Galatians 5:16-26--Keep in Step with the Spirit

Keep in Step with the Spirit
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. 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. 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.

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If you've been following my blogs from the beginning, then you probably know that this passage in particular is one of the ones that I've been waiting for.  It is one of the main topics that started me blogging in the first place (back when I wrote more "opinion" or "topical" pieces instead of going verse by verse through books of the Bible and "journaling").  I'd recommend that you go back and read "Am I Really Just a Sinner Saved By Grace....?," "Born This Way, or Born Again....?"and my series on The Sermon on the Mount.  All of these and a few others tie into this idea of Christians dying to their old nature, becoming a "new creation" or being "born again" (I use the picture of metamorphosis of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly, and point to other verses that use the language of metamorphosis) and that there is such a fundamental change in identity that there is "no turning back" as the hymn "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" says.  That has been what Paul has been arguing this entire epistle--they should never, ever, ever have been tempted to turn away to another gospel (because there is no other gospel) or turn back to their old life and old way of doing things.  It should be as impossible as a caterpillar who has become a butterfly to go back to being a caterpillar again.

I think at this point, everyone is probably tracking with me and has had a decent refresher of what we've talked about over the last one-and-a-half years (while I wrote some other things sporadically before this, it seems that February of 2019 was when God really hit me that I needed to speak about this message in particular, and I believe there was a particular reason that we'll touch on in today's passage).  Today's passage is one of those that you'll see sprinkled throughout many of those early blogs and that has colored much of the message that I've been teaching to my small group members--there is no "third way."  You are either a "good tree" that produces "good fruit" or a "bad tree" that produces "bad fruit" and Jesus told us in Matthew 7, "By their fruits, you shall know them."  Paul has just made the argument that it is not our works of righteousness (self-righteousness) that saves us, but he is now going to turn and say that those who have responded in true faith will have a change in identity and nature so that their lives will no longer be controlled by the flesh, but will be controlled by the Spirit of God and therefore the believer will "naturally" (though really it is something supernatural) will have their behavior and desires changed from the inside-out transformation (the "new creation" and being "born again" that we were talking about).  The problem is those who try to "fake it 'til they make it" with an outside-in mentality, and you'll never be able to "fake it" well enough to "make it."  Your "root" will always produce fruit that is keeping with what you really believe and who is really in control of your life.  I think as we examine today's text we will see clearly, maybe even more clearly than in other areas of Scripture, the gospel and how it is tied to repentance.

Paul starts by urging the Galatian to not be controlled by their flesh, but to walk by the Spirit (he will return to this point as his closing statement in this text, so hang onto this).  The "carnal" or "fleshly" desires of man are in opposition to the Spirit and the Spirit is in opposition to the flesh as the flesh desires to "be like god" (be its own god) ever since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, and the Spirit of God is the third person of the Trinity and one of His characteristics is that our God is Jealous (Exodus 34:14, Ezekiel 39:25) and He will share His glory with no one and nothing else.  Unlike us, His jealousy is not out of selfish ambition, but is pure and is for the good of us because He does not want us to believe in the lies that lead to rebellion and destruction--in fact, that is the next place where Paul goes.

Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 tell us, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."  Paul reminds the Galatians that those controlled by the "natural man" (the flesh) will live in a way that is accordance with their sin nature and will be easily identified by their "fruits" of which Paul gives a partial list in verses 19, 20, and 21.  The idea is that the people Paul is talking about identify with their sin and are identified by it.  Paul says that any such person will not inherit eternal life, but will have their part in the judgment that is reserved for the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of this world--the lake of fire.

This is exactly what Jesus says to the apostle John towards the end of the book of Revelation.  In fact it seems to be one of the "closing arguments" of the entire Revelation:


Revelation 21:5-8
English Standard Version

​5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”


There are some things on these lists that probably make us say "Burn, baby, burn" because we think of those sins as awful and detestable and something that we would never do, but then there are other things that make us say, "Wait, THAT sin is on the list too????"  "Are you sure about that one God?"  "Are you really sure that gossips and liars belong in the same list as murderers and sorcerers?"  "Are you really telling me that jealousy, envy and drunkenness will keep me out of the kingdom of God and have ben thrown into the Lake of Fire?"  Yes, and no.  Let's not forget another passage that I think we need to look at in parallel with this one--I Corinthians 6:9-11:


1 Corinthians 6:9-11
English Standard Version
​9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

A very similar list here, but Paul makes the point that those of us who are in Christ are no longer have these identities.  This was our identity (past tense, before the gospel saved us), "But you were washed, you were sanctified [made holy], you were justified [declared righteous] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God."

