20-0223a Transcript

Preacher: Steve Cain

(0:04) Good morning. I’ll be reading from the Book of Galatians, chapter 5, verses 18 through 25. (0:12) Galatians 5, 18 to the end of the chapter.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the (0:20) law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, (0:28) idolatry, sorcery, enemies, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, (0:38) factors, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and all of these things for which I forewarned you, (0:46) just as I forewarned you that those things who practice such things would not inherit the (0:52) kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, (1:01) faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law.

Now those who belong (1:08) in Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with his passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, (1:16) let us alone walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying (1:23) one another as well.

Good morning. It’s good to see everyone out this morning. It’s such a beautiful (1:30) day.

We’ve come to worship God and to lift him up in our songs and hymns and spiritual songs, (1:36) and to lift one another up in that way also, admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, (1:43) and spiritual songs. I’d like to read Psalm 111. Psalm 111.

I’ll be reading from the New (1:51) International Version. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright (1:58) and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord.

They are pondered by all who delight in (2:06) them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused (2:14) his wonders to be remembered.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who (2:21) fear him. He remembers his covenant forever.

He has shown his people the power of his works, (2:28) giving them the lands of their nation. The works of his hands are faithful and just. All his (2:35) precepts are trustworthy.

They are steadfast forever and ever, done in faithfulness and (2:43) uprightness. He provideth redemption for his people. He ordained his covenant forever.

(2:51) Holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All who follow (2:58) his precepts have good understanding.

To him belongs eternal praise. Let’s go to our Heavenly (3:04) Father in prayer. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the opportunity for us to be (3:10) able to come before you boldly into your presence, into your throne room.

We thank you for the (3:15) opportunity to be called your children, and being your children we are thus heirs and joint heirs (3:22) with our brother Jesus. We thank you for the privilege of knowing that our sins have been (3:28) forgiven, that you receive us and that you credit us with the righteousness of Jesus. We pray that (3:36) you continue to be with us and to glorify the day and your name.

We pray that we glorify your name (3:44) and we pray that as we do that we will remember you and conduct our lives in such a manner that (3:51) is pleasing with you. And we pray that our worship this day is also accepted and received as a sweet (3:56) smelling savor. This is a prayer in Jesus name.

Amen. What I would like to do this morning is to (4:05) determine whether or not we’re walking in the realm of flesh or if we’re walking in the realm (4:13) of the spirit. You might say that’s an odd way of looking at it, but it’s the way Paul looks at it.

(4:21) He is challenging us to get out of the realm of the flesh and start walking in the realm of the (4:30) Holy Spirit, in the spirit. And I had prepared for you the passages that were read in your hearing, (4:40) the fact that we are to be walking in the realm of the spirit as opposed to the realm of the flesh. (4:50) What is the realm of the flesh? The realm of the flesh is the world.

And Paul makes that very clear (4:58) that all mankind at one time or another until they become Christians are walking in the realm (5:05) of the flesh. And because they’re walking in the realm of the flesh they’re guilty of the (5:10) various sins that were listed there in the Galatian letter. And if you want to take a look (5:17) quickly at the Galatian passage, chapter 5, you’ll see that he lists very prominently what (5:25) walking in the flesh entails.

In verse 19, reading from the New International Version still, (5:33) the acts of the sinful nature are obvious. This is walking in the flesh. Sensual immorality, (5:40) impurity, debauchery, idolatry, and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, (5:49) selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

I warn you, (5:59) as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. That is (6:07) the elements and that is the evidence of one walking in the realm of flesh. And so as we (6:15) reflect upon that, what does it mean when we say that we’re walking in the realm of the flesh? (6:20) Well, remember what Paul came to the conclusion in Romans, that all have sinned and fall short (6:26) of the glory of God.

Romans also points out to us the fact that God has consigned us all (6:33) at one time or another, had consigned us all to the realm of the flesh or Satan, (6:40) and that we are in the influence of Satan and walking after the influence of Satan, (6:46) which is worldliness. Worldliness is the thing that we have to fight. Worldliness is the thing (6:53) that we need to overcome.

I wanted to think in terms and ask the question, what do you think (7:01) about the Ten Commandments? What do the Ten Commandments mean to you? What do they represent? (7:07) We know that the Ten Commandments are variously received throughout the world, and especially (7:12) here in the United States, we know that the Ten Commandments had, at one time or another, (7:18) held a prominent place in many of our public places and offices. The city or the city courthouses, (7:26) county courthouses, and various other places, and especially in our schools, (7:31) they used to prominently display the Ten Commandments. And so, I don’t know if it’s the ACL (7:38) that gets into this, but it doesn’t matter.

