Freedom is Here: A Study of Galatians | Donovan Rillion | Living by the Spirit

Everybody loves freedom. We like to feel like

we have control over our lives. We want to have

control over the situations, the circumstances

that we're in. We fight for freedom. We celebrate

freedom. We pray for freedom. We thank God for

freedom. But I have a question for you this morning.

Freedom for what? What do you need freedom for?

Is it... You wanting your parents to let go of

the handlebars so that you can be the one riding

the bike? Is it wanting the keys to the car so

that you can go wherever you want, whenever you

want, with whoever you want? What do you want

freedom for? Parents, you'll appreciate that

last one about the car because if you've had

children that started driving, I can imagine

there was a fear when you put those keys in their

hand for the first time. Because you know, as

well as anyone should know, newfound freedom

without direction, without guidance, without

help. It can be dangerous. I want you to think

about a kite. A kite floats in the air. And it

has a string attached to it, and the string...

can feel like it's holding the kite back. It

can feel like it's keeping the kite from being

able to fly where it wants to fly and go where

it wants to go. But if you cut the string of

the kite, what happens? It falls. It crashes.

It's the tension of the string that lifts the

kite in the air. It gives the kite the ability

to soar. The same is true with freedom. Freedom

without connection. doesn't take you higher.

Freedom without being anchored to something doesn't

take you higher. It actually usually, I would

say always, leads to your demise. And that's

exactly what Paul is dealing with in Galatians

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5. In Galatians, the Apostle Paul is

trying to deal with this conversation of... Christians

in Galatia or modern day Turkey, they've been

set free from the law and they've been set free

from the bondage of sin. And now they're falling

victim to these false teachings. And so Paul

is trying to help them understand that you've

been set free, you've been saved, and that trying

to earn your salvation through rules, through

rituals, is not going to cut it for you. But

some were starting to use that freedom. They

understood very well that they were now free.

And so they're using this freedom as an excuse

to just live however they want. To go wherever

they want. To do whatever they want. To say whatever

they want. They were abusing this freedom. And

the same temptations that they faced then, we

face today. The temptation to just do what you

want to do. Or be who you want to be. Do what

makes you happy. To live however you want. To

live without love or without restraint. To live

without concern. And so Paul writes to the Galatian

Christians and he says, you've been set free.

And you've been set free for a purpose. Not to

serve yourselves, but to serve others. That's

the freedom that you've been given. It is a freedom

with a calling. To serve. To lift others up.

To help others to see the same Christ that broke

your chains free so that they can have theirs

broken as well. I want us to read Galatians chapter

Galatians 5:13–26

5 verses 13 through 26 together. It's going to

be on the screen. If you want to pull it up in

your Bible, you can. I'll have three slides,

so y 'all hold me accountable to switch slides

because I always forget to do that. Here we go.

Galatians chapter 5 verses 13 through 26. For

Galatians 5:13–26

you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do

not use your freedom as an opportunity for the

flesh, but through love serve one another. For

the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall

love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite

and devour one another, watch out that you are

not consumed by one another. But I say, walk

by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires

of the flesh. 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. But if you are led by the Spirit,

you are not under the law. Now the works of the

flesh are evident. Sexual immorality. impurity,

sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife,

jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,

divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things

like these. Paul does not hold back, does he?

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those

who do such things will not inherit the kingdom

of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love,

joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self -control. Against such things

there is no law. And those who belong to Christ

have crucified the flesh with its passions and

desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also

keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become

conceited, provoking one another, envying. Paul

begins with a reminder there in verse 13. He

says, you've been called to freedom. You were

called to freedom, brothers. Only don't use this

freedom as an opportunity to serve the flesh,

but through love serve one another. We've been

freed not to do whatever pleases us, not to do

what makes me happy, but to do what pleases God.

And the truth of the matter is, if you do what

pleases God, you will find a full life. Do what

pleases God. And Paul sums it up. He tells us

what that looks like there in verse 14. For the

whole law is fulfilled in one word. You love

your neighbor as yourself. I don't know about

you, but on the days that I'm not telling myself

mean things about me, I love myself. You know

how I know? I make sure that I never go hungry.

I make sure that I have clothes when it's cold.

I have warm clothes when it's hot. I have less

clothes. I make sure that the air conditioner

is set to the right temp. I make sure that I

have the things that I like. I have the things

that make me happy, except LSU football. Clearly,

I don't love myself enough. I love myself, and

it's evident by the way that I take care of myself.

