Preventing Sin

13 January 2013 AM – Galatians 5:13-16 – Scott Childs

Introduction: The law forbids sin, and some Galatians argued that rejecting the law as a means of salvation and trusting Christ alone to save would open the door to sin. They reasoned that if the law does not bind sinners, they could do as they please. They misunderstood the Christian life.

Transition: In this section, Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, points out four ways we can prevent sin.

I.              By Not Using Liberty as a Basis for Sin Gal 5:13

A.     Some viewed the law as sin’s ONLY restraint.

1.      They claim the only reason people do not sin is that God’s law forbids it. Sin was the norm then too.

Sin was normal in the Roman and Greek cultures. Seneca, a 1^st century Roman philosopher said, “Chastity is simply a proof of ugliness.” ^{(Seneca, On Benefits 3.16.1-3)} “Innocence,” says Seneca, “is not rare, it is non-existent.” ^{(On Anger 2,8)} The sin of homosexuality was even more prevalent in Paul’s day than it is today. Barclay draws the following conclusion: “It has been said that chastity was the one completely new virtue which Christianity introduced into the pagan world.”

2.      They argued that liberty (depending on Christ instead of the law for salvation) removes sin’s restraint and opens the door to sin. With no law, nothing would restrain sin. This was faulty reasoning.

B.     Christians must not use liberty as a basis to sin.

1.      Liberty must not be an occasion to the flesh.

a)      The word translated “occasion” is a military word that describes a base of operations, like a starting-point or basis.

b)      The word “flesh” refers not to our skin, but to our earthly nature prone to sin and opposed to God.

2.      God is clearly against Christian’s sinning. It is wrong for a Christian to think, “I am saved and I cannot lose that salvation, so I might as well live any way that I please”. The second sin prevention tells us why.

II.            By Love Serve One Another Gal 5:13-14

A.     Love opposes sinful living.

1.      Note the second half of verse 13 begins with the word “but”. The word translated “but” is a very strong contrasting conjunction. God says that love is the opposite of fulfilling the lust of the flesh.

2.      This love is agape love or God’s love. It is a self-sacrificing, giving love. This love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit controlling a yielded Christian’s life, (v. 22).

3.      Through love, Christians are to serve one another. The word translated “serve” means to become a slave or to serve as a slave.

a)      Slaves have no rights. They work to please their master not themselves.

b)      A serving attitude motivated by God’s love would keep us from sinning against each other.

B.     Love fulfils the whole law.

1.      You cannot sin against a person and love that person at the same time. It is like trying to keep a room dark but having a light on at the same time. It is impossible. The two actions are like the opposite ends of a magnet.

2.      God tells us here that we can condense all the laws of the Bible in one word – love.

a)      Jesus called this the second commandment.

Matthew 22:37-39 ³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

b)      James calls it the “royal law”.

James 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

c)      We must not forget Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan that identifies anyone in need as our neighbour.

3.      If we truly love others as we love ourselves, we will not sin against them. The third sin prevention addresses the opposite of love.

III.           By Not Acting Like Savage Animals Gal 5:15

A.     We are not to live like savage animals

1.      In this verse, Paul describes three actions of fighting savage animals.

a)      They bite with their teeth.

b)      They devour or eat up their prey.

c)      They consume or destroy their prey.

2.      Christians must not act like savage animals.

a)      People bite with gossip, backbiting, slander, angry words, cruel words, and name-calling.

b)      People devour with cruelty, hate, bitterness, unkindness, abuse, and vengeance. Bible says,

Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

3.      Instead, we are to be kind and forgiving.

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

B.     Those who act like savage animals will always lose.

1.      Those who oppose each other, destroy each other. There is no winner in sinful conflicts.

2.      It takes two to fight. If you join in, you will share in the loss.

a)      The battle may be with your spouse, with your parent, with your child, with your neighbour, or with a fellow Christian – but if you fight, you will lose your fellowship with God, your testimony, your peace, and often, precious relationships.

b)      At the root of all such battles is carnality.

1 Corinthians 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

IV.          By Walking in the Spirit Gal 5:16

A.     The Holy Spirit wants to control our lives

1.      The believer is free from the bondage of the law, but God placed him under a superior control, that of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

2.      The Holy Spirit is a far more powerful control than the law for several reasons:

a)      He indwells the believer. The law does not.

b)      He is always present. The law is not.

c)      He restrains evil. The law threatens evil.

d)      He motivates to do right. The law does not.

A policeman on the street corner is a far more efficient deterrent of law-breaking than any number of city ordinances posted for public notice. ^(Wuest)

B.     We must walk in the Spirit all the time

1.      To walk in the Spirit is more than just having him indwell us. He indwells every true believer, but not every true believer walks in the Spirit.

2.      Every Christian is in a constant battle. Our old nature pulls us to sin and our new nature pulls us to righteousness.

“Our old nature is like the pig and the raven, always looking for something unclean on which to feed. Our new nature is like the sheep and the dove, yearning for that which is clean and holy”. ^{(W. Wiersbe)}

3.      Walk is a common picture of travelling the “road of life” and making progress upon it. ^(Guzik) People know you by your walk (the way you live).

4.      “Walk in the Spirit” is a clear command from God.

a)      Walking in the Spirit is living all day long yielded to his control and obeying his conviction.

b)      Walking in the Spirit is continually walking in the power and under the divine direction of the Holy Spirit.

c)      Walking in the Spirit is a fragile moment-by-moment dependence on the Spirit.

5.      Walking in the Spirit overcomes the flesh.

Next week, Lord willing, we will talk more about walking in the Spirit.

Conclusion: We all struggle with sin, but we can prevent sin if we will obey the four ways we find in this scripture. Do not use liberty as a basis for sin. Serve others in love. Be kind and forgiving. Walk in the Spirit. These are not easy to do, but they will definitely help us prevent sin. The first step however is to know the Lord.

Song: Yield Not to Temptation – 364