EPIC: High-Impact Truths in the New Testament – Part 10

All right, we are continuing our series called Epic. It's all about high-impact truths in the New Testament. And today we're gonna be in Galatians, Galatians chapter five, the freedom chapter. You remember Galatians five, where the apostle Paul is fighting for our freedom. He wants to make sure that believers remain free, that we stay in a state of freedom rather than being bound up in legalism and rule-based living. Christianity is not about rules. It is about letting Christ rule in our hearts by faith. And so we have this dynamic miracle life, really. We've said it so many times throughout this series, haven't we? What if the only reason you behave is that Jesus rose from the dead? What if the only reason you behave is that his resurrection life is in you? Otherwise, what do you have on your hands? You've got nothing more than a religion and a behavior improvement program and a sin management system. You've got nothing without Christ risen from the dead, residing in you with your conduct being a miracle, a result of his resurrection. That's what drives us, that's what motivates us. And so Paul is wanting us to experience the life of Jesus, not just the death of Jesus on the cross, but the life of Jesus in us and through us,

expressed through our personality. No, it doesn't look like you walking on water and raising people from the dead. We'll see today, it looks like you loving people and forgiving people and the joy that the gospel brings. It looks like the fruit of the spirit, the spirit producing what Moses cannot produce in you and me. So we begin in verse one, and he says, it was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Again, you'll notice the word again. Now, first, when you see this word again, you might be thinking, scratching your head going, well, they're Gentiles, they're Galatians. How could they be subject to bondage again if they were never under the law? Because remember, the Gentile was never under the law. Formally, they were never given the law. Moses didn't come from Mount Sinai and deliver the tablets to a bunch of Galatians. So what is he talking about again? Well, first, remember that every human is under condemnation. Every human, whether Jew or Gentile, is under condemnation until we meet Jesus. So whether we have the law to show it to us or we don't have the law, we just have the conscience, either way, we're doomed and we need help and we need something, we need somebody,

we need rescue, and secondly, don't forget, he might be using the word again here because people have been tricked. The Galatians have been suckered by the sales pitch of lifeless religion. They've been suckered by self-improvement. They started one way and now they're trying to finish another way. They heard a great message of grace about getting into heaven. Oh, isn't that awesome? We get to heaven by grace. Check that box, wonderful, but here's the problem. Five minutes later, five days later, five years later, many of them being swayed, being suckered by the sales pitch of self-improvement. And so Paul is saying, don't go back under that. It's no fun. In fact, we see that people were spying out their liberty. Do you hear that? Is your church community marked by liberty and freedom and joy? If people were to come in here and experience our friendships, would they say those people are free or would they say those people are stifled and religious and stiff? Because Paul talks about the legalists who were coming in and spying out the liberty of these Christians.

They were jealous of it. They were envious of it. They wanted to know what it was all about. They were squeezing the fruit. It felt just a little bit extra to them. You know what I mean, extra? Could this be authentic? Could this be real? This seems like it's too good to be true. The gospel seems so extra. And yet, it's exactly what God does when God does something. When God forgives you, he forgives you totally. When God frees you, he frees you completely. When God makes you new, he makes you a new creation through and through. When God gives you a gospel, it is good. It is beyond your wildest dreams and it leads to liberty. The Bible says where the spirit of God is, where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. And so they were spying out. this freedom and they were trying to bring them back into bondage they were jealous of it and they said it's great that you're a Christian but you need to have Moses in your life oh we love that you got saved by faith that's awesome but now we're worried about your behavior so let me introduce the big ten the Ten Commandments on stone are gonna help you and so he is concerned about preserving the purity of the message now we continue in verse 2 it says behold I Paul say to you that if you receive circumcision then Christ will be of no benefit to you zero zilch nada en espanol you see what he's saying man if you decide that you want to be part of Club Israel if you decide that you want

