Galatians 5

All of you should have the handout on Galatians 5. If not, there are a few extra copies in the back that you might be able to pick up. So let's go over to the book of Galatians. I'm talking about it, but I'm not there.

Galatians chapter 5. And we got down to verse 15, the last time. Now, if you remember, again, Paul, in the beginning of chapter 5 here, sort of summarizes part of the problem and difficulty that he was trying to address with them. There were these false teachers, probably basically Jewish background, who were coming and telling the Gentiles that they had to be circumcised. And it wasn't just a matter of being circumcised physically, but if they weren't circumcised, they couldn't be a member of the Church, they couldn't be forgiven. And the Apostle Paul certainly takes them to task over that. Now we come to verse 16 in this chapter.

And I want you to notice here, the Apostle Paul begins to explain how it is to be a Christian and what a true Christian is and what separates or sets us apart. And he shows how it's possible for us to do what God wants us to do, to obey God. So in verse 16, this is Galatians 5, 16, Paul says, or I say then, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Now the word walk here, if you'll notice, means to make one's way or to progress. Now if I wanted to walk the Chattanooga, the first thing is you've got to start. And it's a fur piece, may take a while, but if you start walking, eventually you'll make it, you'll be there.

And that's what this is talking about. It's actually referring to the fact that we've got to begin to walk this way of life that God has called us to. You'll notice another part of the definition is to live, to regulate one's life, to conduct oneself. So it has to do with how we actually conduct ourselves. It indicates continuous actions are a habitual lifestyle.

In 1 John 2.4, or in verse 6, 1 John 2.6, the Bible clearly reveals that we are to walk as He walked, and we're to live as Christ lived. We're to conduct ourselves as He did. And what God wants us to do is to do it in a way that it actually is a habitual lifestyle, not in a hit-and-miss type of situation. The Spirit of God inspires us to walk or to regulate our life in a certain direction. And that direction is law abiding. So how can you tell if somebody has the Spirit of God and somebody who doesn't? Well, God's Spirit will direct us, motivate us, inspire us to walk the way of God's law, the way of love, that's what God's law is, and to obey God.

So that direction is in accordance with the law of God. Now, you'll notice here, the last part of verse 16, it says, "...and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." The word lust here means desire or craving or longing, a desire for what is forbidden. So it is a wrong desire. So what does it mean to fulfill the lust of the flesh? Well, let's go back to the book of Romans.

The book of Romans here, chapter 8, verse 1. And I think what you'll find, I mentioned this before, but you will find that the book of Romans and the book of Galatians go hand in hand. The book of Galatians tends to be more technical. When I say technical, I mean it's more difficult to understand. Whereas the book of Romans is written more along the line of layman's language. It's a little easier to understand. Chapter 8 explains what we mean here by the lust of the flesh and how not to walk according to the lust of the flesh.

Verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation, this is Romans 8.1, to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Okay, so here's the topic that we had introduced in the book of Galatians. We are to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, see the purpose of the law is not to give you strength to obey it, it only reveals the right way. So it was weak. It could not give you the strength that you needed to obey. But God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. So why did Christ come to this earth? Well, on account of sin. He came so he could die for our sins.

He condemned sin in the flesh and he never sinned. So he showed that it's possible to obey. That the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us. So God expects those requirements, standards to be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh. So notice, we're not to walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.

But those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Now the average person in the world, especially the average individual who's out there, has no religion, or just pays lip service to religion. His mind is set on the things of this world. It's totally, how can I get ahead?

What can I do? What's my future as far as my family? They're basically just thinking about the things of the flesh. And part of that is described back in John, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. This is what motivates the human race. Then he goes on to say to be carnally minded is death. And you'll notice in the margin, the word carnally is fleshly.

So we're still talking about fleshly. To be carnally or fleshly minded is death. To be spiritually minded is life and peace. So you and I are to keep our minds on the things of the Spirit, of serving God, obeying God.

Because the fleshly mind, or the carnal mind, is empathy against God. It's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So when it talks here about the fleshly mind, it means a mind cut off from God, without God's Holy Spirit, not being motivated by God's Spirit, under the influence of Satan the devil and all that you see in this world.

That person is at enmity with God. He's against God. Now, he may even be a religious person. He may spout religion. But what you have to realize is that you have to obey God according to what he says. Not according to our own ideas, not our own philosophy, not what we dream up, not what we think, not our own traditions, but according to what God says.

