1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,300 a godly life in this world. 2 00:00:03,300 --> 00:00:06,140 In verse 18, we'll have a look at the power 3 00:00:06,140 --> 00:00:09,380 that has been given to every single Christian 4 00:00:09,380 --> 00:00:11,500 to live a godly life. 5 00:00:11,500 --> 00:00:15,180 In verses 19 to 23, we'll have a look at the pattern 6 00:00:15,180 --> 00:00:18,740 of what a godly life looks like. 7 00:00:18,740 --> 00:00:22,300 And in verses 24 and 25, we'll have a look 8 00:00:22,300 --> 00:00:26,780 at how the Christian is to practice this godly life 9 00:00:26,780 --> 00:00:29,400 to which we've all been called to. 10 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:32,460 So three things that I want for all of us 11 00:00:32,460 --> 00:00:37,380 to consider this morning, the power, the pattern, 12 00:00:37,380 --> 00:00:40,220 and the practice of a godly life. 13 00:00:40,220 --> 00:00:43,220 So if you have your Bibles with you this morning, 14 00:00:43,220 --> 00:00:45,940 please look with me at verse 18. 15 00:00:45,940 --> 00:00:47,460 Our apostle writes, 16 00:00:47,460 --> 00:00:52,300 but if you are led of the spirit, 17 00:00:52,300 --> 00:00:54,660 you're not under the law. 18 00:00:55,780 --> 00:00:58,420 Right, so the first thing that I want you to see here, 19 00:00:58,420 --> 00:01:02,660 to notice with me this morning, is that word, but. 20 00:01:02,660 --> 00:01:06,140 Because that indicates to us that Paul 21 00:01:06,140 --> 00:01:09,260 is halfway through a thought, 22 00:01:09,260 --> 00:01:13,700 which means he's contrasting what he's saying here 23 00:01:13,700 --> 00:01:15,900 with what's come before. 24 00:01:15,900 --> 00:01:18,700 And you might remember it from last week, 25 00:01:18,700 --> 00:01:20,300 but if not, totally fine. 26 00:01:20,300 --> 00:01:23,900 We'll have a bit of a think of our context here. 27 00:01:23,900 --> 00:01:27,020 You see, Paul has been speaking to us 28 00:01:27,020 --> 00:01:32,020 about a particular battle that every single Christian has. 29 00:01:33,500 --> 00:01:36,540 And it has to do with the flesh. 30 00:01:37,380 --> 00:01:40,680 Now, as we've seen, Paul used the word flesh 31 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,540 as a way of describing our old lives 32 00:01:44,540 --> 00:01:49,540 that remain with us after we've been born again. 33 00:01:49,660 --> 00:01:54,660 That linger with us on this side of eternity kind of thing. 34 00:01:54,660 --> 00:01:57,260 Before God tore us out of this world, 35 00:01:57,260 --> 00:02:01,060 before he gave us ears to hear the gospel, 36 00:02:01,060 --> 00:02:04,900 we lived in whichever way we wanted. 37 00:02:04,900 --> 00:02:08,980 Indulging in sinful desires. 38 00:02:08,980 --> 00:02:13,580 But when God caused us to put our trust in Jesus, 39 00:02:13,580 --> 00:02:18,580 he set us free from the condemnation that we all deserved. 40 00:02:19,620 --> 00:02:22,380 And we were filled with the Holy Spirit. 41 00:02:22,380 --> 00:02:27,380 Our old lives have been defeated in that sense, 42 00:02:27,500 --> 00:02:31,500 nailed to the cross as Paul puts it. 43 00:02:32,460 --> 00:02:37,460 But we still live with the remnants of what we once were. 44 00:02:38,140 --> 00:02:43,140 And so the Christian life is engaged in a battle 45 00:02:43,140 --> 00:02:47,020 in that sense, a battle of what we want to do 46 00:02:47,020 --> 00:02:52,020 and what God is leading and guiding us in by his spirit, 47 00:02:52,700 --> 00:02:55,020 through his word. 48 00:02:56,460 --> 00:03:00,460 Now, we might pause here for a moment and acknowledge 49 00:03:00,460 --> 00:03:05,460 that it's really interesting what the duty eyes is. 50 00:03:05,460 --> 00:03:09,460 The legalists were wanting to do with the Galatians. 51 00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:13,460 They wanted more rules and regulations to be placed on people 52 00:03:13,460 --> 00:03:17,140 and they preached that you'll be more acceptable to God 53 00:03:17,140 --> 00:03:18,940 if you do these things. 54 00:03:18,940 --> 00:03:23,940 For them, the Mosaic law was the key to unlock true redemption 55 00:03:24,580 --> 00:03:29,580 and their solution was work harder and do more. 56 00:03:29,740 --> 00:03:33,700 Do more festivals, have more regulations, 57 00:03:33,700 --> 00:03:38,700 observe more things, get circumcised in the flesh 58 00:03:39,060 --> 00:03:42,020 and God will ultimately save you. 59 00:03:42,020 --> 00:03:47,020 And I want you to note that because as we've seen, 60 00:03:47,260 --> 00:03:52,260 this legalism, this mindset was totally at odds 61 00:03:52,860 --> 00:03:57,860 with the Gospel of grace that Paul has been preaching. 62 00:03:59,780 --> 00:04:02,740 You see, all throughout the book of Galatians, 63 00:04:02,740 --> 00:04:06,020 Paul has shown that the Christian has been set free 64 00:04:06,020 --> 00:04:09,060 from the condemnation of the law 65 00:04:09,060 --> 00:04:13,860 because Jesus acted as a substitute 66 00:04:13,860 --> 00:04:18,860 and took the wrath that his people deserved on the cross. 