Sowing in the Spirit (Galatians 6:1-18)

Today we have a lot to cover actually because this is a whole chapter.

But really, the first half is a continuation of last week.

And then the second half from chat uh from verse 11 on is just kind of a review of everything Paul's talking uh has already talked about in the letter, things that we've already dove into deeply.

Uh so we're just gonna kind of do a review, a surface level review of the book of Galatians on that second half of that chapter, and then uh and then we'll call it good and we'll be done with the book of Galatians.

So, if you're able, would you please stand for the reading of God's Word?

Galatians chapter six.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit.

Watching out for yourselves so that you also won't be tempted.

Carry one another's burdens.

In this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

For if any one considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else.

For each person will have to carry his own load.

Let the one who has taught the word share all his good things with the teacher.

Don't be deceived.

God is not mocked, for whatever a person sows, he will also reap.

Because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit.

Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting.

Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised, but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

For even the circumcised don't keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.

But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.

For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing.

What matters instead is a new creation.

May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God.

From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Amen.

And this morning we're gonna pray, but we're also gonna pray for DJ.

She's not doing real well, so we're gonna lift her up uh in prayer.

So, Lord, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for this opportunity to gather here this morning, uh, to worship you, to open your word and to see what you have for us.

Lord, I pray that you would reveal your heart to us uh through this passage here this morning, and that we would come in all humility just with openness of what you want to teach us, what you want us uh to leave here with, what with what you want to change inside of each one of us to make us more and more like Jesus.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

So last week we covered the second half of chapter five.

You know, Paul was talking about walking in step with the Holy Spirit and how the law is fulfilled when we are doing just that.

And that if we're walking by the Spirit, we're naturally going to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

And the first half of chapter six is really an encouragement to not get tired of doing good.

He comes right out and says that in verse 9.

Let us not get tired of doing good.

Really, let us not get tired of walking by the Spirit.

Let us not get tired of sowing to the Spirit.

And that's really the point that he's getting at here in chapter 6.

Now, at the end of chapter 5, as we covered last week, Paul has this warning to the Galatians to not become conceited, to not provoke one another, and to not envy one another.

But rather, what they should be doing is what he gets into right here in chapter 6.

So look at verse 1 with me.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won't be tempted.

So I want to focus first on overtaken and wrongdoing, as it says right there.

Now, some translations say caught instead of overtaken.

And I'm not a Greek scholar, I don't claim to be, but I really like the word overtaken because this is not talking about someone that got angry and then accidentally cussed.

Or even somebody that committed adultery was convicted by the Holy Spirit and turned and repented from that.

And on the opposite side of the spectrum, this is not talking about somebody that's willfully living in sin, you know, knowing it's wrong and not caring what God thinks.

Paul's talking to believers about believers right here.

And overtaken is really this idea that a believer gets caught up in something.

But it's not an act of rebellion in God's face.

It's not like they're thumbing their nose at God while they're doing it.

It's not that they're living in sin.

You know, this direct context here where this sits in Galatians would be someone getting caught up in legalism.

You know, they've act they're actually doing it because they think it's the right thing to do and they think it's what's pleasing God.

You know, they got confused and they listened to the Judaizers, those people that are trying to make them be Christians and Jews at the same time.

And these people started clinging to the law instead of clinging to Jesus.

So they've been overtaken by this false doctrine.

Now, in an indirect context, because it says overtaken in any sin, as Paul says, or wrongdoing, you know, this may be someone who is maybe, let's say, a recovered alcoholic.

You know, they were walking with the Lord, they were on the straight and narrow, and then in a moment of weakness to the flesh, they fell off the wagon and they were overtaken by that sin.

You know, they don't want to be in it, but maybe they don't know how to get out of it either.

They've been overtaken by the desires of their flesh in that moment.

And notice the first thing that Paul tells those that are walking by the Spirit to do with those that are overtaken by the flesh.

He says, you yell at them, you kick them in the shins, you throw them out of church, and you treat them as icky sinners, right?

Isn't that what he said?

No.

He says, restore.

