Walk in the Spirit
20 January 2013 AM – Galatians 5:16-17 – Scott Childs
Introduction: You may not know much about walking in the Spirit yet, but how many of you believe God wants you to walk in the Spirit? __ How many of you believe you could walk in the Spirit if you did what God required? __
Dr. R.A. Torrey who died in 1928 once said that if the Holy Spirit had been removed from the early church 95% of what they did would have stopped immediately, but if He were removed from the modern church, 95% of what we do would continue without interruption.
Nearly a century has passed since R.A. Torrey’s day, but it seems that fewer Christians depend on the Holy Spirit today than in Torrey’s day. What has is happening?
Pastor Alan Carr reminds us, we are living in days when churches are doing everything they can to make themselves more attractive to the world. Softening the message, changing the music, doing away with many of the things that have always marked fundamental believers, are the hallmarks of the modern church. The modern church has become more concerned about being liked by the world than about being full of the Holy Spirit.
There has never been a time that Christians need to walk in the Spirit more than today.
Transition: This morning we are going to look at walking in the Spirit from three perspectives so we learn what it is, how to do it, and what it will benefit.
I. The Responsibility
A. The Bible reveals what it means to walk in the Spirit.
1. We see immediately that God contrasts this walk with fulfilling the lust of the flesh. The two are opposite. Note the list of fleshly sins listed in Gal 5:19-21.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. It is not the same as living in the Spirit (Gal 5:25). Every true Christian lives in the Spirit or in the Spirit’s presence because the Spirit indwells them. However, not every Christian walks in the Spirit.
3. It is called a “walk” because live is like a journey. It is not a one-time event. It is a daily activity.
4. Walking in the Spirit is letting the Holy Spirit direct all you do and think. It is being under the Holy Spirit’s constant moment-by-moment control and guidance.
a) Walking in the Spirit requires yielding to Him.
Romans 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
b) Walking in the Spirit requires a clean, pure heart. You cannot walk in the Spirit with sin in your life. Sin is not relative. It is absolute, defined by God.
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.
c) Walking in the Spirit requires harmony and closeness with the Holy Spirit.
Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
d) Walking in the Spirit requires spending quality time with Him daily in Bible study and prayer.
B. God commands us to walk in the Spirit.
1. The word “walk” is a command. To be right with God, we must obey this command. Partial obedience is disobedience.
God challenged me this week from Proverbs 1:20-33. Wisdom is the God-given ability to make right choices. Speaking as a person, Wisdom begs us to fear the Lord, turn from evil, and follow her advice. If we do not listen, the day will come when we need wisdom and she will mock us and our foolish choices will destroy us. In the same way, now is the time to obey God’s command to walk in the Spirit.
2. It is a continual command. It is our daily duty.
It is continual, ongoing, command like a parent’s warning, “Be good!”, just before leaving a child with a friend.
C. If you are a Christian, you can walk in the Spirit.
1. God would not ask you to do something that you could not do.
2. If you are willing to let the Holy Spirit take control of every single area of your life, you can walk in the Spirit.
II. The Result
A. Our choices are opposites.
1. God promises you that if you walk in the Spirit you will in no wise fulfil the lusts of the flesh. The word “not” is a double negative in the original.
Bob Utley comments on the double negative. The strongest negation possible in Koine Greek utilizes the DOUBLE NEGATIVE with an AORIST SUBJUNCTIVE which means “never under any circumstances.”
2. Think about that promise. It is absolutely impossible to walk in the Spirit and fulfil the lust of the flesh at the same time.
John Eadie states, The clause is a conclusion following an imperative – do the one, and the other shall follow. . . the two courses are incompatible – the one excludes the other.
a) This is a blessing because God promises me that when I walk in the Spirit I can be victorious over the sins of the flesh.
b) It is also revealing that any time I yield to a temptation; I am not walking in the Spirit.
3. Before you say, “It is no possible!”, remember that Christ died to break the chains of sin in your life.
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
B. Our need is obvious.
1. Before you can defeat the flesh, you must walk in the Spirit.
2. You must make a sincere choice.
a) Victory can be yours. Lust, filth, evil habits, dirty thoughts, addictions to godless music or pornography, and filthy language can be defeated.
b) You must hate your sin enough to surrender it to God, yield to the Holy Spirit, and say “NO” to sin. Stopping your sin cold turkey (an abrupt withdrawal) is the only way to break a wicked sinful lifestyle.
A thief does not overcome kleptomania by only stealing once a week. A drunk will not overcome alcohol by reducing his weekly intake. A Christian addicted to godless music will not overcome that addiction by limiting that music. A man addicted to porn will not overcome that vice by slowing down. In every case, the sinner must hate the sin, yield it to God, and stop it completely.
3. If you do nothing, you will automatically fulfil the lust of the flesh by default.
III. The Reason
A. The flesh and the Spirit are enemies
Oil and water do not mix. If you put oil and water in a bottle and shake them up, when the motion stops, they will separate again. The same is true of the flesh and the Spirit. They have nothing in common and will not mix. There is no such thing as Christian stealing, or Christian pornography, or Christian lust, or Christian Rock. Each of these is impossible. They are opposites and cannot mix.
1. The flesh desires things contrary to the Spirit.
2. The Spirit desires things contrary to the flesh.
Thomas Constable put it this way, “This verse does not present two natures fighting each other inside the Christian. The conflicting entities are God’s Holy Spirit within the believer and the believer’s sinful human nature (cf. 3:3; 4:29; 5:16, 18, 22, 25; Rom. 8:4-6, 9, 13). We experience conflict whether we side with the Spirit against the flesh or with the flesh against the Spirit.”
B. You decide who wins the struggle each day.
1. If you yield to the flesh, you cannot please the Holy Spirit.
2. However, the verse assumes that you will walk in the Spirit so you cannot do the things that your flesh desires. With God’s help, you can!
Conclusion: This morning we have looked at the responsibility, the result, and the reason for walking in the Spirit. It does not matter if you have been a Christian for 5 minutes or 50 years, you must moment-by-moment choose to walk in the Spirit or you will fulfil the lusts of the flesh. God wants you to walk in the Spirit. Will you do it? It is not just for super saints. It is for every Christian. If you choose to walk in the Spirit, will you ever trip? Yes, but you can get back up, confess your failure, and get walking again.
Perhaps you have not yet received Jesus as your Saviour. If so, the Holy Spirit does not yet live in you. You must receive Christ’s salvation first.
Song: I Surrender All – 394