the spirit. Our love for Jesus is dependant on how we know how deeply sinful we are and how marvelous is Jesus’ saving grace. The more we grow in Christ, the desires of the flesh diminish. One of my favorite hymn is by Helen Lemmel entitled "Turn your eyes upon Jesus." Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. When the Holy Spirit rules our hearts, the desires of the world “grow strangely dim.” Fruit of the Spirit comes out of life sustaining relationship with Jesus. It is not through the law, it is only through the fruits of the spirit is by God and God alone!

26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

After receiving the fruit of the spirit, we can easily lapse in the works of the flesh again. I see this in my own life. I was extremely lazy and unmotivated. But through walking with Jesus, he enabled me to overcome these works of the flesh. Then I found I despised other Christians who did not work hard or took initiative.  Other times, I envied others who had certain fruit such as self-control.

This is the reason Paul repeats the concept of walking by the Spirit. We must make a daily decision to be in step with the spirit. This is an ongoing process. You and I will never reach the depths of God's wisdom, love and majesty. We will never fully thank him for all that he has done. The Holy Spirit reveals what Jesus has done. God is a father seeking a relationship with his children. It is his love that transforms them. It is his love that changes them. This is gospel transformation not moral transformation!

In this passage, we learn there is a spiritual battle between the flesh and the spirit. We learn we can will the final victory only by belonging to Christ Jesus. Until Jesus becomes our object of desire, can we bear the fruit of the Spirit. One final note, when you think of a fruit such as an apple, orange, grapes. Are they meant to be displayed? Are they meant to be wrapped up in a basket covered with plastic and a bow tie? They are meant to be eaten. Jesus gave his body and blood to be eaten by us. In the same way, God enables us to bear fruit to be eaten by others. Warren Wiersbe says, “Fruit is produced to be eaten, not to be admired and put on display. People around us are starving for love, joy, peace and all the other graces of the Spirit. We do not bear fruit for our own consumption; we bear fruit that others might be fed and helped and that Christ might be glorified." They are looking for a faithful friend. In this way, Christ may be glorified. May God help each of us to belong to Christ and bear fruit of the Spirit.