Living Free

galatians 5 and 1. stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage a new living translation that we read on sunday says so christ has truly set us free now make sure that you stay free and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law so on sunday i preached on set free to stay free and i want to go through galatians 5 primarily tonight and teach from this theme staying free thank you for standing please be seated and let's dig into the word of god amen on sunday fourth of july weekend i drew some parallels between our national and spiritual heritage and tried to explain a little bit about our country but also the biblical aspect of freedom i focused on three things that first of all freedom is a principle that people do not make principles but living by principles make people and then freedom is not free it is purchased at a high price and finally that freedom is always under attack so we must be vigilant the christians in the region of galatia were being established in faith in jesus christ when an assault came against them there were false teachers from judea who traveled to these newly formed churches and there's some discussion about the area of galatia who who was this book written to north or south galatia but we know that their gentile believers came to the lord they don't have a background in judaism but these judaizers they're called judaizers are coming into these churches and teaching them that they had to obey the old testament law starting with circumcision in order to be saved they told them that it is law plus grace that equals salvation and they were mandating that these gentile believers obey the ceremonial laws that were abolished in the cross of jesus christ they weren't teaching core doctrine fundamental truths that never change like love the lord with all your heart soul mind strength in your neighbor as yourself they were teaching the ceremonial law to these gentile converts now paul was incensed that these galatian believers and were led astray and he told them in galatians one and six i'll go through galatians a couple other passages outside of galatians tonight but mostly in the book of galatians galatians 1 and 6. i marvel he said that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of christ to another gospel which is not another but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of christ but though we are an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you then with that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed as we said before so say i now again if any man preach any other gospel unto you then that you have received let him be accursed now this deception that the galatian christians bought into caused them to turn quickly aside from their faith in jesus christ paul said that they were easily removed from the grace of jesus christ in chapter one verse six they were troubled by false teachers who were perverting the gospel same verse they were bewitched or deceived to not obey the truth chapter 3 verse 1. they were foolish thinking that they could start out in the spirit and then be perfected in the flesh chapter 3 verse 1. they have been turned from god to the weak and beggarly elements of the world are back to bondage again chapter 4 verse 9. they were estranged from jesus christ by attempting to be justified by the law chapter 5 verse 4. they were hindered paul said you did run well he said who did hinder you by from obeying the truth in chapter 5 verse 7. i was reading and i won't talk about this tonight so much but paul asks a lot of questions there are questions to probe the thinking of the galatians church galatian church and then he gave them some injunctions some commands and teaching of what they should do paul explained to them the role of the ceremonial law in their lives that the law of moses was for a limited time it was a school master to lead them to christ the law served a specific purpose and a very limited purpose it defined sin it taught us what sin was so we knew we had fallen short of the glory of god the galatians were told by paul that they should not submit to the ceremonial law instead they were to surrender to jesus christ and they were to live in the spirit they were set free to stay free they were justified by jesus christ not by the law galatians 2 15 we who are jews by nature paul was a jew by nature by birth and not sinners of the gentiles knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of jesus christ even we have believed in jesus christ that we might be justified by the faith of christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified and then a verse that you may recognize galatians 2 and 20 i am crucified with christ nevertheless i live yet not i but christ liveth in me and the life which i now live by the flesh i live by the faith of the son of god who loved me and gave himself for me paul said i do not frustrate the grace of god have you ever frustrated the grace of god not really being prayerful but you are still trying to be godly not walking in the spirit but trying to be spiritual impossible right paul said i do not frustrate the law the grace of god for if righteous has come by the law then christ is dead in vain o foolish galatians who hath bewitched you this is galatians 3 and 1 who it bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes jesus christ have been evidently set forth crucified among you this only what i learned of you received you the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith are you so foolish having begun in the spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh so paul sets this up he's trying to lead them to see the deception to get them to understand the power of living in the spirit galatians 5 and 1 are texts from sunday and tonight stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith christ had made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage now i mentioned this on sunday but i wanted to slow this down a little bit that in the original language what paul said is so pointed just a few greek words he said for freedom christ has made you free he made you free he delivered you from sin so that you could have freedom in your life it was not a one-time event it was for life and it was for eternity for freedom christ set you free what paul wanted them to understand is that because of the price that jesus paid on the cross to ransom their souls we