Transcript

The Battle Within

Galatians 5:26-18
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Pastor Randy Smith

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Imagine if there were inside of you a single evil microscopic cell that began multiplying and spreading itself all throughout your entire body. If detected soon enough, the doctors would be able to combat the condition, but since there is no apparent pain or abnormalities you exist with this deadly disease unaware of the battle raging within. Since it goes undetected, it will only be a matter of time before your life is taken.

This morning I would like to talk about another battle that is often undetected as well. It is a battle that every Christian faces, but one that few Christians seem to realize and engage in. There is a cure, but without being aware of the battle we will not seek the cure and obtain victory. Too many believers are being defeated in this silent warfare as their soul is relentlessly attacked and their spiritual vitality drained.

This morning as we prepare for the Lord's Table I would first (from our passage in Galatians 5) like to share the reality of the battle. Let's all make sure we understand that there is a war raging on the turf of our hearts. Then I'll present how we can win this war and two spiritual benefits of waging a successful offensive campaign.

1. There is a War Going On

Here we go, the first point, "There is a war going on."

It is hard to read the Bible and be unaware that there is such a thing as spiritual conflict for the Christian. Now when I say this, most of our minds will think of the conflict we have with unbelievers. We are all aware of the resistance we face when we seek to be "salt and light" in this fallen world. Jesus promised us persecution as His followers (Jn. 15:20). He said that He came to bring a sword that will separate members of one's own household (Mt. 10:34). As the darkness hated Jesus, that darkness will hate His followers (Jn. 15:19). Luke 6:26, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you." There is definitely a conflict from without if we seek to show Jesus through our words and actions.

Yet the conflict that I want to speak about this morning is more from within. It is not the spiritual battle often spoken of with Satan and his demonic forces (although they can add to this fight), but rather, it is the battle from the present wickedness that dwells within your own heart (Jas. 1:14-15). In the Bible it is called "the flesh" and the flesh is the remnants of the old sinful self. Though all Christians have been recreated with a new heart and now enjoy the ever present dwelling of the Holy Spirit, the flesh is still present and active and alive and destructive. We love to blame others, but our greatest enemy in our spiritual walk dwells right within our own hearts and will be there until the day we enter glory.

This battle I am speaking of is spoken of in verse 17, "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another."

Unbelievers do not deal with this struggle. Just yesterday I was purchasing some paint at the hardware store and entered a conversation with the salesman. He told me how much he loved living in Belmar in the 80's when it was a "party town." He told me how much he enjoyed partying now. And when I mentioned I am a pastor, he told me I didn't look like a pastor. When I asked him what I looked like he replied that I looked like a "partier." I mentioned I used to be a partier, but Jesus changed my life and that He can do the same for him. You see, before we come to Jesus we are not even aware that there is a battle. We just gave into every temptation.

Before we became Christians for the most part we only avoided sin in fear of the consequences. Cheating could result in a lower grade. Premarital sex could result in a disease. Adultery could result in divorce. Drunk driving could result in a ticket. There was perhaps a small battle for morality that was superintended by our conscience, but for the most part the drive to aggressively pursue righteousness seemed uncool, unattainable and outright unattractive.

But then we were saved and everything changed. The Holy Spirit took up full residence in our lives and began leading us toward Christlikeness. Our eyes were opened to begin enjoying and understanding the Bible. We were given a new interest for prayer and God's people, sharing Jesus and serving the Lord with all aspects of our lives. And while the Bible affirms all of this, and we know deep-down inside that these choices are attractive, for some reason we also know that there is frequently a struggle to carry out these God-ordained principles.

You are not alone. Listen to the way the apostle Paul described the battle: "For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin" (Rom. 7:14-25)

Do I speak for you here? Why is it easier to pick up the remote control than my Bible? Why can I speak for hours on the phone, but have trouble praying for 10 minutes? Why do I pay big bucks for entertainment with ease, but have difficulty parting with any money for the Lord? Why do I want to view on my computer what I know is wrong? Why do I shy away from talking about Jesus, but have no problem talking about others behind their backs? Why do I know all the tabloid covers at the check-out lines, but still cannot name all the books in the Bible? Why, if I am a Christian, is doing spiritual things sometimes as hard as running in the sand with twenty-pound ankle weights on each foot?