God gives us the way. And he says, this is the way. Walked you in it. We are to live that way of life. Now, verse 8, so then those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

So as long as you're in the flesh, you cannot please God. Now, are you an eye in the flesh? Well, you can answer that two ways. You still are fleshly, are you not? So from that point of view, we're in the flesh. But that's not what this is talking about. Let's notice. But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If indeed the spirit of God dwells in you.

Now, once you have the spirit of God, God gives you his spirit, it dwells in you. You're no longer living in the flesh. Meaning according to the flesh, according to the flesh's standards, the flesh's way of life, and lust, and desires, and pride, and ego. We call that humanism today. Now, if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he is not his. Now, that's very plain. If we don't have God's spirit, you're not a Christian. Period. Now, I didn't say that. Paul did.

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin. But the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies through the spirit who dwells in you. So we have the spirit of God, eternal life, that God will give us. Therefore, brethren, we're not debtors, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. If we live according to the flesh, we will die. But if, by the spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live. So, you see, one of the reasons God gives us his spirit is to enable us to obey, to put to death the deeds of the flesh. And verse 14, for as many as are led by the spirit, they are the sons of God. Now, you've got to be led by that spirit. And not just you can have it, not be led by it. God's spirit can lie dormant in you. That's why the Bible talks about we need to stir up God's spirit. So, coming back to the book of Galatians, then, verse 16, you might want to just jot down Romans 8 next to verse 16, because it certainly helps to explain what we're talking about. He says, I say, walk in the spirit. In other words, live by God's spirit. Use that spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Now, verse 17 says, for the flesh lusts against the spirit. Now, you'll notice the word lust here. I have it up here, and you have it in your outline. It's the same family of words. It means to turn upon a thing, to have a desire for, long for, to desire, to lust after, to covet, especially those things that are forbidden. So, the lust of the flesh. The flesh generally lusts after things that it should not have. Now, we're not talking about whether you should eat food or, you know, things of that nature. You can even lust there. But it's talking about wrong desires, desiring things that maybe you can't afford, you can't have, and you get upset. You can tell a lot of times when you covet, are you lust after something? Let's use a classic example. This week, PlayStation, what is it, 3 came out. People shot each other, people trampled each other, people beat each other up, people would almost kill to get that PlayStation. Now, those many who didn't were very unhappy. Why? Lust. When you lust after something and can't have it, it makes you unhappy and miserable. So, this is part of the problem here.

So, it says, the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary, one to another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. Well, what that means is that you are still in the body, are you not? We're still mortal. We still have desires. And so, therefore, even though we want to do what's right, we find that the lust of the flesh is there. Now, Romans 7 explains this. And you can go back and read Romans 7, but Romans 7 certainly explains that. Let me read verse 17 out of the NIV translation. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. And that's the problem we find, right? A lot of times we end up not doing what we want. So Romans 7, you can put across from this verse. Because Paul said, when he wanted to do right, he found the law and his nature that he did wrong. And he said, O wretched man that I am, who's going to deliver me from this body of sin. And then he went on to say, through Christ, that would be possible. Now, verse 18, remember Romans 8, 14, verse 18? If you are led by the spirit, so again, you find the terminology being led by God's spirit. The word led in the Greek means to move, impel, its use of forces, and influence on the mind. So if God's spirit is what motivates us, what influences our mind, what puts the desires there? And if we're led by that, now how do you allow God's spirit to lead you? You've got to submit to God. You've got to obey God. You have to be praying and studying. If you want God's spirit to lead you, then you've got to follow where that spirit is going. Otherwise, you follow your own lust and desires and not where the spirit leads. Those who are led by the spirit are not under the law. Now, rather than remember, under the law is an expression that means under the penalty of the law or under the law's jurisdiction. So if we're being led by God's spirit, that means that we're obeying God. It means that the spirit of God leads us to repentance. So it helps us to repent. We come under the law when we break it. When you don't allow God's spirit to lead you, then what happens after a while, we begin to just do our own thing. We break God's law.

God's spirit, as I said, can be dormant in a person. It has to be stirred up. It's got to guide us and direct us in the right way. So, verse 16 through 18, I think, is a very clear section. And Romans 7 and 8 help to explain. Now we begin to find out what are some of the works of the flesh. This is now the works of the flesh are evident. Now we begin to find out what is it that the works of the flesh produce in the person. The word flesh is the Greek word sarx, S-A-R-X, and it just simply means flesh, denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man, apart from the divine influence. And therefore it's prone to sin and to disobey God.

