LIVE BY THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:1-26 

Key Verse 5:16 

"So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." 

Today’s message is, “Live by the Spirit.” Let's read the key verse together. "So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

In the previous passage we learned that God has given us the full rights as sons by faith in Christ. It was so wonderful to hear all the full rights we have as sons of Christ. However, this a problem: the sinful nature. To live as children of God and enjoy the full benefits as sons of God, we cannot be ruled by the sinful nature. As the passage says, because of the sinful nature, "we do not do what we want." Even if we agree to all of Galatians 1-4, but we cannot put it into practice because we are ruled by the sinful nature, then we are in trouble. But God provided the solution by giving us the Holy Spirit. To overcome, we must live by the Spirit. What does it mean to live by the Spirit? I pray that what it means to live by the Spirit may be made clear as we go through this passage today. 

1. Living by the Spirit means living by faith in Jesus Christ (1-12) 

Look at verse 1. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." This passage begins with the declaration: "Christ has set us free." Paul wrote in the previous chapter how we were slaves to sin and to the miserable and weak principles of this world. But we were set free. How? It was through faith in Christ. When the time had fully come, God sent his Son Jesus to redeem us from under the law and make us sons of God. He was crucified to set us free.

Freedom is so valuable. We enjoy a freedom in this country that others have and continue to shed their blood for. And Christ shed his blood for us. This tells us the value of the freedom he purchased for us and why Paul says to the Galatians to stand firm and not let them be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 

What they were doing reminds us when God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. He purchased them through the blood of the firstborn. But shortly after the Israelites left Egypt, they said to each other, "Let's go back to Egypt!" They did not stand firm and were ready to be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. They didn’t continue to live by faith. 

Just as Paul reminded them of what Christ did for them, it is also good for us to think about the value of freedom in Christ personally. Do you remember the first time you experienced freedom in Christ? Do you remember the joy you had when you first believed, because you were convinced in your heart that your sins were forgiven by faith in Christ? Do you remember the feeling of the burden of sin being rolled away, and then being filled with hope in God? You may not have even known what that hope was exactly, but you had a sure and joyful hope in God. All of those things came at first to us because of Christ. It was God's grace to us, which we received by faith. This is what we need to stand firm for: Christ has set us free. 

Look at verses 2-4. "2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." These verses tell us what will happen if we do not continue to live by faith. We will break our relationship with Christ and lose all of the value we gained in Christ. Verse 2 says, "Christ will be of no value to you at all," verse 3 says, "obligated to obey the whole law," and verse 4 says, "alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." Rather than relying on God's grace in Jesus, the Galatians were going to rely on something else. And in so doing, alienate themselves from Christ. In regards to the law, it was not like a lunch menu where you can pick up and choose what you like. Circumcision was like the signature of the covenant of the law, if you start out, you are obligated to keep the whole law. And then that person is right back in slavery. 

Their example teaches us to rely fully on God’s grace by faith, and not on anything else. It's easy to fall back on legalism or rituals, like circumcision. But they do not do anything for us except give a false sense of security and make us proud. We need to stand firm. 

Look at verse 5. "But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope." We have a hope of righteousness by faith. We eagerly await it through the Spirit. Since we are "eagerly await[ing]" this righteousness, it means that we have not received it. But we wait for it by faith in Jesus through the Spirit. Even waiting by faith is a work of the Holy Spirit. “await” is a key word here. Trying to get righteousness through relying on another means contrasts that of waiting by faith.

Look at verse 6. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Therefore, living by the Spirit first means living by faith in Jesus Christ. It is because we acknowledge that as we have faith in the Lord Jesus, he sets us free and gives us his Spirit who lives in us and empower us. 

Look at verse 7. "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?" Paul likened the living by faith to running a race. You have to keep running till you get to the finish line. It means that they started out by faith and had to keep living by faith. But it was obvious that someone had cut in on their race because they were now being persuaded to no longer live by faith. 

Look at verses 8-12. "8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!" 

These verses show us what kind of people they were. They were people offended by the cross of Christ. Why? It is because Jesus' cross takes away the source of their pride, which is their own struggle to obey the Jewish law and teach others to do the same. They had a different foundation other than faith in Jesus. 

2. Living by the Spirit means to serve one another in love (13-15) 

More often than not, we tend to take a narrow view of freedom in Christ--that is, applying to narrowly me. But when we think about others, we tend to be very legalistic and demanding. In verses 13-15, Paul talks about the right away to express our faith, that is, using our freedom in the right way. 

Look at 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." Christ set us free to serve others in love. To serve means to lower ourselves and wait on others, to be useful to, and to help others. This is Jesus' own example. He served sinners, although he is better than them and they are so undeserving (consider the Apostle Peter. How many times did he think he knew better than Jesus? And yet Jesus served this kind of person.), by giving his life as a ransom sacrifice (even for those who mocked and persecuted him). It was because he loved us. 

