Ripped Out of Context: Led By the Holy Spirit
Ripped Out of Context • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 69 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
INTRODUCTION – UNBLACK SLIDE
After a week off, we are returning to our series on verses that are commonly ripped out of their context. Our goal, once again, of this series, has been to learn how we need to study passages within their context so we can properly understand what the author is trying to get through to his readers in a specific passage so that we are not guilty of misrepresenting not just the man who wrote the epistle, but the Spirit who inspired the men to write those books.
For our lesson today, we are going to look at two passages that talk about an important part of the life of the Christian, one that is usually approached one of two ways:
1. The subject/verses are ignored because we are uncomfortable using the language
2. The verses are misunderstood because they are taken out of their original context and interpreted to mean something other than what Paul had in mind when he penned both verses
The two verses are and , which are the only two verses in the Bible that use the phrase “led by the Holy Spirit.”
‘LED BY THE SPIRIT’ PASSAGES
Here are how these two verses read…
· “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” ().
· “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” ().
HOW THESE PASSAGES ARE MISUSED
These verses are used to show:
· The Spirit whispers/speaks directly to us today. Some believe that these passages are showing that He will speak out loud to us either in our minds, or as he did with men like Samuel and Elijah.
· The Spirit will respond to our prayers by giving us direct guidance through our feelings, intuition, or some kind of “nudging”.
· The Spirit gives us direction through dreams.
I don’t want to be misunderstood here… I am not saying that God/ the Holy Spirit does or does not do any of these things today. We can discuss these things another time…
But what I am saying is that the passages that teach that God does these things are NOT teaching that God does these specific things today. They are teaching specific things based on their context, and these things are not included… If you are using and to prove the Spirit is doing these things today, you are misrepresenting what Paul teaches in these verses… Paul is not talking about these kind of things when he teaches that we are “led by the Spirit.”
With this said, knowing what it means to be led by the Holy Spirit is so important to our spiritual lives. In these two verses, Paul shows us how important it is… If we are being led by the Holy Spirit, we “are the Sons of God” and “we are not under the law.” If we desire these things to be said of us, then we need to know what this idea of being led by the Holy Spirit means when Paul uses it in these passages.
CONTEXT OF
give us the conclusion of Paul’s argument in 8:1-11. We see this in the fact that verse 12 begins with, depending on your translation, “so then” or “therefore”.
Chapter 8 shows us what it means to be led by the spirit so that we are not in the number who are enslaved to sin and under bondage to the law ( – next week)
First, we set our minds on the things of the Spirit (v5).
Let’s read verses 5-8.
[5] For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. [6] For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7] For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. [8] Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Those who are led by the Holy Spirit desire God’s will and set their minds to doing it.
Paul makes an important contrast here. Those who live according to the flesh do so because they set their minds to do so. This is where being led by the Holy Spirit begins. If we don't set our mind on the right things, then our flesh will be that which leads us. If our flesh is what leads us and controls us, Paul is very clear here, we cannot please God. We cannot and will not submit to God’s will if our minds are set on the flesh…
Instead, we must focus on the things of the Spirit if we want led by the Spirit. What are these things? I believe he shows us in verse 7. The very thing that those in the flesh cannot do is the thing that those who are led by the Holy Spirit set their minds on… the law of God. When those who have God’s Spirit within them set their minds on his will and on His promises, they can have the hope of eternal life, and they can have peace.
And because we have set our minds on the things of the Spirit, the natural outflow of this will be seen in our lives. If we set our minds on the things of the Spirit, we walk/live according to the spirit (v4-5, V1). Whether we are bearing fruit or not shows whether it is true that we set our minds on the things of the Spirit.
We do what we set our minds to… If we focus on God’s will, we will do God’s will… Once again, Paul says in verse 5 that “those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”
Verse 5 really sums up the main idea that Paul gives us leading up to verses 12-16. Now let’s look at verses 12-14.
“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [13] For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. [14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
Paul here is driving the point home that he has been making in this whole chapter. If we are in Christ, there is a certain obligation that we have, and it is not to put ourselves back into slavery to the flesh and to the law. Our obligation is to set our minds on the things of the Spirit and to walk in His ways… Whenever we consider verse 14, keep in mind that the verse, as others we have looked at in this series, starts with the word “for”, connecting it to the statement he gives prior to it. Paul actually defines what it means to “be led by the Spirit of God” in verse 13!
Those who are led by the Spirit of God are those who are not living according to the flesh, but instead are by the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the body. Being led by the Spirit is all about growing in holiness and overcoming sin with the help of the Holy Spirit, whom we are told in verses 9-10 & 15 dwells within each of us. If you are setting your mind on spiritual things and being fruitful, and overcoming sin with the Spirit’s help, then it can be said of you that you are being led by the Spirit and are a child of God.
