I’d like to start by reading the scariest verse in the Bible. Ready? Galatians 5:13a: “For you were called to freedom, brothers.” Woah! Pretty scary, if you ask me. Actually… this is the second scariest verse in the Bible. We read the scariest verse last week: Galatians 5:1: “For freedom Christ has set us free.” Ugh! Don’t talk to me that way, Paul! Freedom!?  Why do I think these verses are so scary? Freedom is good, right? We’re Americans—we’re all about freedom.

The Galatians Reverted to the Law Out of Fear of Sinning

We’ve been studying Galatians for some time. By now, you know the plot: false teachers convinced Gentile Christians to adopt the law of Moses. Paul told them, point blank, that to revert to the old covenant was to forfeit grace. However, today many Christians around the world still fall for the same trap as the Galatians. 

Oh, they’re not getting circumcised or eating Kosher. But they are forfeiting grace for the law. Often a law of their own making. Why? Because they are afraid.

Remember, the Galatian churches weren’t trying to sin. This isn’t Corinth, okay? These Christians wanted to honor God. They wanted to avoid sin and live godly lives. The problem was there was a part of them that still wanted to sin! Just like us. Temptation was everywhere. And they—also like us—stumbled from time to time.

That weighs heavily on the conscience of a Christian. If you know God’s word, love Jesus, and hate sin—you know better than anyone else how deadly sin is. So, although we know what the Bible says about sin, we wrestle with the reality that we continue to do it.

The gospel says that, because of GRACE, we are free. But the Galatians feared the freedom Christ had given them. They thought this way: “If I am really free… what’s stopping me from sinning as much as I want!?” This is a common thought Christians have, especially those who misunderstand grace/freedom.

Enter the Judaizers, who had the “solution.” “God has given us a way to avoid sin: the law of Moses. Just follow it, and you’ll avoid sin.” You see, you have to consider why the Galatians fell for this lie in the first place. It appealed to them—and it appeals to us—because it sounds like a safe way to live.

“Okay,” they thought to themselves, “we’re saved by grace. Now, let’s keep the law in our back pocket, just for insurance!” Perhaps there are people here tonight who think something like that? Yes, you know you’re saved by grace. God’s unmerited favor is why all your sins are forgiven. By his grace, you are a born-again Christian. But… just in case… you’ll hold onto the law to make sure you don’t stumble. You think you need that weight on your shoulders because otherwise… what’s keeping you from sinning?

The Law is a Mindset

This is why I called those verses the scariest in the Bible. Because when you hear “freedom” you think the wrong thing. “Freedom!? You mean… freedom to sin? I have no restraint keeping me from sinning like crazy!?”

As I said, because we are children of God we don’t want to sin. But we assume the only way we can stay on the straight and narrow is by observing some version of the law. “I just read the Bible, do it, and I’ll be fine.” But that is not the Christian life.

 Let me clarify something at this point: living under the law is not the same as reading the Old Testament. You can study the OT books, including the torah, and not be under the law. BUT, you can literally study the New Testament and be under the law!

 How is that possible? Because living under the law is a mindset. This is really important if you are going to understand our passage tonight. To live under the law means to think this way: I earn God’s favor by what I do. We’re not just talking about salvation, here. Replace favor with love, acceptance, provision, sanctification, a healthy family, a thriving church, and so on. Anything and everything you think comes from God or is associated with your life. “If I want it or need it, I have to earn it.” THAT IS LAW. 

Let me say that again: it’s a mindset. Now, it’s a mindset that is woven into the language of the Old Testament—you have to be aware of this when you read it. If you read the Bible with a “law mindset,” you will think you have to earn God’s approval through your blood, sweat, and tears. We’re not talking about good works or serving God. We are talking about the basis for your relationship with God: why he favors you as a Christian. It’s not on the basis of your toil that God accepts you—but on the basis of his grace.

How was that grace provided? Through the blood, sweat, and tears of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Being under grace means we are free. But… free from what? We’ll revisit that tonight briefly. And how are we supposed to live if we don’t have the law restraining our sinful desires? This has been the unspoken question the Galatians have been thinking from the moment Paul started his letter. Tonight, he is going to answer it.

We have been set from the burden of the law

Galatians 5:13-15 (ESV) 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Paul mentions our freedom in Christ at the start of chapter 5; now, he’s elaborating on it some more. The freedom we have in Jesus can refer to many things. In Galatians, however, Paul is speaking of a specific kind of freedom. We’re not free to sin, as some fearfully assume. Remember, the law is a mindset. Christ has set us free from a certain way of thinking, a lifestyle. Write this down as our first point: We are free from trying to earn God’s approval by what we do.

