Galatians 5, starting at verse 22. Let's pray. Holy Spirit, we ask that as we come to your word that you would convict us of sin and unrighteousness. lead us into truth and take what belongs to the sun and impress it upon us. That we would have reason to be encouraged in the preaching of the word and also reasons to pray for growth, perhaps be challenged so that we may reflect all the more the character of our God. And so, Lord, I ask that you would enable me to speak your word in truth for the benefit and service to my brothers and sisters present with me today. We ask these things in your name. Amen. Starting at verse 22, reading through verse 5 of chapter 6. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, Against such there is no law, and those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load." In this passage, Paul is dealing with true spirituality. Interestingly enough, in the States, as religious service attendance is on the decrease, religious identification and personal prayer decreasing, an interest in spirituality is on the rise. Seeking spiritual peace and vibes, if you will, is a very common interest now. And so when someone says that they are spiritual, It would be foolish for us to accept that claim without knowing the source of their spirituality. From whom or what does your spirituality flow? And so in our text this morning, Paul states clearly the source of spirituality and its result. Where the spirit of God is not present, true spirituality does not exist. And likewise, where one claims to have the spirit of the living God, fruit must be produced. So let's look again at that fruit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, self-control. What beautiful fruit is present here? Who would not like to be described as having these virtues? So the first question in which we are called to wrestle with is, how does one come about gaining this fruit, producing such virtue? Think with me a moment about, excuse me, fruit. How do we make or create fruit? Well, certainly we don't put it together as we would a table or a chair. There aren't instructions that come with your Apple about where to screw in a leg as if we were building a table. Fruit has to develop and grow from a source that can produce life. And so if we were driving our car, we may see some fruit on a tree, but we certainly wouldn't see it at a stop sign or a street light. fruit springs forth from a source that can produce life. And so men who are without the spirit, what does Paul believe that they produce? So verse 19 in chapter five, now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, and so on and so forth. And so he then concludes, what does this produce? These things produce fruit that does not inherit the kingdom of God. And so what hope is there for men who are not producing this fruit? Men whose source of spirituality is themselves. Well, would they seek justification in the praise of one another? Well, I can't be a dead man because everyone I meet, they commend me and praise me for my great manners, how loving and caring and generous I am, so surely I must be producing the right kind of fruit. And if that is one's justification, I would ask that you would allow me to bring two things for your consideration. One, no man ever walked this earth more worthy of praise than Christ. And they murdered him. So take the praise of man with a huge grain of salt. Friends, do people say you're nice and loving? That's great. However, if the Lord was to look at your heart, if all your external efforts and achievements are removed and you must simply give your heart before the Lord, would he see your desires, your passions, or would he see his spirit? And so the answer to our question, what hope is there for dead men to produce the fruit of life? And that is to be made alive and only Christ can accomplish this task. If you'd like, you can turn with me to Ephesians two. So going one book over where we see clearly what it is to be brought to life. And so Ephesians two, starting at verse one and you, he made alive. who were dead in trespasses and sins. And so dead means dead. It does not mean hampered. It does not mean we simply needed an assist. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. So continuing on, dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ By grace, you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. And Paul brings these truths to light towards the later section in Ephesians 5, verse 25. He is calling those who have been indwelled with the spirit, those who have been given life to walk in the spirit, to keep in step with the spirit of God. And so what walk does Paul have in mind? Is the apostle here referring to a pleasant stroll in the park, a jog on a nice fair weathered day. And so the idea of walking with the Spirit in 25 as this soldiers marching in a row, being led by the Spirit, conforming to the one who is leading our charge, the Spirit of God, the same Spirit that rose Christ from the dead. Have you ever considered that? So Romans 8 11, but if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. What a powerful blessing we have received. The same spirit that rose Christ from the dead, excuse me, dwells in you. I can remember, through the generosity of a family member, being taken to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And