WEBVTT 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:04.759 Welcome to Life Group. We invite you to join 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:07.400 us in this verse -by -verse study through the 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:10.939 Word of God. In this lesson, we'll be studying 00:00:10.939 --> 00:00:15.019 Galatians chapter 5. Now, in light of all that 00:00:15.019 --> 00:00:18.280 Paul has said, he now challenges the Galatians 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:22.859 to walk in the truth he presented. Let's start 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:27.719 now with verse 1. So, Christ has truly set us 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:33.659 free. We don't make ourselves free, and that 00:00:33.659 --> 00:00:37.780 freedom is a gift of Jesus, given to us and received 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:41.359 by faith. When we struggle to free ourselves, 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:45.219 we become more entangled in a yoke of bondage. 00:00:46.460 --> 00:00:49.939 Continuing in verse 1, Now make sure that you 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:53.560 stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:58.939 to the law. So, Paul is saying that it takes 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:02.460 effort to live in freedom. And people who are 00:01:02.460 --> 00:01:05.859 legally made free in Jesus can still live in 00:01:05.859 --> 00:01:09.180 bondage. They can be deceived into placing themselves 00:01:09.180 --> 00:01:14.219 back into slavery. And if we choose bondage and 00:01:14.219 --> 00:01:16.680 try to maintain a legal relationship with God, 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:21.299 we know that it isn't God's will. For God pleads 00:01:21.299 --> 00:01:23.840 with us to take hold of His righteousness and 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:33.579 walk in freedom. tell you this, if you are counting 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:37.219 on circumcision to make you right with God, then 00:01:37.219 --> 00:01:41.379 Christ will be of no benefit to you. It's important 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:44.340 to understand that circumcision was the initiation 00:01:44.340 --> 00:01:47.400 ritual that meant a Gentile was becoming a Jew 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:51.159 and coming under the law. But for a Christian, 00:01:51.379 --> 00:01:54.260 it meant that the person no longer trusted in 00:01:54.260 --> 00:01:59.480 Jesus as his righteousness. When we embrace the 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:03.579 law as a rule of walking with God, we must let 00:02:03.579 --> 00:02:07.739 go of Jesus. The system of grace and the system 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:11.699 of law are incompatible. You can only embrace 00:02:11.699 --> 00:02:16.759 one thing. And how tragic is this? Jesus dying 00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:20.680 on the cross, pouring out his blood, his life, 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:25.599 his love for us, means nothing if we choose legalism. 00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:32.580 I'll say it again. If you are trying to find 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:35.939 favor with God by being circumcised, you must 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:39.580 obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 00:02:42.020 --> 00:02:45.159 The legalists among the Galatians wanted them 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:48.060 to think they could observe some aspects of the 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:52.750 law without coming under the entire law. But 00:02:52.750 --> 00:02:55.949 here Paul is saying when you choose to walk by 00:02:55.949 --> 00:02:59.210 law, you must walk by the whole law. You can't 00:02:59.210 --> 00:03:15.349 just pick and choose. Verse 4. Now, the phrase 00:03:15.349 --> 00:03:18.530 does not mean that if a Christian sins, he... 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:21.879 falls from grace and thereby loses his salvation. 00:03:22.539 --> 00:03:26.360 To fall from grace in this context is to fall 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:32.479 into legalism. Verse 5, But we who live by the 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:37.659 Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:43.000 God has promised to us. Now, because of our relationship 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.699 with the Holy Spirit, who lives in the believer, 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:51.780 we expect with confidence and anticipate with 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:54.900 pleasure. It's their definition of hope, right? 00:03:55.020 --> 00:03:59.300 That we are right with God. We live our lives 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:03.300 confidently trusting we are clothed in Jesus's 00:04:03.300 --> 00:04:08.300 righteousness. Verse six, for when we place our 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:11.599 faith in Christ Jesus, There is no benefit in 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:15.719 being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:20.579 is important is faith expressing itself in love. 