 Freedom in Christ means we are free from the burden of the law. Say that with me: law is a mindset. It’s this mindset: I have to earn my place with God.

You can express that in any number of ways. “I have to work to prove myself to God.” “I have to perform, I have to be holy, I have to serve, I have to suffer…” Any time you think God is requiring your blood, sweat, or tears to make him happy, you are under the law. 

Or if you think you have to be worthy of God’s blessings or that you have to measure up in some way… to be accepted by God, blessed by God, grow in God… through your own efforts… you are under the law. Law is demand. It requires your hard work. Your sweat. By definition, that means suffering in the flesh. Living by the flesh. 

In contrast, grace is supply. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave…” What, the law? No! He gave his one and only Son. All who believe in Jesus have everything they need. Philippians 4:19: And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. We are free to enjoy the love of Jesus without any burden of being worthy of it.

We are free to put others before ourselves

 Paul says plainly our freedom is not for the flesh. Freedom does not mean we do whatever we crave to make ourselves carnally happy. Instead, we are to use this freedom to serve each other in love. 

 Look how sneaky Paul is; he brings up the law! He quotes Leviticus 19:18, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” You see, you can still read the law and not be under it. Amazing! And this is a biting rebuke because the people trying so hard to obey the law were neglecting one of its greatest commandments.

 Paul rebukes them in verse fifteen. All their law-keeping was not producing love but biting and devouring. How is that possible? Because rule-keeping, by its very nature, is self-centered. “I have to keep the law. I have to earn God’s approval.” That makes you entirely focused on self—rarely do you think about others.

Keeping the law (remember, this is a mindset of trying to earn God’s approval) is inherently fleshly. It requires your blood, sweat, and tears. And that appeals to your carnal pride. “I am glorifying God… by what I do.” Really? Or are you just glorifying yourself? 

There is a paradox in what Paul writes in our passage. We are free… to serve. Free to put others ahead of yourself. Paul is saying that keeping the law is not the same as serving each other in love. Only freedom can empower you to do that. Because you are never truly free, unless you are free to make mistakes. The law actually holds you back while it “keeps you safe.” Under the restraints of the law, you will never grow or flourish.

Training wheels analogy.

Now that we have Jesus, trying to please God through our performance is a burden. It’s holding us back. God’s intention for us is not to “navel-gaze,” constantly searching the Bible for rules that we are breaking. God’s intention for us is to be free. To fellowship with him as adult children, not as babies.

Yes, freedom means we are free to fail. All of us here, Christians, have failed hard. After we became Christians. We don’t condone those failures. We don’t just sweep them under the rug. Because of grace, though, we know we are not condemned. We recognized that we stumbled, turning our eyes to Jesus. And just like our moms and dads who picked us up when we tumbled from our bikes, Jesus picks us up, and we continue this journey with him.

Love requires something more than law

Christ is calling us to serve each other in love. To love others the way we love ourselves. That’s not something you can do in the flesh, by self-effort. Sure, there are people who “fake” love. They know they are supposed to love their neighbors. But it’s like through gritted teeth. “Hello!” Even when you are striving to obey the rules, your flesh will always want to put itself first.

But still, there are probably some here who don’t believe me. You still think you need the law to honor God. Paul’s talking about salvation, you say, not sanctification. “I must follow the law to prove I am a follower of Christ.” To live under the law means living by the flesh, as Paul has explained. To live that way is to do the very opposite of what Jesus intends.

Walking by the Spirit means depending on Jesus, not self

Galatians 5:16–18: 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

So, Paul begins to answer the question we’ve all been asking. If not law, then what? If I no longer have training wheels, what’s keeping me from spiraling out of control?

He explains that living by the flesh—even to please God—goes against what the Spirit wants. Paul explains that your flesh is actually opposed to what the Spirit wants. We are used to thinking “the flesh” only means sin. But in the context of Galatians, Paul is talking about living under the law mindset. Because, as we’ve been saying, to be under the law means trying to earn God’s approval yourself. Through your own blood, sweat, and tears.

That doesn’t work. The Galatians were living under the law and were still biting and devouring each other! Living under the law produces more sin, not less. This mindset is opposed to grace, opposed to what the Spirit wants to do for you. Which is why Paul says you are unable to do what you want to do. You are like Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde. 