the law membership card membership in Moses then what's gonna happen well you're obligated to then keep the whole law and on top of that what in the world did Jesus do for you it's all or nothing there's no middle ground there's no compromise so isn't it interesting that today this is what you will hear in many religious circles across the country and around the world you will hear no no no we don't need the law for salvation we just need it for daily living very common no no no we don't need the whole law we just need some of the law well Paul is taking that and dashing it against the rocks he won't allow it it is all or nothing you don't need some of the law it's all or nothing so watch as he does this in the very next verse there's no wiggle room there's no way to get out here it is staring us in the face and I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation to keep how much the whole law the whole Torah the whole thing do you get to pick ten no do you get to delete the Sabbath and say Jesus fulfilled that and then pick nine no do you get to pick nine and then add tithing in so it's a new set of ten no you don't get to cherry-pick it's not a buffet line at your favorite restaurant you don't get to pick and choose it's not multiple choice it's not choose your own adventure the law is an all-or-nothing curse it's staring us in the face 613 commands no wiggle room and that's what Paul wants the Galatians and the Americans and the Canadians and the citizens of this world who are in Christ this is what Paul wants us to see today it's all or nothing no wiggle room no caveats no balance no compromise no mixing flirting with Moses is cheating on Jesus and so he's given it to us he's a straight shooter he's in your face and the theologians show up in droves and they are finally dressed and their voices sound authoritative and they say well let me explain there's two kinds of law see as soon as they say there's two kinds of law now we're not keeping the whole law as soon as they say there's two categories one fulfilled and one not that Jesus did a half work not a finished work as soon as they say there's two kinds of law you've lost me because never once get this never once in the letters of Paul Peter James John or Hebrews not one single time in is

there any shred of evidence in the New Testament that the Apostles believed there were two kinds of law and that Jesus freed us from some of it nope it's all or nothing Jesus invites you to not just let him be the lamb but to be your life he is not just a lamb he is life I've come that you might have life which means morality and ethics are in him not in Moses alright so we got some thinking to do and we continue in verse 4 he says you have been severed from Christ you who are seeking to be justified by law you have fallen from grace alright many people turn this into losing salvation but remember what they're trying to do they're not trying to deal with salvation they're trying to get saved they're not coping with being a saint they're trying to get justified they're still trying to get right with God and so you who are seeking they're trying they're seeking they're chasing righteousness you who are seeking righteousness by Moses guess what you're cutting yourself off you're cutting yourself off from the true message it's all or nothing remember that it's all or nothing and when you choose Moses you are turning your back on Jesus you're cutting yourself off how can you look at the message of the gospel when you're instead looking at the message of self-righteousness you've pivoted you've turned away from the truth you looked at it you flirted with it you thought about it you contemplated it but then you said no no I believe I get right by circumcision and law keeping and then you've cut yourself off from the true message this is not about suddenly the gospel getting real disappointing this is not suddenly about God saying well you know what I said about to never leaving you just kidding not there is no shocker in the gospel where it's front-loaded with good news and then back loaded with all kinds of horrible news there's no fly in the ointment there's no worm in the apple there's nothing to ruin it the gospel is incredible but these Galatians they're not sure even how to get right with God initially so Paul is clearing it up for them for we through the Spirit by faith are waiting for the hope of righteousness now does that mean oh gee we we just hope all that someday oh we

just hope that someday we could be righteous no we've been told throughout Paul's letters we've been told that we are the righteousness of God and that we are slaves of righteousness and that we are the new self a new creation born of the Spirit right now we're not waiting but there is a hope in being righteous and we're waiting for that hope not the hope of getting righteous but the hope that comes with being righteous do you hear the difference not the hope of getting righteous someday the hope that comes with being righteous you're a child of God and there's great hope that comes with that all right so he's saying through the Spirit and it's not through the law furthermore verse 6 he says for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything but faith working through love Wow all right so to the Galatians he's telling them hey I know you got some peer pressure there's some people that are pressuring you into Judaism they want you to mix law and grace they want you to just say well Jesus was fantastic for the beginning of my relationship with God but now you need to finish strong finish with Moses and what Paul is saying is none of that matters man circumcision uncircumcision Gentile Jew none of that matters the dividing wall has been torn down and so now everything that you enjoy with God is free I hope you hear that everything you enjoy with God is free the scripture puts it this way he gave his own son how will he not freely give us all things so are you trying to get what you already got are you trying to maintain and sustain what God has already held constant in your life there's nothing to control there's nothing to grab hold of and try to keep everything is reserved for us Peter says reserved in heaven even your inheritance is held by the power of God reserved for you there are people that are scaring Christians and they're calling it ministry there are people that are frightening believers and they think they're doing a good job God is not scaring his kids I don't want Gavin my son to be scared of me imagine the relationship God doesn't want us to be scared of him and so when ministry involves threatening and dangling oh I'm out of here I'm out of here if you God's done with you you're all washed up you've gone too far one too many there