were free from sin amen and we do not need to return to our old sinful life we do not need to let anything drag us back to what we were before jesus saved us we were set free to stay free so he declares to them the purpose of jesus christ's work was for freedom right amen freedom from the law freedom from sin freedom from eternal death and free from sin to become servants of god you're not a freelancer you're not only you're on your own doing your own thing you are set free to be free and to become a servant of jesus christ we are free from sin to be what god wants us to be not what we choose to be but what god wants us to be the holy ghost set us free from sin so we can do what god wants us to do and it is not the freedom of self-will but it is the power to do what we should do under the lordship of jesus christ by the shackles of sin were broken by the cross of jesus christ we are no longer slaves to sin but we are servants of jesus christ we are set free and being free is the liberation of a person's spirit from the bondage of sin that we can serve jesus christ free from sin free from eternal death free from condemnation we were made free galatians five and one the new living translation here it is again so christ truly has set us free now make sure that you stay free and don't get tied up again to the slavery of the law so living free is walking in the spirit in galatians 5 verses 1-15 we're going to spend most of our time now in galatians chapter 5. paul argues against teaching living by the old testament ceremonial law as a means of salvation i know you already get that paul said that if you're if you're circumcised if you try to go back into the law then christ shall profit you nothing for i testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law if you go back under this ceremonial law you have to go back into the whole law christ has become of no effect to you whosoever of you are justified by the law you're falling from grace for we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith so i want to say just a couple of things about the law that when paul spock speaks about being free from the law that was abolished in the cross of christ it was a ceremonial law not the moral law of god the moral law of god never changes because god never changes there's always whatever was sinful from the beginning is sinful to today in terms of violation of the moral law that law cannot change but what happened in the days of christ is that the jewish people had convoluted the law added to the law developed all kinds of ceremonial laws and codes codes and ordinances perhaps as many as 365 laws one for every day right they didn't have 365 days like us but one for every day but when we received the gift of the holy ghost the moral law of god was written in our hearts that's what the lord said to jeremiah that he would write it in our hearts that he would put it inside of us and the way we live a holy life is by the holy spirit now while these galatians were being dragged back to something they never even knew to the ceremonial law sometimes we pentecostal people we spirit-filled people think that we can live for god because we've done it a long time or because we're good people or by willpower alone but what paul told the galatians is good for us that you cannot begin in the spirit and be perfected in the flesh tenure in the church longevity does not make you spiritual does not save you the application of this for us tonight is that if we're going to be spiritual and stay free we must walk and live in the spirit amen praise god grace took the law to a higher level of motives and heart not just actions jesus said that he did not come to destroy the law he came to fulfill the law not one tiny punctuation mark a jump a jot or a tittle will pass away till all of that is fulfilled the disciplines of a godly life that we teach and practice are only made possible by the spirit i'm going to draw a little comparison and complementary teaching hopefully on this but but we know that we need the power of the holy ghost operating in our lives amen cannot do this cannot do this in your own goodness can i do this in your own willpower you cannot do this and be prayerless amen in galatians there's this over arching theme of how walking in the flesh brings disunity in the body and how walking in the spirit brings unity and peace there are several things that paul addresses of course but he keeps coming back to this theme of of not wanting your own will and violating the conscience of other people he tells us in galatians 5 13 for brethren you have been called into liberty only use not your liberty is an occasion for the flesh but by love to serve one another for all the law is fulfilled in one word even this thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself but if you bite devour one another take heed that you be not consumed of one another paul wants them to know that this walking in the spirit doesn't just free you from sin but it helps you get along with other brothers and sisters in the body of christ and this is important amen carnal people people that are not walking in the spirit get irritated more easily you look at our world the anger and hatred the venom the violence is result of it of a world away from god and when we drift away from walking in the spirit the same can happen to us paul tells him to not use your freedom for the flesh use it for love and that love is a summary of the entire law and flesh he said is reveal when you fight with one another and he asked him in essence you know what is a solution how can you maintain this godliness how can you maintain this unity in the body of christ galatians 5 16 i'm glad you asked paul said this i say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh he turns his argument his case to this age-old battle between the flesh and the spirit whether it is the flesh of the ceremonial law or the flesh of living by works alone or the flesh of will none of those demonstrations of the flesh will save you amen paul wants them to understand that there is an ongoing battle in their lives between the flesh and the spirit it is not just the ceremonial law that's how it manifested itself but it is anything that tempts us to live for god in the strength of the flesh or by willpower alone galatians 5 for the flesh lust against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh there was this dogfight going on and these