I don't want to waste my voice
singing anymore. Let's get right into the message.
Turn with me to Romans chapter 8. Now, we read this whole chapter,
most of it, last Wednesday. And I'm going to refer back to
it again, because as I said in this chapter, Romans chapter
8, the Apostle Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit eighteen times. So we're going to refer to this
here in a moment. But let me say this by way of
introduction. is a very slow work, isn't it? Very, very slow. I know that some wonder, I myself,
you wonder if you're making any progress at all in this thing
of being a disciple of Christ, any progress at all, even over
the course of many years, ten, fifteen years even. You wonder
if I've made any strides at all in this thing of becoming like
Christ. You know I'm not speaking of
us getting this way, but what God does to us. We say and we
do things that make us feel so spiritually immature, don't we? And sometimes we are left wondering
if we are saved at all. Now, to be sure, some people
are. deluded in this thing of their
salvation. It would be foolish to believe
that everybody that claims the name, professes the name of Christ,
of being a Christian follower, would be foolish to believe that
all are. There were twelve disciples,
twelve apostles, and even one of them was a false professor,
a professor only. There are some people who have
made professions of faith, and evidently that's all that they've
made. That's all that has happened,
a profession, because their lives give no evidence of a true life-changing
work of the Holy Spirit. Now, that is my subject tonight,
and it should interest all of us, this life-changing work of
the Holy Spirit. Do I have it? Do you want to
know? Ooh, I want to know, I want to
know. Because here's what it says here
in Romans 8, look at it with me, verse 8. He says, Now, they
that are in the flesh cannot please God. But he says to some
people, you're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you, the Holy Spirit." Now, he said, and this is the
verse I want to draw to your attention, if any man or woman
had not that Holy Spirit of Christ, he is none of this. None of this. Well, he says, but if Christ
be in you, verse 10, the body is dead because of sin, but the
Holy Spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the
Holy Spirit of God that raised up Christ from the dead dwell
in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies by that same Holy Spirit that dwelt in you.
I'm interested in that, aren't you? I sure am. Can you know that you have the
Holy Spirit? Yes, you most certainly can.
This is what I'm talking about. Based upon God's word, I believe
it's a must. I believe it is a must that you
know this. I quote this all the time. Know
ye not your own selves, that Christ dwell in you, except ye
be reprobate, that is, totally void of any understanding and
judgment, lest he just cut you off and left you to yourself?
Don't you know that Christ be in you?" Listen to this. John
said this, he said, "...hereby know we that we dwell in God,
and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit." That's
bold talking, confident. Here's what I'm getting at. If
the Holy Spirit dwells in somebody, they will walk, talk, believe. I should have put believe first.
They will believe, they will walk, talk, and act accordingly. to different degrees, yes, to
different degrees of maturity, yes, but it is in every believer. The Holy Spirit is in every true
believer to some degree. Sanctification is the word, is
a special work of the Holy Spirit. It means to be set apart, set
apart for God's use. That's what sanctification means,
to be set apart for God's use. Now, if it is not progressive,
some people struggle with that word, and I'll just not get into
that. But if it is not progressive, it is definitely definite. If it's not progressive, it is
definite and it is continual. It never stops. It never ceases,
you never cease to be set apart. Now listen, I did my homework
on this. The presence of the Holy Spirit
can only be known two ways and two things. Two ways. And these
things are interchangeable, I mean not interchangeable, intertwined
and related, vitally connected. Two ways that you know that the
Holy Spirit is within you. in the Lord Jesus Christ and
works. They go together. You can't have
one without the other. You can't do it. The scriptures are very
clear, aren't they? If you've read the scriptures at all, you
have to know that they go together. I termed it based upon our text
in Galatians. You can turn over to Galatians
chapter 5, that's where we're going to dwell. I call it faith
and fruit. Faith and fruit, fruit being
works. Now, they are intertwined, they
are related. Now, listen to this. Let me read you something. I'm going to have you turn to
some scriptures. Keep your place there in Galatians and turn over
to 2 Peter 1. Try to drum up all your attention
strand you can this evening. I know you're tired and so forth,
but this is a good study. I enjoyed it and benefited from
it. 2 Peter chapter 1, then we'll get back to Galatians, our text.
