Galatians 5:13-26
“Gospel Character”
SI: You would think that after Paul’s harsh words against
the legalists
that he would
follow up by telling the Galatians to stomp out false teaching
in their churches,
have nothing to do with anyone who accepted it.
But instead he starts to talk
about the change of character that the Gospel
should bring to
people who embrace it.
What that looks like in an
individual Christian and the church.
INTRO: Do you remember advertising slogan for
“What happens here stays in here.”
Whoever came up with that
understands human nature.
It appeals to people to think of going to a
place where you can do things
and know all the
stuff you do stays there.
It doesn’t come back to your
town, your family,
your friends.
The thing that motivates morality for most
people is fear of punishment.
How would you live if you
knew that God would not, could not
punish you for your
sins? Heaven is guaranteed?
The Gospel is the amazing
message that any person who believes in Christ
is free forever from the punishment of God for all their
sins—
past, present, and
future.
He died the death you should
have died so your sins are paid for.
God can’t punish you for sins Jesus has paid
for.
More than
that—much more than that. Not only is your slate wiped clean.
You are given a status. Jesus lived the life you should have lived.
His righteous life is
credited to you. You have standing with
God.
You are a son of God. Position as son can never be revoked.
Parents, anything child could
do to make him not your child?
Legalists in the Galatians
churches were teaching that you had to do
the right things
for God to accept you. If don’t, won’t
be accepted.
Motivating by fear. Do the right things and God will accept you.
Paul said over and over: No.
It’s not that way at all.
You don’t earn God’s
acceptance by your obedience—
and you don’t keep
his acceptance by your obedience.
It’s all God’s grace. It’s all Christ. It’s just faith in Him alone.
In fact, Paul says: Don’t ever go back to thinking that your standing with God
has anything to do
with you doing the right things, being moral, being religious.
It doesn’t.
That’s the way slaves think, not sons.
If the forgiveness of your
sins is guaranteed, status as a son is permanent—
does this mean that
you can take a loose and careless attitude toward sin?
Look what Paul says in this
passage: verse 13
“You, my brothers, were called to be free.
But, do not use your freedom to indulge the
sinful nature,
rather, serve one
another in love.
Freedom of the Gospel is not
freedom to sin.
It’s the exact opposite. It is the freedom to grow a godly character.
Become the man or woman God made you to be.
Rather than the Gospel giving
you a license to sin—
brings real changes
to your life so that you can effectively fight sin,
and become a better
person.
If you truly are a justified
person, son of God—things have happened in you—
real changes—you
need to know these, recognize them, put to use
in the development
of a godly character.
What are these things? Three of them. Look at each.
As a believer you have a new nature, new
desires, new strategies.
Lord expects you to use all of these to
become person he wants you to be.
And you should want this
too. Let’s look at each.
MP#1
As a Christian you have a new nature.
Bible makes it clear that you
were born with a sinful nature.
What is the sinful nature? Paul calls it in other letters old self, old
man.
Something have
from birth.
When you become a Christian, sinful nature
does not go away.
Some very traumatic things happen to
it—mention later—still present.
Sinful nature is simply an
orientation toward sin.
Orientation towards living opposed to
God.
In older versions of the
Bible it’s called “the flesh.”
That’s the literal translation of what Paul
writes here. Do not indulge the
flesh.
Some have taken it to mean
that our bodies are bad, this is where sin resides—
our spirits are
good—so to become better must subdue the body.
Look at the list starting in
verse 19. The acts of the sinful nature
are obvious.
Some of these sins have to do with the
body—sexual immorality, drunkenness.
Some of these have to do with the
mind—selfish ambition, envy.
Crucial to note: Sinful nature is not limited to the desires
of the body—
it is every aspect
of the person that is drawn to sin.
That’s why NIV translates
this word “flesh” as sinful nature.
To make point that sinful nature is as much
about minds and spirits as bodies.
When a person becomes a
Christian, he gets a new nature.
Paul calls it life in the Spirit.
Being led by the Spirit.
Keep in step with Spirit.
Spirit is in conflict with the sinful
nature.
At first this might seem like
this is a battle between something inside us—
sinful nature and
something outside of us—Holy Spirit.