And the same is true for you. You eat good food

when you want good food and you put the clothes

on your body that you need to be comfortable

when you want to be comfortable. You love yourself.

And so what Paul is saying is if you will treat

your neighbor like you treat yourself, the law

is fulfilled. If the people next to you don't

have to go hungry, if the people next to you

don't have to worry about where they're going

to find warmth or where they're going to find

shelter in the middle of a storm, if the people

around you, Feel your love. The law is fulfilled.

And that word love there is the word agape, which

is this unconditional, this godly, self -giving

love. It's a love that's not really based on

feelings. It's not based on conditions. It's

not based on what you can do for me. But it's

a decision to serve and treat others well, regardless

of what it costs us. And so Paul says, use your

freedom to love and serve one another. And if

you'll do that, your freedom will be evident.

You see, freedom is kind of like a fire. In a

fireplace, it burns and it gives warmth and it

gives a nice glow. And maybe you're like me and

you like to sit in front of a fire and it kind

of feels therapeutic, right? When it's contained

to a space. But outside of a fireplace. It burns

the whole house down. Freedom in Christ is meant

to warm other people. It's meant to be therapeutic

to others when it is shown through love. It's

not supposed to scorch them with our selfishness.

See, Paul goes on and he adds a warning in verse

15. If you bite and devour one another, watch

out that you're not consumed by one another.

I want you to imagine a pack of hungry wolves.

They haven't eaten in a while. And finally, they

come across some prey. And so they get that prey

down and they start eating at it. They don't

wait. They don't hesitate. And they're just in

there biting on it. But as they're doing that,

they start biting each other on accident because

they're not paying attention to who's around

them. They're all just trying to get theirs.

And so they're biting each other and they're

eating this prey. And all of a sudden, they realize

that they're getting weaker. And that the bites

start to hurt a little bit less, but also their

energy is decreasing as well. And next thing

you know, these wolves have no life left in them.

They're dead. Because not only did they eat the

prey, but they ate each other. And that's what

I think about when I'm reading what Paul is saying.

He's like, don't bite each other. Don't eat each

other for the sake of getting your fill. Make

sure that you don't consume one another. You

see, the freedom that feeds yourself, the freedom

that makes sure that you get yours and you get

what you need and you get what you want, that

freedom will kill you. It'll cause you to crash.

But the freedom that serves other people will

fulfill you. If the wolves all wait their turn,

they will all get fed. Nobody's going to go hungry.

It's like when I watched Peyton, my two -year

-old. When he gets a drink, he can't just sip

on a drink. He can't just take it to swallows

from the straw. He has to chug a drink as if

he's afraid it's going somewhere. And then he

chugs it, and because the drink hasn't fully

gotten into his stomach yet and he thinks he

still needs more, he's like, can I have some

more? No. We all need something to drink too.

And if you go on like this, you're going to be

bloated and we're going to be thirsty. If we

will all just wait and be patient and be selfless,

we will be fulfilled. Now Paul shifts the focus

a bit in verse 16. Walk by the Spirit, and you

will not gratify the desires of the flesh. And

I don't know about you, but again, I love myself.

And the idea of gratifying my flesh sounds good.

It sounds like what the world tells me God should

want for me. If God loves me, He should want

me to be happy. If God loves me, He should want

me to have what I want. But that's not the way

God works, is it? He's a little bit counter -cultural,

is He not? And the word walk there, it translates

best to live. So it's the everyday pattern that

you walk in. It's the route of your life. This

is the way you live. And so Paul is saying, let

the Spirit lead every part of your life. In everything

you do, everywhere you go, everything you say,

let the Spirit guide you. Because the truth is,

when the Spirit leads, the flesh loses. There's

this tug of war happening inside of every believer.

Inside of you. Something is trying to fight for

your attention. It's trying to fight for your

fulfillment inside of me. The same is happening.

We're all dealing with this tug of war. And Paul

says this in verse 17, for the desires of the

flesh are against the spirit. The desires of

the spirit are against the flesh. These are opposed

to each other. It's like Georgia and Tennessee.

They do not go together. They oppose. They're

enemies. Maybe you've heard the old saying, inside

every man are two wolves. Which one will you

feed? One is good and one is evil. And someone

might ask, well, which wolf wins out? The one

you feed. The one you feed. The wolf inside of

you that you feed is the one that will win. So

if you feed the Spirit, that will win. If you

feed self, that will win. Which one are you going

to feed? That's what Paul is saying here. He

says, feed the Spirit. And verse 18 brings some

clarity. If you are led by the Spirit, you're

not under the law. So if you want to maintain

your freedom, follow the Spirit. Follow the Spirit.

