Trinity 14
Gal
5:16-24
9/1/24
“I am astonished that
you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of
Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- not that there is another
one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of
Christ.” That’s how Paul launches into
his letter to the Galatians.
Now normally, after
the opening greeting, Paul has a section in which he gives thanks for the
congregation to whom he is writing, and for what God is doing among them. But
in his letter to the Galatians there is no thanksgiving. Instead, he launches
right into a statement about how he is exasperated with them. Paul can hardly
believe what is happening in Galatia.
Paul had preached the
Gospel to the Galatians during his first missionary journey. These Gentiles had
turned to faith in Christ. However, in Paul’s absence other teachers had come
to Galatia. They told the believers there that Paul had not given them the
whole truth. Yes they needed to believe in Jesus Christ. But if they wanted to be part of God’s
people, they needed to do what God’s people – the Jews – had always done. They
needed to keep the Law of Moses – the Torah.
These opponents of
Paul said that Christians needed to keep the Law of Moses. And they emphasized
this point by declaring the need for men to receive circumcision. This was the
requirement for all who wanted to be part of God’s covenant people. It was also
something that was a great challenge for Gentiles for two reasons. First, as
you might guess, this was not a procedure that adult men were eager to undergo.
And second, circumcision itself was something that the Gentile world viewed as
a barbaric practice – they regarded it as the mutilation of a man.
Nonetheless, these
teachers demanded that the Galatians receive circumcision and keep the Law of
Moses. They said that faith in Christ was not enough. A person also had to keep
the Torah to be saved and be part of the people of God.
Paul is fired up as he
begins the letter to the Galatians because he understood that this demand was a
denial of the Gospel. He wrote in chapter two, “we know that a person is
not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ,
so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in
Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one
will be justified.”
Our salvation occurs
through faith in Jesus Christ – through faith alone. As Paul said, “by works of
the law no one will be justified.” The
apostle explains exactly why this is so in chapter three. There he says, “For
all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is
written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written
in the Book of the Law, and do them.’”
The Law is about
doing. God’s law says that anyone who doesn’t do all of the law, all the time,
is under God’s curse. There is no way
that we can keep God’s law in thought, word, and deed. We can’t because of what
Paul calls in our text the flesh. The
flesh is the sinful, fallen nature that continues to dwell in us.
The apostle says that
the works of the flesh are evident. They are certainly found in our lives. He
refers to sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality. We see this in the lust
in our hearts – lust that leads to sex outside of marriage and the use of
pornography. He speaks of enmity, strife and fits of anger. We know how we
react in ways that harm our relationships with others. Paul mentions jealousy
and envy. We feel this as we look at the success, wealth, and lives of others.
The way of the law –
the way of doing – could only bring us God’s curse. Yet Paul says that because
of his love, God acted to save us. He writes, “But when the fullness of
time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under
the law,
to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might
receive adoption as sons.”
God sent his Son into
the world as he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
He sent him to redeem us – to free us from God’s curse. Christ did this through
his death on the cross. Paul says: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of
the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone
who is hanged on a tree.’”
Christ became a curse
for us. He received God’s judgment in our place as he died on the cross. By
this action he has redeemed us. He has freed us from God’s curse and judgment.
And then God defeated death in Christ when he raised him from the dead.
Now, you have been
baptized into Christ. You have been joined to his saving work. Paul says in
this letter, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.” Your life is
now lived in Christ because you have received the Holy Spirit. As Paul says, “God
has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” You live by faith in Jesus Christ who loved you
and gave himself up for you.
In Galatians Paul has
powerfully demonstrated that we are justified by faith alone – faith in Jesus
Christ. Yet in the section of the letter in which we find our text, the apostle
wants us to know that faith is not only about receiving salvation. Paul says, “For
in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for
anything, but only faith working through love.”
Faith in Christ gives
us freedom from the curse of the law. It gives us freedom from sin in forgiveness
before God. But just before our text Paul says, “For you were called to
freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the
flesh, but through love serve one another.”
The flesh the fallen
nature that draws us to sin, is a continuing presence in our life. Paul says in
our text, “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.” There is an ongoing struggle that continues
in our life.
However Paul begins
our text by saying, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the
desires of the flesh.” Paul’s statement
here is the most emphatic negative that can be expressed in Greek. We can
translate it as, “and you will certainly not gratify the desires of
the flesh.” The Spirit who has called us
to faith leads and empowers us to walk in faith.
The Spirit has made us
a new creation in Christ. He has created the new man in us. But this does not
mean that we are some kind of robot, uninvolved in the walk of faith. Instead,
quite the opposite, the Spirit gives us the ability to seek to live in ways
that please God. Just after our text the apostle says, “If we live by the
Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” We follow the Spirit’s leading as
we seek to live our life in Christ. We make it our goal to live in ways that
demonstrate what Christ had done for us.
Paul speaks in our
text about the fruit of the Spirit. These
things find their ultimate source in the work of the Spirit. Yet Paul lists them here because we are the
ones who are living by the power and guidance the Spirit provides. And so we need to make these things our goal
and purpose.
The apostle tells us
that the Spirit led life is characterized by love. This is not a feeling. Instead, it is action. Paul says later, “Bear
one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Help your
family members and friends as you seek to make their life better and
easier. Support and care for them as
they face challenges and difficulties.
The Spirit produces
joy and peace. We have the joy and peace
of knowing that we are the forgiven children of God. Death has been defeated in Christ. To die is
to be with Christ, and we look forward to the resurrection on the Last
Day. These truths shape the way we look
at everything in life as we walk by the Spirit.
Life in Christ is one
of patience. God has acted dramatically
in the death and resurrection of his Son to give us life with him. He did this in “the fullness of time.” He did it when the timing was just right
according to his plan. So trust that One
who has redeemed you in this way is also carrying out his plan for your
life. Be patient as God works in his
time and his way.
Life led by the Spirit
demonstrates kindness and gentleness. It
acts in ways that show care for others.
It is tender towards those who are weak and burdened.
And the Spirit enables
us to be self-controlled. So restrain
the words that want to come out of your mouth.
Do not speak the things that are going hurt others. Do not place yourself in settings of sexual
temptation.
Paul says in our text
about the works of the flesh, “I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” You can’t give yourself over to these
sins. You can’t allow them to control
you and become normal. The life that surrenders to sin drives out faith and the
Holy Spirit.
The apostle tells us,
“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of
the Spirit are against the flesh.” Until
we die or the Lord returns, there will always be a struggle against sin. There will be times when we stumble – when we
fall in sin. Yet the life that is
Christian responds to this sin with repentance. We acknowledge the sin for what it is. We confess it before God, as we return to our
baptism in faith knowing that there we have forgiveness. And then by power of the Spirit who gave us
new life in baptism we turn away from that sin to live in God’s way.
Paul begins our text
with the words, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the flesh.” You
cannot walk by the Spirit if you are not being fed, nurtured, and strengthened
in the faith by the Spirit. You cannot
walk by the Spirit if you are not receiving the Means of Grace. So come to the Divine Service each Sunday to
hear God’s Word proclaimed and receive Christ’s true body and blood in the
Sacrament of the Altar. Remember your baptism each day, trusting the promises
that God has attached to it. Make the reading of Scripture to be a daily part
of your life. For in this way God will
bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in your life.
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