Galatians 5:24-25
WALK IN THE SPIRIT
[Mark 8:34-38]
Not everyone who calls themselves Christian is producing Fruit of the Spirit.... Did you know that? It’s available to every Christian, but I hope you have learned by now that there’s nothing automatic about the Spirit’s ministry. Every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, and every believer has the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence, but neither of these guarantees that we will experience all the Spirit’s benefits.
If we would develop the Fruit of the Spirit we must walk in the Spirit. Through the old fleshly nature’s desires Satan attempts to lure us into living in the old man which causes the deeds of the flesh to show themselves in our life. Yet if by our free will we submit to God’s Spirit and crucify the flesh day by day we will walk in the Sprit. If we walk in the Spirit we will exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit and not the impulses of the flesh.
The Fruit of the Spirit is not an optional extra in the life of a believer. It is the evidence that the Holy Spirit is in residence and working to make us more like Christ each day. But how do we ensure that the Fruit of the Spirit is growing in our lives and is evidenced in our lives? Verses 24-25 tells us how to experience Spiritual victory.
I. THE CRUCIFIED LIFE, 24.
II. THE SPIRIT LED LIFE, 25.
The catalogues of vices and virtues in verses 19-21 and 22-23 respectfully set the background for every Christian to come to two conclusions. We should crucify the flesh, verse 24 and should surrendered to the Spirit, verse 25. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Paul next explains what believers, those who are walking with Christ Jesus, need not be responsive to the flesh meaning humanity’s fallen, corrupt and sinful nature. How can we not be responsive to our old fallen nature? We must crucify it. Note, will you, it says here we crucify the flesh. It is not only something done to us (2:20) but something we must do also. It is a deliberate putting to death. Mark 8.34-35 clarifies this act for us. "He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. (35) "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it." (NAS)
Metaphorically we are to nail the desires and passions of the flesh to the cross and leave them there. We are to turn from our sins and willingly nail our sinful nature to the cross. Christians have been set free from sin’s power over us and no longer have to give into it.
Only criminals were condemned to die by crucifixion and our old nature is to be treated as a criminal. Death by crucifixion was lingering but it was certain. When we nailed the old nature to the cross by coming to faith in Christ we began the process of the gradual, but certain, death of the old nature. That death will be complete in heaven. When a criminal was crucified he was left to die but soldiers kept guard to ensure no one took him down before he died. We must leave our old natures on the cross to die and not allow them back off every so often.
[ATTITUDE CHECK] In a television interview, a Christian spoke of a certain well-known man as having a "solid relationship with Christ." That statement raised a large question mark in my mind since the man’s life is marked by vulgar speech, alcohol abuse, and flagrant womanizing. I felt the need for evidence that he hates his lifestyle and wants to be different.
The Bible clearly shows that the inner being of a Christian is a battlefield where sinful desires clash with the indwelling Holy Spirit. Sometimes sinful tendencies win, but it is in the attitude toward sin that the genuine believer and the pretender show their true colors.
The counterfeit Christian is quite comfortable with his sin. But the child of God hates his sin, confesses it, and desires victory over it. This is because "those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires". The Christian can find true peace until he confesses his sins and repudiates them. As he relies on the Holy Spirit, he enjoys a pattern of victory over sin.
What about you? Take time for an attitude check. Are you comfortable with sin in your life? If you are, you need to examine your relationship with Christ (2 Cor. 13:5). To love Christ is to hate sin.
The new life in Christ starts with dying to selfishness. It does not mean that we no longer have the old nature or inner conflicts. But when we have the old cravings we can nail them to the cross, we surrender to the Holy Spirit’s leading and the Fruit of the Spirit will then be evident instead of the deeds of the flesh.
WILLIAM CAREY founded the 18th century missionary movement that changed the whole culture and life of India. One time he was being honored by the Governor General of India. Present at the occasion was a petty government official who looked upon the Baptist missionary with contempt. At the dinner table the petty official openly said to a friend, "This William Carey, I understand was a shoemaker." It was said for the ears of the missionary, so William Carey humbly replied, "Sir, I was not a shoemaker, I was a cobbler."
You cannot touch a man like that! Nor can you cut a man like that because he is already dead. He has died to himself. He has died to every ambition. Yet he lives gloriously.
The self-giving of Christ through death on a cross is the central theme of salvation. It should be central to our life also. Just as He sacrificed Himself for us, we are now privileged to offer our "bodies a living-sacrifice" to Him (Romans 12:1). This spiritual sacrifice is actually compared to crucifixion. "Our old man is crucified with Him, so that our body of sin might be destroyed, that so that we should not be slaves to sin" (Rom. 6:6).
Identification with Christ in His crucifixion means a new type of life for the believer, for now "Christ lives in Me" ( 2:20). For in being crucified with Christ both the demands of the law and the impulses of the flesh have been crucified as well (Rom. 7:1-6; Col. 2:13-15). [Longnenecker, Word Biblical Com., 264]
When we place our faith in Jesus as our Savior, He comes to live within us. Then He works to transform us, replacing our selfishness with Christlikeness. As we grow in grace and in our knowledge of God, our thoughts, words, and actions become more and more like our Lord’s.
A. J. Gordon, the 19th century American minister, educator, and author, gave us an example of this process from nature. He wrote, "TWO LITTLE SAPLINGS GREW UP side by side. Through the action of the wind they crossed each other. By and by each became wounded by the friction. The sap began to mingle until one calm day they became attached. Then the stronger began to absorb the weaker. It became larger and larger, while the other withered and declined till it finally dropped away and disappeared. And now there are two trunks at the bottom and only one farther up. Death has taken away the one; life has triumphed in the other."