67 00:04:18,980 --> 00:04:22,660 And says, Paul, if you believe in that work on your behalf, 68 00:04:22,660 --> 00:04:26,260 if you trust all that Christ has done 69 00:04:26,260 --> 00:04:29,820 in his perfect sacrifice for your sin, 70 00:04:29,820 --> 00:04:31,700 then you are washed clean 71 00:04:31,700 --> 00:04:35,660 and the Holy Spirit is given to you. 72 00:04:35,660 --> 00:04:39,220 And thus, if you're led by the Spirit, 73 00:04:39,220 --> 00:04:44,340 if you've come under the Gospel, so to speak, 74 00:04:44,340 --> 00:04:47,300 you're no longer under the law as a system 75 00:04:47,300 --> 00:04:50,060 to make yourself acceptable to God. 76 00:04:50,900 --> 00:04:55,340 No, God has taken care of all of that 77 00:04:55,340 --> 00:04:58,380 in the Lord Jesus Christ on your behalf. 78 00:04:58,380 --> 00:05:01,540 So why would you think going back under the law 79 00:05:01,540 --> 00:05:04,140 and trying to perfect yourself 80 00:05:04,140 --> 00:05:07,260 could make you any more righteous 81 00:05:07,260 --> 00:05:09,620 in the eyes of your Creator? 82 00:05:10,540 --> 00:05:13,340 It couldn't even save you in the first place. 83 00:05:15,180 --> 00:05:19,620 You don't have to be the parents of little children 84 00:05:19,620 --> 00:05:24,620 for very long to see little rebellious hearts 85 00:05:24,820 --> 00:05:27,820 from the youngest age. 86 00:05:27,820 --> 00:05:32,060 When you say, no, don't do that, 87 00:05:32,060 --> 00:05:35,420 it's like fuel for their little brains 88 00:05:35,420 --> 00:05:37,100 to say, just watch me. 89 00:05:38,260 --> 00:05:42,180 Even when you say it for their own good. 90 00:05:42,180 --> 00:05:46,140 Like when you say, don't touch the fire, 91 00:05:46,140 --> 00:05:49,260 don't run across that busy street, 92 00:05:49,260 --> 00:05:53,900 don't pat that feral dog. 93 00:05:53,900 --> 00:05:56,100 And I mentioned that because the law 94 00:05:56,100 --> 00:06:00,780 has the same effect on our flesh. 95 00:06:00,780 --> 00:06:03,700 When it says, thou shalt not, 96 00:06:03,700 --> 00:06:08,340 the flesh still arcs up and says, yeah, watch me. 97 00:06:09,620 --> 00:06:13,860 And so the legalists with their more rules and regulations 98 00:06:13,860 --> 00:06:15,660 and they're pointing to the law 99 00:06:15,660 --> 00:06:17,180 to do battle with the flesh, 100 00:06:17,180 --> 00:06:20,560 that could never be the solution. 101 00:06:22,340 --> 00:06:24,620 It can't be more rules and regulations 102 00:06:24,620 --> 00:06:26,300 to get right with God 103 00:06:26,300 --> 00:06:30,540 because the flesh gets more and more hostile 104 00:06:30,540 --> 00:06:32,020 and rebels harder. 105 00:06:33,220 --> 00:06:35,820 That's why Paul says, dear ones, 106 00:06:35,820 --> 00:06:38,580 it's by being led of the spirit 107 00:06:38,580 --> 00:06:41,660 that we win this battle against the flesh 108 00:06:41,660 --> 00:06:44,660 because the spirit living in us, 109 00:06:44,660 --> 00:06:47,460 he changes everything. 110 00:06:47,460 --> 00:06:50,620 He is the one who changes our little hearts 111 00:06:50,620 --> 00:06:54,820 from being little rebels with our fists up to heaven 112 00:06:54,820 --> 00:06:57,580 to little disciples that love our Lord. 113 00:06:57,580 --> 00:07:02,580 And like sheep, wanna follow the good shepherd. 114 00:07:05,460 --> 00:07:08,300 Brothers and sisters, it's because of the gift 115 00:07:08,300 --> 00:07:13,380 of the Holy Spirit given to us by our heavenly Father. 116 00:07:13,380 --> 00:07:16,220 That when we now hear the word of God, 117 00:07:16,220 --> 00:07:18,820 even in places like the Ten Commandments, 118 00:07:18,820 --> 00:07:22,220 whether it's thou shalt not, 119 00:07:22,220 --> 00:07:26,220 that we don't just hear you won't. 120 00:07:26,220 --> 00:07:29,460 But because we've come to know our Father in heaven 121 00:07:29,460 --> 00:07:34,460 and Jesus as our friend and as our savior, 122 00:07:34,860 --> 00:07:39,580 we now hear truth and promises held out 123 00:07:39,580 --> 00:07:44,500 because we trust our heavenly Father's lead. 124 00:07:45,660 --> 00:07:46,700 But there's more, you see, 125 00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:51,700 he's not just changed our hearts to love his word. 126 00:07:51,700 --> 00:07:56,620 He's also supplied us with the gift of the spirit. 127 00:07:56,620 --> 00:08:00,340 And here's the one that helps us to more and more 128 00:08:00,340 --> 00:08:04,700 align our hearts and wills and affections and words 129 00:08:04,700 --> 00:08:08,780 and actions with all that God has revealed 130 00:08:08,780 --> 00:08:10,300 as pleasing to him. 131 00:08:12,100 --> 00:08:14,420 That's what Paul means here. 132 00:08:14,420 --> 00:08:16,060 When he says in verse 18, 133 00:08:16,060 --> 00:08:20,900 if you are led of the spirit, you're not under the law. 134 00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:23,340 In effect, he's saying you must be led, 135 00:08:23,340 --> 00:08:26,940 you must be directed and governed by the spirit of God. 136 00:08:26,940 --> 00:08:30,540 And when you have God at work in your life 137 00:08:30,540 --> 00:08:32,740 and trust him and love him 138 00:08:32,740 --> 00:08:36,980 and are following his leading from that new heart 139 00:08:36,980 --> 00:08:38,620 in light of the gospel, 140 00:08:39,900 --> 00:08:44,340 well, that is the way that we do battle with the flesh. 141 00:08:44,340 --> 00:08:49,340 In other words, God is the one who gives us the power 142 00:08:50,460 --> 00:08:55,460 through the Holy Spirit to live a godly life. 143 00:08:56,500 --> 00:08:59,060 Church, the Holy Spirit of God in our lives 144 00:08:59,060 --> 00:09:02,540 makes all the difference in the battle. 