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:26.160 Those walking in the Spirit know that being circumcised 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:30.220 or uncircumcised means nothing. What matters 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:34.920 is faith and faith working through love, both 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:38.060 of which were clearly absent in the legalist's 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:41.519 teaching. So what does this mean? It means that 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:45.240 if your faith does not work, then it's really 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:49.319 not real. It's not real faith. And if faith is 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:53.560 not expressed in love, it is not real faith either. 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:59.579 Both love and faith go together. Love alone isn't 00:04:59.579 --> 00:05:04.379 enough. Love must also have faith and abiding 00:05:04.379 --> 00:05:07.699 trust in who Jesus is and what he did for us. 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:11.120 Picking up with verse seven, you were running 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:15.800 the race so well. Now, Paul looked back and remembered 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:18.839 that the Galatian believers, they started great 00:05:18.839 --> 00:05:22.100 in faith when he shared the gospel with them. 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:26.060 And starting well is very important, but continuing 00:05:26.060 --> 00:05:30.759 and finishing well are equally important as starting 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:35.379 well. Continuing verse seven, who has held you 00:05:35.379 --> 00:05:39.620 back? From following the truth. The original 00:05:39.620 --> 00:05:42.899 language gives us a picture of a road that's 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:48.180 being chopped up or broken up. So Paul is saying 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:51.959 that the truth that they started on, someone 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:55.220 has come in and taught them or gave them new 00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:58.019 information that is chopped up and broken up 00:05:58.019 --> 00:06:00.879 the road that they started on. And it's making 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:05.399 it impassable now with this new false teaching. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:09.000 At the root of it all, the Galatians were leaving 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:13.740 Jesus to pursue the false and empty teachings 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:18.660 of a man, of the false teacher. And in this case, 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:24.779 the false teaching was legalism. Verse 8. It 00:06:24.779 --> 00:06:28.879 certainly isn't God, for he is the one who called 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:32.879 you to freedom. Paul acknowledged that the false 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:36.110 teaching came from a person. the one who was 00:06:36.110 --> 00:06:39.050 holding them back, but he also wanted the Galatians 00:06:39.050 --> 00:06:42.550 to realize that the way of legalism did not come 00:06:42.550 --> 00:06:48.370 from Jesus and was not endorsed by Jesus. Verse 00:06:48.370 --> 00:06:51.810 9. This false teaching is like a little yeast 00:06:51.810 --> 00:06:55.649 that spreads through the whole batch of dough. 00:06:57.050 --> 00:07:00.029 The corrupting influence of legalism is compared 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:03.829 to yeast in a lump of dough. A little bit of 00:07:03.829 --> 00:07:09.259 yeast. goes through the entire batch of dough. 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:13.759 And in Jewish thought, yeast almost always stood 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:17.959 for an evil influence. Paul is saying that their 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:20.620 commitment to trying to be right with God by 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:24.819 following rules and rituals, it may seem like 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:28.660 a small thing, but it's so dangerous that it 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:32.019 can corrupt everything concerning their faith. 00:07:32.860 --> 00:07:49.680 Verse 10. On a positive note, Paul was confident 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:52.720 that the Holy Spirit would use his letter to 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:55.819 clear the path for the Galatians to get back 00:07:55.819 --> 00:08:00.120 on the right road. He was also confident that 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:04.139 God would deal with the false teacher. Verse 00:08:04.139 --> 00:08:08.509 11. Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still 00:08:08.509 --> 00:08:12.029 preaching that you must be circumcised, as some 00:08:12.029 --> 00:08:19.170 say I do, why am I still being persecuted? Now, 00:08:19.189 --> 00:08:21.610 someone might accuse Paul of preaching circumcision 00:08:21.610 --> 00:08:25.730 because he asked Timothy, his partner, to be 00:08:25.730 --> 00:08:29.430 circumcised. But Paul didn't ask Timothy to be 00:08:29.430 --> 00:08:33.350 circumcised so he could be saved or more saved. 00:08:34.350 --> 00:08:36.610 Timothy was circumcised so he could share the 00:08:36.610 --> 00:08:40.169 gospel with Jews who were taught from childhood 00:08:40.169 --> 00:08:44.730 to have nothing to do with Gentiles. Now, Timothy 00:08:44.730 --> 00:08:51.250 had a Greek father, but a Jewish mother. Continuing 00:08:51.250 --> 00:08:56.389 in verse 11. If I were no longer preaching salvation 00:08:56.389 --> 00:09:00.929 through the cross of Christ, no one would be 00:09:00.929 --> 00:09:06.129 offended. Here we can understand that legalism 00:09:06.129 --> 00:09:10.230 can't handle the offense of the cross. The whole 00:09:10.230 --> 00:09:13.610 point of Jesus dying on the cross was to say 00:09:13.610 --> 00:09:18.769 this. You can't save yourself. I must die in 00:09:18.769 --> 00:09:26.230 your place for you to have any hope at all. See, 00:09:26.289 --> 00:09:29.269 when we trust in legalism, we believe that we 00:09:29.269 --> 00:09:34.149 can, at least in part, save ourselves. or be 00:09:34.149 --> 00:09:39.090 right with God based on our performance. Verse 00:09:39.090 --> 00:09:43.330 12. I just wish that those troublemakers who 00:09:43.330 --> 00:09:46.450 want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate 00:09:46.450 --> 00:09:49.809 themselves. That's a pretty strong statement, 00:09:49.809 --> 00:09:55.450 right? In their society, there was a sacred castration 00:09:55.450 --> 00:10:00.370 that was known to citizens in the ancient world. 00:10:00.789 --> 00:10:03.470 It was frequently practiced by pagan priests. 00:10:04.490 --> 00:10:08.269 Paul's idea here is something like this. If cutting 00:10:08.269 --> 00:10:11.190 will make you right with God, why don't you do 00:10:11.190 --> 00:10:14.610 like the pagan priests and go all the way and 00:10:14.610 --> 00:10:18.330 castrate yourself to the teachers that were promoting 00:10:18.330 --> 00:10:22.549 this to be right with God. Now, in this dramatic 00:10:22.549 --> 00:10:27.309 conclusion, Paul makes one thing very clear. 00:10:28.680 --> 00:10:33.019 Legalism is not a little thing or a tolerable 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:36.740 doctrine. It can't be mixed in with the message 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:41.539 of grace. Legalism takes away our freedom, our 00:10:41.539 --> 00:10:46.460 liberty, and subjects us to bondage. It makes 00:10:46.460 --> 00:10:50.799 Jesus and his work of no effect to us. It puts 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:55.399 us under obligation to the whole law. and it 00:10:55.399 --> 00:11:00.240 violates the work of the Spirit of God. Legalism 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:02.720 makes us focus on things that are irrelevant. 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:07.519 It keeps us from running the race Jesus has set 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:11.779 before us. It isn't from Jesus. And remember, 00:11:11.879 --> 00:11:16.360 a little bit of legalism will poison an entire 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:27.649 church. Picking up in verse 13. Paul has made 00:11:27.649 --> 00:11:31.070 this point over and over again. The Christian 00:11:31.070 --> 00:11:35.090 life is a life of freedom. Jesus came to set 00:11:35.090 --> 00:11:38.730 the captives free, not to keep them in bondage 00:11:38.730 --> 00:11:42.269 or put them under a new type of bondage all over 00:11:42.269 --> 00:11:47.129 again. Freedom is one of the foundational essences 00:11:47.129 --> 00:11:51.289 of being a Christian. It is the beginning of 00:11:51.289 --> 00:11:55.750 living a victorious Christian life. Continuing 00:11:55.750 --> 00:12:10.269 in verse 13, The great fear of the legalist is 00:12:10.269 --> 00:12:13.169 that liberty will be used as an opportunity for 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:16.600 the flesh. The idea that people will just go 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:19.700 out and sin as they please, then say to a spineless 00:12:19.700 --> 00:12:22.940 God, I'm sorry, please forgive me, and then go 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:26.799 on doing whatever they want again. But it's important 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:30.659 to remember that freedom is not the right to 00:12:30.659 --> 00:12:35.480 sin. Freedom keeps us from being consumed with 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:39.779 guilt, shame, and condemnation so we can continue 00:12:39.779 --> 00:12:43.289 advancing God's kingdom. in the earth through 00:12:43.289 --> 00:12:48.889 love and service. Verse 14, for the whole law 00:12:48.889 --> 00:12:52.769 can be summed up in this one command, love your 00:12:52.769 --> 00:12:56.990 neighbor as yourself. So here Paul's saying it 00:12:56.990 --> 00:13:01.610 all boils down to this one thing, loving God 00:13:01.610 --> 00:13:07.309 and loving people. Verse 15, but if you are always 00:13:07.309 --> 00:13:10.870 biting and