What Does It Look Like To Walk By The Spirit? (Galatians 5:24-25) Part III
GIST: Our lives will be defined by Jesus if we’re His.
Last week, we dove into what I intended to be part II of a two-part series. However, I realized Sunday morning that probably wasn’t going to happen….and it didn’t. In fact, even after only preaching through what was originally meant to be just one point of my sermon, Melissa said I could have stopped midway through that point and called it a day ☺️. The good news for many of you is that I’ll probably be briefer today ☺️.
To recap just a bit, we’re walking through the applica tion portion of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. For the past three weeks, we’ve been considering how we can tell if we’re walking by the Spirit, living like we’re actually saved. Two weeks ago, we saw that this will be evident because our lives will no longer be defined by sin as they are increasingly defined by Jesus instead. Last week, we then camped out with this truth: The fruit of the Spirit is the normal and growing product of true Christian living. So, this week we’ll wrap up that point and consider this gist: Our lives will be defined by Jesus if we’re His. Let’s look at the whole context and then dive in.
“16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 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. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 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. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Again, since this was originally going to be a “final” point, I don’t want to belabor it needlessly. The big picture here is these changes, as we’ve been seeing from the beginning, are not things we accomplish in our strength. They are the work of Jesus in us. Really, I’ve got one point to try and illustrate→
I. Our Lives Will Be Defined By Jesus If We’re His (24-25)
Our focus is those last two verses. “24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” I just have a couple quick observations. First, this is for→
Those Who Belong To Christ. Again, this is a picture of all Christians! This isn’t what happens to the elite. This is what happens to all who are truly saved because you now belong to Christ Jesus! Before I say anything else, please hold onto that. If you have been rescued from sin, you’ve been rescued from the isolating power of the sinful nature. We all have this inherent desire to belong, to fit in, to be part of something. This world never fulfills that need. You’ve probably felt broken and alone many times. You might feel it now, but you don’t have to. If you’ve given Him your life, you belong. You have a place to go. You are never alone. You’re His. As such, it’s also important to realize sin no longer controls you. You’re not a slave to destruction. Your master is the giver of life! And because this is real of who you are, we should→
Have Crucified The Flesh With Its Passions and Desires. We talked about this two weeks ago. We are to attack our sin at the motivational level. And though we are called to take up our cross daily, let’s not miss the tense here. This is in past tense because it has already happened. When you were rescued, you were rescued completely! Sin no longer has any authority in your life! Remember, you belong to Jesus.
So, if we’re rescued in that way, we’ll keep living like it. That’s an important implication to grasp here. Alistair Begg called this a Ruthless and Uncompromising Rejection of Sin. I found that wording very helpful and wanted to at least give it to you even if we don’t develop it more this morning. Similarly, John Stott described this rejection as→ Pitiless, Painful, and Persistent. It’s pitiless because we are to show no mercy to the sins in our lives. We attack with the intention of complete victory. Period. Some of the more competitive amongst us will completely understand what I’m talking about here. There is a difference between playing and hoping to when...and just dominating. We’re not to let up on our sins. But yeah, that’s going to hurt. It will be painful. This is not only going against our natures but also opposes what our society is pushing. Yet, we must take up this cross daily and→
Keep In Step With The Spirit. This means we reject sin while running into the loving arms of Jesus! How? Put your feet where His are! I love this picture. As a dad, sometimes my kids will ask to walk on my feet. They’ll put their feet right on top of mine, I’ll hold their arms to help them balance, and we’ll start moving forward. As my feet rise, theirs just come with me ☺. This also reminded me of when we had the snowpocalypse a few weeks back. At one point, when the snow was still super high, I had made a path down the side of our driveway when I was taking up the trash. When the kiddos came outside the next day and wanted to get to the front of the house, they walked where my feet had already cleared the way. Man, I love this picture. If we want to see the work of the Spirit in our lives. We need to put our feet where His are! Following the example of Jesus, we… put one foot in front of the other in a deliberate and continuous movement forward.
Let’s look big picture in our→
TAKEAWAYS
Do you see His fruit in your life or is it still defined by self-destructive sin?
Love- The profound and all-encompassing love of God!
Joy- Deep cheerfulness
Peace- Harmony between people and a restored relationship with God.
Patience- Longsuffering, being slow to anger.
Kindness- Moral goodness lived out!
Goodness- Uprightness of heart
Faithfulness- Conviction of the truth of God resulting in trustworthiness of character.
Gentleness- Humility. Knowing your need.
Self-Control- Not giving in to the desires of the flesh.
Are you relentless about rejecting your sin?
Are you walking in step with Jesus?
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