145 00:09:02,540 --> 00:09:06,540 What once fled up the flesh is now flipped on its head 146 00:09:06,540 --> 00:09:09,980 and seen as good and right and true. 147 00:09:09,980 --> 00:09:12,220 And that is because the Holy Spirit 148 00:09:12,220 --> 00:09:17,220 has come to dwell in the lives of God's children. 149 00:09:17,580 --> 00:09:22,580 He's the one who shows us that God's ways are right 150 00:09:22,580 --> 00:09:25,540 and true and can be trusted. 151 00:09:27,060 --> 00:09:32,060 French theologian, John Calvin says it like this, 152 00:09:32,820 --> 00:09:36,460 is it your desire to terminate the controversies 153 00:09:36,460 --> 00:09:38,820 in which you are now engaged? 154 00:09:38,820 --> 00:09:41,700 Well, walk according to the spirit 155 00:09:41,700 --> 00:09:46,540 and you'll be free from the dominion of the law, 156 00:09:46,540 --> 00:09:51,540 which will act only in the capacity of a kind advisor. 157 00:09:53,020 --> 00:09:55,500 And so that's first, the Holy Spirit is the one 158 00:09:55,500 --> 00:10:00,380 who gives us the power to live a godly life. 159 00:10:00,380 --> 00:10:03,980 He changes our hearts from hating God's instructions 160 00:10:03,980 --> 00:10:07,620 as revealed in his word to loving and trusting him 161 00:10:07,620 --> 00:10:10,660 in his leading and guiding. 162 00:10:10,660 --> 00:10:14,620 The Holy Spirit is the one who makes all the difference. 163 00:10:15,620 --> 00:10:20,620 Next, this won't just be a mental consent 164 00:10:20,660 --> 00:10:25,020 on behalf of God's people, 165 00:10:25,020 --> 00:10:29,340 but our following will produce real change 166 00:10:29,340 --> 00:10:34,340 and a pattern of real godly living in our lives. 167 00:10:36,860 --> 00:10:38,820 Okay, as we've seen over the weeks, 168 00:10:38,820 --> 00:10:42,780 our apostle has drummed into the church 169 00:10:42,780 --> 00:10:45,660 that we are to walk in freedom. 170 00:10:45,660 --> 00:10:48,740 We're not to be legalists in that sense, 171 00:10:48,740 --> 00:10:52,940 but neither are we to be like little punk rockers 172 00:10:52,940 --> 00:10:57,440 that rebel against any type of authority and rule. 173 00:10:58,300 --> 00:11:01,580 And so Paul points out to us, 174 00:11:01,580 --> 00:11:04,620 what a godly life looks like 175 00:11:04,620 --> 00:11:07,580 when you're being led of the spirit. 176 00:11:07,580 --> 00:11:12,580 What a life guided by the word of God actually produces. 177 00:11:12,620 --> 00:11:16,580 But before he shows us the good, 178 00:11:16,580 --> 00:11:21,580 he does it against the backdrop of the very bad and ugly, 179 00:11:23,140 --> 00:11:27,080 being the works of the flesh that linger. 180 00:11:27,980 --> 00:11:30,620 And it seems that Paul has broken down 181 00:11:30,620 --> 00:11:35,620 these fleshly desires that try to pull the Christian 182 00:11:35,620 --> 00:11:40,620 back into slavery into four broad categories. 183 00:11:42,260 --> 00:11:45,980 The first of them addresses sexual sins, 184 00:11:45,980 --> 00:11:50,060 being sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, 185 00:11:50,060 --> 00:11:53,220 which we see there in verse 19. 186 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:55,140 Now, in our day and age, 187 00:11:55,140 --> 00:11:59,340 our society deems it incredibly offensive 188 00:11:59,340 --> 00:12:01,940 to call what people do with their bodies 189 00:12:01,940 --> 00:12:06,860 outside what God has designed sex for as sin. 190 00:12:08,060 --> 00:12:11,140 But as God is our creator, 191 00:12:11,140 --> 00:12:15,060 as he is the one who is the inventor of sex, 192 00:12:15,060 --> 00:12:18,620 he is the one who has told us how and when 193 00:12:18,620 --> 00:12:21,940 sexual relations are to be used. 194 00:12:21,940 --> 00:12:25,540 And that is within the union of one man and one woman 195 00:12:25,540 --> 00:12:28,660 in the confines of marriage for life. 196 00:12:28,660 --> 00:12:31,220 And so if God's leading and guiding 197 00:12:31,220 --> 00:12:34,180 is rejected in that area, 198 00:12:34,180 --> 00:12:38,060 the determining factor for what is right and wrong 199 00:12:38,060 --> 00:12:42,620 becomes what feels right to the individual. 200 00:12:42,620 --> 00:12:46,580 And so says Paul, that whole way of thinking, 201 00:12:47,620 --> 00:12:50,220 it belongs to the flesh. 202 00:12:50,220 --> 00:12:55,060 And the acts of that rejection are obvious. 203 00:12:55,060 --> 00:12:57,740 So first, sexual sins are a result 204 00:12:57,740 --> 00:13:01,820 of the flesh being in control. 205 00:13:01,820 --> 00:13:06,820 Second, he points out what I deem religious sins. 206 00:13:06,860 --> 00:13:09,180 I call, sorry, I call religious sins. 207 00:13:09,180 --> 00:13:11,380 We see that there in verse 20, 208 00:13:11,380 --> 00:13:14,140 with idolatry and witchcraft. 209 00:13:15,180 --> 00:13:18,380 Witchcraft is the practice of rejecting the truth for a lie 210 00:13:18,380 --> 00:13:20,940 when it comes to the spiritual world. 211 00:13:20,940 --> 00:13:22,140 In Paul's day and age, 212 00:13:22,140 --> 00:13:24,300 it was about following superstitions 213 00:13:24,300 --> 00:13:28,140 and speaking to ancestral spirits. 214 00:13:29,220 --> 00:13:33,300 This day and age, we see similar things with the occult, 215 00:13:33,300 --> 00:13:36,740 with Ouija boards, with witch doctors, 216 00:13:36,740 --> 00:13:41,100 with ghost hunters, with fortune tellers. 217 00:13:41,100 --> 00:13:44,780 Idolatry is the false worship of the true God. 218 00:13:44,780 --> 00:13:47,380 Paul dealt with that time and time again 219 00:13:47,380 --> 00:13:50,060 with the people he held the gospel up to 220 00:13:50,060 --> 00:13:52,980 with the Greco-Roman gods. 221 00:13:52,980 --> 00:13:57,980 And that is still something that reigns supreme today. 