But Paul is clear that the
conflict happens inside.
Each side produces desires in us. Character qualities.
When Paul speaks of the
Spirit he is speaking of the renewed Christian heart—
that is united with
the Holy Spirit.
Sinful nature was the only
nature we had before conversion—
but then the Holy Spirit entered us
supernaturally when became Christians—
has begun a renewal that is our new
nature. Spirit nature.
What Paul calls the new man
elsewhere.
New God focused, Christ focused aspect of
our being.
This
is not morality, or your conscience.
Don’t confuse the Spirit and new nature with
morality
Every
great religion and philosophy has a code of ethics taught by great teacher.
Buddhism—Judaism
Many people try to be good according to some
code of morality. Even use Bible.
If
that’s what the Christian life means, trying to be a good, moral person
nothing essentially different about
Christian faith than other faiths.
But
life in the Spirit, new nature are much more than morality—
internal renewal so that internal
orientation becomes God-focused.
More
serious, honest and thoughtful Christian man or woman is—
the more conscious he will be of this new
nature because he will sense a conflict.
Conflict
between two completely different orientations.
Conflict that is not present in an
unbeliever.
Might have conflicts of conscience. Two totally different natures.
Last
spring went canoeing in
Water was up—but when in canoe, going with
flow no conflict.
Paddled to steer the canoes but it was not a
fight.
Later
that day we were swimming, letting current carry us downstream.
At one point pushed me against tree in
river.
Afraid I was going to get caught, started
fighting it—totally different experience.
As
a Christian, developing a godly character means understanding your new nature.
Conflict that it brings you against sin
as you direct your life toward God.
If
this conflict isn’t part of your life, need to seriously evaluate who you are.
Vs. 17
“They are in conflict” It’s part
of universal Christian experience.
Because you have a new nature—opposed to old
nature.
Brings
us to the next new thing present in Christian life.
MP#2 As a Christian you have new desires.
Paul
goes a step deeper—
explains the underlying desires of the
sinful nature and life in the Spirit.
In
both 16 and 24 Paul speak of the desires of the sinful nature.
Older Bibles translate this “lusts” the “lusts of the flesh”
Reason
modern translations say “desires of the sinful nature” not sexual desires
But “lusts” is a better word, if take in
general sense, not sexual sense.
This is a word that means excessive, out of
control desires.
This
is crucial.
The main problem with your heart is not so
much your desire for bad things—
but your lust for good things. Excessive, out of control desires for good
things.
When
a good thing becomes your salvation—your hope for the thing you need
to make your life bearable, your security,
your comfort, your worth—
then you are under the influence of the
sinful nature.
Read
the Old Testament, what is the one word used to describe drifting from God?
Idolatry.
Israelites were continually turning to idols for salvation.
Word
idolatry is barely used in New Testament.
The word used to describe drifting from God
is this word lusts, excessive desires.
Idolatry
and “desires of the sinful nature” are the same.
Putting
our hopes in something besides God and then craving that thing—
being carried along by that lust.
Look
at the list in verse 19—acts of the sinful nature. Four groups.
First
three have to do with sex—Sex a good thing, wonderful thing, desirable.
But what happens when it becomes the thing
you must have
to give your life pleasure, power, sense of
worth?
Immorality
(outside marriage), impurity (unnatural), debauchery (uncontrolled).
Next
two have to do with religion—good thing—help in communion with God.
But what happens when religion an idol? Security, control?
Idolatry and witchcraft—Gentile
practices. Worship forms, superstition.
Next
eight have to do with personal relationships.
Tremendously good.
But what happens when relationships become
idols—
counting
on people, looking to people in various ways for our salvation.
All sorts of destructive attitudes, and ugly
results. “Fits of rage” Why?
Next
two have to do with pleasurable substances.
Good things.
Wine, food, clothes, entertainment, sports—all
gifts from God.
But
what happens when they become thing looking for to bless life?
Drunkenness and orgies (drinking bouts). uncontrolled, excessive, alcohol, shop
Not
the things—not sex, religion, relationships, stuff—it’s desires of sinful
nature.
This I must have in order to make my life
happy, bearable, worthwhile.