Now, it says, now the works of the flesh are evident. NIV, again, first part here, verse 19, translates it this way. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious. And then it goes on talking about sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery. So let's notice, verse 19. We have here listed for us a number of the works of the flesh. This is not a complete list, but it's pretty extensive. It covers a wide range of fleshly attitudes that people have and approaches. Now, I want you to realize, as you read through these, because it's easy for us not to realize that sometimes our actions are not as honorable and good and righteous as they should be. And that sometimes we are allowing the flesh to get the upper hand to win the battle. So let's notice what some of these are. To begin with, the first four deal with sexual sins.

Now, the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.

Now, the word adultery is the Greek word, mochia, and it means adultery.

Adultery is committed by a married person. Adultery is having a sexual act with someone other than your mate. You're married to this person, and you're having an adulterous relationship with another person. Now, how does that differ from fornication? Well, notice the word fornication is porneia. Actually, many of the modern translations translate this instead of fornication. I think the margin translates this. Sexual immorality. Because the word porneia covers a wide range of things. It covers any illicit sexual intercourse.

It includes adultery. It includes fornication. Fornication is a sex act by a single person. You're not married yet, and you have sexual relations with someone. Technically, that's fornication. It would include homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals, with close relatives, so on and so on. You can see the definition there. Then, in a spiritual sense, the defilement of idolatry. So, porneia covers sexual immorality of every kind. It would cover pornography. This is actually the word pornography, I believe, comes from this. So, we find here that the Bible shows that any type of illicit sexual relation is a work of the flesh. Because what God says is before you're married, you abstain. Once you're married, you can have sex, but with your partner. That's it. He doesn't say you can be an alicat. He doesn't say you can run around and you can have any type of lifestyle. Today, they talk about different lifestyles and how that none of them are wrong. That's not what the Bible says. Very clearly, even within the definition of this word, which God says is a work of the flesh. Just drop down to the end of verse 21, just so that we understand how serious these things are. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. So if we practice sexual immorality, adultery, we won't be in God's kingdom. Now, notice the word uncleanness means this can be physical, where a person would say, go take a bath, you're not clean. Your person is unclean. In a moral sense, it means the impurity of lustful, luxurious, profligate living can also apply to impure motives.

So, what it's talking about is a person being unclean in their minds. Now, where is it? Titus 116? I don't have it written down, but it talks about under the pure, all things are pure. You and I are to be pure-minded. That means that when a man looks on a woman, he should have pure thoughts, not wrong thoughts. Or when you look at something, you have unclean thoughts in your mind. Well, this is what we're talking about here. And then licentiousness means unbridled lust.

No control whatsoever, no desire to control this. Excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantedness, outrageousness, shamelessness. So, you find all of these dealing with it. This is a person who does not in any way try to control his sexual desires and anything he wants to do. And he has uncontrolled, unbridled sexual lust. Now, these last four words here, these first four words, I should say, are of the flesh and they deal with sexual sins and attitudes. Actually, there are three areas of human life covered in this list. One deals with sex, the second deals with religion, and the third deals with human relationships. Some of them on a personal level, some of them on a group level. But you have to deal with that. Now, going on, let's notice in verse 20, we get into the area that has to do with religion, if you want to call it that. The word idolatry here refers to worshipping a false god. Idolatry or an idol.

It can be an avarice as a worship of mammon. Put it this way, anything can become an idol to you, or could be idolatry, if you put it before God. Idolatry is putting anything before God. If you and I, let's put it down to the area of marriage, if you and I put someone in front of our mate, that becomes marital idolatry.

So a person can do that within their marriage. So anything we put before God. Now, in the past, all of us have had idols that we worship. I've had people, I've counseled for baptism, tell me, I've never worshiped an idol. And I ask them, did they always obey God? Well, of course not. What was most important to you? You went back here pre-conversion days. Well, it could have been money, it could have been power, prestige, it could have been anything. And whatever it was, that becomes, or can become, an idol before God.

Now, let's go on and notice, I'll just read verse 4. It talks about idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, upbursts, wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murderers, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. So, just to get them all in here. The word sorcery, you'll notice, comes from the Greek word formakia, or formica. And it is the English word from which pharmacy comes today. Pharmaceutical comes from. Now, in looking this up, you'll find that this word originally was applied to any type of medicine or drug.