The ideas of the Spirit speaking to us directly in our minds or leading us through feelings, dreams, etc. are not in this verse or in it’s context. When we take this verse out of it’s context and then say the leading of the Holy Spirit are these things, then we are misrepresenting this passage, and we are missing great teachings about what the leading of the Holy Spirit really is and how His presence within each of us can help us overcome sin as we set our minds on His will.
CONTEXT OF
teaches many of the same lessons as . Let’s go ahead and read verses 16-18.
[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. (ESV)
In this passage, Paul begins by giving the same point that he did in . He commands the Galatians to walk by the Spirit (v16). He is talking here about a way of life. We are walking in a certain direction… Towards God. Towards spiritual growth. Away from sin…
If we are being enslaved by sin, if it is the flesh that is leading us, then we are not being led by the Spirit and we are not in a right relationship with God. Paul describes this idea “being kept from doing what we want to do,” as being “under the law” in v18. He also talks about this in , which we will, Lord willing, talk about in our next lesson in this series. He shows here and in how sin uses the law to bring people into bondage to sin and to bring them under a curse. If we are being led by the Holy Spirit, sin will not have this kind of power over us. He begins verse 18 with the word ‘but’ making a contrast with the idea of being unable to do what we want to do. It is different for those who are led by the Spirit. We won’t be fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and becoming enslaved to sin… We will be growing spiritually. We will be fruitful and will be overcoming sin… That is the path we are on…
After talking about the fruit that we should be aiming to display in our lives, Paul says in 5:24 that those who are Christ’s have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The flesh is not what controls us or enslaves us. We are slaves of righteousness. This is the same point that Paul was making in . God’s people are those who by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body. THIS is what Paul means in both passages when he uses the phrase “led by the Spirit.” It is about overcoming sin and growing to be more like Jesus. It is not about getting feelings or nudges or direct guidance from the Spirit to show exactly what God’s will is for me in the specifics of my life… who I will date or marry, where I will work, etc.
CONCLUSION
Are you being led by the Holy Spirit? What is your mind set on? Your life will be a good indicator of this… Are you bearing the fruit of the Spirit? Are you growing closer to Christ? Are you overcoming sin in your life or are you enslaved to it? If there is anything that we can do for you today to help you know that you are being led by the Holy Spirit and are a child of God, why don’t you make your need known today as we all stand and sing…? INTRODUCTION – UNBLACK SLIDE
After a week off, we are returning to our series on verses that are commonly ripped out of their context. Our goal, once again, of this series, has been to learn how we need to study passages within their context so we can properly understand what the author is trying to get through to his readers in a specific passage so that we are not guilty of misrepresenting not just the man who wrote the epistle, but the Spirit who inspired the men to write those books.
For our lesson today, we are going to look at two passages that talk about an important part of the life of the Christian, one that is usually approached one of two ways:
1. The subject/verses are ignored because we are uncomfortable using the language
2. The verses are misunderstood because they are taken out of their original context and interpreted to mean something other than what Paul had in mind when he penned both verses
The two verses are and , which are the only two verses in the Bible that use the phrase “led by the Holy Spirit.”
‘LED BY THE SPIRIT’ PASSAGES
Here are how these two verses read…
· “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” ().
· “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” ().
HOW THESE PASSAGES ARE MISUSED
These verses are used to show:
· The Spirit whispers/speaks directly to us today. Some believe that these passages are showing that He will speak out loud to us either in our minds, or as he did with men like Samuel and Elijah.
· The Spirit will respond to our prayers by giving us direct guidance through our feelings, intuition, or some kind of “nudging”.
· The Spirit gives us direction through dreams.
I don’t want to be misunderstood here… I am not saying that God/ the Holy Spirit does or does not do any of these things today. We can discuss these things another time…
But what I am saying is that the passages that teach that God does these things are NOT teaching that God does these specific things today. They are teaching specific things based on their context, and these things are not included… If you are using and to prove the Spirit is doing these things today, you are misrepresenting what Paul teaches in these verses… Paul is not talking about these kind of things when he teaches that we are “led by the Spirit.”
With this said, knowing what it means to be led by the Holy Spirit is so important to our spiritual lives. In these two verses, Paul shows us how important it is… If we are being led by the Holy Spirit, we “are the Sons of God” and “we are not under the law.” If we desire these things to be said of us, then we need to know what this idea of being led by the Holy Spirit means when Paul uses it in these passages.
CONTEXT OF
give us the conclusion of Paul’s argument in 8:1-11. We see this in the fact that verse 12 begins with, depending on your translation, “so then” or “therefore”.