And that doesn't mean that... God's moral law

no longer matters. It's not an excuse to sin.

It's not an excuse to live how you please. In

fact, it's the complete opposite. It means we're

no longer condemned by the law. We're no longer

condemned by the flesh. The Spirit now leads

us from within. And the law shows us what holiness

looks like. The law wasn't a bad thing. And so

I don't want it to ever sound like I'm saying

all that stuff in the New Testament, throw it

out. That stuff is good. It shows us what holiness

looks like. But the spirit within us that Christ

promised us gives us the power to live out that

holiness. Think of it this way. The law is kind

of like road signs. And if you're like me, you

don't know what 575 means. You just, you follow

the GPS sometimes. You try to go where the GPS

says to go. The law is kind of like a road map.

It tells you where to go, but it doesn't fully

help you get there. And so if you don't really

know what you're doing, you're not going to get

there. The Spirit is like the GPS. It gives you

turn -by -turn instructions. It tells you in

50 feet, turn here. But if you're like me, you

turn the volume off because it messes up the

song. It's really annoying. Don't do that with

the Spirit, though. The Spirit's like the GPS

that not only tells you where to go, it gives

you step -by -step and turn -by -turn directions.

And when you go the wrong way, when you miss

your turn, it recalculates a way to get you to

your destination. Again, if you've ever been

driving through Atlanta and you're someone like

me who doesn't like driving in big cities and

you miss the turn, if it's up to me, we're going

wherever the road that is right in front of us

is taking us. Because I don't know where to go

and I'm going to panic and just keep driving

and hope. that I figure out my way. Thank God

for GPSs. And the same is true for life. Thank

God that he gives us the spirit to indwell in

us and point us where we need to go and tell

us, go this way. And when we miss the term, when

we miss the spirit, it tells us, okay, you missed

it, but let's go this way and it'll get us back

where God needs us to go. When you're led by

the spirit, you don't just have information.

You have transformation. It gets inside of you.

And it not only tells you where to go, it just

brings you there. When you let the Spirit lead,

your life will look so, so much different than

that of the world. And now Paul is going to contrast

a little bit. He says, now the works of the flesh

are evident. And then he goes on to list them

all. We've read them all. Again, Paul doesn't

hold back. And then he says this, I warn you,

as I warned you before, that those who do such

things will not inherit the kingdom of God. I'm

just going to say this really quick. There is

this teaching, and it's been around for a while.

We feel like it's a new thing, but it's not,

that you can just live however you want, and

as long as you're a good person, good person,

you can go to heaven. You can live however you

want, and as long as you don't kill anybody,

you can go to heaven. The Apostle Paul... who

was divinely inspired to say such words, writes

down these God -breathed words and says, here's

some clear ways that you cannot get into the

kingdom. And I do believe he's referring to the

kingdom then and the kingdom now. And these aren't

just bad habits. These are symptoms of a deeper

sickness. They are evidence of a life fully detached

from the Spirit of God. If I'm living a life

of immorality, of envy, if I'm living a life

of drunkenness, of division, of impurity, I'm

showing that there is something deep within me

that is not right. It's not connected to the

Spirit of God. And Paul isn't trying to shame

us. For that. He's not trying to let you sit

there and just wallow in self -pity because,

well, I got drunk last night. He's not trying

to make you feel awful because you slept with

that person and y 'all weren't married. He's

not trying to make you feel bad about your sin.

What he's trying to do is warn you because there

is still time to get back on course. Because

the works of the flesh, they don't just break

the rules, they break lives. You've seen it before

in divided churches. You've seen it before in

destroyed relationships and in enslaved hearts.

But there is still time to get it right. After

saying all of this, Paul shifts from the negative

to show us the positive. Because again, there

is still time to get back on course. He says

the fruit of the Spirit is love. And I am going

to read through these because they're important.

Joy. Peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self -control. Against such things

there is no law. We need a whole lot of that,

don't we? I want you to notice the word fruit

there is singular. Paul's not describing a fruit

basket that somebody brings you for a holiday.

What Paul is describing is... This one fruit

that's got these many different complex flavors.