But later on, in the way that it seems to be used here, it has to do with a connotation with sorcery and magical arts often found in connection with idolatry, the administration of drugs. When I say drugs, I'm talking about hallucination, hallucinatory drugs, mood and mind-altering drugs. That aided the priests of the Babylonian mystery religion and others to make contact with their deities. Now, you find these priests would go into an oracle. This is where they said that they would have contact with their God.

And in order to get in the right spirit, the right frame of mind, so that they can make contact with the spirit world, they would begin to take certain drugs. At least, they were not administered by a needle. It would be something they'd smoke, they would sniff, they'd drink things of this nature, and it would alter their minds.

And what they would do is they would lose total control of themselves, and something would speak to them. They would be told about the future, or they would be given a prophecy. Notice, one commentary I wrote down, it says, The ancient priests of the Babylonian mystery system claimed to have contact with the gods. They would receive special revelation from the elemental spirits. They would take drugs to induce hallucinations. So they were either hearing something on a bad drug trip, or they had the spirit world in contact with them. We need to realize that God never tells us to contact the spirit world and listen to angels, demons, or anything else.

God says, pray to him. And we don't try to do that. Well, these priests did. So sorcery, then, was connected back at this time with their false religion. The reason why Paul even mentions it here is because these were Gentiles, and many of them had been involved in this type of system. They were coming out of it, and he is showing that it's wrong. Now, beginning with hatred, we get down to human relationships.

You'll notice here idolatry, sorcery, hatred. Hatred just means enmity, where you detest somebody. Contentions. Let me move on here with the slides. The word contention actually has to do with strife, wrangling, people contending with one another, arguing with one another. We've all seen people that we would call contentious, and they contend with you. Now, the word jealousies here is a hateful resentment of somebody. Notice this word, zelos, actually can be translated, and is translated either zeal or jealous. Either way. In the definition up here, you'll see that six times it's translated zeal, 5 envy, indignation, envy, fervent mind, and so on.

So you have to tell in context. Now, he's talking here about the fruits of the flesh, and so obviously it's talking about jealousy. Fierce indignation, punitive zeal, and envious, contentious rivalry. So it has to do with hatred or resentment for others, a distrust, suspicion, protectiveness, you know, this type of thing that we normally think of being jealous. And then outburst of wrath. Outburst of wrath is sudden expression of hostility, where people become very angry, and a lot of times there are murders that are committed and the heat of anger.

As the definition says here, passion, anger, heat, anger, forthwith, boiling up, and soon subsiding again. And then it goes on talking about the passion of wine and so on. So here you find the works of the flesh, not peacemaking, but outbursts of wrath. Now we come to selfish ambitions, and selfish ambitions could be referred to almost by the term politics today. It means engineering are intriguing for office. Somebody who's engineering or he's intriguing for office. Apparently in the New Testament, a courting distinction, a desire to put oneself forward, or you can put yourself before somebody else, a partisan and fractious spirit, where people divide up into partisanship or party spirit, which does not disdain low arts.

Whatever it takes to get you into office, you'll use it. You'll do it. Partisanship. Fractiousness. Now, the word is found before New Testament time, only in Aristotle, where it denotes a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means. Paul exhorts to be of one mind of Christ, not putting the self forward or being selfish. Not trying to advance yourself. In the Church, we would apply this in the sense of somebody, and all of us can remember this. I've seen this happen many times, where someone comes to the Church, and first thing, they push themselves.

They want to be recognized. They want to be ordained. And so, whatever means that they can do to be in front of the ministry, or to appear good or righteous, or whatever, they do it. James 3.14 speaks against having selfishness, or self-promoting in your heart. All I say is that you see this certainly when it comes to the politics of this world, one party against another party, and how they wrangle with one another.

The word dissensions has to do with divisions to be divided. And all you've got to do is look at the world and ask yourself, is this world divided? Absolutely. Labor against management. Parents against children. Children against parents. Husbands against wife. Labor against management. One nation against another nation. I mean, you can go on and on and on. You could think of hundreds of different ways that you have division and dissension in the world.

Then the word heresies. The word heresy can be a sect, and it's quite often used, of a sect. It is a body of men following their own tenets, their own doctrines, their own ideas, a sect or a party. Dissensions arising from diversity of opinions and aims. So what you find is that we have, many times, heresies. A heresy would be a deviation from accepted doctrine. And going off and coming up with your own doctrine, your own tenets.

Where do sects come from? Where do parties come from? Well, in religion, especially, they come because somebody says, well, they come up with their own idea. And so therefore that creates a division between us, and boom, they leave over an idea. And then they go about trying to teach it and get other people to believe them.

