The Constant Battle (Galatians 5:16-24)

The battle between good and evil continues in our nation and around the world … and in the lives of everyday Christians.

— we continue to have vile comments about Charlie Kirk and sadly, sometimes among family and friends

— we had a Muslim mayor telling a Christian that he wasn’t welcome in the city

— we had three police officers killed and two critically wounded in a planned ambush

— we continue to have the persecution of Christians by Muslims in the Congo, Nigeria and other places

— we have the continuing wars in Gaza and between Russia and Ukraine

I’m sure that you can all think of your own examples … but one thing in all this … is the battle between good and evil … the battle between people of faith … specifically Christians and those who don’t have faith.

As I said last week … we shouldn’t be surprised.  Jesus said: ““If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.””

As Christians — as those who have trusted in Christ as Savior and Lord — we have to recognize one thing — we are in a long, contentious, and difficult battle …  

It is a constant spiritual battle — on two fronts … with those who are not believers … and within ourselves … which we will see more of in a moment.

Turn with me to our Epistle lesson from Galatians 5 — where the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, sets before us the battle within ourselves that we go through each and every day —

— the battle between walking in the Spirit and walking after the flesh — and he tells us how we can have victory in the battle that is before us.

As we consider the passage that is before us, a few of things must be kept in mind.

First, those without Christ — those who do not know Christ as Savior and Lord can only walk after the flesh — this is because of what we know as the sin nature … the nature that we are born with.

This is clearly evident as we think about those example that I mentioned at the beginning —

This the only way the non-Christian can walk because they do not have the Holy Spirit of God living with in them … the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and came upon us at the time of our salvation.

Second, because of this fleshly nature … the Christian life itself is really a battle … it is a struggle — and will continue to be so … to the day that we meet our Savior face to face.

Many portray the Christian life as a bed of roses … that is, if you accept Christ as your Savior, you life will be something easy … all your problems will go away …  everything will be hunky-dory.

This simply is not true — the true Christian life is and always will be a battle — a constant conflict between walking and living as Christians — that is, according to the Spirit — and walking after the old desires of the flesh … and …

The continual battle with those who do not believe … again … we see this battle on the two fronts that are before us.

Thirdly, no battle is more important for us as Christians — because it relates directly to our Sanctification.

Sanctification — simply means our growth as Christians — becoming more Christ-like in our actions, our reactions, our talk — in short, in all aspects of our lives.

In our Epistle lesson God is trying to teach us — the process of putting off and putting on.

When we become Christians we put off the old ways and put on the new ways of Christ.

It doesn’t happen immediately… it doesn’t happen all at once… but it is a continuing work.

You might have heard the saying “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”

While I don’t like the triteness of some “bumper sticker” sayings, this one expresses a truth.

We are not perfect in all that we do or are — and we will never be perfect — but, at the same time we are to strive for perfection in our actions, reactions, words, etc.

But we must always remember that even though we are not actually perfect … we are counted as perfect in God’s eyes because of our relationship to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In other words, when God looks at us through the Lord Jesus Christ, he doesn’t see our imperfections — our sin — He sees the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ!

That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t change.

In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, he puts it this way:

““… that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.””

He then gets specific … put off lying and tell the truth … put off stealing and put on working to earn your living …

and ““Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.”” 

The old verses the new… the old goes away… the old becomes new. 

Again, this is the process of growth that we go through — sanctification. 

It is a continuous process. 

It is really a combination of a completed work and an uncompleted work that will continue until meet God when we pass from this life to the next.

What do I mean by this? 

Again … as I said … we are accounted as complete because of the work of Christ.

In other words — the perfect righteousness of Christ is placed to our account — by faith — but at the same time God is working in us to conform us to the image of His Son. 

In Colossians 3, the Apostle Paul puts it this way:

““But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another …. AND … as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.””

Putting off … putting on … do you see the pattern that God has set before us?

And then that which we read here in our passage in Galatians 5 … where we read:

““I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.””