222 00:13:59,140 --> 00:14:00,420 False religion. 223 00:14:01,580 --> 00:14:03,820 And there are ones that deny Jesus 224 00:14:03,820 --> 00:14:06,300 as the only way the truth and the life. 225 00:14:06,300 --> 00:14:09,180 They're obvious false religions. 226 00:14:09,180 --> 00:14:11,860 But idolatry would also include those 227 00:14:11,860 --> 00:14:15,500 who would teach a different Jesus, 228 00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:18,820 who reject his deity and would dismiss 229 00:14:18,820 --> 00:14:20,900 the authority of the Bible. 230 00:14:20,900 --> 00:14:25,900 Any religion that doesn't worship Jesus as God 231 00:14:26,580 --> 00:14:28,460 is idolatrous. 232 00:14:28,460 --> 00:14:32,140 And Paul warns this is all acts of a life 233 00:14:32,140 --> 00:14:34,300 that is void of the spirit. 234 00:14:35,260 --> 00:14:40,260 Third, there's things that I would call relational sins. 235 00:14:40,900 --> 00:14:44,860 We see them there in the rest of verse 20 and 21. 236 00:14:46,540 --> 00:14:48,900 Now incredibly, you might notice it, 237 00:14:48,900 --> 00:14:53,660 that this is the largest group that Paul lists. 238 00:14:53,660 --> 00:14:58,660 Hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, 239 00:14:58,660 --> 00:15:02,180 dissensions, factions and envy. 240 00:15:06,980 --> 00:15:11,380 I don't know about you, but this one hits 241 00:15:11,380 --> 00:15:12,940 pretty close to home. 242 00:15:12,940 --> 00:15:17,940 You might be here this morning and you've beaten 243 00:15:18,940 --> 00:15:20,900 that secret addiction. 244 00:15:22,820 --> 00:15:25,940 Maybe you've come to see the forest from the trees 245 00:15:25,940 --> 00:15:30,940 and left a pretty messed up life to follow Jesus. 246 00:15:32,020 --> 00:15:34,940 But boy, oh boy, you know how to hold a grudge. 247 00:15:36,260 --> 00:15:38,820 Or perhaps you find yourself gossiping 248 00:15:38,820 --> 00:15:42,540 because you're jealous of someone else. 249 00:15:42,540 --> 00:15:45,860 Maybe that road rage isn't quite as dead 250 00:15:45,860 --> 00:15:48,780 as you once thought and your comments 251 00:15:48,780 --> 00:15:53,780 about those people on social media is absolutely atrocious. 252 00:15:57,940 --> 00:15:59,820 Paul says that's works of the flesh. 253 00:16:01,100 --> 00:16:04,300 And the flesh makes itself evident 254 00:16:04,300 --> 00:16:06,220 when the spirit isn't leading. 255 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:12,300 It manifests itself in sexual ways and religious ways 256 00:16:12,300 --> 00:16:17,300 with relations and forth what we might call personal sin. 257 00:16:19,300 --> 00:16:21,260 You see that there in verse 21 258 00:16:21,260 --> 00:16:24,500 with drunkenness, orgies and the like. 259 00:16:25,300 --> 00:16:29,220 Now just to clarify, orgies is referring to 260 00:16:29,220 --> 00:16:34,220 out of control, wild parties. 261 00:16:34,220 --> 00:16:38,580 And I mention this because what Paul is talking about here 262 00:16:38,580 --> 00:16:42,260 essentially comes down to self-control. 263 00:16:43,540 --> 00:16:45,860 And it's interesting because alcohol 264 00:16:45,860 --> 00:16:50,340 and going to parties aren't really wrong in and of themselves 265 00:16:50,340 --> 00:16:54,660 but the abuse of them absolutely is. 266 00:16:55,700 --> 00:16:59,100 That's because the absence of being able to say no 267 00:16:59,100 --> 00:17:02,980 to your own sinful desires and being ruled 268 00:17:02,980 --> 00:17:07,980 by passions and lusts are obvious indicators 269 00:17:07,980 --> 00:17:10,580 that the flesh is in the driver's seat. 270 00:17:13,180 --> 00:17:15,060 With all of that in mind, 271 00:17:15,060 --> 00:17:18,580 with all of those things listed in verse 21, 272 00:17:18,580 --> 00:17:20,580 our apostle then says, 273 00:17:20,580 --> 00:17:24,300 I warn you as I did before 274 00:17:24,300 --> 00:17:27,020 that those who live like this 275 00:17:27,020 --> 00:17:30,740 will not inherit the kingdom of God. 276 00:17:30,740 --> 00:17:35,740 As many of you know, my dad had a pretty serious 277 00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:40,220 heart attack last week. 278 00:17:41,100 --> 00:17:44,580 Now not once did he say, oh well, 279 00:17:45,620 --> 00:17:46,940 my heart doesn't matter. 280 00:17:47,940 --> 00:17:49,660 But let's just see what happens. 281 00:17:51,660 --> 00:17:55,860 No, he took action because he knew there was something 282 00:17:55,860 --> 00:17:59,220 drastically wrong going on with him. 283 00:17:59,220 --> 00:18:02,660 And that if he didn't do anything, 284 00:18:02,660 --> 00:18:06,140 his condition would indeed kill him. 285 00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:10,580 And so he took the necessary steps to make sure 286 00:18:10,580 --> 00:18:13,220 that his heart is on the mend 287 00:18:13,220 --> 00:18:17,740 and going in the right direction to be healthy. 288 00:18:19,380 --> 00:18:22,940 And in a sense, that's what Paul wants to do 289 00:18:22,940 --> 00:18:25,540 for the church here. 290 00:18:25,540 --> 00:18:30,540 He's writing to us to expose the disease of our hearts. 