And then what happens is somebody within that group comes up with a different idea, they split off, and then they try to get people. In this country, there are thousands of sects, what would be classified as sects. There are literally dozens and dozens, maybe hundreds of major denominations. And then off of each one of these, there have been sects and parties and splits at infinitum. They go on and on.

Okay, going on here, then in verse 21 again, envy, murderers, drunkenness, revelries. Word envy refers to envy.

It means greed, jealousy, covetousness. Somebody who is envious to somebody else is jealous of them, greedy, wish they had what they had, whether it's a possession or possessions or whatever it might be. The word murder means murder.

To kill somebody, to murder somebody, to be slain. If you've been murdered, you've been slain. You've been killed, one way or the other. Drunketness. We're not keeping up here with the slides. We have envy, and we have murders, and then we have drunkenness. Drunketness means intoxication. Somebody becomes intoxicated. People become intoxicated. They become belligerent. Some become happy. Some cry. Some are miserable. Some want to fight. You go on and on. And then revelries. A revel or carousal.

A nocturnal and riotous procession of half-drunken and frolicsome folks or fellas who, after supper, parade through the streets with torches and music in honor of Bacchus or some other deity and sing and play before houses of male and female friends. Hence, they use generally a feast and drinking parties that are protracted to late at night and indulged in rivalry. How many times have you read in the paper, those who read sports section, of some ballplayer who got arrested at two in the morning, where was he? We just left the bar. Why in the world are you at a bar at two in the morning or three in the morning with your friends or lack of friends? Well, you find that this is what goes on in the world. So this is talking about type of things that go on sometimes at fraternity parties. It can be anywhere where people begin to drink and party and corrals. Now, the last part of verse 21 says, "...of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Now, what's the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian? A Christian does not practice these things. The word practice means continual, habitual action. It's a way of life. And so you'll find that for some people this is a way of life with them. Now, you and I, it may have been a way of life in the past, but we repent. We're trying to change. So you can do some of these same things, but you're not doing it by practicing it or living it continually or habitually as a way of life. You and I are to inherit the kingdom of God. The Bible talks about many... or I won't say just the Bible, but you'll find that science has discovered many different kingdoms. There's the mineral kingdom. There's the vegetable kingdom. There's the animal kingdom. There's the human kingdom. There's the angelic kingdom. And there's the God kingdom. Now, God says that you and I, who live in this human kingdom, can one day be in the God kingdom, the kingdom of God. Now, that's only six. Somewhere we've missed one. There's got to be seven of these, but they're six, at least, that we know of. Now, going on in verse 22, we see the opposite side of the coin. But the fruit of the spirit is... I want you to notice it doesn't say fruits. It says fruit. This is what God's spirit will produce. And these are the characteristics or the attributes of the fruit that God's spirit produces. Just like you could look at a piece of... let's say an apple. You could say it's red, it's shiny, it's delicious, it's plump, it's juicy, and you have all kinds of characteristics and descriptions of it. So it is, when you receive God's spirit, there's a fruit that it produces. And here are the characteristics of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there's no law. There's no law against having these characteristics.

The word fruit, carpos, means, guess what? Fruit. And part of the definition is like fruit on a tree. A person who is led by God's spirit will produce this kind of fruit in his life. Those who follow the flesh will produce the above-mentioned fruit.

A tree is known by its fruit. What kind of fruit does an apple tree produce? Apples! A pear tree produces pears.

Trees produce certain fruits. Well, if you and I are a Christian, there are certain fruits that we will produce. If you're not a Christian, then there are certain lusts of the flesh and works of the flesh that you will produce. As Christ said, by their fruits you shall know them. So we can know those who are truly striving to obey God, and those who are not by their fruits. So I don't have to judge them. God's word. Judges. Now, let's notice very quickly the fruits of the spirit, as they're mentioned. The word love is agape or agape. This is the word that is normally used in the writers in the New Testament, used to describe God's love. It can be translated brotherly love, affection, goodwill, love, benevolence, as you see here. It has to do with respect, devotion, and affection that leads to willing self-sacrifice service. It's the love that God had for us, and that He was willing to send His Son to the earth. It was a love that Christ had that He was willing to die for His sins. It was a self-sacrificing service, and love, and respect, and devotion. So you and I are to have the love of God within us. Now the word joy means joy, gladness.