You know, there's this idea of mending something that is broken or torn here.

This is the same word, this word restore, it's the same word that's used when Jesus called James and John to be his disciples.

And it says they were mending their nets, or they were putting their nets in order.

It's the same word as restore here.

And the idea is that it's a process of restoration and then mending.

And it's something that takes time and effort where healing can take place in that person.

You know, I've seen some people that have come out of legalism, and we've talked about this before, I'm one of them, where it can take years and years for that healing process, that restoration process to take place.

But what's Galatians been about?

You can say it out loud.

Grace, okay, good, you guys are listening.

But Paul tells them right here in the restoration process to respond gracefully.

And he says, to restore such a person with a gentle spirit.

You know, we find similar instructions in Matthew 18 and 2 Corinthians 2 of restoring someone.

But those are in the context of somebody has sinned against you or somebody has sinned against somebody else, but this is in the context of someone being overcome by sin.

But the goal in all three of those places is always restoration first.

You know, in Matthew 18, the judgment doesn't come until the fourth step.

You know, first you go to the person, then you take somebody with you, and then you tell the church if they're still aren't repentant, then on the fourth step, then the judgment comes on that person.

But it's all about restoring through grace first, whenever possible.

And then, you know, Paul adds something interesting here.

He adds a warning at the end of verse one.

He says, Watching out for yourselves so that you also won't be tempted.

So I always have a ton of questions as I go through scripture.

Why would he add this right here?

You know, when you're helping somebody else that's struggling through a sin, and maybe it could be an area that you've struggled with in the past or are currently struggling with, but maybe you're experiencing victory now, you know, think of things like legalism or addiction or whatever the sin might be.

What are you going to be talking about with that person constantly?

You're going to be talking about that sin.

And what might they try to even argue with you about if they're struggling with that sin and trying to justify it?

That sin.

And if you struggle with that sin and you're doing all of that thinking and all that talking about that sin, it could lead you into temptation as well.

You know, say a person is overtaken with pornography and they ask you to remove the pornography from their house.

What's going to happen in between their house and your garbage can?

Or maybe it's alcohol.

They say, get it all out of my house.

And you, what's going to happen in between their cabinet and your drain?

You know, so Paul just lets them know.

Be careful.

Watch out for yourself when you're helping somebody else that's overtaken in sin, that you don't fall into that same sin as well.

Look at verse 2 with me.

Carry one another's burdens.

In this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.

You know, we could do a whole sermon just on verse 2 here if we wanted to.

In direct context here, this means to help each other out of legalism and sin and into restoration, to carry one another's burdens in that way.

In an indirect context, this assumes that we all have burdens, doesn't it?

And that we all need help with something.

You know, sin and wrongdoing are definitely a part of that, but I think it's much bigger than that.

You know, we each have burdens that we were not intended to carry by ourselves.

You know, one of the big functions of the body of Christ, of this church right here, is to help one another to carry each other's burdens.

You know, I think there's some obvious ways, for example, that we do this as a church.

You know, when we pray in our home groups for each other directly, when we pray before service for each other and after service for each other, you know, that's one way that we can help carry each other's burdens.

But then there's also things like the meal train.

When you know, when somebody's going through a surgery or whatever it might be, we set up those meal trains where we can all just kind of chip in and help those people.

Visitations for people that might not be able to get out of their house.

Uh, you know, there's benevolence that's given for people that might be going through hard times.

These are all ways that we can help to carry one another's burdens.

And when it really, when it comes down to it, it just means being Jesus to each other, carrying each other's burdens in that way, loving each other with the love of Jesus Christ.

You know, when I went through brain surgery last year, you all did such a good job with the meal train and really everything else that we needed in that time.

So much so that our 4-H club that my kids are a part of, they were disappointed that they couldn't help more.

Because you guys were doing such an amazing job of all of the things that they wanted to help with as well, and what a testimony that was to them of the church body carrying one another's burdens.

You know, remember last week we talked about how walking by the Spirit fulfilled the law and produces the fruit of the Spirit.

And remember that first fruit that we see in that list of the fruit of the Spirit is love.