Answer, verse 17, because there is a battle presently raging right now in your heart. "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another." It is a battle Scripture says, between the personal Spirit and a personified flesh within you. It is not a head-on collision, but two opposing forces seeking to pull us in two opposite directions, one to righteousness and one to unrighteousness. This is the bottom line as to why some Christians honor God and others do not. It is the difference between living in the Spirit and living in the flesh.

If you say you are aware of this struggle, you can rejoice. If you say you are unaware of this struggle, either you are a super-Christian and need to be preaching this sermon, or you are not saved, or you are possibly saved and are letting the flesh simply run wild and have its way within you! Let me be clear, a Christian is not a person without evil desires. A Christian is a person continually at war with those desires! A Christian knows the fierce battle between the Spirit and the flesh. A Christian knows he or she will be walking in either the Spirit or the flesh at all times. A Christian hates the flesh and knows how to successfully defeat the flesh. And a Christian takes assurance of the victory he or she is promised in Christ. And I stress that last point, if you are a Christian, victory is attainable! That is Paul's point in this passage! I'll come back to that, but for now, let's make sure we are aware of the battle!

Let me see if I can explain the battle it like this: When we were in Michigan last week for Missy's wedding we took a drive to Chicago for one night to visit family and friends. And though I lived in the Chicago area for many years, I had never been to the top of the Sears' (now called Willis) tower. So up we went all 103 floors. At the observation deck they have installed four cubes extending from the building. These cubes are made of glass on all sides including the floor and you are permitted to walk out on them. If interested, your brain immediately goes into a conflict. On the one hand you see other people on them and know they have been designed to support your weight, but on the other hand your body hesitates because it appears that you are stepping out into thin air awaiting a massive vertical descent! At the same time the mind wants to go and the mind doesn't want to go.

Same as it is with the flesh and the Spirit. One wants one thing and one wants the other because the two have completely opposite desires. There is often a conflict. The Spirit wants righteousness as all Christians should. But the flesh pushes in the opposite direction making unrighteousness attractive. Verse 17, "so that you may not do the things that you please."

So Pastor, how do I overcome the flesh and what are the benefits of doing so? Let's move to the second point.

2. The Benefits of Winning the War

As I said before, I believe many professing believers are not aware of the war. I believe too many professing believers are not aware of the flesh and its activities and have simply given in way too often to its desires. But if you are serious about honoring God and having spiritual victory over the flesh, our passage this morning gives the answer. Look at verse 16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (NIV - "sinful nature" - poor translation). If you want to win the war, the Bible's solution is simple - walk in the Spirit! Based on the grammar and word usage, walking in the Spirit implies a continuous desire to live all of life under the domain of the Holy Spirit. You see, the flesh is powerful, but the flesh is no match for the Spirit of God. When we allow the Spirit to control our lives by a daily dying to self and hunger for God Almighty in our lives, the Holy Spirit will always provide for us the victory.

Let me see if I can get more specific: Are you walking in the Spirit? Are you demanding satisfaction in anything but God? If so you are walking in the flesh. Are you living according to your personal feelings and desires? If so you are walking in the flesh. Are you taking credit for your accomplishments? If so you are walking in the flesh. Are you failing to read and fully submit to the Word of God? If so you are walking in the flesh. Does unrighteousness look attractive? If so you are walking in the flesh.

Okay, so I need to submit to Jesus, acknowledge Him as Lord of my life, but be more specific - what do I need to do? I can't give you that answer because then that idea will become your new code of legalism, and once you become legalistic you are back to walking in the flesh! Isn't that the whole theme of Galatians! The Bible and prayer and fellowship and service and church all fit in there, but to provide specifics in regards to time, days and intensity would be me leading you and not the Holy Spirit. The whole goal of all this is not that you become more disciplined as an end to itself or even more Christlike (as great as that is), but that you would love Jesus more! And the more you love Jesus the more you will walk in the Spirit! Verse 24 says, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

Walking in the Spirit is not a "let go and let God" mentality. It is a cooperation with the Holy Spirit whereby your will is submitted to His. It is both a yieldedness and a commitment on your part. It is both a faith and a work. It is both a surrender and trust in Him and an active desire to pursue His will at all times (Phil. 2:12). It is abiding in the Vine and the Spirit producing the fruit. Walking in the Spirit is not a new legalistic burden.

