Today’s message is a review of what we’ve been talking about for the last several months, the book of Galatians. I don’t have a particular passage that I’m going to base the message on; it’s on the whole book of Galatians (and some other scriptures as well). But we’ll read Galatians 5:16-23. I believe these verses summarize what the Lord is telling us through the apostle Paul.

Remember, as always, as we read these verses that we are reading the word of God. Also, as always, read your Bibles every day. Set aside a regular time for doing so—when you get up in the morning or before you go to bed at night. Mark any verse or passage that you may want to remember, any passage that you may want to come back to for further study. The word of God gives life.

The problem that the apostle Paul is addressing in the book of Galatians, the issue, was that certain people were teaching the Galatian Christians that they had to be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses in order to be saved—that is to have eternal life, eternal life with joy and peace, with no more pain or suffering or sorrow, no more death or dying, rather than eternal judgment and condemnation, they had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses.

The Bible, the word of God, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, talks about the choice we have between eternal life and eternal judgment. Jesus referred to this choice as the choice between life and death. He said, “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. (John~5:24) (And “hears my words”, by the way, means “listens to my words” and “pays attention to my words”. If you pay attention to Jesus’s words and believe the one who sent him, if you believe God, you have passed from death to life; you have eternal life!) You see, we are saved by paying attention to what Jesus says and believing God who sent him. We are saved by believing, first of all, that we are sinners, that we are disobedient to God, and that we are not capable of saving ourselves; and then by trusting that Jesus accepted the punishment that we deserved by being tortured and crucified—believing that he was punished in our place. Do all of you understand it—that that’s how we are saved—that it’s not by our own effort, but by God’s love and mercy and sacrifice? Do you understand that?

¹⁶I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, ²¹envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar, about which I tell you in advance—as I told you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

And, by the way, there is nothing bad about the Law of Moses. It was given by God through Moses and it’s a beautiful law. It’s not bad to keep the commandments. It’s good to love God. It’s good to not steal. It’s good to honor your father and mother and to be faithful to your husband or wife. The law also has lots of rules and rituals to remind us of who we are and who God is. It also has rituals that point us to something much better—that point us to Christ. And it is summed up by the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength (Deut.~6:5)”; and “love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18)”. The law is good. The problem was that God never intended keeping the law to be our means of salvation. The purpose of the law is to show us that we are sinners and lead us to Christ—Christ who is the real and only means of our salvation.

I said that Paul was more qualified than anyone else to talk about the distinction between trying to save yourself by keeping the law and accepting God’s grace and being led by the Holy Spirit. When Paul wrote to the Philippian church, he warned against those who were trying to persuade them to be circumcised. He called them “dogs” and evil workers. He called them mutilators of the flesh. The apostle Paul told the Philippians that if those evil workers wanted to boast about the flesh, he could boast more than any of them. Here’s what he said: “If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee (the Pharisees were the strictest sect of the Jewish religion); as to zeal, persecuting the church (and that’s exactly what Paul was doing when he was met by Jesus—he was on his way to persecute the church); as to the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. (Philip. 3:4-6) (And I imagine that that doesn’t mean that Paul never sinned, but that he always made the appropriate animal sacrifice as a sin offering. And yet, Paul admitted that there was one commandment that he had had trouble with. It was something that doesn’t depend on what you do outwardly, but what’s in your heart. It was the commandment not to covet—the tenth commandment. When Paul wrote to the Romans, he told them that sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced every kind of coveting in him. (Rom. 7:8) Coveting has to do with pride.)

All that was before Paul had met Christ (or, rather, was met by him). Listen to what else he said to the Philippians: “But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith. (Philip.~3:7-9) The evil workers, the mutilators of the flesh, were trying to persuade the Philippians to be circumcised (and probably to keep the Law of Moses, too). (And, of course these would have likely been the same evil workers who were trying to persuade the Galatians.) Listen to what Paul says: “For we are the circumcision (and by that he meant that it’s we who trust Jesus who are truly God’s people)... For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh...” (Philip.~3:3) It’s we who are God’s people, we who serve (we who worship, in most translations) by the Holy Spirit and boast in Christ. (And “boast” in this context means “glory”, “exult”, “rejoice”—we who serve, we who worship by the Spirit, we who glory in Christ.)