Bearing each other's burdens is loving one another.

And at the end of verse 2, what does it say?

By bearing each other's burdens, you will fulfill the law of Christ.

And to take that a step further, how did Jesus say that the world would know that we are his disciples?

By the love that we have for one another.

See how that all ties together right there?

Look at verse 3 with me.

For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Basically, if you think you are too good to help shoulder someone else's load, you're deceiving yourself.

Pride is what keeps us from bearing one another's burdens.

You know, the thoughts of, well, I don't have time for that person's drama right now.

Anybody ever thought that before?

I don't have the patience to deal with that person's poor life choices right now.

Or, you know, or that person is just unlovable.

So I'm not even going to try.

You know, when I think about unlovable, there was this old comic strip that went around a couple years ago.

Maybe some of you have seen it.

But first, anybody here named Gary?

Okay, good.

I can.

Gary was the name in the comic strip.

But the first pain, it has Jesus, and he's like on this rock outcrop and he's talking to this big crowd, and he says, Love everyone.

And then in the next pain, there's this guy, he stands up, he says, even Gary.

And another guy stands up, he's like, Yeah, Gary's the worst.

And then the next pain, it's Jesus, and he says, Yes, even Gary.

And then the next pain, this other guy stands up.

He says, Ha ha, losers, I told you.

And Jesus says, Not now, Gary.

I always think about that, you know.

It's pride, though.

It's legalism because it places us on a level above another person as being better or more holy than another person in the body of Christ.

And there are times where, for various reasons, we're not the best person to help someone else with a particular burden.

Maybe because of lack of ability in that situation, or maybe because of temptation, you know, for ourselves.

But the point is, we never graduate to a level where we are above serving anyone.

Even Gary, I promise.

So now in verse 4, Paul will talk about our own responsibility for our service to the Lord and others.

And we'll take our time in these next two verses because they can be a little hard at first pass to understand.

But just that first part of verse 4, he says, Let each person examine his own work.

So let each person examine his own theology, his own belief, his own fruit from the Spirit.

Really, let each person examine his own conduct.

And he goes on in verse 4 and says, and then he can take pride in himself alone and not compare himself with someone else.

Now, don't think of this as arrogant, sinful pride.

That's not what we're talking about here.

Some translations actually say, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, or will get the satisfaction of a job well done.

So think more along those lines.

You know, our work is ultimately between us and the Lord.

It's for God alone to judge our good works.

And when we are before the judgment seat, being rewarded for those good works, we're not gonna be standing there comparing ourselves to other people.

Well, what about that person?

I was better than that person.

Well, you know, whatever it might be.

That's between us and the Lord, and that's between them and the Lord.

We're not gonna be comparing ourselves in those times.

That's why he says in verse 5, for each person will have to carry his own load.

You know, at first glance, this verse looks like it might be contradicting what he just said about burying one another, burdens, wouldn't it?

But the word that Paul used for burden means being under a heavy weight.

The word that we see here means more like here in verse 5, what we would call like a day pack or a backpack.

You know, something to carry along our own personal belongings.

So two different concepts here.

And the idea here is you carry your own work.

Really, you're responsible for your own conduct before the Lord.

Look at verse 6.

Let the one who has taught the word share all his good things with the teacher.

This is simply saying, support the ones that are teaching God's word with all of your good things.

You know, Paul talks about this in a few different places in the New Testament, and he really alternates between saying, you know, support the ones that preach the gospel and support the ones that teach the word.

You can see multiple instances in multiple places.

But I think the one where he elaborates the most is 1 Timothy 5, 17 and 18.

He says, The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor.

That means both respect and monetarily.

He says, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

For the scripture says, Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and the worker is worthy of his wages.

So in the context of carrying each other's burdens, he's just saying, take good care of those who teach you the word.

Help carry their burden in that way.

Verse 7.

Don't be deceived.

God is not mocked.

For whatever a person sows, he will also reap.

You can't sow thistle and expect wheat, can you?

You can't sow wickedness and expect righteousness.

In the same way, you can't profess to be a Christian, sow sin and wickedness, and then expect to reap and exude the fruits of the Spirit from your life.