are people that are scaring Christians and calling it ministry and yet God our father says my perfect love casts out your fear fear involves punishment the one who fears is imagining punishment God's perfect love we need to be ministering the message of love and grace and forgiveness and kindness and the fruit of the Spirit that's ministry and so we see in verse 16 forward, but I say walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." How do you avoid fleshly living? Walk by the Spirit. Are you supposed to analyze the flesh? A lot of folks are trying to analyze the flesh. You know that? Now, there's nothing wrong with understanding what the flesh is. That's great. I mean, Paul tells us what the flesh is. He's going to tell us the deeds of the flesh in just a moment. But he doesn't spend chapters and days on it. He says, here's the flesh. It's ugly. Here's the flesh. This is what it looks like. Now, what are you going to do about it? Just have a pity party? Oh, my flesh. Oh, my poor, poor flesh. Like it's a kitty cat, right? And you're going to pet it and cope with it and deal with it. Oh, my, my flesh. Dirty rotten flesh. First of all, you're not the flesh. It's the flesh, not your flesh.

Please don't own it. Don't own it. Own your identity in Christ. Second of all, what's the solution? A pity party? Paralysis of analysis? What's the answer? Get to know Jesus. Walk by the Spirit. See what His counsel is. You got the greatest coach on the planet living in you. Walk by His Spirit. And then that other stuff's not going to make any sense. I mean, bitterness, resentment, you're going to let that go because the love of Jesus is greater. I mean, you talk about chasing after fulfillment in the way the world spells contentment. You're going to get burned out and dried up on that. And Jesus still lives in you, and He's convincing you. He's convincing you. You're different. You're different than the guy next door. The same thing doesn't make you happy. There's something peculiar about you. You're different. Walk by the Spirit, and you won't fulfill the desires of the flesh. Now Paul continues, and he tells us a little bit about this fight, and it is a fight. He says, the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. Now notice there's a fight.

Where are you in the fight? Notice that you don't show up until the end. You show up at the bottom of the verse. You show up at the end of the battle. Look at this. It's Spirit and flesh and flesh and Spirit, and they're fighting, and the goal is to keep you from doing what you really want. So did you notice that it's not you versus the Spirit? Because I grew up believing, oh man, the only thing that's keeping me from sinning is the Holy Spirit. I mean, all I want to do is sin, sin, sin, I thought. I mean, that's what I'm about. I lay awake nights, dreaming of new ways to sin. I'm just a dirty, rotten sinner that wants to do dirty, rotten sins, but praise God for the Holy Spirit, the only thing holding me back. Is that the gospel? Or is the gospel that you became a slave of righteousness, and you can't get away from it because you're born of the Spirit? So the flesh is trying to keep you from doing what you please. I used to read this verse backwards. Oh, I thought I pleased, I was pleased to sin, and that the Spirit was keeping me from it. But actually, me and the Spirit, we're on the same team. And it's the flesh that is keeping me from doing what I really want to do, what pleases me. Do you know what pleases me? Man, I have an insatiable desire to express Jesus, and you do too. I can't get away from it. I can fight it, I can dig my heels in, I can deny it, I can take 24 and 48 hours and cook in bitterness and resentment about something, or I can go, you know what?

The new heart, I've got the new heart. I can't get away from it. I got the new Spirit, I got the new life, I got the new passion, and the new desire. I got Jesus, and it's Him, and it's me, and it's Him, and it's me, and we're together in this, and I can't get away from it. And the sooner I come back to reality about that, man, I just save myself all kinds of wasted time, churning, churning. I like to churn. Don't you? You like to churn? I'm a churner. I like to churn extra, speaking of extra. So do you see the deeds of the flesh, which we're about to diagram, which we're about to analyze for a moment? which we're about to lay out, the deeds of the flesh, are when I decide I need some other thing, some other way to cope. It's not me, it's not my heart, it's some other way to cope. Watch this. So, verse 18, he says, but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now, could that be any clearer? Is Paul talking about getting saved? Because that's what they'll tell you. Many scholars will purport, many scholars will purport that Galatians is about getting saved only, that it's only about getting justified.