The apostle Paul had been trying hard to be saved by keeping the law. He had advanced in his religion far beyond anyone else of his age. He had something he could boast about. But then Jesus stopped him while he was on his way to arrest any of the Christians that he might have found in Damascus. All Paul saw was a bright light. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul (he was still called Saul at that time), why are you persecuting me?”

Try to imagine what Paul might have thought. I think it goes beyond just thinking, “I’m going to die.” Paul could have thought, “I’m being attacked by demons,” and tried to resist. After all, he was treating Jesus as evil. But in order for him to repent, it was necessary for him to realize that what he was doing was opposing God. Then he had to decide to give up all pride—to humble himself and entrust himself to Jesus (whom he had been persecuting).

Now, Paul had been knocked to the ground and blinded. You might want to say that, well, under the circumstances he had no choice but to submit. But pride will resist even when it knows that resistance is absolutely futile. Pride will resist when it knows that resistance is definitely not in the best interests of its owner. Don’t you think that’s true? It’s true. Paul had to make a decision. He decided to believe that he had been persecuting the Son of God and to entrust himself to his mercy.

Now, of course I don’t really know what Paul thought when he was confronted by Jesus. I’ve just been speculating. He may have not hesitated in his decision at all. In any case, I imagine that the Holy Spirit had been preparing Paul for his encounter with Jesus. And because Paul did entrust himself to Jesus, we have the book of Galatians, the book of Philippians and a significant chunk of the New Testament—and many souls were saved through Paul’s ministry as an apostle of Jesus Christ, and many more have been saved since then through his writings.

The Galatian Christians had begun to accept the teachings of those who were saying that you had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses to be righteous. (I’m not sure what these people thought about women, but it sounds like they didn’t even take women into consideration.) But, in any case Paul was really concerned about the Galatians Christians. This is what he wrote to them in Galatians 3: “You foolish Galatians! Who has hypnotized you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified? I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh? Did you suffer so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing? So then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (Gal.~3:1-5) It’s the Holy Spirit who guides us to live godly lives in Christ. We receive the Holy Spirit by faith.

And in chapter 4 Paul wrote: “...you know that previously I preached the gospel to you in physical weakness, and though my physical condition was a trial for you, you did not despise or reject me. On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself. What happened to this blessedness of yours? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.” (Gal.~4:13-15) (Paul evidently had some problem with his eyes.) The Galatians had started out with joy and love and complete unselfishness. They had started out by believing Paul’s message of the gospel—that it wasn’t their own effort that saved them, but that Jesus had died for their sin. They had started out with the power of the Holy Spirit. They had started out trusting in God’s grace and mercy and power. And now they were beginning to think that they had to keep the outward rituals of the law and all their “blessedness” was evaporating: “What happened to this blessedness of yours?”

Paul explained to them (probably, again) that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. (Gal. 3:6) It was Abraham’s faith that he would have a son just as the Lord had told him that was credited to him as righteousness, not any outward action. (Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. –1 Sam. 16:7) Paul explained to them that no one has been saved by keeping the law (even though it is theoretically possible)—that the purpose of the law was to lead them to Christ, not to give them a means of salvation.

Paul also made the point that when we believe, God adopts us as his sons (and daughters, too, of course). (Gal 4:4, 5) And according to the experts on these things, under Roman law (which the Galatians would have know), being adopted is much better than being a natural-born son. If you didn’t like your natural-born son, you could disown him. But if you adopted a son, you made a commitment. You could never disown your adopted son. He would always be you son! Once we are adopted as God’s sons (and daughters) God will never disown us. He loves us. And it’s by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ in our hearts, that we can cry, “Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6) “Abba” is the most intimate expression that a son can have for his father. As God’s children, we can relate to almighty, all righteous, all scary (fear of the Lord), Creator of the heavens and the earth and all things as little children to their father who loves then and takes care of them. What do you think of that?!