The implication in the original being that if walk in the Spirit then you will definitely not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

That is — as we walk by the spirit of God we will not have to follow the desires of the flesh … our human nature which is sinful and can only act that way.

Because of God’s work in our lives we can now walk by the Spirit and do what is right and acceptable before God.

But even more — we see that verse 16 clearly indicates that there is a conflict between the Spirit and the flesh … and therefore between the believer’s life that now has the Spirit of God living within him … and his old, sinful self.

When we were not Christians, we were walking side by side with Satan — the flesh — but after acknowledging Christ as Savior and Lord, we are now on a collision course with Satan.

You see, when we become Christians, the Spirit of God enters our hearts… he enters our lives — it is that which makes us Christians.

And that is why there is this battle… that is why we are at war within ourselves — the old man verses the new man — the one who used to be controlled by Satan and the one now controlled by God through the Holy Spirit.

We see in verse 17, this fact emphasized: ““For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.””

This is similar to the thought that the Apostle Paul expresses in Romans 7: ““For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.””

And then he continues: ““But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?””

We see that there is this battle … this constant conflict — Notice that Paul says here in Romans that he doesn’t do what he wants to do — and he does that which he doesn’t want to do. 

Or, in familiar words: We have left undone those things that we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done!

Do you ever find yourself in that position struggling — you want to do certain things — and you can’t … and you don’t want to do certain things and yet you do them?? 

No wonder Paul said: ““O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?””

But if it stopped here — that is, giving into this battle — we would be in deep trouble.

He doesn’t stop there — continuing in Romans 7 and into Romans 8, we read: ““I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.””

““There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.””

Simply, we need to thank God for Jesus Christ!!

It is the Spirit of God through the Lord Jesus Christ that enables us to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Think about that as we read on in Galatians 5:19-21:

““Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.””

This is quite a list … similar to others in the scriptures … such as in Romans 1 and in Ephesians and Colossians.

Our purpose is not to go through each of these things — but even a cursory glance at these things which God says are wrong … are accepted by society today — or at least tolerated.

You should also note that while the really obvious sins are listed, such as adultery and murder, others that we don’t usually associate are there …

— and note specifically that they are in the same list — contentions, sorcery, selfish ambitions, envy, heresies, revelries and others.

But for the Christian … this is not what we are supposed to be like — because if we walk by the Spirit of God, then we don’t need to fill the lusts of the flesh — we can bear fruit.

And we can exhibit some of the fruit of the Spirit … for example … as described here in 5:22-23: ““But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.””

Do you see the contrast that is before us in God’s Word??

The contrast between walking in the flesh and walking in the Spirit.

Before we became Christians we followed the desires of our sinful natures.

We had no choice but to follow the sinful desires of our hearts.

But when we became Christians … when we trusted in Christ as Savior and Lord, believing that he died for our sins …

— then we have been given new hearts — hearts that can love and obey God — which we could not do before.

Notice the concluding words that are similar to words at the beginning of our passage — 5:25: ““If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.””

The point of it all is that as Christians we are to walk by the Spirit — so then we must rightly ask — what does that mean?

It means that we have to let the Spirit guide us … we have to let the Spirit guide our actions … our reactions … our thoughts … our words …

The Holy Spirit in our lives will guide us into doing what is right.

And we know what the Spirit of God wants us to do by reading and studying God’s Word — because that is where God has revealed Himself to us.

One thing we must remember is that the Holy Spirit will never guide us in a way that is contrary to God’s word — you can be sure of that.

So … we see the two ways contrasted … we see that the Christian — even though we are in battle … can walk by Spirit.

We CAN put off the old man and put on the new.

Will it be easy — no — certainly not … it’s something Paul through …

It is a battle … it is a conflict

and — at times we may loose individual battles …

— but we can be assured of one thing — we will win the war — we have God’s promise on that — because Jesus has won the war for us — on our behalf.