are contrary one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would but if you are led by the spirit you are not under the law i'm going to show you four instances later of where he talks about the spirit versus whatever else it might be galatians 5 17 and 18 these two verses remind me of romans chapter 7 when paul speaks about trying to do the right thing i know there's the law of the mind and there's a law of sin and there's a law of the spirit of life in christ jesus and there's this battle that is going on as long as paul or anyone is trying to live for god in the energy of the flesh it is a losing battle but it is by the spirit paul says if you're led by the spirit you're not going to be dragged back under the law this battle between the flesh and the spirit the law defines sin and if you try to keep the law by will power alone it leads to frustration and failure and i'm not talking about the old testament law i'm talking about the new testament teachings of salvation and holiness and good living and love all of those things cannot be maintained in that alone so paul tells us that if you will walk in the spirit you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh so i i've thought about this verse a lot through the years that some people live their lives dueling with the devil or dueling with the flesh and there's an aspect of our christian life that is putting off the old and killing you know mortifying is the king james word of the flesh but what paul said is if you will walk in the spirit if you will have a prayer life if you will keep your flesh under control through fasting and prayer and engaging with the word of god if you will live in an offensive way not defensive if you will live in the spirit and walk in the spirit then naturally you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh amen galatians 5 19-21 paul then now defines what the works of the flesh are i'm going to read through these in the new living translation to not take so much time here but when these things are manifested in our lives it's good evidence that we're walking according to the flesh and not the spirit galatians 5 19 when you follow the desires of your sinful nature the results are very clear sexual immorality impurity lustful pleasures idolatry sorcery hostility quarreling jealousy outbursts of anger selfish ambition dissension division envy drunkenness wild parties and other sins like these in other words this is not an exhaustive list of every possible sin but things like this paul said are evidences of the works of the flesh and he's writing this to the galatian christians not to sinners he said let me tell you again as i told you before that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of god paul divides the works of the flesh into four areas sexual sins religious sins like idolatry and witchcraft social sins like hatred discord jealousy rage selfish ambition those things and then he actually names what would be drunkenness or i will say substance abuse the things that come out of that when a person's judgment is kind of flawed because they're under the influence of alcohol or drugs and they're not making good decisions so many things happen when people are drunken or high and abuse some type of substance paul said drunkenness and orgies and things like that these four areas are typical problems of excess in people's lives and these social sins were destroying the fellowship in the galatian church and when paul said that whoever does this will not inherit the kingdom of god you're not going to go to heaven if you live like that but then paul tells us what walking in his spirit is like and i'm sticking to the good old king james here galatians 5 22 but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance or self-control against such there is no law and they that are christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts remember i told you paul says walk in the spirit but there is always that dimension of our life where we do have to deal with our sin and we have to crucify sometimes it is crucifying media sometimes it is ending a relationship sometimes it is crucifying our thought life sometimes it is crucifying well we you know i'm gonna be a little repetitive what we watch what we read what we listen to we're crucifying that you can't program your brain with ungodliness all day long and be like jesus christ it just doesn't work that way amen paul said if you belong to jesus christ you put to death the things that are undermining the nature of jesus christ in you now the works of the flesh are presented in a plural form by the fruit of the spirit and singular he said the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit i think this is significant it may not be deal breaking significant but the fruit of the spirit is the evidence of god's spirit in your life in other words you can't say well i've got love and you've got faith and these are all like looking at a piece of fruit and saying that he has different aspects it has different things about its nature but it is one piece of fruit the holy ghost can't be divided this is not the gifts of the spirit where you have one gift and someone has another gift this is the evidence of the holy ghost that is working in your life these traits should be evident in us we should have love and joy and peace we should be long-suffering that means to suffer long and be kind as paul would say in another epistle we should be gentle and have goodness we should be people of faith and submission which is meekness and we should have self-control in our lives not have unbridled passions if we belong to jesus christ and paul said against these attributes of the spirit in your life there is no law there's nothing that will condemn you if you live with j love joy peace being evidence in your life the fruit of the spirit develops in us by being led by the spirit galatians 5 25. he tells us if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit now he's saying something a little different here but it is similar in this idea of living or walking in the spirit and what he means here by living in the spirit if you have the spirit if you've ever received the holy ghost that's who he's talking to so if we live in the spirit then we should also walk in the spirit you may know someone it's probably not you who has been spirit-filled but is not spirit-led they claim the holy ghost but the holy ghost