In chapter 4 Paul also compared Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. One was the son of Hagar, a slave woman, and the other the son of Sarah, a free woman. In the account of these things in Genesis, Ishmael was mocking Isaac who was much younger than he was. Sarah told Abraham, “Throw out this slave and her son, for the son of this slave will never be co-heir with my son Isaac.” It was hard for Abraham to do this because Ishmael was his son. But the Lord told him to do it, and he did. Once you start to live by rules, it hard to throw out the rules and live by faith—to learn to be led by the Holy Spirit. But we must throw out living by rules.

In chapter 5, Paul was very blunt with them. He said, “Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. Again I testify to every man who gets circumcised that he is obligated to keep the entire law (which, of course, no one has ever kept). You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace! (Gal.~5:2-4) That’s a very serious thing. Christ will not benefit you at all. You have fallen from grace! I don’t think God will let that happen, since we have been adopted as his children, but there are other very bad consequences that come about if we start to think that we have to earn our salvation. In verse 14, Paul told them that the entire law is fulfilled in this one statement: “Love you neighbor as yourself.” But they were beginning to bite and devour each other. (Verse 15) Again, it’s pride.

What trying to be saved by keeping the law, by the works of the law, leads to is the works of the flesh. We already read them: “sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.” Paul says that if you walk by the Spirit, you will not carry out the works of the flesh. “Walk” refers to the way you live your life. The Spirit and the flesh are completely opposed to each other. You have to allow God’s Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ living in you, to lead you. Then you will have the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith (or faithfulness—they’re the same), gentleness and self-control, and not the works of the flesh.

Finally, in chapter 6, Paul gives some directions: Correct someone who is caught in wrongdoing, but with a gentle spirit. Carry each other’s burdens. Don’t get tired of doing good. Work for the good of all as we have opportunity. (And by the way, who is it that gives the opportunity? In Ephesians 2:10 Paul says, “For we are His creation—created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.”)

And you know, Paul didn’t say how you go about walking by the Spirit, but Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would remind them of everything he had told them (John 14:26) and lead them into all truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit will also remind us of what Jesus has said. But for that to work, we have to know what Jesus said. You can start by reading the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. chapters 5, 6 and 7). But read all of the word of God. Read what the apostle Paul has written—and Peter and James and John. Read all of the gospels. Read the entire Bible.

And I believe that we can learn to follow the Spirit’s leading by practicing following the Spirit’s leading. Or we can harden ourselves against following the Spirits leading by continually choosing to do what we want to do rather than what the Spirit is leading us to do. Be open to the Spirit’s leading. If you are open to the Spirit’s leading, you will have the fruit of the Spirit. If you resist the Spirit’s leading, you will at first have a sense of conflict, but you will eventually harden yourself against his leading. Don’t do it.

Well, to sum things up, I can say that, although it’s probably rare for anyone to have the problem of wanting to be saved by being circumcised and observing all the rituals of the Law of Moses, there is still the problem that we like to try to make ourselves “more holy” than others. People are self-righteous and judgmental. Churches and denominations like to think that they are better than others (that they keep the rules better or have better rules). Have you ever said, “So and so did such and such and I would never do anything like that?” Did the Holy Spirit lead you to say that? That’s the flesh, not the Spirit! Be humble. The only reason we ever do anything right is that God gives us power to do it. It’s definitely not because we are so good!

And something else I need to point out. When the apostle Paul says that we cannot make ourselves righteous by keeping the law, but that are made righteous by Christ, he is not saying that we should then just go ahead and sin freely. In Galatians 2:17 he says, “But if, while seeking to be justified by Christ, we ourselves are also found to be sinners, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not!”

And in Romans 6:15 Paul says, “What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!” There are people that say that, once you are saved, once you belong to Christ, you can just go ahead and do whatever you want. What they really mean is that you can sin freely. I don’t believe people who think that way really belong to Christ. I believe they are lost. If you do really belong to Christ, it’s true; you can do whatever you want, but it won’t be to sin freely. You will be tempted, but you will want to do God’s will, not the will of the devil.