Christian
receives new desires:
Verse 17. “The sinful nature desires what is contrary
to the Spirit,
and the Spirit what is contrary to the
sinful nature.”
The
Spirit nature in is also has strong, passionate longings.
Jesus said Spirit came into world to glorify
him. Yearning for Christ.
So
there is in the heart of every born again person influence of Spirit—
that causes you to long to know Christ and
be conformed to Him.
That
is the underlying influence of the Spirit in your life—to point you to Jesus.
Very different from conscience pushing you to
be good.
World of difference saying, want to be good
goodness sake,
want
to know Christ, honor Him.
Easy
to overlook, but Paul says something crucial in 17.
“They are in conflict with each other, so
that you do not do what you want.”
A true Christian has both
sinful desires and godly desires.
But deepest, most powerful influence is what
the Spirit wants.
That’s encouraging. Means that even when fall into sin—can say
with Paul—
this is not the real me, this in not what I
really want for my life—God, Christ.
MP#3 As a
Christian you have new strategies.
Strategies for change. For becoming a different person, godly
character.
There are two of them: Crucify the sinful nature, Walk with the
Spirit.
1. Crucify the
sinful nature.
Bible says in other places
that we have been crucified with Christ.
Paul says it in this letter, in chapter
2. I have been crucified with Christ.
Being crucified with Christ
is something done to you—
united with Christ in his death. When he died on cross for sins, you died.
Old sinful nature was put to death. No matter how powerful it seems—dying.
That is a tremendous
incentive for Christian. Power of old
self is broken.
But crucifying the sinful
nature is also something you do as a Christian—
it is one of the strategies God gives you
for growing in holiness.
Do it and keep doing it
throughout life.
Essentially identifying and
dismantling your idols.
Putting an end to their attractive power
over you,
so that they no longer inflame your desires.
This goes much deeper than
behavior.
Not just saying: I’ve got to quit these sins committing.
Got to quit these fits of rage, envy, sexual
immorality.
Going a step deeper and
asking yourself:
Why do I feel that I have to do this?
As you probe you will find an idol.
Why do I have fits of rage at
people?
Because they are blocking or threatening to
block something I want real bad.
Respect I think is owed to me.
Control I have over a particular part of my
life.
Do you see what those
are? Idols. Things worshipping instead of God.
Lusts coming from areas of your heart in
which afraid to trust God.
Crucify the flesh by
identifying these, confessing them to Christ.
Then reflecting on Him, His love for
you—until this thing loses
its attractive power over your soul.
2. Walk, keep
in step with, the Spirit.
Holy Spirit is a living
person, He is Holy. Magnifies and
glorifies Christ.
Walking with him mean putting on all of his
virtues.
So we have this second list: Fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace . . .
You will never get very far in Christian
life if you think of godly character
as primarily resisting sin, turning away
from it—crucifying flesh.
That’s important,
essential. Paul starts there.
But the flesh will win too
many times and discouragement will set in,
you will lose heart and give up. You have lots of losses in fight against sin.
Besetting sins that Christians struggle with
through entire lives.
So it is crucial that you
make your primary focus walking with the Spirit.
Main thing is to focus on what God wants you
to be.
Walking with the Spirit is
saying: What am I going to do today.
How am I going to love, rejoice, be kind to
someone, at peace, gentle.
Put your eggs in that basket instead of what
not going to do and resist.
Spirit will guide you in
this. Prompt you, show you.
As you walk in step with him—less entranced
with sinful desires.
Lust of your flesh is
money—all sorts of ugly responses that come from that.
Rather than focus on getting rid of your
money idolatry—walk with Spirit
when he prompts you to give some of it
away. Will be opportunities.
As you do so, find joy and
pleasure in using your money for love’s sake,
see how it brightens the lives of other
people, how grateful they are.
How you can help in need,
glorify Jesus Christ—praise God because of you.
Will cut the root of that sinful desire.
Pastor—I hated you—decided to
pray for you during benediction.
I still don’t like you much, but I love
you—want you to forgive me.
Real solution to an envious,
jealous, spiteful spirit—join with them.
This is the strategy for
withering desires of flesh in the vine—
kill them from lack of attention, because
all interest invested in
love, joy peace.
This is the great
strategy.