In chapter 1 of 2 Peter verse 1, let's look at this. Now, let
me say this, I don't want us to seek peace by evidences. I don't want us to be looking
at evidences to try to seek peace. Like Scott Richardson said, some
people mistake or some people take the fruit of the Holy Spirit
as the grounds of their confidence and their peace. No, that's not
it. Who Christ is and what he did
and where he is, that is the grounds of our confidence and
our peace. But these go together. They go together. You cannot
separate the work of Christ for us and the work of Christ in
us, the work of the Holy Spirit in us. You can't do it. You can't
separate them. And those that try to do it are
making gross error. Here's what we do here. We major
on Christ in the gospel. We major. That is our central
message, Christ and his gospel, what he has done. We minor We
major on Christ and his work, we minor on us and our work. We major on Christ, we minor
on us. And with every message, I want
to enter both of them in there, because you'll see this throughout
the scriptures as I have you turn to them. But look here at
2 Peter 1. Now, Simon Peter, a servant and
apostle of Jesus Christ, is writing to them that have obtained like
precious faith. with us through the righteousness
of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ." He makes it very clear
where salvation is. It's in the righteousness of
our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It's in his righteousness and
his love. He says, "...Grace and peace be multiplied unto
you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ, resting
in him, and him alone, trusting in him, looking to him, according
as his divine power is given unto us all things that pertain
unto life." Life is in his Son. That's where you find life, in
Christ. He is our life, he is our peace, he is our hope, he
is all these things. He doesn't stop there, does he? Godliness. Godliness. I'm not afraid of that word.
I used to be afraid of it because of, well, I don't have enough
time to go into all of the controversies that go on and so forth over
practical godliness and this and that. I'm not going to get
into that. I'm not afraid of that word anymore. It's in the Bible. I
want to know what it means. I want to practice it. Godliness.
Through the knowledge of him, this is how you practice godliness,
the knowledge of him that has called us to glory, or by his
glory and by his virtue to glory and to virtue. whereby he is
given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by
these promises you might be partakers of that divine nature." Do you
see the vein he's running in here? He talks about that glorious
work of God in Christ for us, and then he starts talking about
that work in us, doesn't he? You've been made partakers of
the divine nature. That's the Holy Spirit, that's
being conformed to Christ. Having escaped the corruptions
that are in the world through lust, Beside this, he's exhorting
us. Give all diligence, add to your
faith virtue into virtue, knowledge to knowledge, temperance to temperance,
patience to patience, godliness to godliness, brotherly kindness
to brotherly kindness, charity, and if these things be in you
and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren,
neither idle, nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things,
he is blind. He cannot see it, for all forgotten
that he would purge from sin, not long of walking in it. Wherefore
the brethren give diligence to make your calling and election
sure, if ye do these things ye shall never fall." You see that? That's very clear if you just
open up your ears and your eyes and see what he's saying. Well,
look back to Galatians chapter 5 now. Faith and fruit. Faith
and fruit. Now, there's not a clearer passage
of scripture in all the Bible that deals with both faith and
fruit. In Galatians chapter 5, my pastor
dealt with the first part of it down in Cherokee. It was a
real blessing. But he dwelt more on one part of it, and I'm going
to try to take it all. Now, let's begin with verse 2. This is a clear exposition of
these two truths, of faith and fruit. And these two truths combine
to make one truth, God's salvation to a human being, God's work
on and in to a human being. Salvation is being made a new
creature. That's what salvation is. That's
exactly what it is. Yes, it is. It's not just justification,
but it is being conformed to the image of Christ, being made
a new creature, a new creature all things new. Let's begin with
verse 2, because verse 1 is a continuation of verse 31. He's talking about
telling them not to be bound again by that law, not to be
entangled again with those old traditions and so forth of the
law, that yoke of bondage that Christ has set you free. Now
he says, verse 2, Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, that if
ye be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing. If you do
anything to be accepted by God Almighty, anything, you don't
need Christ. You don't need a Savior if you're
trying to save yourself by doing anything or not doing anything.
You don't need a Savior. You don't need somebody to come
down and do it for you. No, you don't. You just need somebody
to help you out. And that's what most people are saying in this
generation. God helps those who help themselves. God's done all
he can do now, it's up to you. God will help you if you let
him. That's what they're saying. That's not what this is saying.
That's saying that if you do anything, to try to make yourself
acceptable to God Almighty, to work your way to heaven, you
don't need Christ, because that's who he is. His name is Savior,
his name is Redeemer, that's why he came. He is all in salvation
or nothing at all. He is all or nothing at all.