There is an element of people who say, (7:44) take it down, take it down, take it down. What do you think about it? And how does it reflect to you? (7:51) Well, when you stop to think about the Ten Commandments, what were the Ten Commandments (7:56) directed towards? What were the purpose of, what was the purpose of the Ten Commandments? (8:02) Well, we know that God established the Ten Commandments in Exodus, the 20th chapter, (8:07) where he’s talking to the Israelites, and Moses has gone up to the mountain to receive the (8:14) commandments. And we know that that is the essence of the things that we want to study.

Take a look (8:23) at Exodus, the 20th chapter, and let’s familiarize ourselves with the Ten Commandments. I don’t know (8:30) when the last time you looked at them, but at one time or another, I looked at them often, (8:36) but here recently, I haven’t looked at them long enough to remember everything. And so, (8:42) in the 20th chapter, starting with verse 1, and God spake all these words, (8:47) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

You shall have (8:53) no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything (8:59) in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them (9:06) or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin (9:14) of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a (9:21) thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Verse 7, you shall not misuse (9:29) the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (9:35) In other words, use him as a byword or a curse. It’s forbidden.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping (9:44) it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day to the (9:51) Lord your God. On it, you shall not do any work, neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your (10:00) manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

For in six days the (10:07) Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh (10:14) day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Verse 12, honor your father (10:23) and your mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

(10:28) You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.

You shall not give false (10:35) testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet (10:42) your neighbor’s wife or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs (10:50) to your neighbor.

What do you see there? It is the law. This is what we commonly refer to as the law. (10:58) This is the law of Moses.

And what is the law of Moses doing? This is the law that condemns. This is (11:05) the law that brings about the fact that you have sinned and label you as a sinner. And so as we (11:13) reflect upon it, the Ten Commandments is directed towards that which controls the flesh.

It is for (11:22) the flesh and derived for the flesh. The law of Moses is the law that was dealing with the flesh. (11:30) And if you look at the flesh and you see the law here as it says, you shall not murder.

You shall (11:39) not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

(11:44) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his (11:49) manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. He’s (11:55) dealing with fleshly sins.

He’s dealing with the way that the people of the world walk and do. (12:04) And so the Ten Commandments are directed to and for those who are of the flesh. And it’s this (12:12) that condemns them.

For Paul says, I did not know what it was to covet until the law said, (12:19) thou shall not covet. We have a law now against murder. We have a law now against stealing.

We (12:26) have law now against adultery. We have a law now that pertains to all these things. What does the (12:32) Roman letter say to us? Where there is no law, there is no sin.

But we have a law. And this law (12:41) pertains to all the various sins that we see that was mentioned in the Galatian letter, (12:47) in Galatians the fifth chapter. And so as we reflect upon

those one more time, (12:53) he’s pointing out to the fact that these are sins that are from the lust of the eyes, (13:02) the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

Where did we get that particular application? (13:08) The reading was for us in First John. Take a look at it one more time. First John, (13:15) the second chapter, starting with verse 15.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. (13:23) If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world, (13:30) the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does, (13:36) comes not from the Father, but from the world.

The world and its desires pass away, (13:45) but the man who does the will of God lives forever. So the sins that Paul is fighting, (13:53) the sins that Jesus came to condemn, the sins that he came to make it possible for us to be forgiven (13:59) and put him out of the wall, out of the existence, is done in Jesus' lifetime. Take a look at (14:09) Colossians.

As we study the word of Colossians in chapter 2, and I have to find Colossians myself, (14:17) chapter 2 verses 12 and 14. Let’s pick up with verse 9, reading from the New International (14:24) Version again. For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form, and you have (14:29) been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

In him you were (14:36) circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature, that’s the flesh, the worldliness. (14:43) In him you were circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature, (14:48) not with a circumcision done by the hands of men, but with the circumcision done by Christ, (14:53) having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, (15:00) who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your (15:09) sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

He forgave all of us, or forgave us all our sins, (15:19) having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that (15:25) stood opposed to us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross, and having disarmed the powers (15:32) and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. (15:39) What is Paul telling the Colossian people? He’s telling them that as a Christian, (15:45) we are no longer being subjected to the law of Moses, and we’re no longer being subjected to (15:54) and have to look at the Ten Commandments to remind us of what we’re supposed to be doing (16:00) and how we’re supposed to be out of the world.

We’re no longer looking at that. It’s done away (16:06) with. It’s been nailed to the cross.

It’s no longer being used to condemn us, and that’s the (16:11) beautiful part about it. As we reflect upon it, we know that what brought us into this relationship (16:18) that we have with Christ and the non-condemning relationship that we have with God, and we are now (16:26) walking by the Spirit. What has brought that about? Take a look at, while you’re still there (16:32) in the Colossian letter, take a look at chapter one, and let’s pick up with verse 12.