Listen how Romans 13:14 advises us to overcome the flesh: "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." So on the one hand we make no provision for the flesh. We detect our weaknesses. We discover where the flesh is aiming its guns and we starve it, and I mean we starve it! We amputate it radically as Jesus taught us (Mt. 5:29-30). If the flesh makes us lust for bikinis and we can't get victory, we don't go to the beach. If the flesh makes us want computer porn and we can't get victory, we cancel the Internet connection. If the flesh makes us pursue drunkenness and we can't get victory, we don't keep it or go where we can be easily served. If the flesh makes us shop compulsively and we can't get victory, we destroy our credit cards. Simple, radical, biblical!

But as Romans 13:14 also teaches, while we are to "make no provision for the flesh" from the negative perspective, we are to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" from the positive perspective. Again it is simply this, love Jesus! If you love Jesus, you will be walking in the Spirit! Salvation means loving Jesus. Eternity in heaven will be loving Jesus. This life for the Christians is to be all about loving Jesus! And this is the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives to help you love Jesus! Love Jesus and you will have no place in your heart for sin!

You know, since this principle is so important, God even helps us to evaluate if we are walking in the Spirit or living in the flesh. Do you know how you can know? It is simple, both the Spirit and the flesh will produce fruits that give evidence of their presence in our lives. If you are walking in the flesh in your life there will be, verses 19-22, "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." And what does the Spirit produce? Verses 22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

So, verse 16, if we "walk by the Spirit [we] will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Or as verse 18 says, "we are led by the Spirit" we "are not under the Law" (cf. Gal. 5:23).

Let's take this point within the context of the letter. The Judaizers were telling the Galatian church that they needed to fulfill the Old Testament, ceremonial aspects of the Law to be saved. Paul argued for four chapters that salvation is not based on works, but rather on faith in the work of Jesus Christ. For only Jesus paid the full penalty for our sins and only Jesus rose from the dead and conquered the grave. Salvation is a gift of God's grace.

But just because we are saved by God's grace does not mean that works (or we can say the Law of Christ) are no longer important once saved. Once saved, as I just mentioned, God empowers us by His Spirit to produce fruit in our lives. The fruit does not save us, but it does give evidence that we are saved! Even as we learned weeks ago in verse 6, our faith will result in love for God and others. Or verses 13 and 14, that we have freedom in Christ, not freedom to be used as "an opportunity for the flesh," but freedom now to genuinely "love [and] serve one another" because as Paul says in verse 14, love is the fulfillment of the Law. So as we abide in Jesus and are empowered by the Spirit, He produces love in our lives and thus we are fulfilling the Law of Christ. It is not us seeing the command to love and in our own effort seeking to crank it out, but loving God and allowing Him to crank it out through us. It is the Spirit that produces in us what the Law requires. In other words, walk in the flesh and act like Satan displaying selfishness or walk in the Spirit and act like Christ displaying love and obey His Law.

For me as I studied this passage it all comes down to loving Jesus with all my heart, the greatest commandant. For me it resolves the tension when I get overwhelmed with the many commands to be followed, but then also read that our Lord's "yoke is easy and [His] burden is light" (Mt. 11:30). It is His Spirit in my life empowering me to obey. God has not lowered His standard in the New Testament. If anything He made it even more difficult. But the New Testament also declares that we have freedom. Phony believers see this freedom as an opportunity to live in the flesh and still cling to the hope of heaven. True believers will see this freedom as an opportunity to obey God as He powerfully works in and through us to overcome the flesh and pursue righteousness. May we all walk in the Spirit. May Jesus Christ always have first place in our lives. And may we do all things to the praise and honor of our heavenly Father.