Think Dr. Pepper and 23 flavors. And it is so

good. That's the fruit of the Spirit. You can

go ahead and put that on a t -shirt. The fruit

of the Spirit is Dr. Pepper. The Spirit produces

this fruit that has all of these beautiful flavors

that when consumed and when witnessed and experienced

by the world, taste so good. These qualities,

these aspects of the fruit, they grow together

to form this one amazing product. And that amazing

product is life in the Spirit of God. You cannot

fake this fruit. It cannot be made in a lab.

It cannot be tried harder for. This fruit is

not achieved by trying harder. It's not achieved

by you doing better. This fruit is only produced

by staying connected to the Spirit of God. An

apple tree does not grunt or strain to produce

apples. It just stays rooted. It draws nutrients

from the ground. And the fruit... happens naturally.

That's what happens when we stay connected to

the Spirit. The character of God grows in us.

For a long time, we haven't talked about the

Spirit enough in our churches. We've kind of

demystified being a part of the kingdom of God,

but I don't care if this gets me in trouble.

I'm sorry. The Spirit is alive and active, and

if you will connect to it, your life will be

changed for the better, and that life will change

the life around you. Because you remember the

first time you had a sip of Dr. Pepper. And then

you were hooked. And all the little bit of money

you had in college is now gone, but you've got

a mini fridge full of Dr. Pepper and Hot Pockets.

When you experience and you taste the fruit that

comes from the Spirit of God, your life is changed

forever for the better. And Paul says, against

such things there is no law. There's nothing

that can condemn the fruit of the Spirit. Who's

going to get mad at you for being too nice? Who's

going to get mad at you for loving people too

much? Or for being too patient? Or for being

too kind? Or being too gentle? Who's going to

get mad at you for changing the lives around

you because you look like Jesus? There is no

such law that will condemn you, that will persecute

you. And I'm talking about just law. that will

persecute you for living a life that exemplifies

Christ. You'll never hear God say, all right,

that's enough of that love stuff. That's enough

of that patience. When you live by the Spirit,

you're already walking in harmony with the heart

of God. But this freedom, this good fruit, it's

not free or easy. And I don't want to make it

sound like it's something that just happens with

the snap of a finger. This is what Paul says

in verse 24. And those who belong to Christ Jesus

have crucified the flesh with its passions and

desires. So you remember that long list of things

that Paul says bad? Yeah, those have to die.

You've got to get rid of them. The abuse, the

envy, the jealousy, the immorality, all of those

things. They got to go. Not just do they have

to go, they have to be put to death. See, crucifixion,

it wasn't this passive thing that just kind of

happened, right? Nobody just pops up on a cross.

It's a very painful and decisive thing. It's

also a very final thing. When you go up on that

cross, your fate is sealed. You're going to die.

The same is true for are fleshly desires. If

I'm going to be in Christ, if I'm going to let

my life be led by the Spirit, then all of those

things that I want, all of those things that

I think I need, all of those things that the

world tells me I should have for myself so that

I can be happy, death. In fact, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

says, when Christ calls a man, he bids him come

and die. So, yes, again, it's a very complex

thing. Being in Christ is an offering of full,

abundant life, joy -filled life, peace -filled

life, but it's also something that has to be

worked on. And it's something that requires a

sacrifice. But I think the trade -off is worth

it. And I only think that because I've felt it

in my life and I've seen it in some of your lives.

And I've seen it in other lives. It is 100 %

worth it. You cannot walk by the Spirit if you're

still feeding the flesh. Again, they oppose each

other. So every day, we have to take up our cross.

We have to say, Lord, not my will, not what makes

me happy, not what I want, not what I think is

best for me, but yours, just as Christ did. If

the King of the universe, if the Lord, can humble

himself to die so that we could have a life with

him, I can give up on my selfishness. I can give

up on these temporary, momentary pleasures. I

can give up on those things for the sake of the

kingdom being here. We move along to verse 25,

and Paul says, If we live by the Spirit, let

us also keep in step. with the Spirit. The best

way that I could think of to kind of illustrate

that is I want you to think of a marching band.

You can have the greatest musicians in the world

and they can know the song so well and it can

be so pretty. But if they're not able to walk

in rhythm during their performance, it's going

to be a disaster. It might sound nice. It might

tickle the ears a little bit, but if you're watching

it on the field, it looks awful. That's our life

when we're not walking in step with the Spirit.

If we're not walking in a rhythm that keeps us

step for step with the Spirit, it's chaos. And

that's how Paul closes with a challenge. In verse

26, or this is how Paul closes with a challenge.