It just so happens that the word implies being happy or well-being. From this perspective, happiness and well-being, and knowing that we are right with God, that we truly are a Christian, that we are the sons of God, and it's not based upon physical circumstances. Our joy is not based upon whether we got a raise or not, or how much money we make. Now sure, I will admit that those things, if you're blessed in the material area, that that can bring a certain amount of happiness. But that's not the joy that this is talking about. This is talking about joy, the God in part through His Spirit. And it has nothing to do with the physical circumstances. It has to do with that we know that we are God's children, that we're obeying God, and we're serving Him. And so therefore, it is a joy that God gives to us. Now the word peace here has to do with true peace. Now the word talks about peace. In fact, there's even a prophecy in the Bible that says at the end of time, man will say peace, peace, and yet there is no peace. They'll say peace, peace because maybe for a short period of time nations aren't fighting one another, and so they think they have peace. But nations, when they're not fighting one another, are arming. They're building their military. They're getting ready. And they're planning how they're going to attack their enemies. But real peace, as you'll see here, has to do with harmony, peace between individuals, harmony, concord, security, safety, prosperity, felicity, and it says because peace and harmony make and keep things safe, of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ and so fearing nothing from God, content with this earthly lot, whatever sort it is. As Paul said, whatever state I find myself in, I've learned to be happy. I've learned to abound. I've learned to abase. And the Apostle Paul was an example of that. There were times he was naked, and times he abounded. And so what you find, Christ gives us his peace. And we don't have time to go through all of those scriptures, but the Bible very clearly shows that God gives us peace that passes all understanding. Now, the word long suffering has to do with patience, forbearance. So you and I are to have patience. The word kindness has to do with moral goodness and integrity, kindness. It has to do with tender concern for others. Somebody who is kind is tender. You're not kind if you see somebody, you just run over them. You bop them on the nose. No, it's tender concern for other people. And then it goes on to talk about goodness. Goodness is upright of heart, goodness, kindness. Moral and spiritual excellence is what it's talking about. A person is good, morally, spiritually, upright in our hearts, in our minds, in how we live. And then the word faithfulness. I didn't put all the definition of faithfulness down because it's quite a large definition, just the heart and core of it. Basically, it is a conviction of the truth of anything, a belief. Faithfulness comes from pistis from which we get the word faith. You'll notice, 239 times you have faith. I don't know, I didn't continue the definition here. It is the character of one who can be relied upon. Can we rely upon God? The answer is yes. So when we have faith, we say that we're relying upon God. It is belief with the predominant idea of trust. We trust God. He is the Creator. So it's a belief equated with trust and conviction. So, brethren, if we are faithful, can people rely upon us? Are you reliable? Can people trust us? Do we have the character that somebody knows if we're given something to do? We will do.

Now, going on, gentleness has to do with gentleness, mildness, meekness. Now, the best example I can think of of gentleness, as far as an illustration in the Bible, Paul said, We were among you like a nursing mother who gently nurses her child. See a mom who is nursing her child and holds her child against her breasts and coups and plays with and talks to a child. Paul said, that's how we treated you. That's how we dealt with you as members of the church. We weren't harsh, we weren't mean, but we were gentle. And then, finally, it talks about self-control.

Self-control means one who masters his desires and passions, his sensual appetites. You and I are to have self-control. That means we rule over the desires of the flesh. We don't allow them to control us, but we control them. Our appetites don't control us, our desires don't control us, but we are able to rule over them. Now, notice here in verse 22, the New Revised Standard Version, it says, By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There's no law against such things. So there's no law saying that you shouldn't be this way. Actually, the law says the opposite, that if you obey the law, then you will be this way. Now, let's move on here quickly. Those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with his passions and desires. You'll find that there are four times in the New Testament that the word crucifixion does not refer to Christ, but refers to us. And this is one of them, that we have crucified the flesh. We've taken it out there, we've nailed it to the stake or the lacrosse, and the object is that it is to die. We are to kill the works of the flesh. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. And what's the difference between living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit? Or is there a difference? Are both of them sort of synonymous? The word live in the Spirit here, the word live means to live past life and the manner of living and acting. Living in the Spirit talks about, partially about how we live our life.

You'll notice one of the definitions of mortals or character. It has to do with our character. Now, we walk in the Spirit. The expression here means to proceed in a row as a march of the soldiers. Go in order. You can see soldiers marching. One, two, three, four. They're marching along.

