Mark was very poor at spelling. On examination day he was stumped by many difficult words. Softly the tempter whispered, “Look at Jane’s paper; she’s an honour student and always gets them right!” Mark heeded the suggestion and copied several answers. The teacher noticed his actions and was greatly surprised, for she had always thought of him as an honest boy. When it came time to collect the completed work, she observed that Mark was having an inner struggle. After bowing his head for a moment, he suddenly tore up his paper. Although at first he had yielded to temptation, he finally decided to take a zero rather than be dishonest. Calling the boy to her desk, the teacher said, “I was watching you, Mark, and I want you to know that I’m very proud of you for what you did just now. Today you really passed a much greater examination than your spelling test!”

Life is full of many temptations greater than cheating on a spelling test. Often we fail to do right. God wants us to live victorious lives. He wants us to defeat sin and do right.

Transition

This evening we are going to see from Galatians 5:16-17, three duties we must perform if we are to live victoriously.

Identify the Problem

1. The Christians flesh and spirit are enemies (v.17).
   1. Our sinful nature loves the lust of the flesh: evil desires, impulses, and passions that are constantly arising in our old evil nature.
   2. When a person is washed clean by the blood of Christ, God does not remove the evil nature that previously controlled him. That will not happen until he gets to heaven. However, God breaks its power over the believer so he is not forced obey it.
   3. In addition, the indwelling Person of the Holy Spirit urges the believer to live righteously. He encourages the believer to “flee youthful lusts.” (2 Timothy 2:22)
      (1 Peter 2:11) “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”
2. These two natures are at war.
   Like a tug of war, they both struggle for the victory.
   1. These two natures CANNOT be at peace. They are like opposite poles of a magnet; like water and fire; like light and darkness. There is no middle ground. In each area of your life either the flesh or the Spirit is the victor at any moment.
   2. Both natures fight for control. In other words, it is a two-way fight. It is like a boxing match.
      1. When the flesh strongly appeals to the believer, the Holy Spirit fights against it. He urges the believer to do right. He urges him to wear God’s armour.
         (Ephesians 6:11-12) “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
      2. When the Holy Spirit urges the believer to live righteously, the flesh opposes the Spirit’s godly prodding.
         (Galatians 5:17) “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit”

Meet the Conditions

God promises every Christian the victory over sin if they will but meet his condition. As a conditional promise, victory will not come unless the condition is met.

1. The condition is that we must walk in the Spirit.
   ² “The secret of victory over sin is found in subjection to a divine Person, the Holy Spirit.” Wuest, GNT, p. 153
   1. As we yield to the desires and leading of the Holy Spirit, He can fill us with his power.
      (Ephesians 5:18) “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”
   2. This command to be filled with the Spirit is in the passive voice saying that we must allow the Spirit to fill us. It is not of our doing. He longs to fill us and control us, if we will let him. As we yield to him, we walk in the Spirit. The more we surrender the more he fills – in proportion.
   3. It is important that we know how to let the Spirit fill us.
      1. First we must live in the Spirit (Ga 5:25). In other words, we must be truly saved. One reason that many people struggle to walk in the Spirit is because the Spirit does not even live in them. They are unsaved (Ro 8:9).
      2. Clean your life for the Holy Spirit by confessing and forsaking all known sin. He will not tolerate sin.
      3. Accept that you are dead to sin and alive unto God (Ro 6:11). Believe that the Spirit wants to help you.
      4. Stop letting sin reign as king (Ro 6:12). Want the Holy Spirit to take control of your entire life.
      5. Yield your eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, and mind to the Holy Spirit and not to sin (Ro 6:13). Each day give your members to God’s control.
      6. Obey God’s Word.
2. When we walk in the Spirit, God promises us that we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
   1. The fleshly desires of our evil nature will not be fulfilled. They will shrivel and starve.
   2. This will result in two things:
      1. Victory. The “not” in verse 16 is a double negative in the Greek. In English, two negatives equal a positive, but in Greek two negatives equal a mega negative. God promises absolute victory when the Holy Spirit is in control. What a blessing. We CAN defeat sin!
      2. Power. As we give the Holy Spirit control, He gives us power to defeat Satan and serve the Lord.
         (Ephesians 6:10) “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”
         Again this command is in the passive voice telling us to allow the Lord to strengthen us. He is our source of power. We are powerless against such a foe as Satan.

Stay Awake and Be Ready!

Unfortunately, the war will not be won until we reach heaven. We win individual battles as we yield to the Lord, but the enemy will not quit. We are in a continual fight. How can we be victorious?

1. Daily pray for victory.
   1. Every day yield your members to God.
   2. Every day ask God to keep you from sin. Ask him to help you stay awake and be ready for Satan’s attacks.
      (1 Peter 5:8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (9) Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
2. Stay close to God.
   1. Daily draw near to God and confess all sin. The more we feed our spiritual lives on the Bible, preaching, prayer, memorization of the Word, and witnessing, the easier it is to do right.
      (James 4:8) “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
   2. Follow right with those who have pure hearts.
      (2 Timothy 2:22) “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
      ² If you spend time in the enemy’s camp, you can expect to get shot at more often.
   3. Stay out of the enemy’s camp and stay close to the Lord. Be like chicks under their mother’s wings. This biblical doctrine of separation is for our protection.

Conclusion

How well are you doing your duties to get victory over sin? Have you understood the problem? Do you really understand why it is a battle to do right? Are you meeting God’s conditions? Are you staying awake and ready? The battle lasts a lifetime.

If you have let down your guard after a victory, confess your sin to God and stop doing it. Let’s fight the Devil and never quit!

Song: 496 Victory in Jesus
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Victory Over Evil
22 March 2015 pm – Galatians 5:16-17 – Scott Childs