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another,

envying one another. Because what can happen

is we start feeling good about the way we're

living. We start feeling good about what God

has done in our lives and the progress that we've

made and the change that we've made. And so what

happens is we can kind of become cynical and

we can be very condemning and we can come off

as hypocritical and judgmental and kind of up

here. You know those people. Maybe you are one

of them. I've been there. And Paul says, don't

do that. Don't allow the transformation that

the Spirit has done in you because you didn't

do anything. The Spirit did it. So don't allow

that to get you to be puffed up. Don't allow

that to let you think you're better than others.

But he also says, don't be jealous. Don't allow

the work that the Spirit is doing in somebody

else's life to cause you to be envious of them.

See, both sides are bad. Really, what we need

to do is just kind of walk and be okay with where

the Spirit is leading us and what the Spirit

is doing in our lives. And when the Spirit decides

that we need to be really cool and really good

and really just boldly awesome Jesus -like examples,

awesome. But if the Spirit needs us to look a

little different for a minute, or if it just

hasn't gotten there with us yet, that's okay.

We just pray that God continues to chip away

at that old self and bring something pretty out

of this ugly stone. The Spirit produces humility,

not competition. It was never supposed to be

about... What I look like versus what you look

like. And what you look like versus what they

look like. The Spirit is supposed to produce

unity, not rivalry. And that's what a Spirit

-filled life looks like. It's a life that looks

like someone freed to serve. A life that looks

like someone who loves and gives. And a life

that looks like a joy that is not dependent on

these current circumstances. And when the world

sees us, they shouldn't see a people that are

just kind of hanging on and barely surviving

temptation or stuck in a rule keeping life. They

should see a people that are so obviously free

that they want some of that. They should see

a people that are free from sin and they want

to know how can I be free from sin? They should

see a people that are free from pride and wonder

how can I be like that? Because my pride has

led to my fall so many times. They should see

a people that are free to live and to love and

look like. Jesus. Jesus was attractive. There

is a reason thousands of people in the midst

of all the danger followed Jesus. The early church

was attractive. There is a reason people would

be willing to die to be a part of this movement

of following Christ, a man who was killed publicly.

Why would you follow someone who got killed?

That just sounds dumb. But Jesus was attractive.

And when the church and the people that make

the church up look like Jesus, we'll be attractive.

And people will want some of this good tasting

fruit. I want you to think about a glove. You

put a glove on a table, it doesn't move, it has

no function, it's lifeless. But when you put

your hand in the glove, and the hand fills it,

well now the glove can move. It can function.

It can do things. It has a life. Not because

the glove has some mysterious thing about it.

It's because of the hand. And the same is true

when the Spirit lives in us. And when we let

the Spirit take the reins. We only come alive

when the Spirit is our guide. And that same Spirit

that Paul wrote about then is here and available

to us today. It's not something that went away.

It may not look to us the same as it did in the

first century. Maybe it does. But I know one

thing that Scripture tells me is true. My life,

looking like Jesus, is fully dependent on that

Spirit. That same Holy Spirit. The one that is

calling and has been calling for thousands of

years. The same one that is convicting and has

been convicting for thousands of years. The same

one that is restoring life into dead bodies.

That Spirit is still available to us today. So

to the Christians in the room, maybe you've been

set free and you've been... living a life in

bondage. Maybe you just have used your freedom

for yourself and you've abused this newfound

freedom in God and it's leading to your demise.

Maybe you've been letting the flesh call the

shots for far too long. Today's your chance to

realign your life, to get back in rhythm with

the Spirit of God. And for the non -Christian

in the room, if you've never received the gift

of the Holy Spirit, if your life has not been

transformed by the free gift of salvation and

the gift of the Holy Spirit, You're living in

a dead body. And the Spirit wants to live in

you, to show you, to give you, to lead you to

the abundant life that only comes from a life

connected to the Spirit. Don't wait. Don't live

in that dead body any longer. Don't live in that

joyless life. Come to the Father who brings joy

that is not dependent on earthly circumstances.

Wherever you are today, I hope that you find

yourself saying, I want to be connected to the

Spirit. I want my life to be steered by the Spirit.

Not this world, not myself, not those I like,

not those I admire, but the Spirit and only the

Spirit. Because that is the only way the world

will see a good tasting fruit. that if they experience,

will lead them to also wanting that good tasting

fruit. We have been freed not to live however

we want, not to do stupid things that hurt us

and kill us, but to fly lifted by the fresh wind

of the Spirit. And that's the call today. If

you need prayers, if you want to be filled, wherever

you are, come now as we stand and as we sing.