If you are a believer, there was a time when you and Christ met and became. united. Where are you now? Are you dwelling side by side with Him but trying to run your own life? Or are you yielding to Christ and becoming more like Him? May your motto be, "Not I, but Christ." Every child of God should have a growing likeness to the Son of God.
II. THE SPIRIT LED LIFE, 25.
The Bible admonishes those who have been born again to new life in Christ to daily live in the power of Christ in verse 25. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
In verse 25 Paul says the positive thing we must do is to ‘walk by the Spirit.’ In verse 18 we are led by the Spirit – the Holy Spirit takes the initiative. In verse 25 we are to be active participants. Paul uses a word for ‘walk’ which speaks of someone who ‘walks in line.’ The word [ µ from stoiché ], sometimes translated to follow, means to walk in-step or in harmony with. We should walk in fellowship with the Holy Spirit (pnuema). Believers are encouraged to follow what is right and what we know to be right. This means a disciplined walk in the things of God. Just as a natural tree requires healthy soil, the right food, careful pruning, a mixture of rain and sunshine in order to bear good fruit – the same is true of our lives. We require good nourishment from prayer, Bible reading, fellowship. We require careful pruning by God through His Word. We require the times of trial and blessing in order that the Fruit of the Spirit might be seen in our lives. If you are evidencing a lack of any aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit in your life you are not walking in the Spirit.
God is interested in every part of our lives. We need to submit every aspect of our lives to God; emotional, physical, social, intellectual, vocational. It’s not enough to say we are born again, we must live the born again life of the Spirit. If we are saved, we must live like it! The Spirit that raised us from the dead also realigns and leads us into Christlikeness as we walk in-step with Him. Let your life be conformed to the Spirit’s direction and enablement.
Healthy fruit trees produce healthy fruit. In order to assure a bountiful harvest, the grower must protect his trees from drought, floods, extremes of temperature and disease. As Christians, the fruit of our lives is threatened by dangers from the natural world. The works of flesh listed in verses 19-21 are evidences of spiritual droughts and diseases. On the other hand, the Fruit of the Holy Spirit described in verses 22-23 is evidence the Holy Spirit is being allowed to work in our lives.
How can a Christian survive the disasters that threaten spiritual well-being? We must walk in the Spirit. This means relying on the Helper to produce spiritual fruit in our lives. When Christians exhibit Christlike character in day-to-day life, we become mature and remain free from the bondage of sin - and free to do what we were designed to do: produce good fruit.
Holy Spirit, help me to walk with You in each moment. Let Your fruit characterize my life.
CONCLUSION
We must daily commit our sinful tendencies to God’s control, daily crucify them and moment by moment draw on the Spirit’s power to overcome them (2:20; 6:14).
Have you ever noticed that in winter some OAK TREES retain their crisp, dry leaves long after the maples, the elms, and the walnuts have become bare skeletons? Even the strong winter winds and the early spring rains do not completely strip the oak branches of all their old leaves. But as springtime progresses, warmer winds blow and something wonderful begins to happen. Tiny buds start appearing at the tips of the twigs, and the dried remnants of the preceding season fall off. New life replaces the old.
At times, old habits cling to our lives with the same tenacity as those oak leaves. Even the winds of adversity do not remove all the lifeless leftovers of our fallen human nature.
But Christ, who dwells in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, is at work. His life within us continually seeks to push off the old habits-renewing us when we confess our sins, steadying us when we falter, and strengthening us to do His will.
When every effort to cast off an old sinful habit ends in failure, remember the mighty oak. Thank God for His Spirit who lives in you. Keep saying yes to His gentle urging to be kind, loving, compassionate, honest, and faithful. Those "lifeless old leaves" will eventually drop off. -Dennis De Haan
A TOURIST was on his first trip to the western portion of the United States. Traveling in a tour bus, he seemed to take great delight in telling those around him how unimpressed he was with the scenery. He thought the Grand Canyon overrated, yawned through the Petrified Forest, and had no interest in Yellowstone National Park.
Finally, the tour guide decided he’d had enough. He turned to the fellow and said, "Mister, do you know what your problem is? When you haven’t got it inside, you can’t see it outside."
What is your attitude toward your church and other Christians? Do you get along well with them, or does something always seem to be wrong? Pick any church, and you will find those members who participate enthusiastically and support the work. In the same body you will also find people who regularly complain.
Some Christians spread joy. Others spread gossip. What do you spread?
Remember, if you haven’t got it inside, you can’t see it outside.
When Paul took a look inside his spiritual life he confirmed that the "old Saul" was dead, crucified with Christ on the cross. Now a "new Paul" lived, brought to life and sustained by the presence of Jesus Christ.
Take an inside look at your life today. Make sure your old nature has been crucified, Christ lives in you, and you live in a manner that encourages others to become Christians.
Ask God to examine your life and show you any areas not given over to Him.
To finish let me say once again – Paul says ‘fruit’ – singular – this is not a pick and choose list – all of these must be evident in our lives. Also we must remember that any tree takes time to mature and bear fruit and we must give believers time to mature and bear fruit – however on one occasion Christ told a parable about a tree which did not bear fruit and how the farmer gave it one more year to bear fruit and then he cut it down and cast it into the fire. As humbly as I can this morning I would suggest that some of you need to take heed of that warning – because God may be pouring His last year of grace out upon you.