Chapter 8 shows us what it means to be led by the spirit so that we are not in the number who are enslaved to sin and under bondage to the law ( – next week)
First, we set our minds on the things of the Spirit (v5).
Let’s read verses 5-8.
[5] For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. [6] For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7] For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. [8] Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Those who are led by the Holy Spirit desire God’s will and set their minds to doing it.
Paul makes an important contrast here. Those who live according to the flesh do so because they set their minds to do so. This is where being led by the Holy Spirit begins. If we don't set our mind on the right things, then our flesh will be that which leads us. If our flesh is what leads us and controls us, Paul is very clear here, we cannot please God. We cannot and will not submit to God’s will if our minds are set on the flesh…
Instead, we must focus on the things of the Spirit if we want led by the Spirit. What are these things? I believe he shows us in verse 7. The very thing that those in the flesh cannot do is the thing that those who are led by the Holy Spirit set their minds on… the law of God. When those who have God’s Spirit within them set their minds on his will and on His promises, they can have the hope of eternal life, and they can have peace.
And because we have set our minds on the things of the Spirit, the natural outflow of this will be seen in our lives. If we set our minds on the things of the Spirit, we walk/live according to the spirit (v4-5, V1). Whether we are bearing fruit or not shows whether it is true that we set our minds on the things of the Spirit.
We do what we set our minds to… If we focus on God’s will, we will do God’s will… Once again, Paul says in verse 5 that “those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”
Verse 5 really sums up the main idea that Paul gives us leading up to verses 12-16. Now let’s look at verses 12-14.
“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [13] For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. [14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
Paul here is driving the point home that he has been making in this whole chapter. If we are in Christ, there is a certain obligation that we have, and it is not to put ourselves back into slavery to the flesh and to the law. Our obligation is to set our minds on the things of the Spirit and to walk in His ways… Whenever we consider verse 14, keep in mind that the verse, as others we have looked at in this series, starts with the word “for”, connecting it to the statement he gives prior to it. Paul actually defines what it means to “be led by the Spirit of God” in verse 13!
Those who are led by the Spirit of God are those who are not living according to the flesh, but instead are by the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the body. Being led by the Spirit is all about growing in holiness and overcoming sin with the help of the Holy Spirit, whom we are told in verses 9-10 & 15 dwells within each of us. If you are setting your mind on spiritual things and being fruitful, and overcoming sin with the Spirit’s help, then it can be said of you that you are being led by the Spirit and are a child of God.
The ideas of the Spirit speaking to us directly in our minds or leading us through feelings, dreams, etc. are not in this verse or in it’s context. When we take this verse out of it’s context and then say the leading of the Holy Spirit are these things, then we are misrepresenting this passage, and we are missing great teachings about what the leading of the Holy Spirit really is and how His presence within each of us can help us overcome sin as we set our minds on His will.
CONTEXT OF
teaches many of the same lessons as . Let’s go ahead and read verses 16-18.
[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. (ESV)
In this passage, Paul begins by giving the same point that he did in . He commands the Galatians to walk by the Spirit (v16). He is talking here about a way of life. We are walking in a certain direction… Towards God. Towards spiritual growth. Away from sin…
If we are being enslaved by sin, if it is the flesh that is leading us, then we are not being led by the Spirit and we are not in a right relationship with God. Paul describes this idea “being kept from doing what we want to do,” as being “under the law” in v18. He also talks about this in , which we will, Lord willing, talk about in our next lesson in this series. He shows here and in how sin uses the law to bring people into bondage to sin and to bring them under a curse. If we are being led by the Holy Spirit, sin will not have this kind of power over us. He begins verse 18 with the word ‘but’ making a contrast with the idea of being unable to do what we want to do. It is different for those who are led by the Spirit. We won’t be fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and becoming enslaved to sin… We will be growing spiritually. We will be fruitful and will be overcoming sin… That is the path we are on…
After talking about the fruit that we should be aiming to display in our lives, Paul says in 5:24 that those who are Christ’s have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The flesh is not what controls us or enslaves us. We are slaves of righteousness. This is the same point that Paul was making in . God’s people are those who by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body. THIS is what Paul means in both passages when he uses the phrase “led by the Spirit.” It is about overcoming sin and growing to be more like Jesus. It is not about getting feelings or nudges or direct guidance from the Spirit to show exactly what God’s will is for me in the specifics of my life… who I will date or marry, where I will work, etc.
CONCLUSION
Are you being led by the Holy Spirit? What is your mind set on? Your life will be a good indicator of this… Are you bearing the fruit of the Spirit? Are you growing closer to Christ? Are you overcoming sin in your life or are you enslaved to it? If there is anything that we can do for you today to help you know that you are being led by the Holy Spirit and are a child of God, why don’t you make your need known today as we all stand and sing…?