His righteousness, his perfect life, and his shed blood that
pays the penalty that we owe. Him, not us, him. Verse 3. Now, I testify again to every
man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole
law. If you do anything to work your way to heaven, you've got
to do it all. You can't just pick the ones you want. You just
can't pick the ten commandments and forget the 199,000 commandments
that are all the way through the book of Exodus and Leviticus
and so forth, can you? You can't just pick ten of them
and say, I've got those down, Pat, and now I'm on my way to
heaven. No, wait a minute. You'd better go back and start digging
to a thing at one point anywhere. Pick up sticks on Sunday. Whatever,
to look on a woman, all these things, you're guilty. You do anything to work your
way to heaven, you've got to do it all. And what man or woman would
be so foolish to think that they can? Some are. Well, they're
blind, aren't they? They hear the law, or they see
the law, but they don't hear it. You that desire to be under
the law," Paul said, don't you hear what it's saying? It's saying,
it must be perfect. I mean absolutely perfect, not
only in deed, but in thought and in word. Whew! Too big for
me. I don't want it. Like Scott said,
you want to be under that law? Go ahead! He said, well, I like
the freedom in Christ. Don't tangle me with that yoke
of bondage that keeps you under a sense of guilt and shame and
fear. Christ set me free. If you want to be under that,
go ahead. I hope you don't. But look at verse 4. He said,
"...Christ is become of no effect unto you." No effect unto you
is whoever you are justified by the law, or think you can.
Whoever thinks that there is something to be added to the
finished work of Christ, Christ's righteousness plus My honor,
Christ's blood plus my works, Christ's intercession plus my
prayer, for justification is under the law, and God will judge
you accordingly. He'll judge you accordingly.
He says, you've fallen from grace. I talked to a fellow the other
day, I can't stop by to study, yesterday. We were talking about
this thing, a man losing his salvation. That's what he was
talking about. People like to use this verse
of Scripture. He's not talking about that at all, losing his
salvation. He's talking about falling from the gospel of grace,
falling from sovereign grace, rejecting the gospel of sovereign
grace. and having a mixture type of
salvation. Instead of just pure grace and
grace alone, you've got a grace and works, and it won't mix,
like water and oil. Salvation is either by grace
or it's by works. Scripture says it's what? By grace are you saved
through faith. And that's not of yourselves
even. It's a gift of God. Well, anybody that rejects that
and mixes works with grace for salvation to be accepted by God,
you've fallen from pure grace. Grace is grace. You see what
he's saying? You've fallen from pure 100% grace. Now you've kind
of gone into the little mixtures, not pure grace any more. Verse 5, where I like this verse.
We, through the Holy Spirit, by his power, by his enlightening,
his illumination, his His wisdom, his work, his teaching, who guides
us in all truth. We, through the Holy Spirit,
we wait for the hope of righteousness by faith in Christ. I'm not trying
to work your way to heaven, Nancy. I told you I was going to preach
at you. I'll ask you all the questions.
You're not trying to, are you? It would be foolish. Some people
are. But you're not. Thank God, thank
his Holy Spirit, you're not doing so. We're waiting for the hope
of righteousness, that is, to be made perfect be accepted by
God Almighty through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and him
alone. That's what we're waiting on. It's a good hope, the hope.
It's a good hope. It's a sure hope. It's a real
hope in Christ. 4, verse 6, "...in Jesus Christ
neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision."
Neither circumcision or uncircumcision. Doing or not doing is not what
determines your salvation. What Christ did, That's what
Christ is. But faith, Christ is the one
who determines your salvation. Yes, he is. Him and him alone. He is the one. Now look here,
he starts the second part of this. He says, "...faith which
worketh not by love." That's what James was talking about.