To profess Christ and then live wickedly, what's it say there?

Is mocking God.

It's not taking him seriously, it's thumbing your nose at him as you do whatever you want, because you really don't respect who he is.

And look at the fate of mockers in verse 8.

Because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh.

You know, if we use our resources that we have to sow to the flesh, to sow to wickedness, to sow to sin, we will reap what we sow.

You know, he just gave us that list in chapter 5 of the works of the flesh.

519 through 21.

So what he's really saying is anyone that sows sexual immorality, anyone that sows moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, anybody that sows selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar will reap destruction from the flesh.

Will reap the consequences because God is not mocked.

You can't sow wickedness and expect to reap righteousness.

Look at the second half of verse 8.

But the one who sows to the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit.

So, what does it look like to sow to the spirit?

Well, he also gave us that second list in chapter 5, the fruits of the Spirit, meaning to sow love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

And if you were with us last week, can we sow those things under our own power?

No, it has to be through the power of the Holy Spirit living in and through us that we can sow those.

Things.

But it does require something on our part.

And that's allowing Him to do so.

By dying to self and giving the Holy Spirit the reins to our life.

And if we sow to the Spirit, we will reap so many beneficial consequences.

But the greatest thing that we will reap is eternal life from the Spirit, as he says there at the end of verse 8.

Look at verse 9 with me.

Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up.

You know, again, we talked a lot last week about the war that's going on inside of each one of us.

You know, the spirit versus the flesh.

And Paul says here, don't get tired of doing good.

Don't get tired of waging war, of walking by the spirit, walking in step with the spirit.

Don't get tired of carrying each other's burdens.

Don't get tired of sowing to the spirit.

You know, if we're honest, this war that each one of us is in between flesh and spirit, it can be exhausting sometimes.

Where we feel like giving up and saying, you know, what's the point?

I'm tired.

I've been doing this for so long, and where's the fruit?

Where, you know, what am I looking at, you know, that's positive?

That's why Paul says, let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up.

Because sometimes there is a long wait in between sowing and reaping, isn't there?

And it can be easy to get tired of waiting for what we sow to produce fruit.

And as followers of Christ, sometimes we will sow, and we're not gonna get to see the reaping or the fruit of that until eternity.

You know, this side of heaven, we may never see the reward for what we've sown in the spirit.

But we have the hope that our reward is in heaven.

You know, it can be hard to watch somebody else that's sowing wickedness, right?

And they have the good job, and they have the nice car, and they have all of the fame, and they have all of the accolades, and we can get frustrated, you know, of I've been sowing righteousness, and what do I have to show for it?

They've been showing wickedness, and look at all the things they have.

It takes time.

Those sowing wickedness will ultimately face the consequences of being judged by God.

There's a lot of time between sowing and reaping.

So just because you might not see instant fruit when sowing righteousness, Paul's just encouraging here.

Keep loving God, keep loving each other with the love of Christ by walking by the Spirit.

Because the greatest fruit, as he says here at the end of verse 9, that we will ever reap will be eternal life from the Spirit.

That's ultimately the greatest fruit that we will ever harvest.

Look at verse 10.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

You know, we all have unique opportunities to serve, don't we?

We all have unique giftings from the Holy Spirit to share with one another.

And he's saying, with those, let us work for the good of all.

So I have a question, you can you know, call back to me.

Are we supposed to be a blessing to those that are not in this church?

Yes.

Good answer.

But he's saying here, especially to those that follow Christ.

Again, this is another way to help bear each other's burdens.

Now, here in verse 11, we kind of see a flip.

Now we're gonna get to the kind of the summation of the book of Galatians.

So we're just gonna hit on some points that we've dug really deep into in the past here.

So starting with verse 11, he says, Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting.

So we talked about Paul having poor eyesight, having some eye problems earlier in Galatians.

You know, it's speculated that this is why he had to write in such large letters, but that's really not the point here.

You know, up until this point, he's been using a scribe of some sort or a secretary of some sort.

So this next section has more of a personal touch.