has no claim on them they are more identified by the works of the flesh than by the fruit of the spirit and that's what paul is saying to the galatians if you have the holy ghost you're spirit-filled then you need to be led by the spirit or walk in the spirit now this is an interesting word and i've taught on it it's been many years ago from my memory when he says let us also walk in the spirit the word walk here is like in a line like a military platoon that is walking in step or walking in order what paul is saying is that if you have the holy ghost then live walking in alignment to the spirit in your life again you're not a freelancer you don't live according to your own whim or will you live as led by the holy ghost you're obedient you walk in line in battle order one commentary said you live by the spirit now throughout the book of galatians i was reading this this teaching on walking in the spirit and crucifying the flesh and it reminded me of a message i taught a while back on grace and grit it's god but it's us it's god but it's us but it's god you know and this tension between what god does and what we do we can't say that god does it all we have to cooperate with the spirit in our lives by walking in the spirit and crucifying the flesh and while some theologically struggle to understand this interaction of grace and grit what god does and we do we understand it is a cooperative effort we believe that grace is not irresistible that you can resist the grace of god you can push god away but what paul is telling the galatians is to cooperate with the holy ghost that is in you give the holy ghost a chance to make you holy by walking in the spirit you were set free to stay free and to live free in the power of the holy ghost galatians 5 and 1 again stand fast therefore in the liberty where with christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with a yoke of bondage we died to sin and we should count ourselves as romans 6 and 2 says to be dead to sin we've been emancipated from sin we've become servants of jesus christ in the new testament there is this wonderful reality of what god did for us and then there is the instruction of what we need to do to maintain that standing with almighty god paul said in romans 6 18 you were made free from sin but now you're made servants of righteousness so there is this cooperation of walking in the spirit and resisting the lust of the flesh paul says in first corinthians five and seven that we're like let we're like unleavened bread we're we've got this purity about us but we have to purge out the old level we've got to get rid of the old there's this cooperative effort between the holy ghost and us so in galatians 5 we're repeatedly might reminded of the work of the spirit galatians 5 5 these verses are not on the screen but i told you i would share them with you he said for we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith he says this i say then walk in the spirit you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh but if you are led by the spirit you're not under the law if we live in the spirit he said let us also walk in the spirit living free is realizing that being full of the spirit and then walking the spirit gives us power over the devil to put off the works of the flesh to live in the power of the holy ghost in our lives putting off the old nature and putting on the new a new man that is created in righteousness and true holiness so we're going to pray in just a couple of moments but i want to remind you of some verses i think you pentecostals might know that when you were filled with the holy ghost you began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave you the utterance and if that happened to you say amen acts 2 and 4. jesus spoke of the spirit to the woman at the well and he said whoever i give this spirit to it will be like a well of water springing up into everlasting life and i just want to make an analogy here quickly that it is not this little babbling brook it is something powerful and people who try to control the work of the spirit in their lives and have a mur a mousy prayer life and worship existence will not have the power available to them that jesus prophesied about and promised he said it's going to be a well of water springing up into everlasting life in john 7 jesus said he that believeth on me as the scripture has said out of his belly or innermost being shall flow rivers of living water but this spakey of the spirit which they that believe on him should receive for the holy ghost was not yet given for jesus was not yet glorified he said it's going to be rivers of living water amen we're to be filled with the spirit paul said in ephesians 5 be not drunk with wine we're in his excess but be filled with a spirit paul said in first corinthians 14 4 that when you speak in an unknown tongue you edify yourself and then jude wrote to us and said be beloved building up yourselves on your most holy faith praying in the holy ghost keep yourselves in the love of god looking for the mercy of our lord jesus christ unto eternal life and then paul spoke about the power of intercessory prayer likewise the spirit itself helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the spirit itself make it the intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit because he makes his intercession for the saints according to the will of god my appeal to you tonight is never go back and walking in the spirit god gave us the holy ghost to make us spiritually powerful people but you shall receive power after that the holy ghost is come upon you i know that context is to be witnesses would you please stand right now as we enter this time of prayer i don't know i want to remind you that in your flesh you are powerless against the wiles of the devil that's the whole point of this message in galatians don't go back you were set free to stay free and if you stay free there has to be a walk in the spirit a life in the spirit there has to be spiritual vitality that works in you to keep you alive and strong and healthy spiritually amen where paul said if the spirit of him that raised up christ from the dead dwell in you then he that raised up christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by the spirit that dwelleth in you that quickening of the holy ghost i believe is now and at the coming of the lord we should be people that are quickened and moved by the holy ghost