Righteous Action is by Faith through Love

Galatians 5:1-12

1For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach[c] circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

 

  1. Jesus Set us Free on Purpose

       

  1. We are free from the penalty of our sin

Keep reminding yourself that it’s either Jesus’ gift of  your   righteousness or your ability to be righteous that you cling to.

 

Christ sets us free from the obligation to keep the law perfectly.   And circumcision is not a part of God’s moral law.

 

 

  1. Do not give up your freedom
  2. 1-3

Do not move from trusting Jesus to pay the penalty for your sin.

 

Let me remind you of Romans 7:

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

 

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

 

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

 

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

 

 

 

  1. Do not enslave others

 

I John 3:

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

 

Romans 14:

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

 

14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

 

22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

 

 

  1. The Holy Spirit Produces Righteous Behavior

v.5

5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

  1. This is personal leading

        The Holy Spirit will lead people into good character. And people are responsible to be led by the Spirit. So, walk in the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Paul is headed there. The contrast between the acts of the flesh and the acts of the spirit are key. The Holy Spirit will lead you to being loving, kind, patient, self-controlled, gentle, faithful etc. And when you understand that you are not doing this perfectly, then set your mind on the things of the spirit and move toward that!!!!

 

  1. This is not opposed to the law

        Matthew 5 Jesus extends the law on purpose. The law is a   reflection of the character of God and the standards of behavior     that God expects in His creation. It’s not complicated. The law       does not make you righteous. It shows that you are not   righteous.

 

We do not follow the Spirit into disobedience to God’s law. We do         not do works of the flesh by the Spirit.

 

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity,           sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries,           dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I   warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

 

  1. We must trust the Holy Spirit to do this (empower us to obey Jesus’ teaching and example)

 

The Spirit teaches us.

The Spirit empowers us.

We focus our minds on the Spirit. We meditate on how we

can exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in every situation.

This is a guide, not a list.

We can ask for and expect power to overcome our negative                 desires.

III. Faith Working through Love is Jesus’ Way Forward

v.6

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision        counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

  1. Love God and neighbor

What does it mean to love?

 

Love one another as I have loved you.

 

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

  1. Trust God to empower you to do this

We are not going to do this perfectly. But we are called to do battle with the elements of our human nature that drive us away from the Spirit and toward the flesh. Choose to walk by the Spirit!!

 

 

  1. Trust God to give you life as you deny self

 

This is a long way from circumcision for righteousness. Hence Paul’s anger.