Let’s pick (16:39) up with verse nine, reading still from the New International Version, verse nine, chapter one. (16:44) For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God (16:51) to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (16:57) And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way, (17:05) bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with (17:12) all power according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, (17:18) and joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you.

God has qualified Christians. (17:27) He’s qualified Christians to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light, (17:37) which is the realm of Spirit, for he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness. (17:44) That’s the flesh.

Flesh oftentimes is referred to as walking in the dark. Dominion of darkness (17:52) and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness (18:01) of sins. What is he telling them? He’s telling them that they no longer have to walk after the (18:10) realm of flesh.

They do not have to be concerned about the evil things that the flesh does, (18:18) which we’ve read in Galatians 5. We don’t have to worry about those things because (18:23) we are going to repent of that life, and we’re no longer going to walk in that life, (18:28) and we’re going to walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. We’re going to walk in the realm (18:34) of the Spirit. We’re going to be led by the Spirit, and therefore the Ten Commandments, (18:41) which was dedicated and directed towards the people who walked in the world, (18:44) is no longer going to be directed towards us.

We’re not going to be under it. (18:49) The Ten Commandments can come and go. It doesn’t pertain to you and me as Christians.

(18:54) It only pertains to those who walk in the light and want to be under the law of Moses. (18:59) That’s all. We don’t walk in the light or walk in the darkness.

We walk in the light. (19:06) Let’s go back to the Galatian letter, chapter 5, because he tells us what the (19:11) fruits of the Spirit is. He told us what the fruits of the flesh is.

He told us what it meant (19:18) to walk in the dark. Now he’s telling us that he’s giving us the opportunity to repent and to (19:26) change and not have to walk in the dark, that we can become Christians, and we can walk in the (19:31) Spirit, and we can have the forgiveness of our sins and righteousness. Verse 22, (19:37) but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (19:47) gentleness, and self-control.

If we walk after the Spirit and under the influence of the Spirit, (19:56) this is what we’re going to manifest. This is what you’re going to see from a Christian. (20:02) The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (20:10) gentleness, and self-control.

That’s what you’re going to see if you’re going to take it serious (20:18) about being a Christian. That’s what you’re going to see. But I did not read the next sentence, (20:27) and I love that sentence, and I think it’s important for us to see that sentence.

The (20:32) fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (20:36) gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. Therefore, we don’t need the Ten (20:47) Commandments.

The Ten Commandments are only for those who walk in the flesh and who want to be (20:53) under the law. But we’re given the opportunity to walk in the light. We’re given an opportunity to (20:59) walk under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

We’re given the opportunity to make that decision. (21:05) Turn to Romans as I try to bring to a conclusion within our allotted time. Chapter 6. In chapter 6, (21:14) slipping down to verse 15, what then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, (21:20) but under grace? By no means.

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him (21:27) as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey? Whether you are slaves to sin, which leads (21:34) to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness. We may as well say there, (21:40) whether you leads to or obeys the slaves of the flesh, which leads to death, or obedience to the (21:49) Spirit, which leads to righteousness. But thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin, (21:56) you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.

You have been set (22:04) free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. So what did they do? (22:12) How did they slip from being flesh and slaves to sin to becoming slaves to righteousness? (22:22) And there’s nothing wrong with being a slave if it’s for the right cause, for the right purpose. (22:29) And we become slaves to righteousness.

What did they do? He says they obeyed a form of what? (22:39) Doctrine, depending on your version that you have there. If you’re King James version, it’s doctrine. (22:45) Well, what did they do? They did what Paul writes in chapter 6, verse 1. You must pay attention to (22:52) that one.

What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means. (22:59) We died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized (23:06) into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism (23:13) into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, (23:19) we too may live a new life.

In other words, we can be released from the burden of being Satan (23:32) and we can dedicate ourselves to being the child of God. But you see, Paul is reminding them this (23:39) because for some reason or other, they got to thinking that because there is now therefore (23:45) no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, that they didn’t have to really make any changes (23:50) in their life. But they did have to make changes in their life.

They missed that point. You got (23:57) to change things in your life. No longer living this way, but to live the way the Spirit wants (24:04) you to live so that you can have joy, love, peace.

You got to change. And so as we look upon this, (24:11) we see that that’s exactly what Paul is trying to point out to them. You’ve got to change.

(24:16) We’ve been given when we were baptized into Christ, we put him on and we received the (24:22) forgiveness of our sins. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly (24:29) also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him (24:35) so that the body of sin might be done away with.