But there is a way out, yes? He says it right at the top: walk by the Spirit. This is our solution, the answer to our question. If we are born-again Christians, we are no longer under the law. We are free from the burden of earning God’s approval. Which means we live not by rule-keeping, but by the Spirit’s guidance.

What does it mean, though, to “walk by the Spirit?” This is the heart of our message tonight, so please don’t miss this. “Walk” here means our daily life, what we actually do from day to day. The Galatians wanted the rules and requirements of the law to dictate their behavior. Paul, instead, says our daily lives must be directed by the Holy Spirit.

We are not living by rules or commandments that are kept by our self-effort. Instead, we have been made righteous by faith in Christ. And now, we live godly lives according to what the Spirit is teaching us. His priorities, his ways, his wisdom.

Jeremiah put it this way: God will write his laws on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, 34). This is the work of the Holy Spirit. God’s truth is not a set of rules put on our shoulders we are obligated to follow. Instead, what guides our daily life is the truth the Holy Spirit is putting inside of us. 

That goes beyond simply reading your Bible. Yes, read it! But understand that the Bible is not a rule book. It is a means by which God speaks to you. Even when you put the book down, God is still at work in your life. Not because you are perfectly applying biblical principles. But because the Holy Spirit is supplying what you need.

But what is the key to living this way? That is our next point: Walking by the Spirit means depending on Jesus for everything.

 Why do I put it that way? Because walking by the Spirit requires that you hear his voice and be led by him. But you can’t do that when you are trusting in your self-effort. That’s the opposite of faith. To walk by the Spirit literally means to walk by faith. And faith isn’t believing the Bible and doing what it says by your power or ability. The Pharisees were doing that, and they rejected their Messiah.

 To walk by the Spirit requires faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. What things? Everything you need or want in this life. But hope in who? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So, faith is depending on Jesus—not yourself, not your job, not your family, not your bank account—for everything. And I do mean everything.

 You cannot walk by the Spirit if you are not totally depending on Christ. That includes trusting in his direction for your life. Trusting that he will provide for you and wants to provide for you. In reality, he wants to provide more than you think you deserve. 

Now, does that mean the Bible’s not necessary? Of course not! In fact, if you want to better discern the voice of the Spirit in your heart, become more familiar with how he speaks in the word.

 But don’t confuse knowledge of the Bible with being led by the Spirit. The Bible is not God. It’s crazy, I have to say that, but some Christians worship the Bible. But the Bible is not God. The Bible is not Jesus. Scripture is good. Scripture came from God. But reading the Bible is not the same as listening to the living God who is inside of you. And if you believe in Jesus Christ, you have his Holy Spirit.

 Paul is so confident in the Spirit’s ability to lead us that he says that those led by the Spirit are not under the law. This should bring peace to all those still scared by freedom. You wanted the law to keep you restrained from sinning. Instead, when you are being led by the Spirit, you are already on the straight and narrow.

 Question: will the Holy Spirit ever lead you to sin? Will he ever instruct you to violate God’s word? He might lead you to do unexpected things… but never to sin. God promised he is writing his law on our hearts. So, why are we so scared to simply follow his leading? If you say you need the law—this mindset—to honor God, you are saying you trust your own intellect and ability to do good over God’s. Not only is that stupidly untrue, it is shockingly prideful.

 The Christian life is not Exodus 20, it is Psalms 23. We do not live by commandants that we keep with our blood, sweat, and tears. We live by what our Good Shepherd provides for us. His Spirit is in us and he is guiding our path.

 Again, there might be those here who question what I’m saying. You still think that God is requiring your devotion to the law—or whatever rules you have come up with yourself. You might even think my interpretation of this text will encourage people to sin. “No, Adam. We still have to hammer the law to keep Christians in line!” But I am confident God is able to keep his Church—far better than we can keep ourselves.

 And if you are intent on living by self-effort, Paul has some harsh words for you.

Self-Effort is no better than vile Sin

Galatians 5:19–21: 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

Some pretty ugly stuff in this list, yes? Why on earth is Paul talking about this… in a letter about keeping the law? You might notice some of these “activities” were common in the ancient Roman world. Non-believers in this region thought it was normal to indulge in sexual immorality, witchcraft, violent conflicts, and orgies. But, obviously, the Galatian Christians want nothing to do with all that.

It should come as no surprise that this list is kind of an inverse to the Ten Commandments—at least in part. It also covers many of the evil actions God forbids in the rest of the law. Ironic that Paul is bringing all this up to people trying to please God through the law.