To go on prosperously, to turn out well, to direct one's life, to live. So, how do these differ from one another? Well, Westward Study, the Bible, has this to say about it. Galatians were living with reference to the Spirit by the sense that the new divine life, resident in their being, was supplied by the Spirit. You and I, when we are converted, are given God's Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit is a new life, a new life source, a new power source within us. Now, Paul says, in view of the fact that Galatians have a new life principle operating in your being, then walk by the Spirit. In other words, use that Spirit to march through life, to live, to go on a straight line. If it's talking about soldiers marching, then they follow orders. They march. You and I are to march, or to walk on a straight line, to conduct oneself rightly. Thus, the exhortation to the Galatians, who have divine life, resident in their being, is to conduct themselves under the guidance, impulse, and energy of that life. And so that's basically what it's talking about.

So he goes on to say, let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. So you and I are not to live that way. We're to live motivated, inspired by God's Spirit. Now, that brings us to chapter 6. I've got two sets of notes on chapter 6, and one of them I did today, so I'll use those. Let's go over to chapter 6, and this is a, it's not a technical chapter. We should be able to go through it pretty quickly.

I put up here the quote from a Westworld study, the last part of the quote that I quoted to you. Now, let's notice, beginning in verse 1. Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness. Considering yourself, lest you also be tempted, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks himself to be something when he's nothing, he deceives himself, but let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. Let each one shall bear his own load. Now, these sort of go, this section sort of goes together. Now, notice, the words here, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, literally the word means to be called. Now, it may imply that the person was actually seen committing to sin. But if you see somebody out here smoking, or somebody out here beating their wife, you know, kicking their kids, or whatever. Or, it could mean, either one would certainly be permissible in explanation, he was caught or snared by the sin itself. Because it says, a man, or a brother, and if a man is overcome are caught in any transgression. So, it could imply that, you know, he's taken by that. You who are spiritual. Now, you see what that implies, and there are a lot of other scriptures you could tie in with this. But if you're going to try to help somebody who has a problem, you need to make sure that you're close to God. And before you just go jump on that person, you better go maybe pray, study, make sure that you are right with God yourself. That you are to restore. Not harm, not damage, not kick out, but try to restore. That's the objective. The word restore means to mend or repair. It was used as setting a broken bone. Like you break a bone, and you set it, and you mend it, or repairing a dislocated limb. So we try then to restore in the spirit of gentleness. So you see again, to be gentle, not harsh. Considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Now verse 2, bear one another's burden, and so fulfill the law of Christ. The word burden deals with extra heavy loads. A burden are extra heavy loads that you have to carry. They represent difficult problems that people have trouble dealing with. So sometimes there are burdens that we have to deal with. So we're told bear one another's burden. So if you know that a person is going through a difficulty or a problem, you try to help them. You try to encourage them in any way that you can assist them. So you fulfill the law of Christ. You're showing love to that individual. Love is the fulfilling of the law. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Again, if you think that you are spiritual, and yet you have the same type of problems, how are you going to be able to help someone? So we're told not to be self-deceiving in this situation. But verse 4 ties in with it, but let each one examine his own work.

Too often we're concerned about what other people are doing instead of looking at ourselves and seeing our own faults. It's easy for us to see the faults of everybody else, but it's harder for us to see our own mistakes. The word examine means to approve something after testing it. So what this means is we as believers must first be sure that our lives are right with God before trying to give spiritual help to others. What did Jesus Christ say in Matthew 7, verses 3 and 4? He said, take the beam out of your own eye before you try to take a splinter out of somebody else's eye. That's what he's talking about here. And then he goes on to say here, And then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, not in another.

In other words, if a believer is going to rejoice or boast or feel good about anything, it should be before God in knowing that he's overcome. You've conquered a problem. And not boasting about your accomplishments compared to others. Sometimes we can boast about our good deeds or what we've done or these type of things. Or we can compare ourselves to others, and we can put them down in our minds, or before other people. Well, God says don't do that. And verse 5, For each one shall bury his own load. The word load, bury his own load, does not contradict what we read over here in verse 2, where it says, bear one another's burdens. These are different words. A load has a connotation of difficulty. It's not talking about a great burden that you've got this big load on you. It refers to life's routine obligations, the things in life that are routine. And so what it means is that God requires us to meet those responsibilities, those duties, the routine things that we do. And verse 6, Let him who has taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. So it's talking about material compensation, that those who are in the position of teaching, those who live by the Gospel, or those who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel.

Do not be deceived.