That we should no longer be slaves to sin (24:41) because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. You don’t have to live that way. (24:49) The Holy Spirit gives you the power and empowers you to make the necessary changes to be in harmony (24:56) with the will of God.

That power is there. We’ve died to it. And so I’ve alluded to it.

Let’s go (25:03) to chapter 8. I failed my purpose, but that’s what my purpose was to be done by the right time. (25:09) Notice what Paul is saying now. Now that you’ve become a Christian, now that you’ve become (25:14) transformed from that way to this way, Paul writes in the Colossian Letter that God made (25:22) that transfer for you.

God lifted you out of this way of life into this way of life. You’re no longer (25:30) under the law of sin and death. You’re no longer a servant of Satan, unless you want to be.

(25:38) But you’re given the opportunity to live a new life, and you’re given an opportunity to know (25:44) love, joy, peace, and all that that comes from obeying the Holy Spirit and walking the way the (25:53) Holy Spirit wants you to walk. Notice that. So in chapter 8, there is now therefore no condemnation (26:02) for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Why? The law is what provided the condemnation. Jesus is giving (26:09) us freedom. And whatever we do and say is going to be in harmony with the will of God, as long as (26:16) John would say in 1 John 5.13, or yeah, John 1 chapter verse 5, and so on.

As long as we walk (26:26) in the light as he is in the light, his blood will continue to cleanse us. And therefore, there’s no (26:32) sin. Notice what he says.

For what the law was powerless to do, in that it was weakened by the (26:39) sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be sin offering, (26:45) and so he condemned sin in the sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the (26:52) law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to (26:58) the Spirit. I just got through reading verse 4. What does the Ten Commandments do? It provides (27:04) the condemnation. You want to be under condemnation? Live according to the Ten Commandments if you want (27:10) to.

Paul is telling us the Ten Commandments have no bearing on us. It’s powerless in condemning us. (27:19) There is now therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, and Jesus' blood will (27:25) continue to cleanse us, as long as we’re walking in the light as he is in the light.

And as was (27:31) always pointed out, man will continue to sin. Man will continue to do the things, but he’s not doing (27:40) it intentionally. If you stop and think about all the sins that are under the law, they’re all (27:47) disrespectful.

They’re all disrespectful. Look at adultery. Adultery is nothing but a disrespectful (27:57) relationship.

You don’t respect the person you’re with. You don’t care what their reputation is (28:04) going to be like. Their reputation is going to go downhill according to the flesh, and you’re (28:11) considering them to be dis- and you’re viewing them as being a person of the street or whatever.

(28:18) Sin is disrespectful in every respect, but love, joy, peace, it’s all respect. Love one another. (28:29) Love your neighbor.

Do all these things you see. Respect the people that you have to deal with. (28:37) Respect.

And so he goes on in verse nine. Well, let’s view five and then go on through there, (28:46) and then the message is this. Those who live according to the sinful nature (28:53) have their minds set on what that nature desires.

But those who live in accordance with the spirit (29:02) have their minds set on what the spirit desires. And you see the difference? That’s the reason why (29:09) there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, because our minds are set on the spirit (29:16) and what the spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the (29:23) spirit is life and peace.

The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, (29:32) nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

(29:40) You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the spirit. If the spirit of God (29:47) lives in you and if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (29:55) But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of (30:02) righteousness.

And if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, (30:09) he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies (30:14) through his spirit who lives in you. And I wish I had the time to develop that particular application. (30:21) But you see, we are a complete person, body, soul, and mind.

We are a complete person, (30:29) body, soul, spirit, and mind. And when the end of time comes and when Jesus comes, (30:36) there’s going to be a resurrection. Paul says that when we die before the resurrection, (30:42) when we die before Jesus coming, we are naked.

But he’d rather be with God in heaven. (30:50) And he’ll wait until that resurrection, and then he’ll receive that body that he’s been looking for. (30:55) God saves a complete person, body, soul, and spirit.

Where do you stand? Are you serving flesh? (31:06) Or are you walking in the light? And are you serving (31:09) the Spirit and allowing the Spirit to have control of you? We talked about what it takes (31:15) to make that change. Paul said, do you not know that when you were baptized, you were baptized (31:21) into his death, death, and resurrection to rise to walk in the news of life? That is what is (31:27) required. Jesus told us before he ascended into heaven, go into all the world, making disciples (31:33) of me.

He who believeth and is baptized shall be saved. And he also told in another area (31:42) that you baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. (31:47) And Peter tells us in Acts 2.38 and following that when we obey God, the Holy Spirit (31:58) comes upon us.

Where do you sit? And where do you stand? I’d like to extend to you the opportunity (32:04) to become a Christian, to put off the flesh and to put on the soul. (32:10) Won’t you come, where together we stand and sing the song of encouragement.