So you see, Paul is not saying that these are unforgiveable sins that if you commit them one time you are out for good, but Paul is saying that all of these sins and lifestyles are inconsistent and incompatible with someone who is indwelt by and controlled by the Holy Spirit.  If we are letting God live in and through us, then His nature will shine through and our "fruit" will be The Fruit of the Spirit, namely:  "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."  Paul returns to the idea of Law by saying "against such there is no law," saying that if you act in accordance with your new nature, you need not ever worry about keeping the Law, because the Law is also an expression of the character and nature of God and you will automatically be wanting to do the Law from the inside-out transformation that has happened (you can't do it, but God the Holy Spirit will do it in and through you).  Therefore it is never about our own works which are from our flesh for even those "good" things we do in that state are as "rubbish" and "filthy rags" to God.  (Philippians 3:8 and Isaiah 64:6).

All those who have been saved should have their sin nature and its desires put to death as they were nailed to the cross with Jesus.  What is it was say during believer's baptism?  "Buried in the likeness of His death; raised to walk in newness of life."  That is the whole point of this passage.  If you have received and are walking in accordance with the "new life" that God has given you, then you will no longer look like, think like, or act like the "old man."  It is true that we Christians battle with our flesh until the day that we die, but in the death of our fleshly bodies, but even death will not be an escape for those who die outside of Christ because they will continue to be controlled by their sinful nature for all eternity and will continue in an eternity of rebellion against God and His nature and His order, and therefore there will be an eternal judgment for an infinite amount of crimes against and infinitely holy God.  The sin of those who died outside of Christ does not stop at the moment of death, but they continue to weep and wail while cursing God and blaspheming His name, never desiring to repent.  There is no "second chance."


Hebrews 9:27
English Standard Version27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment
If you were to die and stand before God, what would be your identity?  Don't answer with "I hope" or "I think" because you're just telling everyone that you know the next thing out of your mouth is not true.  Look deep into yourself and ask yourself what the "real you" is really like and what God sees when he looks at you.  If we take an honest look at ourselves and the only two people in the room are you and God--there is no one else to measure yourself against or compare yourself to--how do you measure up against the holiness and righteousness of God?  Should God let your wickedness, iniquity, rebellion and transgression of His Law go unpunished?  What kind of Righteous Judge would He be if He did that?  Those who believe that somehow God is going to "wink" at them and their sin and still let them into heaven are sadly mistaken.

So how is this good news?  It sounds from this that no one measures up.  It sounds like if all we had was Galatians 5 we all in a heap of trouble because we probably easily identify with the first list and say "not so much" for the second list, but praise be to God that He gave us I Corinthians 6:9-11 to go along with this to tell us that this is no longer how He sees us once we are saved.  He chooses no to remember sins and chooses not to hold it against us because Jesus already paid the debt in full on the cross for all of our sins--all we need to do is accept this gift of His righteousness in exchange for our unrighteousness as we repent and believe.  If any of that is confusing to you, please as me.  I'll be happy to take a few minutes or a few hours (depending on how much time and how many questions you have) to talk to you about it.  There is nothing more important in this life than making that decision that will change your identity and your eternal destiny.  Will you be a citizen of the kingdom of God and be His ambassador in this world of sin, or will you come to gates of heaven and not have your "immigration papers" in order and be refused entry and be cast out into the place for all enemies of the state?  God's kingdom is reserved for His kingdom citizens, and He tells you pretty plainly (especially in the Gospel of Matthew) what the nature and identity of His kingdom citizens are and what His kingdom is like (there are lots of parables there that start with "The kingdom of heave is like....").

If we have been saved, let us act as ambassadors that represent a kingdom that is not of this world and let the kingdom of God go everywhere we go because we are temples of the Holy Spirit and have the Spirit of Christ living in and through us so that wherever the King goes, the kingdom is there in His midst.  Let us show and tell the gospel in a way that reveals its transforming power and reveals to people that we have been forever changed and that we can say with Paul (words from earlier in this letter to the Galatians):

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Galatians 2:20
English Standard Version20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.