devouring one another, watch out. 00:13:13.370 --> 00:13:18.830 See, this is how the church can act when it uses 00:13:18.830 --> 00:13:22.950 its quote -unquote freedom as a platform to promote 00:13:22.950 --> 00:13:26.370 selfishness. If you want to see some action, 00:13:26.629 --> 00:13:29.289 all you have to do is put two selfish people 00:13:29.289 --> 00:13:33.309 together. Selfish people will eventually consume 00:13:33.309 --> 00:13:36.269 one another. It's always their way or the highway, 00:13:36.610 --> 00:13:42.330 and it never ends well. Verse 16. So I say, let 00:13:42.330 --> 00:13:46.570 the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't 00:13:46.570 --> 00:13:51.230 be doing what your sinful nature craves. So here, 00:13:51.370 --> 00:13:54.549 what does it mean to walk in the Spirit? Let's 00:13:54.549 --> 00:13:57.370 talk about that a second. Well, walking in the 00:13:57.370 --> 00:14:00.470 Spirit, being Spirit -led, means that we are 00:14:00.470 --> 00:14:03.870 constantly aware, we constantly acknowledge. 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:08.860 that the Holy Spirit lives in us. He indwells 00:14:08.860 --> 00:14:12.559 the believer at salvation. It also means that 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:16.759 we are open and sensitive to the impressions 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:22.460 and voice of the Spirit. We know His voice, we 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:25.759 follow His voice, and we're sensitive to His 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:30.389 voice. And we're quick to follow the direction 00:14:30.389 --> 00:14:33.850 the Holy Spirit gives because his voice leads 00:14:33.850 --> 00:14:37.190 us in the path of righteousness, into the path 00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:40.649 of freedom, and into the path of truth. So the 00:14:40.649 --> 00:14:43.769 Spirit -filled life is not a life of legalism 00:14:43.769 --> 00:14:47.450 or license to sin, you could say, or some sort 00:14:47.450 --> 00:14:52.549 of middle way between the two. It is a life of 00:14:52.549 --> 00:14:56.830 faith and love. that is above all other ways. 00:14:57.429 --> 00:15:00.789 For it is impossible to walk in the Spirit and 00:15:00.789 --> 00:15:03.570 fulfill the lust of the flesh at the same time. 00:15:03.909 --> 00:15:10.450 The two simply don't go together. Verse 17 The 00:15:10.450 --> 00:15:14.409 sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just 00:15:14.409 --> 00:15:18.549 the opposite of what the Spirit wants. When Paul 00:15:18.549 --> 00:15:22.980 uses the term flesh, or sinful nature here, He 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:25.720 doesn't mean our flesh and blood bodies are the 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:29.419 fallen nature we inherited from Adam, because 00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:33.059 that old man was crucified with Jesus and is 00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:36.059 now dead and gone, according to Romans 6 .6. 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:40.919 Instead, as Paul uses it here, the flesh or sinful 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:45.940 nature refers to our mind, our will, and emotions. 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.799 that were trained and patterned by the influences 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:53.299 of sin and this world before we came to Christ. 00:15:54.179 --> 00:15:58.059 Continuing in 17, And the Spirit gives us desires 00:15:58.059 --> 00:16:01.080 that are the opposite of what the sinful nature 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:05.090 desires. So this is a part of the Holy Spirit's 00:16:05.090 --> 00:16:08.750 work in us. The Holy Spirit works in us through 00:16:08.750 --> 00:16:13.169 the word to transform our mind, our will, and 00:16:13.169 --> 00:16:16.990 our emotions, transforms our soul as we yield 00:16:16.990 --> 00:16:24.110 to him. Further in 17 says this, these two forces 00:16:24.110 --> 00:16:27.590 are constantly fighting each other. So you are 00:16:27.590 --> 00:16:31.399 not free to carry out your good intentions. But 00:16:31.399 --> 00:16:34.480 when you are directed by the Spirit, you are 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:38.960 not under obligation to the law of Moses. So 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:41.440 here Paul is saying that the antidote to the 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:44.980 flesh is not found in the law, but in the Spirit. 