Notice how he uses this biting phrase “works of the flesh”? What has Paul been saying from the beginning of the letter? That when the Galatians abandoned grace for the law, they moved from the Spirit to the flesh. To live under a law mindset is to try to please God in your flesh. And the flesh does not produce righteousness. The “works” these Galatians will end up producing will be as vile as this list of sins.

That’s our next point: Self-effort is no better than vile sin. To try to earn God’s approval through your fleshly efforts is the same, to God, as idolatry, fits of anger, and drunkenness. Don’t get mad at me, Paul is the one who wrote it! In God’s eyes there is only one form of righteousness, the righteousness of faith. Faith, as I explained, is total dependence on Christ, not yourself. If you look to anything other than Jesus to provide for you, you are not walking in righteousness. Even when you are, ironically, trying to “obey” God.

Trust brings more glory to God than doing “good works.” Why… are good works wrong? Of course not. But you can always take credit for a good work. The flesh always wants a piece of the credit. But when you depend on God for what you need, including the ability to avoid sin and do good, you are honoring him as God and Lord of your life.

“I get that, Adam,” you might be thinking, “but come on. How can trying to obey the law be the same as orgies!?” God once told Isaiah that Israel’s attempts at being righteous in their power were the same as filthy rags. The best we can do in our earthly power is not even remotely close to God’s righteousness. That’s true for the unbeliever as much as the Christian. To think that you have to be worthy of God through pain, toil, or suffering is to reject God’s grace. And, dare I say, insult Christ’s death on the cross.

There’s more we can say about Paul’s strong warning. He says those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Very sobering. Is he saying Christians who sin will go to hell? No. He’s saying that this behavior is typical of unbelievers, who are doomed to hell. So, how can any Christian consider this appropriate behavior? We should consider self-effort just as vile as this list of sin.

That brings up another point of view on this passage. As I said, law-keeping does not produce righteousness. Your flesh does not have the power to resist sin. Maybe, for a little while, your willpower will hold out. But not forever. Only the Spirit of God can preserve you.

But what about Christians who live under this law mindset? What happens when they do stumble? There is this cycle of condemnation that we experience, if we are not walking in grace. Immediately after we sin, we feel condemned. This is not the Holy Spirit prodding us, leading us back to God’s forgiveness. This is crushing condemnation. We think God has turned his back on us because we sinned.

So, because we are under the law, we try to “make it up to him” by doing something. Maybe we’ve convinced ourselves that works. But, soon enough, we’ll fail again. And we feel crushed again. Question: how long can someone live under that kind of weight? How long can a Christian endure an endless cycle of sin, condemnation, and striving to do better... before they are totally crushed?

My time in Bible college…

Some of you might wonder about these former Christians who have “deconstructed” their faith. Many of them are people who grew up in church. Some even worked in ministry. But now, they are stone-cold atheist who go around trying to convince others that the Bible isn’t true. Perhaps they fell away because they thought the Christian life was this: I have to earn God’s approval by what I do. Eventually, that mindset destroys us.

A word to the unbeliever

 Before we move on, I’d like to say something to the unbelievers in the room. I can’t assume that because you are at church on a Wednesday, you are born again. Paul warns that those who practice these sins will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 The Bible doesn’t mince words about sin. Sin is real, and God takes it seriously. Because of sin, we were all doomed to hell. As we’ve been saying, no amount of good works done in our self-effort will stamp our ticket to heaven. The only way to be saved is through the blood of Jesus Christ.

 The Son of God took the punishment you and I deserved, when he hung on that cross. He died and rose again so that everyone who believes in his name is forgiven. All you have to do is believe that Jesus is God. By faith ask him to forgive you and give you eternal life. You will no longer be one of those people doomed to hell. You will become a child of God, an heir of his heavenly kingdom.

Fruit is produced when we are nourished by Jesus

Galatians 5:22–26: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 

 The Bible memory passage to end all Bible memory passages. I’m willing to guess that most of you have some piece of embroidery in your house with these verses on it, right? The fruit of the Spirit. What can I say about a passage this famous… that hasn’t already been said?

 The contrast between the list of sins and this list couldn’t be more clear. Those who live by the flesh to please God are no better than the worst sinners. But those led by the Spirit will bear fruit that everyone in this world wants. Even unbelievers would trade everything they own for abounding love, joy, and peace. Clearly, this fruit is what we want out of life. Paul lists nine attributes that we can call Christ-like character. Maturity. Godliness. We can include other fruit, yes? Like wisdom, and so on. But this is a good start. 