God is not mocked for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Okay. If you want beans, you better plant beans. If you want okra, you better plant okra. You harvest what you plant. I mean, that's so simple. We all understand it in the agricultural sense. But notice verse 8, He who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption. Sowing to the flesh means pandering to the flesh's evil desires. So if you sow to the flesh, you will reap corruption. The word means degeneration, as in decaying food. We talk about, well, food can become corrupt, and you wouldn't eat it. You go to a picnic, and you've got food out there in the hot sun. After a while, it could be very dangerous to eat it. It could become corrupt. What you find is this, sin always corrupts, and when left unchecked, progressively worsens a person's character, leads a person to have worse character within themselves. 2 Corinthians 9-6 says also, if we sow sparingly, we will reap sparingly. So what are the options here? Well, he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption. You will end up in decay. In the resurrection, you won't be changed. Now, you'll decay. But he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life. So you and I are to sow to God's Spirit. It says, let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart. Now, it's very easy to be in the church 30, 40, 50 years and become weary while doing not want to do anymore. Just sit back and not be involved. Rather than we can't do that. Notice it says, in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart. The word due season means during the harvest season. Let me read verse 9 to you out of the New Revised Standard Version. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time if we do not give up. See, when is it that the crop is ready? At harvest time. Not when you just plant it. Not when you're just hoeing it. Not when it first comes up. But give it time to go through the growing season and then eventually there will be a harvest season. And there's coming a time when God will harvest the crop, His people, and we will have an opportunity then to be given our reward. Verse 10, therefore, is we have opportunity.

You and I all have opportunity. The word opportunity in Greek refers to a distinct fixed time period rather than just occasional moments. When the opportunity presents itself or a need presents itself, that's when we should help other people. There are times when somebody's going through something, that's an opportunity. Or when there's a need, that's an opportunity. So as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, to everybody, your neighbor, anyone that you might see, especially to those of the household of faith. Okay, that's especially to God's people, to the church, to the brethren. Verse 11, see with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand?

Now, large letters can be interpreted in two different ways. Back in chapter 4 verses 13 through 15, we get the impression that Paul had poor eyesight. And he may, if he wrote this letter, had to use very large letters.

And so, you know, that might be what he's referring to. Or he could have used block letters instead of the normal cursive style that a scribe would write, a professional scribe. He says, I've written with my own hands. The indication here is that Paul wrote this whole book with his hands. A lot of times Paul would write a sentence or two at the end to let them know that the book was from him. But he wrote this whole book, didn't just make a brief statement at the end. And the reason for that is so that they would know it was not a forgery, that it was from Paul himself. He was dealing with an issue here of false teachers, and he wanted to make sure that they knew that this came from Paul. Verse 12, as many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these try to compel you to be circumcised. Only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. Now, again, you find that these false teachers were coming along. They wanted to impress other people. And so therefore they were telling them that they had to be circumcised. And the only reason they were teaching circumcised, they didn't want to be persecuted. You see, if you were circumcised, then the Jews might not persecute you. So they didn't want to suffer persecution, social or financial, being ostracized. So verse 13, for not even those who are circumcised keep the law. See, they're not interested in obeying God, keeping the law. But they desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. In other words, that you might become a part of their party, that they could claim you as converts or followers. So he said, this is what their real motive is. You know, it's not what they tell you. But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. So Paul said he gloried in the cross of Christ. Why? Well, because Jesus Christ died on the cross, shed his blood, and our sins can be forgiven. So what he's saying, he's not just talking about the wooden stake, he's talking about Christ's sacrifice. And to heal glory in that, that his sins can be forgiven and not in circumcision. Circumcision, physical circumcision, does not make you a member of the church, does not give you the Holy Spirit. It is spiritual circumcision that does. So we find in verse 15, for in Christ Jesus, either circumcision or uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. So it is a new creation that we're interested in. If you want to read a parallel account, go back and read chapters 9, 10, and 11 of the book of Romans. Especially chapter 11, because it shows how the Gentiles were grafted into Israel. Let's notice in verse 16.

Brethren, today we are spiritual Israel. Not just the physical nation of Israel. Many of you here may be Manassites, could be Ephraimites. Some of you may be Levites. But that doesn't make you a member of the church. What makes you a member of the church is if you have God's Spirit and you become a part of spiritual Israel. Now, he says, verse 17, Verse 17, So he ends the book talking about grace. God's grace, God's mercy, God's forgiveness to be with them. Okay, that brings us to the end of Galatians.

I'd like to just mention, just in finishing up here, that if any of you have any thoughts about a topic or a book that you'd like to see covered, please let me know, because we'll be thinking about that in beginning a new series then in December. Okay, thank you.