You know, it's in Paul's own handwriting, in the original text, the original letter that the Galatians would be reading.

But it also authenticates that this is Paul's authorship.

Because he tells the Thessalonians in 3.17, he says, I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand, which is an authenticating mark in every letter.

This is how I write.

So this is why it's in Paul's own handwriting.

So here in Galatians, he chooses to really sum up the whole book for them in his own hand.

Look at verse 12.

Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh, he's talking about the Judaizers, are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised, but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

You know, Paul gets down to the motivation of the Judaizers here, doesn't he?

It sounds like the Judaizers are tempting the Galatians to go back to the law as a way of avoiding the persecution from the Jews.

Paul knew the persecution of the Jews towards the Christians firsthand, didn't he?

Before he was saved, that's exactly what he was doing.

So to avoid persecution, these Judaizers tried to add Judaism to Christianity.

To follow Jesus and be circumcised, to follow the old covenant and the new covenant, to accept grace, but then try to follow the law, to really be a slave and then also free at the same time.

And as Paul so clearly said at the end of chapter 4, these are things that cannot dwell under the same house, the same roof together in harmony, just like Hagar and Sarah could not dwell in harmony under the same roof, just like the flesh and the spirit cannot dwell in harmony under the same roof as well.

Look at verse 13.

For even the circumcised don't keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.

Why was the sacrificial system put in place in the Old Testament by God?

It was because the Jews could not uphold the law.

Why did Jesus need to come?

Because he knew that we could not uphold the law.

But what these Judaizers are teaching, whether they know it or not, is that Jesus did not need to die.

If we can be made more holy than Jesus can make us by following the law.

That's why they taught, I'm sorry, that's why they thought they could boast in their flesh.

Really, the idea of Jesus made me holy, but I have achieved the next level of holiness by also following the law.

That was their mentality.

You know, if we ever believe that there is a next level of holiness, then we're the legalistic person.

And if we learned anything from the book of Romans when we were going through that together, it's that there are no levels of Christianity.

Everyone's on the same playing field when they come to Christ.

As Paul already told him, there's no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.

Verse 14.

But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we're in Christ, we cannot take credit for a single ounce, for a single gram of our own holiness.

Because we cannot add a single gram of holiness to the holiness of Christ.

And it's his holiness that we attain when we give ourselves to him.

And you can't make something better if it's already perfect.

And Jesus is already perfect.

So we can't boast, as Paul says here, about anything that's in and of ourselves.

We can only boast in Christ and that we are saved by his work on the cross that he did for us in our place.

And this represents, really, for this original audience and for anybody that's living in the world, this represents a huge shift in thinking.

You know, how does the world boast?

You know, it's what they can do on their own through their flesh, right?

Isn't that the boasting that we see around us?

But how does a follower of Christ boast?

Through the cross of Christ.

The most humiliating way to die that the Romans could possibly think of.

And Paul is telling them that's what you get to boast in the cross of Jesus Christ.

What Paul just told them turns worldly thinking completely upside down for them.

It's not about you, it's about what Jesus did for you.

That's why Paul says at the second half of 14, he says, the world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.

You know, this is another way of saying the things of this world are dead to me and are of no worth, and I'm dead and of no worth to the things of the world and how the world thinks.

When Jesus was crucified, and when Paul accepted Christ, he can make this statement at the end of verse 14.

And I think we should be able to make that statement as well.

The world has been crucified through to me through the cross, and I to the world.

Paul said in Philippians chapter 3, verses 8 and 9, he said this I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Philippians 3:8

Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things, and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.

I just keep thinking of that as I'm going over these passages.

This earth is not our home.

We no longer live for the things of this world.

We now live for the kingdom of God.

The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.

Look at verse 15 with me.

For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing.

What matters instead is a new creation.

You know, Paul already told them, and we already talked about this, there's no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, since you are all one in Christ.

All that matters is that we're a new creation in Christ.

Because that becomes our identity.

Identifying in Christ.

And who we are in Christ is now the standard that we live by.

It's not by the world standard anymore, it's by the being found in Jesus Christ.