You show me your, you say you have faith without works, I'll
show you my faith by my works. This is what justifies faith. This is what proves you've got
faith, that it works. Faith which worketh by love. Now this, he's saying the exact
same thing in Ephesians chapter 2. Look over to Ephesians chapter
2 with me. He's saying the exact same thing in Ephesians chapter
2. We love, I love the book of Ephesians, and we turn there for confirmation of the truth
of God's work and salvation and so forth. There is an exhortation
here in chapter 2 under works. It works. I'm not afraid of that
word either. It's a Bible word, a Bible term. Look at Ephesians
2 verse 1. He did it, didn't he? He didn't
do it, he did it. Made you alive, he's alive, he
has to give life. You have he quickened who were
dead in trespass and sin, just like Lazarus. He had to come
to you through the gospel and say, live, or you would have
been stone dead still. Wherein time passed, you walked
according to the course of this world, like people out there,
according to the prince of the power of the air. the spirit
that now works in the children of disobedience, that is, Satan
and sin, among whom also we all had our conversation, didn't
we? We all had our lives in times past in the lust of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires and wills of the flesh, not thinking about
God and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
just like other people. But God is so rich in mercy For
his great love wherewith he loved." What did he do? I don't know,
because he's pleased to do so. Even when we were dead in sin,
he quickened us together with Christ. God grace you say. And he raised us up together,
past tense. Made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ. We're saved, we're saved in Christ. Seated in the heavenlies in Christ
Jesus. Why did he do this? Chiefly and foremostly for his
glory, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches
of his grace. Look what I've done." That's
the reason he did it, foremost. Look what I've done. Everybody's
going to say, His grace and his kindness toward
us through Christ Jesus. For by grace, unmerited, undeserved
favor and love, you're saved through faith. This is a means,
faith. It's not the cause, it's the
means. It's the fruit of this salvation. Faith doesn't save you. You have
faith because he did save you. Nobody is saved because they
believe. Uh-uh. That's what John chapter
1 says. You're born. "...to many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." Who
were born? God did something first. He created life first. He called first. He chose first.
He wrote the name down in the book of life first. And he moved
first. He sent Christ to die first.
Then he sent the Holy Spirit down here to call you. Then he
created faith. That's just the end result. That's
just like a child growing up. She had life before she knew
it. Yes, that's salvation. Yes, it is. By grace you're saved
through faith. And that's not of yourself, it's
the gift of God. It's a gift of God Almighty, not of works,
lest anybody should boast about what they've done. It's by grace,
through faith. He uses that name, but he did
that. That's his work, not of works. Nobody's going to be boasting
about anything they did to obtain salvation. But we're his workmanship. Verse 10, look at it. We're his
workmanship. He does it. Created in Christ
Jesus, but unto good works." A lot of people
leave that verse off, don't they? Stop with verse 8. You can't
do it. There's a colon there in verse
8, not a word, let's see if I can answer both. Verse 4, you've
got to read that, we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, determined,
purposed that we should walk in them. I don't have any problem
with that. Do you, Henry? Not at all. I
want to work. I want to serve him. I want to
be filled with good work. I've heard some preachers say,
you don't have any good work. I say, right there you do. It's
created unto good work. I'll tell you what, this is true.
I heard one fellow say this, if you think it's a good work,
it's not. When you say, Boy, how does it work? Boy, it doesn't
even work, because you did it for the wrong motive. But when
you say, like the disciples say, when did we do these things?
When did we feed you and clothe you and so forth? That's a good
word, when you don't take the credit for it, see. When he does
it, you don't get the credit, see. The good works should work
with the Holy Spirit. When he does it, you ain't going
to get the credit for it. You ain't going to take the credit
for it. Well, back to the text there. You see, he's saying the
same thing in Ephesians 2, that he's saying here in Galatians, faith which worketh by love. Verse 7, faith is true motive
now. For service is love for God. Here we go again in this thing
of love. It always comes up, doesn't it?
It's pretty important, evidently. It sounds to me like it all somehow
or another comes around to this. Love of God first. Hearing is
love. He explains that in 1 John. Hearing
is love, don't know what real love is. But if any man loved
not, he doesn't have God in him. We'll go to that here in a minute.
Verse 7. You did run well, he said. You
ran well. You started out real good. Who
hindered you? But you should not obey the truth. He said all
the way back in chapter 1 that there were some people that crept
in, false to You don't let anybody bring you
under the law again. Let them do them if they want
to, but not you. You're free in Christ. Not free to sin. No,
no, no. Not free to sin. Free to serve
him. But if you're not under these
rules and regulations, touch not, taste not, handle not. If
you have these things, though, have it to yourself. He started
out in chapter 1 and then he ends up here in chapter 5, saying,
You stand fast in that liberty. Then he says down here, Somebody
hindered you as you should not obey the truth. What truth? The
truth of the gospel first, the truth of salvation 100 percent
by grace. I don't see that happening here,
thank God. It does happen. People get a
legalistic tendency, they sure do. The truth of salvation 100
percent by grace, they kind of fall away from grace a little
bit. Some people do that, don't they? And get into this legalistic
tendency. It's a subtle thing. And also
he's talking about the truth of faith working by love. This
is Christ's ultimate commandment, love, how we ought to act toward
one another. We started out real well, but
something or somebody hinders us. not to obey the truth. That's Christ's commandment,
that's the truth as well as the gospel. Verse 8, Now this persuasion
cometh not of him that calleth you. It's not of God's Spirit.
