Battle for Christ-likeness

Galatians 5:13-26*

I can always tell when it’s time to get a haircut because the drain in the shower starts to plug up with hair, hair that continues to fall out of my head.

Well, that’s what happened the other day.

 After having water up to her ankles for the past week Laura finally said, “Bruce, it is time for a hair cut!”

So that’s what I did.

I went over to my neighbor’s house and she cut my hair.

But you know, the funny thing is,

the next morning the drain was still plugged.

Getting my haircut didn’t clean out the drain.

I thought about the soapy, hairy glob that was down in the drain.

What would be the best way to clean out the slimy, goopy interior of the drain?

I knew exactly what to do.

I got out a rag and a bucket of soapy water and began to clean up the shower walls and shine up the shower head.

I was sure the glob of stuff would disappear with a good shine.

When I was through that shower sparkled.

But when I turned on the water it still backed up.

No problem, I thought.

I knew what to do.

“What this shower needs in a new environment, a new start”.

I thought

“Put the past behind, that’s what I always say!”

So I pulled the shower out of the bathroom and put it in the kitchen.

The refrigerator and the microwave don’t know what the shower had been through.

 “We’ll just pretend like the clog never happened” I whispered to the shower.

I introduced the shower to everyone.

The other appliances where thrilled to have a newcomer and threw a party for the shower.

Everyone loved the new flowery shower curtain.

“This is going great!”, I thought to myself.

You can imagine my surprise the next morning when I turned the water on and the back up was worse than before.

I couldn’t understand it.

I was sure the new environment and new friends would cure the inside of my drain.

Not to be deterred, I pressed on.

“Hmmm, maybe the problem is the shower just doesn’t know how to act like a shower.

It doesn’t understand

that its purpose is to spray and drain water.

Maybe if I provided some standards, some rules to live by, a sort of “drainage code” that would do the trick.”

So I sat down with a pen and paper and began to write.

I made a list of what I expected from the shower.

Things like when to spray, how hard to spray, how hot the water should be depending on who is in it, when and when not to turn on the pulsating action, and things like that.

Oh, and, of course, when to drain.

Now everyone knew

just what was expected of the shower.

So when I turned the water on, I was shocked! I just couldn’t understand it.

The drain was still plugged.

Now I know what you are thinking.

The only thing worse than my story is my common sense.

Who would concentrate on the outside when the problem is on the inside?

Do you really want to know?

• The man who leaves his wife of 15 years, blaming her for his anger.
• The lonely kid who pierces himself to be part of the crowd.
• The lady who moves out of town to escape the pain and anguish of a broken relationship.
• The young mom who goes on a shopping spree to deal with the stress of small children making demands on her all day long.
• The so-called good girl who does all the right things and is pleasant to be around but lacks real passion and purpose for life.

These people attempted to solve their problems their own way.

As a result they have only dealt with the exterior, changing their circumstances without addressing the heart of the issue.

The only thing they have managed to do is to “shine up” a hairy, goopy, slimly, grimy, selfish, prideful flesh, independent of God.

In reality the real problems have not gone away.

And they feel trapped.

Trapped in their own sinful ways.

Because they either don’t understand the nature of the battle or they just refuse to recognize the ugliness of their own flesh-driven heart.

What does our passage say about the battle? Gal 5:13, “For you were called to freedom…”.

The huge controversy in the Galatian churches was the idea of adding works of the law to their faith.

Let’s camp here for a second.

Can you think of any rules Christians have made up in order to look more holy?

I purposefully used the work “look” because these rule only deal with the outward appearance and don’t really change you.

Rules like

“Don’t go to R-rated movies.”

“Don’t drink, smoke, dance or curse.”

“Don’t listen to rock n roll music.”

“Wear your Sunday best to church.”

Or how about saying “Grace “ at a restaurant when you are with other Christians, but not when you’re at home alone.

Strict adherence to rules makes us just like the Pharisees when Jesus said to them, (Matt 23:27) “You Hypocrites, you are like whitewashed tombs.

Pretty on the outside, but on the inside full of dead men’s bones.”

What a shallow life, what a hollow life.

In Gal 5:13 Paul says you were called to freedom.

Free from what?

Free from pursuing rules as a way of becoming more acceptable.

But freedom from the law does not mean that we are free to do whatever we please.

“only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh.”

The word “opportunity” means literally a base of operations for a expedition.

Paraphrased, the verse says, “Don’t use your freedom as a base of operations for your flesh to do its dirty deeds.”

Many people see only two options in this verse.

Either you stick to the rules or you allow your flesh to take over, having the attitude,

“I am saved!

I am forgiven!

So who really cares what I do?”

But the Bible is clear that we are not free to do anything our sinful nature wants.

So where does that put us?

If law keeping is unacceptable and license is unacceptable, perhaps we ought to be somewhere in between?

But how can a little bit of rule following and a little bit of lawlessness be right?

And where exactly is the right balance?

Let’s read on…Gal 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Ah, Paul is suggesting a totally new way of living, a totally new way of becoming Christ-like.