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:48.940 We fulfill the will of God through the inner 00:16:48.940 --> 00:16:52.740 influence of the Holy Spirit, instead of the 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:57.399 outer influence of the law. And as we know, an 00:16:57.399 --> 00:17:01.179 inner influence is far more effective than an 00:17:01.179 --> 00:17:05.839 outer influence. Verse 19 When you follow the 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:08.980 desires of your sinful nature, the results are 00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:14.740 very clear. Sexual immorality, impurity, lustful 00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:21.200 pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:26.319 jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:33.700 dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:39.859 parties, and other sins like these. Now, this 00:17:39.859 --> 00:17:44.079 is not a new legalistic list of don'ts to replace 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:48.099 the mosaic list of rules. This is a picture, 00:17:48.140 --> 00:17:52.059 and what Paul is describing here is a flesh -led 00:17:52.059 --> 00:17:55.619 life. This is what that flesh -led life looks 00:17:55.619 --> 00:17:59.339 like. This is what it amounts to. We could also 00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:04.259 view this as a quote -unquote fruit of an unrenewed, 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:09.500 non -transformed mind. Continuing in verse 21, 00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:14.250 let me tell you again as I have before. that 00:18:14.250 --> 00:18:18.109 anyone living that sort of life will not inherit 00:18:18.109 --> 00:18:23.569 the kingdom of God. So what is Paul saying is 00:18:23.569 --> 00:18:26.210 at stake here? He's saying that the kingdom of 00:18:26.210 --> 00:18:28.809 God is at stake. What is the kingdom of God? 00:18:28.970 --> 00:18:32.210 The kingdom of God is the eternal rule and reign 00:18:32.210 --> 00:18:35.730 of God, as well as the benefits of living in 00:18:35.730 --> 00:18:38.869 his kingdom, which we know are blessing, victory, 00:18:39.069 --> 00:18:43.529 and freedom. Think of it this way. Think of the 00:18:43.529 --> 00:18:46.670 picture of the prodigal son. He was always a 00:18:46.670 --> 00:18:50.210 son, but he had no access to family benefits 00:18:50.210 --> 00:18:53.089 when he was living far away from his father. 00:18:53.349 --> 00:18:56.109 The verses that Jeffrey just read that explain 00:18:56.109 --> 00:19:02.289 what a flesh -led life looks like, it shows us 00:19:02.289 --> 00:19:06.049 something about the nature of people. And we 00:19:06.049 --> 00:19:08.829 can find out more information on this in 1 Corinthians 00:19:08.829 --> 00:19:12.890 2 and 3. We find out that there's three types 00:19:12.890 --> 00:19:16.250 of people. One is a natural person. This is a 00:19:16.250 --> 00:19:18.849 person who is not a Christian. They're not born 00:19:18.849 --> 00:19:22.029 again, and they're led by their flesh or their 00:19:22.029 --> 00:19:25.690 sensual nature. They live by what feels good 00:19:25.690 --> 00:19:29.009 or what seems right in their own eyes. But then 00:19:29.009 --> 00:19:32.490 there's also a carnal person. A carnal person 00:19:32.490 --> 00:19:36.180 is a Christian, but... they still live according 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:39.640 to their flesh they're an immature christian 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:43.059 they stay on a childhood level because they're 00:19:43.059 --> 00:19:46.980 not serious about god's word and they don't walk 00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:51.259 in the spirit and just by looking on the outside 00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:55.420 we can't tell much difference between a natural 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:59.759 person and a carnal christian but then we see 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:03.059 and first corinthians 3 there's also a spiritual 00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:08.420 person this is a christian who is led by the 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:12.099 holy spirit and they're serious about the word 00:20:12.099 --> 00:20:14.140 of god they're led by the word of god they're 00:20:14.140 --> 00:20:17.400 growing and they're regularly receiving the word 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:20.940 of god and they're walking in the spirit in the 00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:23.799 next verses we're going to see a picture of what 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:28.119 a holy spirit led life looks like as opposed 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:34.039 to the flesh -led life. Galatians 5 .22 But the 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:37.220 Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our 00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:41.960 lives. And the first one is love. It can be translated 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:46.279 love, affection, benevolence, being concerned 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:49.299 about the well -being of someone, also a love 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:52.920 feast. It includes fellowship and the desire 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:57.559 for friendship and fellowship together. The next 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:04.259 one is joy. Now, joy is translated also cheerfulness 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:07.220 and delight. It's not something that's hidden. 00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:10.799 As we've looked at before, the joy of the Lord 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:14.259 is our strength and joy is a characteristic. 