291 00:18:30,900 --> 00:18:35,900 He's writing to show us the deceitfulness of sin, 292 00:18:35,900 --> 00:18:38,700 the sinfulness of sin, as John Owen put it. 293 00:18:40,100 --> 00:18:42,460 That's still linger in our lives 294 00:18:43,620 --> 00:18:48,020 because the flesh loves sin. 295 00:18:49,980 --> 00:18:52,980 And this is the thing, sin kills. 296 00:18:52,980 --> 00:18:57,980 And if we just say, oh well, my heart doesn't really matter. 297 00:18:59,540 --> 00:19:01,980 I'll just see what happens. 298 00:19:05,420 --> 00:19:07,460 Well, the results will be disastrous. 299 00:19:09,420 --> 00:19:11,180 But this is the thing that I want you to see 300 00:19:11,180 --> 00:19:12,500 in our text this morning. 301 00:19:13,380 --> 00:19:18,380 Paul isn't writing to us so as to discourage us 302 00:19:18,460 --> 00:19:20,980 in our Christian walk here. 303 00:19:20,980 --> 00:19:23,900 No, he writes to us under the inspiration 304 00:19:23,900 --> 00:19:27,380 of the Holy Spirit of God to show us 305 00:19:27,380 --> 00:19:30,580 and to call us to do something about 306 00:19:30,580 --> 00:19:35,580 where we still see the flesh waging war with our hearts. 307 00:19:36,700 --> 00:19:40,740 He writes to us to show us where we're still resisting 308 00:19:40,740 --> 00:19:43,860 and where we might not be walking with God 309 00:19:43,860 --> 00:19:45,660 in the way that we should. 310 00:19:45,660 --> 00:19:50,660 And in all of this, there is good news for the children 311 00:19:53,820 --> 00:19:57,940 of God who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. 312 00:20:00,140 --> 00:20:03,020 You see, in contrast to the works of the flesh, 313 00:20:03,020 --> 00:20:06,380 Paul starts to speak about the fruit of the Spirit. 314 00:20:06,380 --> 00:20:10,340 He speaks about love there in verse 22. 315 00:20:10,340 --> 00:20:12,380 Now, in light of all that Paul has been saying 316 00:20:12,380 --> 00:20:16,660 to the Galatians, love is a major indicator 317 00:20:16,660 --> 00:20:21,100 that God is at work, not love for self, 318 00:20:21,100 --> 00:20:24,380 but love for God and love for neighbor. 319 00:20:26,100 --> 00:20:30,860 Love says Paul, love fulfills the whole law. 320 00:20:30,860 --> 00:20:33,140 He then lists joy. 321 00:20:33,140 --> 00:20:36,020 Now joy isn't happiness, happiness comes and goes, 322 00:20:36,020 --> 00:20:38,700 usually in relation to the external things 323 00:20:38,700 --> 00:20:40,740 going on around us. 324 00:20:40,740 --> 00:20:45,260 Joy, as Paul uses it here, is a heart that rejoices 325 00:20:45,260 --> 00:20:49,140 in any circumstance because it is a heart 326 00:20:49,140 --> 00:20:54,140 that knows what God has done to make us right with him. 327 00:20:54,380 --> 00:20:57,180 And thus we're secure, we rejoice, 328 00:20:57,180 --> 00:20:59,740 and that leads us to have real peace. 329 00:21:00,660 --> 00:21:02,820 Next, Paul talks about forbearance, 330 00:21:02,820 --> 00:21:07,820 which is another way of saying patience and kindness. 331 00:21:07,820 --> 00:21:10,260 Certainly these are things that we need with those 332 00:21:10,260 --> 00:21:12,140 around us, right? 333 00:21:12,140 --> 00:21:15,020 Then there's goodness, which is a heart that delights 334 00:21:15,020 --> 00:21:18,060 in things that are beautiful and true. 335 00:21:18,060 --> 00:21:21,820 Faithfulness is being someone who can be relied on 336 00:21:21,820 --> 00:21:24,820 and sticks it out no matter the circumstance. 337 00:21:24,820 --> 00:21:28,340 Then there's gentleness and self-control. 338 00:21:28,340 --> 00:21:32,860 Self-control is the ability to be able to govern 339 00:21:32,860 --> 00:21:35,580 the passions and desires, 340 00:21:35,580 --> 00:21:39,440 to be able to put temptation in its real place 341 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,280 and the ability to put ourselves second. 342 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:46,920 And so in total opposition to the works of the flesh 343 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:51,520 which are hell-bent and condemned by the law 344 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,200 against the fruit of the Spirit, 345 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:57,820 there is no law, verse 23. 346 00:21:57,820 --> 00:22:02,820 Now you may have noticed that we broke down 347 00:22:06,340 --> 00:22:11,220 the works of the flesh, but we kind of flew through 348 00:22:11,220 --> 00:22:13,020 the fruit of the Spirit there. 349 00:22:14,500 --> 00:22:16,960 And I did this because I want you to see something 350 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:18,380 in our text this morning. 351 00:22:20,620 --> 00:22:23,500 Because we're meant to see the fruit, 352 00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:25,780 not so much in individual terms, 353 00:22:25,780 --> 00:22:29,700 but as one coherent whole. 354 00:22:31,100 --> 00:22:34,860 Notice the language in our text this morning. 355 00:22:34,860 --> 00:22:39,620 The works of the flesh is plural, 356 00:22:39,620 --> 00:22:42,460 the fruit is singular. 357 00:22:45,540 --> 00:22:49,500 The works are plural, the fruit is singular. 358 00:22:50,580 --> 00:22:52,720 And our apostle does this for a reason 359 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,260 because we're not meant to think about what God 360 00:22:55,260 --> 00:22:57,900 is doing in the life of his children 361 00:22:57,900 --> 00:23:02,820 as something that's all disconnected from one to another. 