Jesus' example moves our hearts. But, frankly speaking, when we think about ourselves serving others in love, it looks impossible. This passage reveals that the reason is because of our sinful nature. We are holding on to elements of the old life in slavery. To serve others in love requires repentance, faith, and the Spirit. 

Look at verse 14. "The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " Legalists could not keep the whole law. But those who have been set free can actually fulfill the whole law! It is those who are free that grow to truly fulfill the entire law. Being legalistic is about fear and punishment. We can’t serve others in legalism, but we can in love. For those who truly love fulfill the entire law. And the point is love because it is the character of Jesus Christ.

Paul also warns in verse 15, "15If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." When we have a legalistic mind and attitude, then rather than serve one another in love, we bite each other. We are ready to point out and devour when we see someone doing something wrong, especially with the command, "Love your neighbor as yourself." You would be very busy to condemn others. But as you can only take a certain number of bites out of a cheeseburger, those who keep biting each other will be destroyed by each other. 

On the other hand, when we love, we don't bite, we serve. We say, "Sorry." We serve although we may feel that we are right and the other person is wrong. We make peace. We encourage and build up. By the Spirit, we aim to live as Jesus did. 

3. Living by the Spirit means being led the Spirit (16-26) 

Look at verse 16. "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." There is one key to overcoming the desires of the sinful nature: living by the Spirit. Why? The reason is in verse 17. "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." "...so that you do not do what you want." That is a big problem. We may want to live like free people, but we end up living like slaves. This was Paul's own agony. As a Pharisee he lived strictly according to the law. He did not murder, he did not steal, he did not commit adultery, he ate kosher foods, he kept the Sabbath. But he found that there was one law he could not keep, "Do not covet." In the Ten Commandments, it is this tenth commandment that speaks directly about what happens in the heart or mind. He said in Romans 7:7b-8, "For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'Do not covet.' 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire." Eventually, he came to be a man who persecuted Jesus Christ himself. 

Am I righteous because I have not murdered or committed adultery? No, of course not. Keeping just some of the law outwardly is not enough to overcome the desires on the inside. And before God, the inside counts just as much as the outward action. Jesus taught that even if someone was angry at their brother or harbored hatred, that person was in danger of the fires of hell. Jesus taught that even looking lustfully at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Last week M. John Kwon gave the example of one brother who said that he can only overcome his lustful desires for 3 months maximum. At most by 3 months he falls to his lustful desires. I have seen many other brothers try to overcome their lustful desires by relying on themselves, imposing strict disciplinary ways to their daily routine only to fail and despair. And I myself have failed miserably in the past the moment I relied on myself. Job set a good example of struggling against sin and repentance seriously. Job 31:1, he said, "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl." I don’t know how you make a covenant with your eyes, but he did. However, what would happen if his eyes broke the covenant? He would be in trouble. Even still, and although his desire was so noble, he could not carry out what he really wanted to do, hence the need for a covenant with his eyes. Our own strict discipline and reliance on anything other than God will fail us. But God has given us his Spirit. 

Look at verse 18. "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." 

Here, to live by the Spirit means first to be led by the Spirit. How can we be led by the Spirit? Verse 18 says, "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." In the first place, it is not by being legalistic. Secondly, we see here that what the Spirit desires is contrary to the sinful nature. It means that we cannot live by both the sinful nature and the Spirit. To live by the Spirit we have to deeply repent of our sins. 

Look at verses 19-21. "19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." We have to be serious about repentance of these sins so that the Holy Spirit can lead us, and then work in us.

Verses 22-23 tell us that the Spirit not only helps us to not gratify the desires of the sinful nature, but bears fruit in us, fruit that transforms us from the inside out. "22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." 

When the Spirit bears this fruit in us, think about how influential and effective and pleasing to God we would be as individuals and a ministry! The first is love. It is because God really wants us to serve one another in love. There are also patience and kindness listed. When love, patience and kindness are in us, we can truly cowork with others. Goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When these are born in us, our words to others may be encouraging, edifying, caring, and helpful. 

One brother once told me, "When you speak, it's like an axe is coming out of your mouth." I took this to heart. It is indeed a struggle for me to control my tongue and be gentle to others with love and patience. But it's easy for me to demand it from others. The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Jesus. Those who live by the Spirit are being molded into the image of Jesus. Then what we say, what we do, will not be us, but it will be Jesus who is living in us. This is the fruit of the Spirit. 

Look at verses 24-25. "24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." 

To be led by the Spirit, we need to keep in step with the Spirit. We do this through repentance and coming to God in his word and in prayer. The Spirit does not lead us like a GPS unit. We have to come to him, surrender ourselves, and be filled with his word, ready to listen and follow. It is because the Bible is God-breathed, it is from his mouth, inspired by the Holy Spirit. So we need to study the word of God all the time and get it in our hearts and minds. 

Finally, Paul finished with the warning, "Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." 

We thank God that he set us free in Jesus and gave us his Spirit to empower us to overcome the sinful nature and bear good fruit by growing in the image of Jesus. May God help us repent and live by the Spirit and serve each other in love. 

One Word: Live by the Spirit