This kind of attitude is not of God's Spirit. Verse 9, A little
leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Now, I know that's primarily
talking about self-righteousness. It is. A little leaven leavens
the whole lump. In 1 Corinthians 5, you can turn
if you want, you don't have to, but this was a very interesting
scripture I looked at today. you some of these leavens here. Verse
6, he says, you're glorying, and he's just talking about a
man who committed incest, and this man wasn't repentant. And
he says, your glorying is not good, your bragging is not good.
Don't you know that a little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump? He's talking about sin there,
out-and-out sin and wickedness, just a little bit, ruining you. Purge out there for the old leaven,
he says, you might be a new lump. as you are unleavened. And even Christ our Passover
is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the peace,
not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
So there are many leavens. The first is the leaven of Phariseeism,
yes, self-righteousness, but there is a leaven of pride, a
leaven of legalism, a leaven of materialism, a leaven of sin,
wrath, anger. He tells us to put off all these
things. A little bit of it. It goes a long way, and we read
it back there in James, how the return is such a little matter,
just a little bit, a little bit of wrath in you, a little bit
of bitterness toward somebody. It will leaven the whole lump,
won't it? It will fill you up full of just
wicked anger and devilishness, is what it will do to you. It
will ruin you, a little bit will ruin you. Verse 10, back in Galatians
5, verse 10. Paul said, in you through the
Lord. And I say the same thing about this congregation. I, Paul,
have confidence in you. I've got a good name, don't I?
I have confidence in you through the Lord that you will be none
otherwise minded. I have confidence that what God
has done, he has done to you, and he will continue it, perfect
it. And that you will be none otherwise
minded. What? Trusting Christ and him
alone for your salvation, and that this thing is a work in
you also. But he that troubles you shall
bear his judgment, whosoever he be. Now, we won't have that
here. But in our brethren, verse 11, if I yet preach circumcision
Let me hurry through this. If I yet preach circumcision,
why do I yet suffer persecution? What he's saying there is, if
I preach a false gospel like these other fellows, then everything
would be all right. They wouldn't be in trouble.
But he said, I don't. I preach the cross. At the end
of the offense of the cross sees, I preach the cross and I get
in trouble. I tell it like it is, and I expect persecution,
yes. But these fellows, the people receive them. They receive them. And he says in verse 12, and
I would that they were cut off. That's bothering you? Talking
about false preachers, that's who he's talking about. With
this cutoff, I wish you knew what that word cutoff was talking
about. I'm not going to say it, but I wish God cut some of their
heads off that are preaching these false gospels. Cut their
heads off! I really do. If they're not going
to save them, I wish he'd shut them up. Don't you? If there's
false gospels going around, you say, that's awful hard. Paul
said it. Paul can say it just as Paul
can say it too. With this cutoff. Bothering you, troubling you.
Now brethren, verse 13, we've been called unto liberty. Ain't
it glorious? Ain't it good news? Only now,
he says, no way now. Don't use that liberty for an
occasion of the flesh. You haven't been set free to
serve yourself. No, you're a bond slave. You're
a bond slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. And one another, by love,
there it is again, by love you serve one another. Serve one
another. He says, brethren, God has called
you by his grace into the blessed liberty and freedom in Christ.
You remember that. You're free in Christ. You're
not under legalisms, the law, superstition, touch not, taste
not, handle not. All would perish with the using.
You're not under that. You remember that, and you rejoice
in this freedom. Don't let your good be evil spoken
of. Don't let it happen. Don't give an offense in anything
that you allow. Don't do it. But serve in love. Christianity, I've got this in
the bulletin for this Sunday, the world considers greatness
to rule. They consider those that rule,
that have power, greatness. Christianity says those that
serve are the great ones. Yeah, he did. Yeah, he did. Let Bruce Myron, being you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal to God, he was, but made himself
of no reputation. He who had all reputation made
himself of no reputation. and took on himself the form
of a lowly servant, washing, stinking the Lord of all." Now,
what is too menial for me to do for the brethren? Nothing. The Church does not exist for
me, but I exist for the Church. Yes, I do. The Church does not
exist to help me out. You know what I'm saying, on
a whole. I am here to help one another. Let me help everybody
else. Verse 14. All the law is fulfilled
in this one word, even in this, that you love your neighbor as
yourself. All the law. Love is fulfilled in the law.
