Series: Gospel Clarity
Sermon: Christian Life (Sanctification)
Bible Passage: Galatians 5:16-25
According to the book of Galatians, a believer has the following:
1. A right standing with God (justification)
2. The indwelling of the Spirit of God (cf. Rom 8:9)
3. Freedom from the Law
4. Adoption of God’s child
5. Clothed with Jesus (a new outlook)
A believer also has the following (a shocker):
1. The flesh, sin nature
2. A persistent desire to sin
What is salvation not?
1. An automatic disappearance of flesh, the sin nature
2. An automatic victory over sin
3. A life without sin (a victorious sinless life)
What is the reality in the life of a believer?
1. Constant conflict with flesh, the sin nature
2. Constant failure
3. Constant attempt to get victory over flesh (striving)
4. Salvation is not the end of temptation
5. Flesh is more active now than before
6. Two completely opposite natures are working in a believer—the flesh and the Spirit
7. They conflict with each other, antagonistic to each other, pulling each one in opposite directions (cf. Gal 5:17)
8. Human conscience is pretty alert, but the will is weak!
What do most Bible teachers teach believers as Christian walk?
1. A list of do’s and don’ts, and over promise (and under serve)
2. Inform believers about sin from the law
3. Moralism and self-effort sanctification
Facts about salvation
1. Salvation is not equal to moral life
2. You’re not called to a moral life; it is a result not a cause
Galatians 5:16-24 teaches how one lives as a believer—a teaching on sanctification
1. Verse 16: “live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh”
a. Living by the flesh—the default one (most Christians are still in this mode!)
i. “The flesh” refers to natural man with the inherited fallen nature
ii. Because a man is born with “the flesh” he has a default tilt towards sin
iii. The minute he is born again, the flesh gets activated and causes greater desire towards the world and sin
iv. The flesh wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants (verse 17)
v. Those who are living according to the flesh are intent on the things of the flesh (Romans 8:5a)
vi. The fruit of the flesh are (verse 19-21)—“works of the flesh”
▪ Sexual sin: Sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures
▪ Moral sin: Idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division
▪ Sin against self: Envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these
vii. “Living by the flesh” is the reason most Christians live a defeated Christian life
b. Living by the Spirit —the must for Christian living (sanctification)
i. Note: the believer does the action “to walk/live”—an active verb, does not happen automatically
ii. What does it mean to “walk by the Spirit”?
▪ The life enabled and directed by the Holy Spirit
▪ It happens when a believer begins to live to please God the Father
▪ It happens when a believer seeks diligently in the Scripture what the Father’s will is and what pleases the Him
▪ The Holy Spirit dwells in a believer primarily to help him fulfill this desire
● This becomes a cooperative journey of the Holy Spirit and the believer
● The believer desires and the Holy Spirit enables, empowers, and guides
● This is “walking by the Spirit”
▪ It happens when the believer shifts focus from himself to the Father and when he seeks the Scripture, gathers information about the Father’s will
▪ The Holy Spirit guides, informs, and empowers believers in this journey
▪ This is true sanctification—Trinitarian in nature
▪ The Holy Spirit does not overpower believers when He begins to dwell in believers—the believers do not become robots in His hands
▪ Verse 16: “live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh”—the perfect solution for the influence of the flesh
▪ Whenever a believer grows weak in pursuing the Father’s pleasure, the flesh start dominating
▪ Those who are living according to the Spirit are intent on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5b)
▪ All those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Rom 8:14)
▪ The sanctification is not moralism, but it is the Spirit enabled journey to please the Father whose pleasure is revealed in the Scripture
▪ In sanctification process, the believer takes his relationship with the Father seriously and treats this relationship the most important one
▪ Jesus becomes the model to imitate (our sanctification is unquestionably Trinitarian)
iii. The Holy Spirit does not overpowers human being at the time of conversion nor does he defeats the flesh
iv. The believer’s journey with the Holy Spirit results bearing spiritual fruits—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (verse 22-23)
v. Verse 16 comes with a promise “you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature”
Concluding remarks
1. A believer conquers the desires of the flesh with the Holy Spirit
2. Very important: without studying both the Old and New Testaments, a person cannot become aware of the will of the Father
3. So, the Scripture (the Bible) is absolutely important in the sanctification of a believer
4. The spirituality of a person is discerned from his fruits NOT from his gifts (doctrine of perseverance)
5. Believers come to understand that their old nature is very much alive even after their conversion—evidence is the fruit of the flesh
6. If “walking by the Spirit” is not dominant, the carnal nature becomes dominant (sadly, this is the reality now)
7. The one who continuously walks by the flesh will not inherit the blessings of the kingdom of God (verse 21b)
Take Away:
Switch immediately from “walking by flesh” to “walking by the Spirit” and seek to please God the Father through Jesus Christ