That's why he says in 16, may peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God.

So who is the Israel of God?

It's the sons of Abraham according to faith, not ancestry.

As we talked so much about in chapter 3.

Not teaching replacement theology here, that's not what we're talking about.

Um, but you can go back and listen to chapter 3 if you would like to dig into that a little bit more.

Verse 17.

From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

You know, we know from Paul's list in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 that Paul suffered great things physically for Christ.

2 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

He went through the 39 lashes multiple times, beaten with rods multiple times, he was stoned, he was shipwrecked.

These are all things that would leave a mark or a scar similar to those of Jesus Christ.

And that word we have here for Mark, you know, here in verse 17, it's the only time in the whole New Testament that this word is used.

And I didn't have time to make a slide, so I'm just gonna read you the Greek definition for that word mark.

It says, a mark pricked in or branded upon the body.

To ancient Oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or the stamp of their master or commander, branded or pricked or cut into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to.

And there were even some devotees who stamped themselves in this way with the token of their gods.

Paul saw his scars that he bore for suffering for the sake of Christ as a sign of who he worshiped.

Paul is bearing the marks of his master, is basically what he's saying here.

And the bodily marks of his master wasn't the mark of circumcision, as the Judaizers would want to teach them.

It was the marks of Jesus' suffering that Paul identified with.

And I think he's telling the Galatians this to say, don't let my suffering make you think that I'm doing something wrong or that I can't be trusted.

My suffering is a mark of following Jesus Christ as my master.

You know, the Judaizers wanted to follow the law, we learned, to avoid persecution, didn't they?

They probably pointed to Paul's persecution as a reason to believe that he was doing something wrong or he was teaching something wrong.

So he just says, From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

Verse 18.

Brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Amen.

This whole time it's all been about grace, hasn't it?

And what a fitting way, I think, for Paul to close this letter.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your little S spirit, as we were talking about so much.

You know, remember we define that as the part of us that is eternal, and that when we come to Christ, it is the part of us that becomes one with the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

So the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit as you wage war against the flesh, as you wage war against these Judaizers and what they're teaching, as you face persecution for the sake of the cross.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit as you face all of these things and walk in the newness of life that is Christ Jesus.

You know, if I had to sum up the book of Galatians in one word, it would obviously be grace.

But I think if I had to give one application of how to live by grace and not legalism, it would be chapter 5, verse 25, if you want to look at it.

It's right there next door to chapter 6.

It's chapter 5, verse 25.

I think this is how we can sum up the application of Galatians the best.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Because if we're in step with the Spirit, we don't have to worry about laws.

We don't have to worry about rules to keep us holy.

Because the Holy Spirit will never lead us to rebel against God.

It'll never lead us to do anything that's outside of Scripture.

He will only lead us to sow the fruit of the Spirit by the Spirit.

And the law, as Paul said, is not against such things.

Because if we're sowing by the Spirit, it's impossible to sow wickedness in the flesh, isn't it?

So walk in step with the Spirit.

I think that's the biggest thing that we could take from Galatians.

Would you please pray with me?

Lord, we thank you so much for this book.

We thank you for all that you've shown us and that you've taught us through this.

Lord, I pray that we would take each one of these things to heart, that we would learn to truly walk in step with the Spirit.

And Lord, we know that we fail on a daily basis and we give into our flesh way more often than we should.

But Lord, would it be through the power of the Holy Spirit living in and through us that those things would be able to be starved in our lives and crucified and done away with for good?

And may we depend upon you more than ever to do those things for us.

Our flesh is still way stronger than it should be, and it fails constantly.

But Lord help us to continue to feed the spirit so that that would grow and that voice would become longer and str and stronger and louder than the voice of our flesh that's crying out for the things of this world, Lord.

The things that satisfy the flesh, but but leave us desiring, leave holes in our life.

But help us to walk by the power of the Holy Spirit, in step with the Holy Spirit, to know and experience and to show your grace to the world around us.

Help us in this process.

We need you so desperately.

We're so weak on our own.

But with the power of the Holy Spirit, live in and through us, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.