The question is: how do we get ‘em? Not by following the law. All your self-effort cannot produce these fruit. Yes, you can “fake” them… for a little while. But we all know the difference between a real apple and wax fruit! Let’s consider the contrasting lists again. Paul called those vile sins “works of the flesh.” But these Christ-like attributes he calls “fruit.”

These are the results of walking by the Spirit. When you depend on Jesus for everything, these are the results. Paul says, “Against these things there is no law.” A bit of a tongue-in-cheek comment by the apostle. Of course, the law is not against love, joy, and peace. But he’s also implying that the law cannot produce this fruit.

As I’ve been saying, many Christians are scared of the freedom they have in Christ. They’d prefer the restraints of the law mindset, following rules to keep God happy, thinking it will keep them from sin. Sadly, they are being held back! Remember, training wheels might keep you from falling, but you will never be able to enjoy a bike as it was meant to be used. And living by the law cannot produce the fruit God wants in your life.

Jesus said, “Abide in me and you will bear much fruit.” Not a little bit of fruit. Not some fruit. Not “just enough fruit to get by.” But much fruit. He didn’t say, “Follow the law… or work really hard… or be a good disciple… and you will bear much fruit.” He said, “Abide in me.” Stay close to me. Be like Mary, who sat at my feet and listened to my voice. That requires trusting that God, by his grace, not only saved you, but will keep you. Trusting that, yes, the Holy Spirit is with you and he’s not going to let you down. 

So, how does a tree produce fruit? Does it go into a workshop and hammer away until an apple is formed? No. But trees just don’t produce fruit automatically, right? One time, Jesus went up to a fig tree—but found no fruit. (At that point in the season, there should have been a bud that could be eaten.) Instead, nothing. Just because you are a tree, doesn’t mean you are growing fruit.

For there to be fruit, certain conditions must be met. A tree needs healthy soil, full of nutrients. It needs ample water. And, of course, sunlight. All these things enable a tree to grow healthy and bear much fruit. In other words, a tree needs to be nourished by life-giving elements. This is our final point: Fruit is produced when we are nourished by Jesus.

We often think of the fruit of the Spirit as requirements. “Oh, I need to be showing these attributes, if I am a good Christian.” And we struggle and get frustrated when we don’t see ourselves flowing with all these good things. Because we’ve fallen back into the law mindset. Did you notice it? “I need to be… if I am a good…” It’s sneaky, friends. The law mindset can morph again and again. Like I said at the top, you can be reading the NT and still come under the law.

But if these are fruit of the Spirit, then they are produced by the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Which means, we need to be receiving them from him if we want them in our lives. There’s not a lot of “application” in this, friends. I can’t give you six steps to produce kindness or goodness. But I can tell you this: you will never see this fruit in your life if you are not first receiving them, enjoying them, from the Holy Spirit.

Let me explain: in Ephesians 5:25, Paul tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church. And we men think, “Okay! I need to love my wife the way Jesus loves Christians. How do I do that!?” We spin off all these ideas about selfless love, hard work, and dedication. All the while, we are spinning our wheels, trying to produce love in our self-efforts when the answer is right in front of us. How can a man love his wife like Jesus unless he first experiences Jesus’ love for himself?

Is he not a part of the church? He needs to daily draw from the boundless love Jesus has for him. Then, he will have more than enough love to give to his wife. Makes sense when we put it that way, right? So, why are we trying to do in the flesh what God always intended to do by the Spirit? Why are we so programmed to think we have to do this all by ourselves? Because we may have been taught this way by some—but, more importantly, our flesh prefers it that way. But that is not God’s way.

The same thing is true for all the fruit. We need to first receive them, enjoy them, from Christ. We must first be nourished by the fruit; then they become a part of our character.

Love: 

Romans 5:5 says the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. God’s love is never meant to be hoarded. It is supposed to flow out of us and into others. But, we first need to enjoy it ourselves.

Joy and peace: Romans 14:17 says the kingdom of God is “righteousness, peace, and joy”—from whom? The Holy Spirit. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Why do we think life in Christ is supposed to be dreary, painful, sorrowful, and miserable? Paul and Silas were singing in prison! Thanks to Jesus, we have peace—shalom—with God the Father.

Patience: James 1 speaks of God producing patience in us first, as we depend on God during times of trial.

Kindness and goodness: Paul writes the goodness of God leads to our repentance. He says in Acts that God has left us with a witness of himself, in that he did good.