And here we get into the whole point of this message, the whole
point. When the Holy Spirit dwells in somebody, love prevails. Always love, the
love of God. God is love. And when a holy
spirit is in somebody, love never fails, ever. You might get mad. That's a paradox, isn't it? But
it never fails, never quits loving somebody. You know what, when
are you ever going to quit loving your children, Terry, can you
imagine? My soul. That child can do what he will
to you. You and Eric were loving him.
Why? You love it. It's real. It's in you. It's just not something you drummed
up. It's something that's put in you by God for that child. Look over at 1 John. I'll hold
you place there. I'll hold you place. I'll not keep any longer than
about 10 o'clock. First John, chapter 4. Like I
said last time, we haven't got anything else to do. Go home
and watch a silly television show or whatever. But First John, chapter 4. This, Christ said, this is how
all men are going to know you're my disciple, if you have love
for one another. We got into that real deep one
Sunday night. And this is really what I look
for, not that my opinion matters, but not so much doctrinal correctness,
although it's got to start there, knowledge of the gospel. Yes,
it's got to start there. But I look for the Spirit of
Christ in somebody. I see people that are doctrinally
correct, but they're being snatched. They haven't got the Spirit of
Christ. I think, how dwelleth the love of God in that man?
How dwelleth the Holy Spirit in that man? He's got the doctrine,
yes, but he doesn't do any much good in it. The people I know
that I have confidence in, that they're truly saved individuals,
they've got the doctrine, yes, and they hold up to it. you know,
firm to the end. Die for it if it came down to
it, I believe. But they're also loving people. They're just loving
people. Gracious. They're like Christ.
They are. 1 John 4, look at it, verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another. We're loves of God. Everyone
that loveth, I mean, really loveth now. He's talking about the brethren
here. That's how he started out in
1 John, to the church here, everyone that loved it. To be sure there's
a natural love that many parents have for their children, unsaved,
unregenerate people have some sort of love. It's of God. That's
of God to keep people from killing. their babies and all, you know?
They'd kill them if they woke them up at two in the morning
for feeding. But the love of God, he puts in there for that
baby. But that's not saving love. This
is talking about saving love. He says, let's love one another. Love's of God. Everyone that
loveth is born of God and knows God. He that loveth not knoweth
not God. God's love. And then this was
manifest, the love of God toward us. That God sent his only son
into this cesspool. Sent his son down here. He talked
about love. That we might, that worms might
live as sons. That's love. He's proven how
real love works. Right here. He's proven real
love. God sent his only, well, beloved,
only begotten Son into this world, took him off the throne, sent
him into this world of sin, God-haters, that we might live through him
and hear his love. Not that we loved God, we hated
him, didn't want him to come, kill him when he came, but that
he loved us. and sent his Son to be the propitiation
of bloody sin, an atoning sacrifice for our sin. Now, beloved believers,
verse 11, God's people, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another.
We ought not to have too much Oh, not that. No man's seen God
at any time. If we love one another, then
God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us. And I read
this a while ago, verse 13. And hereby we know that we dwell
in him and he in us, because he's given us this spirit. Back to Galatians 5. But, it
says, verse 15, if you bite and devour one another, If you take
on the old attitude, the dog-eat-dog world out there, dog-eat-dog, then you'll get
eaten. You start biting on somebody
else, somebody will bite you on the back. Back biter, that's
where that saying came from. A dog, you know, we've got one
over at Newhouse. He looks fine face to face. Turn over to Proverbs. This is
what it's talking about over here in Proverbs. He looks fine in
his face, you know, he's got a little grin on his face. You
turn to your back. love to bite your bottom. He is. There are some people
like that. This proverb talks about it.
It talks about those people. Proverbs 11, verse 27, He says, now, he that diligently
seeketh good procureth favor. Favor of God and favor of man,
yes. But he that seeks mischief, it's
going to come on him. Look over at chapter 13, verse
10. He says, only one way contention
comes, problems come, pride. Only by pride cometh contention
when you think you're something. How dare her do that to me? Well, who are you? Well, I'm
me. Big deal. There's a million me's
out there just like you. David, you know that man, what
was his name? Oh, what was his name? Shimei
was cursing David one day, cursing the king. And Joab wanted to
go cut his head off. I said, wait a minute, don't
cut his head off, don't bother him. God sent him to curse me,
besides that I deserve it. I deserve it. Or look at, let's
see, he says, but with a well advised is wisdom. Not only by
pride cometh contention, but with a well advised is wisdom.