He rejects law and license for love.

Let your freedom act as a base of operation, a starting off point for love, love that expresses itself in service to others.

The Greek word for service is the verb form of the word for slave.

It could be translated, therefore, as “serve one another in a humble manner”, referring to the way in which a slave would serve his master.

Paul is saying that rather than being in bondage to the law or to the flesh, the Galatians were to be in bondage to one another in love.

Now surprisingly in Gal 5:14 Paul turns back to the law and says, “For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

This idea of humbly loving others is the key to the whole battle for Christ-likeness.

Don’t miss it.

Remember in Matt 22:36 when the lawyer asked, “What is the greatest commandment?”

Jesus responded, “Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love others as deeply you love yourself.”

Hear me now, the sole purpose for our existence ought to be to seek God passionately.

Like a lover pursues his partner, so we should pursue God.

“Like a deer longing for the water brooks, so my soul longs for you, O God.”

(Ps 42:1)

Now I’m not talking about simply having a daily quiet time.

That in itself can be a rule that we live by.

If we only have a quiet time because it is “what we are supposed to do as good Christians” then it is a rule and that is sin.

And if, as the author Jim Berg suggests, you “read the Bible merely to find principles to live by and encouraging passages, you will find what you are looking for, but you will miss God in the process.”

God the person, wants a relationship with you, an ongoing, ever-growing relationship.

Remember when you dated your spouse.

You were a student of her.

You studied her.

You learned what she liked and didn’t like.

You discovered that she loves a wide variety of choices of salad dressing, but always picks honey-mustard.

That she can eat chocolate for any meal of the day.

That she feels uncomfortable on a stage in front of people but she really cuts loose when she’s on stage teaching Jazzercise to a room full of women.

Do you know what God likes?

Have you spent enough time with Him to really know His heart?

What thrills God?

What saddens God?

Why was He willing to pay the penalty for your sins with the life of His Son?

What moves Him to compassion?

Why did he make kumquats?

Why did He make some camels with one hump and some with two?

Have you asked?

Do you care?

This is the purpose of reading your Bible and praying to Him.

Quiet times and every other time ought to be marked by your passionate pursuit of God.

Have a relationship with Him.

Pursue God the person.

Pursue people.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Let’s admit it, we are by nature selfish people.

We tend to save the best for ourselves and give what we don’t need away.

Like the time when Laura and I started in ministry at a small church in San Diego.

When we arrived, they said they wanted to give us a pounding.

As you can imagine I was a little concerned about receiving a “pounding” until I found out that basically they were going to give us food and other staple items for our kitchen.

 However, when we got home and unpacked our bounty we discovered that we had received open containers of food and other food that was long past its freshness date.

It was as if some people saw this as a way to clean out their cupboards.

We even got a jar of pickled pig’s feet.

Do our so-called loving actions really reflect the kind of humble service Paul expresses in Gal 5:13-14?

In every way do we come to others, even those who have hurt us, and give up our rights to serve them?

Your selfish fleshly nature says, “I don’t care about anybody else, I’m number one!”

Christ-likeness says, “I don’t care about what I want, You’re number one!”

This kind of attitude comes from passionately pursuing a relationship with God.

This is the kind of attitude that realizes we have an opportunity to love as God loves.

Those without God are unable to love this way.

There is no base of operation for them to express this kind of love.

The Galatians wanted to be under the law as a way of becoming spiritually mature.

But their preoccupation with keeping rules led to a competitive, angry, judgmental spirit. Gal 5:15 “But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another.”

Notice how it starts with just a “bite”.

It could be an icy, cold glare, a sarcastic remark, a tease—“I was just kidding!”

But the flesh is not satisfied and the bites become more vicious.

A slanderous rumor, an outright verbal assault.

We end up picking at each other to the point of utterly consuming one another. Tragically, the more the Galatians came under bondage to the law, the more they violated the very intent of the law: to humbly love others.

It is only when you resist enslavement to the law that you can truly fulfill the law.

So how could the Galatians be so devoted and yet so divided?

They were devoted to the law, but the law lacked the power to overcome the flesh. Where could they find the motivation and power to resolve their conflicts and renew their love for each other?

The answer is found in Gal 5:16. “But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Just as we cannot begin the Christian life without the Spirit, we cannot continue the Christian life without the power of the Spirit.

To “walk by the Spirit” means to be so infused by the Spirit that everything we do and everything we are is transformed and directed by Him.

Think with me here.

When you got married there was a level of change that took place in the way you viewed yourself and your spouse.

You became less self-centered and more spouse-centered.

Now, think of the day you became a parent.

I bet there was no greater transforming event in your life than having a baby.

When you have a baby your whole life changes.

The way you view your life changes.

You don’t talk the same.

You don’t act the same.

Everything you do is centered around your child.

Going to work has a new purpose.

Getting up in the morning means another day of playing hide-n-seek.

I love playing that game with my girls.

Counting to ten and then searching the house only to find Mercy standing behind the towel hanging on the towel rack thinking that she can’t be seen is complete and utter joy for me.

Why?