Faithfulness: is the same Greek word for “faith.” Paul writes in 2 Timothy even if we are not faithful, Christ remains faithful to us.

Gentleness and self-control: when I think of these fruits, I think of a passage about Jesus from Isaiah 42:1–3 (ESV) “…a bruised reed he will not break, a faintly burning wick he will not quench.” Speaks of Jesus’ gentleness and self-control toward us. We are those weak wicks and bruised reeds, ready to die. Yet, he came and breathed life into us—restoring what was broken.

Why did I frame the fruit in this way? It would be easy for me to demand you try to produce them on your own. But they only come through the Spirit. And if walking by the Spirit means depending on Jesus for everything, then we depend on him even for this fruit. Just think of it, if you are enjoying Christ’s love, joy, peace, and so on—wouldn’t you have plenty left over to give to others?

How do we go about “enjoying” this fruit from God? That’s where I think the rubber meets the road. Because we are so oriented to think of our Christian lives based on what we do. Work. Doing things. But fruit is not the product of work; it is the product of life. The life God pours into us by his Holy Spirit. We receive this fruit from God, when we ask him for it. God says we must come to him and eat what he wants to give us without cost.

Each day, we acknowledge he is our source. He gives us our life. He is providing what we need to live. Just ask him and see what he will do for you. That requires something more than law-keeping; it requires an expectation that God is really going to do what he said he would do. So, we either believe God is the wonderful God he said he is, or we go back to the law mindset and try to muster up godliness all by ourselves.

Paul ends this section by saying something he said earlier in the book. Those who belong to Jesus Christ have—past tense—crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. It’s a work of the Spirit. You cannot crucify yourself. That only happens when you give up trying to please God through self-effort and entrust your life to him.

He makes a kind of summary statement in verse twenty-five. If we say we live by the Spirit, we need to also walk or “keep in step” with the Spirit. It’s a day-by-day dependence on Christ. Every day, he’s promised to lead us and guide us. In verse twenty-six, he again reminds the Galatians of what they’ve been doing, their law-keeping has made them conceited, provoking and envying each other. By now, we know… we want nothing of that.

Conclusion: Tying it all Together

Let me quickly review what we went over tonight:

The law mindset: “I earn God’s favor by what I do.” Law=self-effort

First point: We are free from trying to earn God’s approval by what we do.

Second point: Walking by the Spirit means depending on Jesus for everything.

Third point: self-effort (law-keeping) is no better than vile sin.

Fourth point: Fruit is produced when we are nourished by Jesus.

I am sure there are still some who disagree with my take. You might say, “Adam, we need some kind of law, some kind of requirements, to ‘balance’ grace. If Christians just received God’s grace, won’t they just abuse it?”

That would be true, if God gave grace the way we give. Illustration about a generous father.

When we give, it always works outside-in. When God gives, it works inside-out. Jesus isn’t Santa Claus! He doesn’t give us grace and then flies away. The grace of God comes from God himself. And when God gives to you, he changes you. Light always dispels the darkness. You can’t spend time with Jesus and not be changed! You cannot receive his abundance of grace and not be guided on how to live.

In fact, the more you receive his grace—favor given without earning it—the more you will see God change your outward behavior. Don’t believe me? Titus 2:11,12.

Titus 2:11–12 (ESV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 

What is training us? What is going to keep us from ungodliness? The law? No, grace! The New King James says “teaching.” Your ESV says training. The Greek word is “paideuousa” which conveys discipline, education, and training. 

Grace trains us? Grace disciplines us? Not law? Yep!

You know, another Greek word, which is related to “paideuousa” appears elsewhere. Do you want to know where? Galatians 3:24: “So then, the law was our [paidagógos]  to bring us to Christ, in order that we might be justified by faith.” The law was once our instructor, our schoolmaster. The one that disciplined and trained us. Those days are gone.

Now, grace is teaching us. And grace is a much, much better teacher. If you want to live godly, if you want the fruit—it cannot be done with a law mindset. It cannot be earned through your blood, sweat, or tears. It can only come by grace. And grace flows when we depend on Jesus, not our efforts.

Final Closing…

For those who have not put their faith in Jesus Christ…

For the believers here tonight who are struggling… who want to see more of the fruit of the Spirit… let me urge you… stop trying to please God through your works. You self-effort cannot cut it. You are accepted by God because of grace. Grace is his supply.

Begin asking God to demonstrate his grace to you each day. Whenever there is a need, know that Christ is the one who supplies.