362 00:23:02,820 --> 00:23:06,100 But more like let's say an orange 363 00:23:06,100 --> 00:23:08,660 that is in one way in sections, 364 00:23:08,660 --> 00:23:13,660 but in another way really growing as one whole thing. 365 00:23:16,500 --> 00:23:18,580 And I think we're meant to see it this way 366 00:23:18,580 --> 00:23:22,700 because when you stand back and look at it altogether 367 00:23:22,700 --> 00:23:26,860 and see what God is leading and guiding his children 368 00:23:26,860 --> 00:23:30,460 to be through the Holy Spirit and his word, 369 00:23:30,460 --> 00:23:33,140 we start to see that this fruit 370 00:23:33,140 --> 00:23:38,140 isn't describing something, but someone. 371 00:23:42,340 --> 00:23:46,540 Describing someone who never lived or acted 372 00:23:46,540 --> 00:23:51,540 according to the flesh so as to be condemned by the law, 373 00:23:52,780 --> 00:23:56,060 but lived in accordance with the leading 374 00:23:56,060 --> 00:23:59,580 and the guiding of the spirit in every which way. 375 00:24:01,100 --> 00:24:06,100 Think about the testimony of the scriptures about Jesus. 376 00:24:06,180 --> 00:24:09,980 John says having loved his own, he loved us to the end. 377 00:24:09,980 --> 00:24:14,660 Paul said he loved me and he gave himself for me. 378 00:24:14,660 --> 00:24:17,940 Hebrews says for the joy said before him, 379 00:24:17,940 --> 00:24:19,380 he endured the cross. 380 00:24:19,380 --> 00:24:22,340 And again, John reports that Jesus says, 381 00:24:22,340 --> 00:24:25,820 my peace I leave to you. 382 00:24:26,900 --> 00:24:30,740 The Bible says when the disciples misunderstood him, 383 00:24:30,740 --> 00:24:33,060 time and time and time again, 384 00:24:33,060 --> 00:24:36,500 he was patient and kind with them. 385 00:24:36,500 --> 00:24:39,860 And again, he was an unfailing fountain 386 00:24:39,860 --> 00:24:42,580 of gentleness to the lost, 387 00:24:42,580 --> 00:24:46,380 doing good to all those who sought him. 388 00:24:48,740 --> 00:24:53,740 And we read that he was faithful to do his father's will. 389 00:24:54,100 --> 00:24:59,100 All that our father sent him to do, he was faithful in. 390 00:25:00,620 --> 00:25:05,100 And might I say, was there ever a clearer display 391 00:25:05,100 --> 00:25:09,820 of self-control than in the moment 392 00:25:09,820 --> 00:25:14,820 that they nailed the sinless Lamb of God to the cross, 393 00:25:16,660 --> 00:25:20,420 done by the hands of his sinful enemies? 394 00:25:23,220 --> 00:25:25,820 If you wanna look at the fruit of the spirit, 395 00:25:27,740 --> 00:25:29,020 look at Jesus. 396 00:25:30,460 --> 00:25:32,740 And so one thing's for certain, Paul is saying 397 00:25:32,740 --> 00:25:37,140 that for those who have the Holy Spirit residing in them, 398 00:25:37,140 --> 00:25:39,780 for those who have trusted the gospel 399 00:25:39,780 --> 00:25:42,180 and been washed with the blood of Jesus, 400 00:25:42,180 --> 00:25:46,420 though we may battle and clash with the flesh, 401 00:25:46,420 --> 00:25:50,900 though you may see the remnants of the old life at play, 402 00:25:52,380 --> 00:25:54,860 there is a work going on this very moment. 403 00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:59,620 And that is the work of God Almighty 404 00:25:59,620 --> 00:26:03,340 growing his son's character, 405 00:26:03,340 --> 00:26:06,780 our Lord Jesus Christ in all his children 406 00:26:06,780 --> 00:26:08,060 from the inside out. 407 00:26:10,540 --> 00:26:11,820 Do we battle with the flesh? 408 00:26:11,820 --> 00:26:13,660 Absolutely. 409 00:26:13,660 --> 00:26:16,940 Are we perfected just yet? 410 00:26:16,940 --> 00:26:18,620 Be careful how you answer that. 411 00:26:20,980 --> 00:26:22,100 But brothers and sisters, 412 00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:26,540 we are in no way doing heart surgery on ourselves. 413 00:26:28,460 --> 00:26:33,460 We still have the remnants of the flesh wanting to kill us, 414 00:26:33,460 --> 00:26:36,260 wanting to kill relationship with God 415 00:26:36,260 --> 00:26:39,380 and the word of God will continually reveal 416 00:26:39,380 --> 00:26:40,700 where that's happening. 417 00:26:40,700 --> 00:26:44,900 But the Holy Spirit is at work day by day, 418 00:26:44,900 --> 00:26:46,220 hour by hour, 419 00:26:46,220 --> 00:26:50,220 here's the one who is at work conforming you 420 00:26:50,700 --> 00:26:54,300 to the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 421 00:26:56,580 --> 00:26:58,100 Are we to live godly lives? 422 00:26:58,100 --> 00:26:58,940 Absolutely. 423 00:27:00,340 --> 00:27:03,220 But God gives us salvation. 424 00:27:03,220 --> 00:27:08,220 He gives us the power to do so through his spirit. 425 00:27:08,220 --> 00:27:13,220 And it is his spirit who is setting the pattern to our lives 426 00:27:13,260 --> 00:27:18,260 and that pattern is the very life of the Lord Jesus Christ. 427 00:27:19,900 --> 00:27:23,500 Church, that is what we've been set free to do. 428 00:27:24,620 --> 00:27:28,180 We've been set free from the law 429 00:27:28,180 --> 00:27:31,540 to practice a life imitating 430 00:27:31,540 --> 00:27:33,820 our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 431 00:27:35,020 --> 00:27:36,020 So how might we do that? 432 00:27:36,020 --> 00:27:39,740 How might we practice the very thing we have 433 00:27:39,740 --> 00:27:42,420 and are being called to? 434 00:27:43,420 --> 00:27:46,820 Well, that's what Paul tells us next. 435 00:27:46,820 --> 00:27:48,740 Look with me at verse 24. 