But notice, in this passage, it's about being led. When you're led by the Spirit, then you're not led by the law. So we're back to that miracle life. Do you remember at the beginning of this message, I mentioned a miracle life? I mentioned where the only reason you behave is Jesus rose from the dead. So, when you're 99 years old on your deathbed, they're not gonna be looking at you saying, look at how he kept the laws, look at how he kept the rules, look at how she obeyed the biblical principles. When you're 99, they're gonna be thinking, I got a taste of who Jesus is through her, through him. Jesus rose from the dead and lived in them and expressed himself through them. That's the gospel, that's the truth. When we're led by the Spirit, and every child of God is led, then we are not under the law. No child of God is under the law. So, lastly, you may remember from last time, we talked about how you're always being led. Lord, I pray that you would lead me. I don't have to pray that. Do you have to pray that? Do you know that God never stops leading you? It's like a parent who decides, you know, I just don't wanna be a parent anymore.

God's always leading us, and we can expect it. So, we're led by the Spirit. That's why we're not led by Moses. That's why we don't need tablets of stone. That's why we can look to Jesus as our lamb and as our life. Now, verse 19, he says, Now, the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, and everybody in here with a type A personality just got out a legal pad, and they're gonna go, stuff I'm not supposed to do. Okay, don't be immoral, all right? Don't be impure. Okay, watch out for sensuality. Is that what we're doing here? No, we're walking by the Spirit, see? Bottomless pit of self-improvement, if you're not careful. He goes on in the list, idolatry, idolizing someone or something, sorcery, enmities, strife, that's division and factions, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, all right, I wanna hit the pause button, have you notice something. The flesh is not your body. These are not the deeds of the body. Do you run around saying, yeah, my body got angry? I'm sorry, hun, my body got jealous. It's okay. This is not your body. Hear me, your body is not the flesh.

In this case, the flesh does not mean your body. Hear me, your body is not your enemy. That's Gnosticism. Gnostics taught the body is evil. Some people, well-intended Christians think, well, I gotta say no to my body and say yes to God. No, you offer your body to God. Your body is an instrument. In fact, the Bible tells us your body is a temple. In fact, your body is holy and acceptable to God. Romans tells us that. So what if your body, oh, now we're getting somewhere. What if your body is not your enemy and what if there's nothing wrong with your soul because it's going to heaven and then what if there's nothing wrong with your spirit because you're born of God's spirit? Now what's wrong with you? Suddenly, you're okay. Oh, that can't be right. No, there's something big wrong with me. Really? Well, your body's the temple, your soul's going to heaven and your spirit is saved. So what's up with that? See, you're used to defining yourself by what influences you. Oh, I let sin reign in my body for five minutes and therefore, I define myself as being sin. You let sin reign but you can now let God reign

in your body. Your body is holy and acceptable to him. Your body is not your enemy. This is, the flesh is ways of getting okay. Ways that the world tries to get okay. That's what the flesh is. The flesh is not your body, your body is not your enemy, you are not fighting a battle with you, you're on God's team. All right, we continue, verse 21, these deeds of the flesh, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarned you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice, keyword practice, such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Wow, all right, so this is scary because, you know, I've done some of the things on the list, haven't you? I mean, have you ever done any envying? Oh, well, how do you know when you've practiced? You got pretty good at it, in my opinion. You were doing some practicing. But you see the word practice, and in fact, in 1 Corinthians chapter six, Paul uses this same language, those who practice such things. And he says, that's who you were, but you were washed, you were justified, and you were sanctified. That's your old practice. Yes, you stumble, but that's your old practice.