Look over at chapter 26, look at these verses. Man, these will
hit home. Proverbs 26, verse 21. Look at this. It's serious. He says, "...as
coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious
man to kindle strife. The words of a tailbearer are
wounds that go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Burning lips and wicked heart are like a flowerpot covered
in silver." And he that hateth, dissembleth with his lips, is
known by his words and all, and layeth up deceit within it, when
he speaketh," look at verse 25, "...he speaketh fair." Oh, his
voice is very gracious. Don't believe him. There are
seven abominations in his heart. Do you remember when, where is
it in Isaiah, six things that the Lord hates? Yes, seven are
an abomination to him. sowing discord among the brethren. Seven things God hates. One is
pride, the first of all, and he says the last is sowing discord. And it works its way down. Seven
abominations in that person's heart, verse 26. Look at this,
this is where I was getting at. His hatred is covered by the
sea, his wickedness shall be showed before the whole congregation. Verse 27, whoever digs a pit
shall fall in it. He that rolls the stone, it will
turn on him. God help us. God help us. Don't let this leaven
get in there. Don't let this leaven get in
there. God help me. God Almighty keep me from being
one who causes strife or contention. Christ said about defending a
little one, he said it would be better to have a millstone
tied around your neck and thrown into the ocean than to offend
one of God's people. And we do it. Thank God for grace. And thank God for restraint and
keeping grace. Thank God. Hope he doesn't let
go of us. And he won't, if he does this
work, if he's done this work in you. Now back to the text,
Galatians 5, verse 16. And he says this, I say to you,
walk in the Spirit, and you won't feel these lusts of the flesh.
You remember reading back there in James where these lusts come
from, that war in your memory. You walk in the Spirit and you
won't fulfill these lusts. What is it to walk in the Spirit?
It's to set your affection on things above. When you're grumbling
and being taken up with the things of this world, you forget God,
you forget the mind of God leaves you, the things of the Spirit
leave you, the God's Word leaves you, you're all taken up with
this world. And then the animal instincts set in. I know people
who are ruled by their animal passions. People that are just
totally ruled by desires and so forth. And they're walking
in the flesh. You're carnal. To walk in the
Spirit is to set your affection on things above. It's to be spiritually
minded. It's to listen to the guidance
of the Holy Spirit. He put his law within your heart.
He put it right there. And he's given you a book. He's
given you his sword. It's called the Sword of the
Spirit. And he says to take it up. We studied that one time
in Ephesians 6. He said, take it up. That's how
you walk in the Spirit and the power of the Lord and his power
and his might. Take up this sword, his sword,
and listen to his guidance, not to yourself, and you won't fulfill
the lust of the flesh. The flesh lusts against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh. These things are contrary one
to another. You can't do the things that you would. You can't
do it. The Spirit in you can't. Greater is he in you than he
is in the world, so you depend on him, look to him, and seek
to walk with him. That's what he's saying there.
Verse 18, but if you be led of the Spirit, you're not under
the law. You're not under the law. are our two great enemies. And
I'm not so sure that ourself is the greatest one of the two. They'll drag us down to hell.
Ourselves, we will drag ourselves to hell if God doesn't stop us. Yes, we will. But the Spirit
of God is the great guide and comforter. If we just open these
ears, by His grace, by His mercy, just open these ears, open our
eyes, our heart to receive what the Spirit tells us. Does that
sound too Arminian? I'm sorry. But the Spirit of
God is a great guide and comforter. And led by the Spirit, you're
not under the law for salvation. or under the works of the flesh. Here are the different results
and evidences of fruit. Verse 19. The works of the flesh
are manifest, very easily known. They are these, adultery, fornication,
that is, the illicit or premarital sex, and uncleanness, lasciviousness,
that is, filthy talk, thoughts and actions, idolatry, which
is covetousness, be overly consumed with anything. Witchcraft, fortune-telling,
you read your horoscope? Hatred, despising anybody's person,
that bitterness within. Variance, always variance. I know people that just like
to argue, just like to argue, like to be different. No matter
what you say, well, you know people like that too. Variance. Emulations, that word emulation
is really jealousy. Jealousy, jealousy is only finding
fault with God's providence. What did you give him that for,
not me? Oh, my. You don't have enough? I'll take
away what I gave you then. You may do. Wrath, strife, sedition. Sedition is that sowing discord. Heresies, false gospel. That's
the work of the flesh, false witness. Envy. Somebody said
this about envy. Envy shoots at others. and wound yourself. Envy shoots
at others and wounds self. Murder, drunkenness, revelry,
and so forth. Verse 22. But the fruit of the
Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is, look at that, thirst. Love, love,
love. If I really married, if I really
loved my wife, If I really love her, I will not knowingly, willingly
hurt her. I just won't do it. If I really
love her, and my daughter, and you, I may do it out of a fit of anger
or whatever, but I will quickly make amends. Love doesn't mean
never having to say you're sorry. It means having to say it all
the time. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. We say it
to God all the time, don't we? If we didn't love Him, we wouldn't
say we're sorry. We wouldn't repent. And I'll serve her. If I really
love her, I'll serve her. Not me. Not my own interest. Her. And this is the same thing holds
true with our love for God and for Christ and for one another.