436 00:27:49,980 --> 00:27:52,340 He says, those who belong to Christ Jesus 437 00:27:52,340 --> 00:27:56,540 have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 438 00:27:56,540 --> 00:28:01,540 Rather than sisters, crucifixion was never ever a quick death. 439 00:28:05,460 --> 00:28:09,100 Crucifixion has always been seen to be a slow 440 00:28:09,100 --> 00:28:13,420 and torturous dragged out event. 441 00:28:13,420 --> 00:28:15,900 That's why Paul uses these words here. 442 00:28:17,220 --> 00:28:19,260 It's funny in chapter two, 443 00:28:19,260 --> 00:28:24,260 Paul says that he's been crucified with Christ 444 00:28:24,260 --> 00:28:27,580 and that language there helps us to see 445 00:28:27,580 --> 00:28:31,020 that that was something that happened to him. 446 00:28:32,660 --> 00:28:35,020 But notice in our text this morning, 447 00:28:35,980 --> 00:28:38,340 hear the language changes 448 00:28:38,340 --> 00:28:43,100 and those who belong to Christ are doing the crucifying. 449 00:28:44,500 --> 00:28:46,540 That's really interesting. 450 00:28:46,540 --> 00:28:50,300 And what Paul has in mind here is that the Christian life 451 00:28:50,300 --> 00:28:55,020 isn't about saying, oh, well, I'll let go and let God, 452 00:28:55,020 --> 00:28:57,420 but a concerted effort on our part 453 00:28:57,420 --> 00:29:02,420 to pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus. 454 00:29:05,100 --> 00:29:08,180 Does God crucify us with Christ 455 00:29:08,180 --> 00:29:10,500 and justify us in a moment? 456 00:29:10,500 --> 00:29:13,700 Absolutely, absolutely. 457 00:29:13,700 --> 00:29:17,660 It happens the very moment we put our trust in Jesus, 458 00:29:17,660 --> 00:29:22,660 but that past action has present and ongoing effects. 459 00:29:22,820 --> 00:29:25,100 It's a lingering death, we might say, 460 00:29:25,940 --> 00:29:30,940 meaning our old lives don't die quickly or quietly 461 00:29:32,100 --> 00:29:35,980 as every single one of us in this room know full well. 462 00:29:37,860 --> 00:29:41,300 So how do we practice godly living? 463 00:29:41,300 --> 00:29:46,300 Well, it's not by ignoring our sin. 464 00:29:47,900 --> 00:29:51,140 It's not by excusing our sin. 465 00:29:51,140 --> 00:29:54,260 It's not by hiding our sin. 466 00:29:54,260 --> 00:29:58,100 It's not by nurturing and loving our sin. 467 00:29:58,100 --> 00:30:03,100 No, we practice a godly life by killing, 468 00:30:03,100 --> 00:30:10,100 and crucifying our sin in the power of the spirit. 469 00:30:11,940 --> 00:30:15,740 You know, as we were going through that list of 470 00:30:15,740 --> 00:30:19,940 fleshly things that Paul mentioned before, 471 00:30:19,940 --> 00:30:22,300 it's interesting that he mentions things 472 00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:26,100 that are characteristic of those in the church, 473 00:30:26,100 --> 00:30:30,100 like divisions and factions, 474 00:30:30,100 --> 00:30:31,900 in the same breath as those things 475 00:30:31,900 --> 00:30:34,140 that we might deem to be out there in the world, 476 00:30:34,140 --> 00:30:39,140 like blatant sexual immorality and unhinged drunkenness. 477 00:30:42,460 --> 00:30:45,500 And I think Paul does that because we in the church, 478 00:30:45,500 --> 00:30:49,780 we have a tendency to label the sin of others 479 00:30:49,780 --> 00:30:52,580 as worse than our own. 480 00:30:52,580 --> 00:30:56,980 And so as long as we're not doing those big overt things, 481 00:30:56,980 --> 00:31:00,060 we excuse ourselves from what we deem, 482 00:31:00,060 --> 00:31:04,140 which we judge to be the little things 483 00:31:04,140 --> 00:31:07,140 that aren't so bad, we might say. 484 00:31:09,540 --> 00:31:13,540 But God doesn't make that same distinction that we do, does He? 485 00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:19,260 Like seeing sexual perversion and alcohol abuse 486 00:31:19,260 --> 00:31:22,860 as more sinful than jealousy and selfish ambition, 487 00:31:22,860 --> 00:31:26,740 there are different consequences to be sure, 488 00:31:26,740 --> 00:31:30,500 different consequences, no doubt. 489 00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:33,460 But what I want you to see here is that Paul says, 490 00:31:33,460 --> 00:31:38,300 whatever the sin is, it must be killed. 491 00:31:38,300 --> 00:31:39,980 Give that thing no room to grow, 492 00:31:39,980 --> 00:31:43,420 no matter how small you might deem it to be. 493 00:31:43,420 --> 00:31:46,900 No, the Word of God says, don't play with it. 494 00:31:46,900 --> 00:31:47,860 Don't excuse it. 495 00:31:47,860 --> 00:31:49,060 Don't indulge in it. 496 00:31:49,060 --> 00:31:50,700 Don't compromise with it. 497 00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:54,340 But bring it into the light. 498 00:31:54,340 --> 00:31:59,340 Confess it and you will find the mercy and the grace 499 00:32:01,460 --> 00:32:05,180 of our loving Father time and time again. 500 00:32:07,820 --> 00:32:11,580 Church, don't ignore the scalpel of the Word 501 00:32:12,900 --> 00:32:14,940 that reveals the disease of the heart. 502 00:32:17,140 --> 00:32:19,380 Let's see sin for what it is. 503 00:32:20,620 --> 00:32:21,980 It wants to kill you. 504 00:32:21,980 --> 00:32:26,980 But just so we don't fall into a lopsided Christianity 505 00:32:27,980 --> 00:32:31,540 this morning and back into relying on the flesh 506 00:32:31,540 --> 00:32:36,540 to kill the flesh, our apostle makes something abundantly clear 507 00:32:36,780 --> 00:32:38,660 for every child of God. 508 00:32:40,020 --> 00:32:43,460 You are not in this battle alone. 