Why is this transforming?

Why am I less selfish now that I have children?

Why do I protect my children from certain news on the TV?

Why don’t I let them play outside without my supervision?

Listen now…love.

Love.

Love for my children changes me.

This is what it is like to walk by the Spirit.

It means we are so captivated by God, so in love with Him that everything we do and everything we are is transformed and directed by Him.

The verse goes on to say, Gal 5:16 “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Here is the promise we have that if we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Paul uses a double negative in the Greek to emphasize the promise of victory over the flesh.

Here is how it might read, “Walk by the Spirit and you will absolutely not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Does this mean we won’t struggle with sin?

No.

In fact, if you walk by the Spirit you will struggle even more since you are now living in opposition to the flesh.

 Look at Gal 5:17, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another.”

This passage contradicts some scholars who say that there is no conflict within the Christian because the old nature has been eradicated.

That has not happened.

As we continue to walk by the Spirit, the flesh does increasingly lose its power.

Yet even though the power of the flesh diminishes as we walk by the Spirit, we will always have to totally depend on the Spirit’s power.

The ongoing opposition of the flesh to the Spirit is the battle we face.

But Gal 5:17 also indicates the result of the battle.

“So that you may not do the things that you please.”

Now this is a difficult phrase to interpret.

Three meanings are possible, 1) the flesh keeps you from doing the good you desire, 2) the Spirit keeps you from doing the evil you desire, or 3) each nature hinders the desires of the other.

I have concluded that the best interpretation is that the Spirit keeps you from doing the evil you desire.

Here is why I say that.

1) The conflict clearly stated in this verse is between us, that is our flesh, and the Holy Spirit.

So the things that we want to do are the things the flesh wants to do.

2) Gal 5:16 promises victory if we walk by the Spirit.

So this phrase can only mean that though there is opposition, the power of the Spirit overpowers the flesh and enables us to do what He wants rather than what we want.

Now look at Gal 5:18

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”

If we are walking in the Spirit we are not and indeed can not be under the restraint of the law.

Remember the pendulum of law on the one side and license on the other.

Paul is saying that there is a totally new way for us to follow.

For though the law brings control, it lacks the power to transform our lives.

Paul offers an alternative to the control of the law—the Spirit.

Look at the word “led”.

Just like the word “walk” in Gal 5:16, it is in the present tense which means it is to be a continuing action.

But unlike the word “walk”, this word is passive.

The Spirit leads us.

It is the same word used when the religious authorities led Jesus away the night He was betrayed.

Or when the disciples led a donkey and colt to Jesus in Matt 21.

So then, life by the Spirit can be summed up this way,

It involves active obedience to the direction of the Spirit, constant warfare by the power of the Spirit against the desires of the flesh, and complete submission to the control of the Spirit.

Such a life will be an experience of freedom from the control of the flesh and the control of the law.

Ah, that is true freedom!

Gal 5:19-21 list the deeds of the flesh, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.”

Nervous?

Did you just look at your watch and wonder, “How long is this sermon going to be?”

Well, you can relax because I am not interested in going though each one of the deeds of the flesh and fruits of the Spirit simply because 1) Paul states, “They are evident.”

We all know what we do.

And 2) if I begin to explain each one someone will be tempted to start making some rules for themselves to try to control their behavior.

And 3) because we are almost out of time!

I do want to look at the rather disturbing warning in Gal 5:21, “I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Does this mean we can lose our salvation?

No.

Paul does not say, “I have forewarned you that you who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom.”

Rather he refers to “those”.

Secondly the Holy Spirit of promise seals the inheritance of Christians. Listen to Eph 1:11ff “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

There also seems to be a contrast between the unbeliever who practices the deeds of the flesh and the believer in v 24 who has crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

I also speculate that Paul may give this warning because there may be some unbelievers in the Galatian churches who are simply law followers.

These law followers are condemning Christians and causing all kinds of strife in the church.

Paul says, those who practice such things, they, not you, will not inherit kingdom.

Gal 5:22-24 Say, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Notice that it is the Spirit who bears fruit in our lives, yet we are the ones who crucify the flesh.

Gal 5:24 uses the active voice meaning we do the action.

It is also past tense.

The action has been done in the past.

However, at some point every Christian must decide to say no to the flesh and keep in step with the Spirit.

Gal 5:25 says “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

The words “we live” describe God’s gift to us: freedom in Christ and life in the Spirit.

The word here for walk is different that in Gal 5:16.

The word here means, “keep in step”.

It is a military command to make a straight line or to march in ordered rows.

The Spirit set the line and the pace for us to follow.

We need to not listen to a different drummer, we need to keep in step.

When we are tempted to become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another, we need to keep in step.

We need to not go our own way, we need to keep in step.

Our duty is to tune out every distraction and keep in step with the Spirit.

How do we win the Battle for Christ-likeness?

Out of a passionate relationship with God…

1. Pursue love to fulfill Freedom’s Opportunity
2. Walk by the Spirit to win Freedom’s Battle
3. Walk in step with the Spirit and reap Freedom’s Harvest