Not to serve ourselves, but our God and one another and his family.
Love, joy, joy through the Spirit. The Spirit gives joy, happiness,
joy. Christ said, My joy, my peace
I give unto you. Happiness in knowing that your
sin is gone. Have you ever get that joy? Oh boy. Like Scott said, I ain't
never heard the bad news since I heard the good news. Some temporary
setbacks, yeah. Like Sherry said, I ain't not
worried. It's joy. Happiness in knowing
your sins are gone and you've got a right in place. Eternal
home in the heaven. Moodiness. You know, I'm moody. I used to be a whole lot worse
than I am in a minute, if you can believe it. Moodiness shouldn't
be in a spirit-led believer. It shouldn't be there at all.
It is, unfortunately. When it ought not to be there,
it just sends it. Peace, love, joy, peace, worry,
and anxiety ought not be there either. Like old Jack Shank said,
we don't half believe in the sovereignty of God, do we? We
don't half believe that God's in control. Why? Because, oh
Lord, what's going to happen? God's on the throne, and you
tell me. worry and anxiety and concern,
they'll flee when you know whom you have believed. Long-suffering. Love, joy, peace,
long-suffering. Knowing just how patient God
is with you. ought to make you more patient
with it. It will. It will make you forbear one
another, knowing just how patient. Just remember that. Whenever
we tend to get angry at somebody and carried away and bitter and
resentful and so forth, stop now, wait a minute, think about
it just five minutes before. Oh boy, you were probably grumbling
about God's providence or something, you know. Oh boy, gentleness, gentleness,
tender, meek, compassion on others. You read that over in James,
this wisdom that's from above is pure and peaceable, gentle,
easy to be entreated, full of mercy. I want that, don't you? It won't be easy. Gentleness,
goodness. Not only morality and upright,
but goodness toward others, doing good things for people. Faith. Faith. The Holy Spirit gives
faith in Christ and Him alone. Trust, dependence, childlike
following after the Lord Jesus Christ. Meekness, look at this,
meekness, verse 23. That word meek can be broken
down this way, M-E-E-K, meek, my evil ego killed. To be meek is to have my evil
ego killed. The big me. The big me. The big I. You gotta die if you're gonna
be me. Yes, it does. If you esteem others
better than yourself. If you really, you know we say
that all the time. Boy, I'm a chief of center. Yeah, man. Temperance, temperance
in everything, moderation in all things, food, drink, dress,
and everything. And he says, as such, there's
no law. You're not under the law here.
Law doesn't bring these things. No, no. Law won't produce these
things, because you can try to drum up all you can, can't you?
Grace, the Holy Spirit, has to do these things. He has to do
these things. Verse 24, they that are Christ's
have crucified the flesh, the affections and the lusts thereof,
and you kill them daily with the sword of his Spirit and his
shield. Sword and shield. Verse 25, if
we live in the Spirit, let's walk in the Spirit. Let's walk
in the Spirit and endeavor to do so. And let's not be desirous
of vain glory. Don't be desirous. God said,
I don't want to forget who it was, he said to her. He said,
you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. You remember reading
that? Seekest thou great things for
yourself? Don't seek them. Seek them not. Let's not be desirous
of vain glory. That we may be somebody. Let's
rather be a nobody. That's who Christ is. That's
who God calls. In honor, esteeming others better
than ourselves. Preferring one another. The scriptures say, preferring
one another. In love, preferring one another. And I keep using these illustrations
of our children, but it's the closest we can come to understanding
them. I really prefer things for her. I really want things... I want her to be more happy than
me. I really do. And all of you parents know what
I'm talking about now. And he says, in a sense, that's
the way it needs to be as a child of God, upon one another. Our
God, first of all, for His glory and the good of the body, one
another. It's groundless. And that's the
beauty of it.