509 00:32:44,620 --> 00:32:47,340 Christ has won the war. 510 00:32:47,340 --> 00:32:51,940 No, the one who caused your ears to be opened 511 00:32:51,940 --> 00:32:55,220 to the gospel, the one who caused your eyes 512 00:32:55,220 --> 00:33:00,220 to look upon Jesus, the one who applied the perfect work 513 00:33:00,740 --> 00:33:04,220 of Christ to your account is also the one 514 00:33:04,220 --> 00:33:07,460 whom the heavenly Father, our heavenly Father 515 00:33:07,460 --> 00:33:11,300 has given to us to be in the battle with us. 516 00:33:13,220 --> 00:33:14,980 Let me remind you of the first verse 517 00:33:14,980 --> 00:33:17,060 that we looked at this morning. 518 00:33:17,060 --> 00:33:20,140 If you are led of the spirit, 519 00:33:21,980 --> 00:33:26,020 which Paul kind of speaks about again here in verse 25, 520 00:33:26,020 --> 00:33:29,300 if we live by the spirit, 521 00:33:30,140 --> 00:33:33,940 let's also keep in step with the spirit. 522 00:33:35,900 --> 00:33:39,100 You see, for every single Christian, 523 00:33:40,060 --> 00:33:41,900 our life has been infiltrated 524 00:33:41,900 --> 00:33:46,340 and we have the very spirit of God living and working in us. 525 00:33:47,660 --> 00:33:52,100 Yes, he uses the word to expose our hearts, 526 00:33:52,100 --> 00:33:54,940 but look at the encouragement of scripture. 527 00:33:54,940 --> 00:33:59,500 He also causes us to live in the way 528 00:33:59,500 --> 00:34:01,420 that we should live as well. 529 00:34:03,020 --> 00:34:08,020 And so every child of God is called to kill sin in our lives. 530 00:34:08,260 --> 00:34:09,740 That's a definite fact. 531 00:34:09,740 --> 00:34:12,620 And the word of God exposes sin 532 00:34:12,620 --> 00:34:15,740 that needs to be killed time and time 533 00:34:15,740 --> 00:34:17,700 and time and time again. 534 00:34:17,700 --> 00:34:20,780 But also every child of God needs to know 535 00:34:20,780 --> 00:34:24,740 that we're not in this battle alone. 536 00:34:25,860 --> 00:34:30,360 We're not doing the Christian walk in our own strength. 537 00:34:31,580 --> 00:34:33,940 Now, every single one of us has someone 538 00:34:33,940 --> 00:34:36,460 who is closer than any friend 539 00:34:36,460 --> 00:34:40,100 who will never leave nor forsake us. 540 00:34:40,100 --> 00:34:42,860 He's the one who causes us to see, 541 00:34:42,860 --> 00:34:45,940 he's the one who causes us to hear, 542 00:34:45,940 --> 00:34:49,180 he's the one who causes us time and time 543 00:34:49,180 --> 00:34:50,980 and time and time again 544 00:34:50,980 --> 00:34:54,140 to run to our heavenly father in confession 545 00:34:54,140 --> 00:34:56,260 and not away from him, 546 00:34:56,260 --> 00:34:59,940 to indulge in the things of the flesh, 547 00:34:59,940 --> 00:35:04,940 to indulge in the sin that so easily would hinder us. 548 00:35:07,860 --> 00:35:09,780 My dear brothers and sisters, 549 00:35:10,900 --> 00:35:13,820 the word of God calls us to not quench 550 00:35:15,060 --> 00:35:16,700 or grieve the spirit. 551 00:35:19,300 --> 00:35:22,980 To grieve him in his work of bringing us 552 00:35:22,980 --> 00:35:26,260 to the cross time and time again. 553 00:35:26,260 --> 00:35:29,700 Let us hear the word of God 554 00:35:30,660 --> 00:35:34,460 and rely on the spirit of God to trust and obey. 555 00:35:35,860 --> 00:35:38,020 Every single one of us has been called 556 00:35:38,020 --> 00:35:39,580 to live a godly life 557 00:35:39,580 --> 00:35:44,140 and that godly life comes from the spirit of God 558 00:35:44,140 --> 00:35:45,940 dwelling in us. 559 00:35:45,940 --> 00:35:49,700 He is the power, he is the one who is working out the pattern, 560 00:35:49,700 --> 00:35:53,980 he is the one who leads us in the practice of it all. 561 00:35:53,980 --> 00:35:58,980 And this is all for the glory of God alone. 562 00:36:01,660 --> 00:36:04,500 Would you please join me in asking our heavenly father 563 00:36:04,500 --> 00:36:07,300 to live out the things that we've heard this morning? 564 00:36:08,220 --> 00:36:09,060 Let's pray. 565 00:36:13,900 --> 00:36:17,140 Father God, we began our time by asking you 566 00:36:17,140 --> 00:36:18,860 to work in our midst this morning. 567 00:36:20,660 --> 00:36:22,900 And Father, we are thankful that 568 00:36:22,900 --> 00:36:26,100 we don't have to guess what you're like, 569 00:36:26,100 --> 00:36:29,700 that we don't have to make up things in the dark, 570 00:36:29,700 --> 00:36:33,700 but your word is a lamp unto our feet. 571 00:36:35,060 --> 00:36:37,540 This morning we thank you that we have both seen 572 00:36:37,540 --> 00:36:42,540 where our flesh is very much beating and bruising us, 573 00:36:43,180 --> 00:36:48,180 but at the same time where the gospel is the healing balm. 574 00:36:48,180 --> 00:36:53,180 Father God, I ask for all your children who you dearly love, 575 00:36:55,420 --> 00:36:57,620 who you have given the Lord Jesus for, 576 00:36:58,780 --> 00:37:01,900 that you would cause them to look upon the Lord Jesus, 577 00:37:03,020 --> 00:37:08,020 to know Him deeply, intimately, to love Him more 578 00:37:08,700 --> 00:37:09,780 than our own sin. 579 00:37:11,220 --> 00:37:13,700 And that Lord, we would be led of your spirit 580 00:37:13,700 --> 00:37:18,420 all the days of our life to glorify you. 581 00:37:18,420 --> 00:37:44,420 We ask this for your sake and in the name of Jesus, amen.