And those who do nothing but wake up and practice those things, in the words of Alan Iverson, we're talking about practice, right? We're talking about practice. That's an old practice, and you've got a new practice. You don't do it perfectly, but you got a new practice. So, they won't inherit the kingdom of God, but the fruit of the spirit, here's what Jesus is doing in you, the resume of Jesus, here it is, Christ in you, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such things, there is no law. All right, why did he say that last part? Because you were nervous. You were nervous, oh, I can't, this whole walking by the spirit thing, it's too nebulous. It's too far out, it's too mystical. You'll never know what he's up to. I can't trust, that just sounds too hypothetical, too theoretical, I can't trust. Well, you're supposed to trust. It actually is living by faith, walking by faith. It's supposed to feel a bit, whoa, Jesus is in me, whoa. With fear and trembling, wow, he is working in me to will and to do of his good pleasure, whoa. The God of the universe lives in me. I got fear and trembling about that. I'm, whoa, quaking in my boots, this is crazy. The God of the universe, Jesus, rose from the dead,

lives in me, and he's my self-control. So, everything else that all the heavy traffic out there is trying to do, you know, with rule keeping and law keeping and morality and ethics, I'm going in a different direction, I'm swimming upstream. Everybody's going with the current. Morality and ethics, let's try to love more and do more and be more and be a better person, and education is the key, and change your words and fix your vocabulary, and then be more tolerant, and everything's gonna be, and that's godliness, and that's ethics, and that's morality, and then I'm turning and I'm swimming against the current. And I'm going, no, actually, the Holy Spirit is my self-control, and I'm gonna trust him, and that's actually, strangely, it's the only way to please God. God detests obedience to rules. Obedience to rules is sin. I hope you hear that. We think, oh, as long as it's dressed up nice, as long as the result is good-looking, it's not sin. It is sin. There's good-looking sin and bad-looking sin. It's the same to God. There's a third way. It's called trusting the resurrection life of Jesus. He is your self-control. But, but, but, but, but, we still need the moral law. No, you need the moral Jesus, and you've got him.

All right, we'll finish with just a few more verses here. Now, those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh and its passions and desires. This doesn't seem to fit with a lot of people's theologies, because it actually says that the flesh has been crucified. Now, I thought I was using that as my last reason that I still sin. Well, sure, but recognize who's done the crucifying here. Who did the crucifying in this verse? Everybody wants to say Jesus. No, Jesus didn't do the crucifying in this verse. Go back to fifth grade grammar and ask yourself, who is the subject of this sentence? And it is those who belong to Christ Jesus. When you came to Christ, you decided to do something about the old way. You said, I'm done with you. I'm through with you. I crucify you. You're a dead way to me. I'm dead to you. to the world, I'm dead to the flesh, I'm dead to sin, and I'm alive to my Savior." You did the crucifying in this verse. I know you've been crucified with Christ and God did that to you, but this is a different thought. You said, I want nothing to do with the old way, I want a new way. Jesus, you are my new way. So I've crucified the old way, I've declared it to be a dead way, I'm grossed out by it, I want nothing to do with it, I've tasted better, I'm excited about the future, I got a beautiful new destiny, Jesus, you're my everything. And then he says, this is just divine logic, if we live by the Spirit, you've come this far, if we live by the Spirit, you've come this far, why not walk by the Spirit? I mean, look at

what's already happened inside of you. Can we not sum up how far you've come? Jesus Christ created us, we left Him, He pursued humanity, saves humanity, lives in humanity, lives in you, sealed you with His Spirit, rose from the dead to get all this done, crucified, blood all over Him, tortured and killed, buried, raises from the dead, lives in you, now you live by Him. That's as far as we've come. He's done all that, He's prepped everything, there He is, BAM! His life in you. Wow! Everything's been prepped, so now what's the logical next step? I don't know, maybe walk by Him? I don't know, maybe live like He's actually there? Am I gonna believe all this stuff and then stop? Or am I gonna walk like He's actually in there and trust Him and be led by Him? Wow! Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this powerful message. Jesus, you rose from the dead, you're our self-control, you're our life, you're our everything. We're not interested in just being rule keepers, we're not interested in mere obedience, we're not interested in being moral and ethical, we want to bear the fruit of the Spirit. The world says it's moral and ethical, and people beat their chests about it and look down their noses at those who are not moral and ethical. We are a different creature, we are in a different kingdom, we have a different way, the third way walking by your Spirit. We love you, we thank you that it's not giving up and trying harder and giving up and taking a break and trying harder, it is you, the whole way, every day, start to finish, you, your life. We love you, we thank you, in Jesus' name, amen.