00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:17.720 A person walking in joy is a characteristic of 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:20.279 someone who is being led by the spirit, just 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:22.839 like all of these that we're looking at right 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:27.380 now. So the fruit. of the Holy Spirit in our 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:32.319 lives is love and joy and then peace. That Greek 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:36.960 word is arene. It's translated peace and quietness, 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:42.259 calmness, rest, to set at one. Our minds aren't 00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:44.420 just scattered in a hundred different directions. 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:49.380 It's also translated prosperity because prosperity 00:21:49.380 --> 00:21:53.680 doesn't exist without peace and calmness and 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:56.640 rest. in our hearts it doesn't matter how much 00:21:56.640 --> 00:22:00.220 we have if we don't have the peace of god then 00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:05.160 it's not prosperity the holy spirit produces 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:07.640 this kind of fruit in our lives love joy peace 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:10.339 and then here's everyone's favorite patience 00:22:10.339 --> 00:22:16.759 patience is being long tempered long suffering 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:21.200 also not quick to give up but not quick to be 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:26.609 angered either Do we have patience? The next 00:22:26.609 --> 00:22:31.569 one is kindness. That Greek word is krestates. 00:22:31.930 --> 00:22:35.890 And it means kindness. It means usefulness, gentleness. 00:22:36.069 --> 00:22:41.009 It means moral excellence in character or demeanor. 00:22:42.269 --> 00:22:46.970 Next one is goodness. That's a fruit of the Holy 00:22:46.970 --> 00:22:50.650 Spirit. It means goodness. It means good for 00:22:50.650 --> 00:22:56.599 use. It means doing or producing good. See, a 00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:00.359 Spirit -led person is always doing and producing 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:05.720 good. Next one is faithfulness, and that word 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:09.900 is most often translated just faith, but it means 00:23:09.900 --> 00:23:13.200 actually living in faith and being faithful, 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:16.799 right? So it's having a complete confidence in 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:21.420 God and His Word. to the degree that it results 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:27.019 in corresponding action. That's how we show faithfulness 00:23:27.019 --> 00:23:30.339 to what God has said, to what He has promised, 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:33.220 and how we live. We have complete confidence 00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:38.920 in God. And in verse 23, it picks up with gentleness. 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:44.099 This word is translated meekness, mildness, humility. 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.339 And all those are characteristics of a person 00:23:48.339 --> 00:23:52.279 who is spirit -led. And then we have self -control. 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:58.839 And that means being strong and being able to 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:03.559 control yourself, to control your emotions, to 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:06.859 control your thoughts. All those things. Self 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:12.599 -control. To control your actions. Those are... 00:24:14.479 --> 00:24:20.079 Identifiers of a spirit led life. Is having all 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:25.200 of those things. Now verse 23 goes on to say 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:32.380 this. There is no law against these things. Now 00:24:32.380 --> 00:24:35.559 obviously when a person walks in the spirit. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:40.180 And the fruit of the spirit is evident in their 00:24:40.180 --> 00:24:44.480 lives in increasing measure. There's no need 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:50.079 for any rules if we are being Spirit -led. Verse 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:52.960 24 says this, Those who belong to Christ Jesus 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:56.880 have nailed the passions and desires of their 00:24:56.880 --> 00:25:01.380 sinful nature to His cross and crucified them 00:25:01.380 --> 00:25:06.220 there. When we live Holy Spirit -led lives, we 00:25:06.220 --> 00:25:10.599 are symbolically nailing our flesh on the cross 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:15.369 with Jesus. It's impossible to be led by our 00:25:15.369 --> 00:25:20.529 flesh while we are yielding to and being led 00:25:20.529 --> 00:25:26.309 by the Holy Spirit. Verse 25. Since we are living 00:25:26.309 --> 00:25:30.769 by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading 00:25:30.769 --> 00:25:36.089 in every part of our lives. So since the Holy 00:25:36.089 --> 00:25:41.190 Spirit has given us spiritual life, we should 00:25:41.190 --> 00:25:45.720 follow Him. We should walk in step with Him. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:51.940 Now, to give us an idea of what spirit -led means, 00:25:52.099 --> 00:25:54.980 because we hear those words, but we don't always 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:58.160 understand what it means, let's unpack it a little 00:25:58.160 --> 00:26:01.400 bit. To be spirit -led means that we're constantly 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:07.359 aware that the Holy Spirit lives in us. As the 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:10.240 Bible says in Corinthians, it says, You know, 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:12.660 don't you know that your body is the temple of 00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:17.539 the Holy Spirit? See, when we come into a relationship 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:19.880 with Christ, the Holy Spirit moves in, takes 00:26:19.880 --> 00:26:23.960 up residence on the inside of us. But to be spirit 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:26.259 led means that we're constantly aware and we're 00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:31.279 constantly acknowledging that he is with us. 00:26:32.299 --> 00:26:35.299 And it's more than just being aware and acknowledging. 00:26:36.650 --> 00:26:39.730 It's also saying if we're spirit led that we're 00:26:39.730 --> 00:26:45.410 open and sensitive to the impressions and the 00:26:45.410 --> 00:26:49.450 voice of the spirit because he is always leading 00:26:49.450 --> 00:26:53.809 us and guiding us. And we need to be sensitive 00:26:53.809 --> 00:26:56.809 to that. Usually it's a still small voice or 00:26:56.809 --> 00:27:00.410 an impression or following peace and stopping 00:27:00.410 --> 00:27:04.480 when we. get an uneasy feeling we we've got to 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:07.220 recognize that that's the holy spirit telling 00:27:07.220 --> 00:27:11.059 us to stop right and it's more than just being 00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:13.000 open and sensitive it's more than being aware 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:16.960 and acknowledging it's also being quick to follow 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:22.579 the holy spirit whatever he is leading us to 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:26.619 do or leading us to say we need to be quick to 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:32.420 follow those are descriptions Of what it means 00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:37.359 to be spirit led. And then in verse 26. It says 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:42.299 let us not become conceited. So he's telling 00:27:42.299 --> 00:27:44.920 us. Don't get prideful when you walk in the spirit. 00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:48.500 Don't have an air about you. That you're closer 00:27:48.500 --> 00:27:51.380 to God. And better than everyone else. Who's 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:55.000 obviously less spiritual than you are. I mean 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.140 we should never get to that point. And it goes 00:27:59.140 --> 00:28:03.170 on to say. It says, let us not become conceited, 00:28:03.190 --> 00:28:08.150 but then it says, or provoke one another. Spiritual 00:28:08.150 --> 00:28:11.430 pride is offensive. It rubs people the wrong 00:28:11.430 --> 00:28:15.710 way. It's a source of many unnecessary conflicts 00:28:15.710 --> 00:28:20.890 among believers. It goes on to say this. I'll 00:28:20.890 --> 00:28:23.309 read the whole verse again. Let us not become 00:28:23.309 --> 00:28:27.910 conceited or provoke one another or be jealous 00:28:27.910 --> 00:28:34.099 of one another. Now, this is looking at it from 00:28:34.099 --> 00:28:37.319 a different angle because sometimes when we look 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:39.519 at people and we think that they're more spiritual 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:42.720 than we are because we're comparing ourselves, 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:45.339 which we're not supposed to do, sometimes we 00:28:45.339 --> 00:28:49.920 begin to heap condemnation on ourselves when 00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:52.819 we think that they're further along or they're 00:28:52.819 --> 00:28:55.700 more spiritual than we are. And he's saying, 00:28:55.740 --> 00:28:59.390 don't be jealous. Don't be jealous over someone 00:28:59.390 --> 00:29:03.349 being more spiritual than you. Let their relationship 00:29:03.349 --> 00:29:08.829 with God, let their walk of faith inspire you, 00:29:08.890 --> 00:29:12.529 not condemn you. Let it inspire you to draw closer 00:29:12.529 --> 00:29:16.450 to God and be more in step with the Holy Spirit. 00:29:17.569 --> 00:29:20.509 Thank you for joining us for Life Group. Allow 00:29:20.509 --> 00:29:23.349 God's Word to build your faith and transform 00:29:23.349 --> 00:29:24.029 your life.