boy, was I just overwhelmed with it. And one of the interesting things about it is, as you're walking through the exhibits, you'll see cleats, jerseys, gloves, footballs encased in glass. And so I would look at these prized items for sports memorabilia and go, I wonder how much these things would cost. And so why is there so much worth attributed to these things? Because someone would say, these were the actual cleats this running back wore when they rushed for this many yards in a game. These were the actual gloves that this receiver wore when he caught that touchdown pass. Christians, the spirit that is in us is the same that raised our Lord from the grave. And so we cannot wave our finger at those who place worth on worthless items and ignore this great blessing that we have received. And so Paul calls us to walk with the spirit, to walk by the spirit. And so in light of this march, Paul then gives us a warning. This is 26 in chapter 5. Let us not become conceited. And because if we become conceited, what happens? We would provoke one another and envy one another. And so we stated earlier that where the spirit does not exist, there is no spirituality. Similarly, where one claims to be dwelled with the spirit, and is continually provoking or envying one another in the household of faith, they are mistaken. Picture with me two friends at a batting cage. And you happen to be able to watch this happen. You have your cotton candy or your funnel cake, whatever item you look for when you go to these kind of things. And one batter is crushing every ball, home run after home run after home run. And the person directly next to them is failing quite miserably. I mean, people are stopping and recording this on their phones because of the weakness that is being made evident. What is the proficient hitter to do? Is he to take this opportunity to provoke his weaker brother and say, you're terrible. I'm hitting every ball and you can't hit one. Clearly, I'm better than you. You're worthless. What is the weaker hitter to do? It's the weaker hitter to envy the proficient hitter. My life is miserable. If only I could be like this person. If only I could swing like the proficient hitter, life would be right. Neither of these approaches would display what Paul is after. And so in this illustration, we see exactly why Paul gives us these first five verses in chapter six, because sometimes strong hitters forget that they have an obligation to correct, assist, and love on weak hitters. And sometimes weak hitters forget that God has placed them in a household of faith in which what is weak can be made strong and their swing can be restored. And so for the rest of this sermon, we're going to focus on two individuals, the spiritual, but fallen, and the spiritual, but deceived. And so the spiritual, but fallen, who are they? Pretty much all the commentators agree. I think it's pretty clear that these are brothers and sisters. They are truly indwelled with the spirit, the same spirit that rose Christ from the dead, but they are experiencing difficulty or have been overtaken by two types of afflictions. And so in chapter six and verse one, we see trespass. So, brother, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, and so the idea here is not a prolonged period of sinning, a constant reality of rebelling against God's word. I guess the clearest way is imagine someone being tackled. This brother and sister has been overtaken by the flesh, the deceptiveness of the enemy, and they need to be restored. They need that bone set back into place. And the second one is burdens. And burdens are those things that make life heavy for us, but they're not necessarily sinful. It could be a physical ailment. It could be poverty or some sort of mental wrestling. And so this person also needs to be served by the household of faith. And so we're in the realms of trespass where it might be an outburst of anger in which those who are spiritual should say, hey, the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. But yet that burden in that second category might be something where the spirit leads individuals to bring good dinner conversation and a warm meal, an arm across the shoulder. I'm here for you. And so these are the two things that this spiritual but fallen person is being afflicted by. And so what are they to do? If it is a trespass, to own up to their shortcomings, repent, and receive the gentle correction of a brother or sister in the household of faith. If it's a burden, to be thankful that they are loved and that there are those within the body that wish to help them carry the load. Yet, does this always happen? How do you respond to correction? How do you feel when someone wants to help bear your burden? Or to go back to our batting illustration, when you are the weak hitter and the strong batter steps into your cage, what goes on in your mind? While studying this passage, I noticed the focus of the reproof is on the later individual that we're going to talk about, the spiritual but deceived. And this is a type of pride that looks at the body, sees struggles, sees hurts, and says, I'm better than this. I'm not called to serve at this capacity. And so that's certainly pride. But is there also not a pride that when someone is offering reproof, correction, or a helping hand, a pride that says, no, I don't need it, or it's not that bad, or who are you to try and correct me? Proverbs goes to great lengths to describe individuals who get in the way of their own aid and deliverance because of their pride. And so Proverbs 10, 17, he who keeps instruction is in the way of life. But he who refuses correction goes astray. Proverbs 9.8 Do not correct a scoffer. Why? Because he will hate you. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Proverbs 15.31 The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise. When you are corrected, when reproof is offered to you. And we're talking about spirit-led biblical reproof, not someone telling you, you know, why would you wear black socks with those sneakers or something like that. This is biblical reproof. How do you respond? Are we the scoffer that hates being told, hey, you don't know it all? May we seek the spirit that he would produce in us, a wise spirit, so that we would love those who invest in us wisdom, wisdom that gives life. Well, I've asked you how you respond to correction. Now, how do you respond when you are the one called to restore a brother or sister overtaken in a trespass? When it is your turn to bear someone's burden, or when you are then the strong hitter. Paul is quite clear that if you give yourself some reason, a long list of excuses as to why this does not apply to you, verse three, you think yourself to be something and you have deceived yourself. And so what are the reasons why we would try to justify ourselves from excluding our spirituality from the aspect of one another. One of them could be, that's their problem. They have fallen. That's on them. Pick yourself up and you do it. I have no time to help you. And so in light of that, you don't have to turn there. I'm going to be reading 1 John 4, verses 10 through 11. In this is love. Not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Church, our whole salvation rests on the principle of an innocent Jesus looking at your guilt, your wrongdoing, and bearing your burden. And so if the conduct of our master is a burden-bearing God, we as his servants have no reason to say that we deserve a better ministry, a better task in which we can display our great spirituality. Our God took your burden and suffered the wrath of God. And it was not Christ who made you pursue the sins, the iniquities that you would run after. It was you and your problem. And it is from the grace of God, the grace that we rejoice in, that Christ said, yes, I will bear your burden. I will take the punishment that you deserve. And so perhaps another one might be, and this is one that I can share with you guys that I sometimes struggle with as well, the excuse of, I don't really know them that well. How will they respond? What will they think? I don't know. I've barely talked to them. People who I talk to now, it's already awkward enough. And so you want me to go to this person and try to assist them? I don't know them. And so again, let's go back to Christ, the character of our God, Before salvation, he knew what was in your heart. Your heart, your desires for glorifying self, indulging in sin, your hatred towards God and his law was not a secret to him. And still he came, he sought after, redeemed, and purchased his bride, his people, so that he could produce in us righteousness. If you come to this ministry of the spirit, I mean, and let's consider the weight that Paul gives to burden bearing. He says that it's fulfilling the law of Christ. And you say that you have no share, no call to this, you are deceived. What gives you a sense of strong spirituality? What makes you feel as if your spirituality is vibrant and strong, if the question was posed to you? Is it that you can look at others and say, I don't do that. Therefore, my spirituality is strong. I don't sin like these people. Therefore, my spirituality is strong. The strength of spirituality is not exhibited and exposing the failures of others. True, strong spirituality is exhibited in fulfilling the law of Christ by bearing the burden of your brothers and sisters. And this is why in Galatians 6, Paul says, verse 4, but let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in one another. And so in this verse, what exactly is Paul after? I mean, isn't Paul a Calvinist? Why would he say rejoice in your own work? That doesn't seem right. But what is Paul after in this? So I'm going to read, you don't have to turn there, Romans 15, 17 through 18. Therefore, I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus and the things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me in word and deed to make the Gentiles obedient. Does Paul stand strong because the Gentiles are weak? Or does Paul stand strong because the Spirit is enabling him to serve and love the Gentiles? And so does Paul come before the Lord and say, thank you, God, that I'm not like those filthy Gentiles. No, we see that his praise is, thank you, Lord, that you would consider such a man as me to enable, to equip with the Spirit so that I may serve and bring the Gentiles to obedience. Walking in the Spirit is not above receiving critique. Walking in the Spirit is not above your brother's or your sister's burden. Because we have to keep in mind, verse 5, we will have to give an account of the spirituality that we claimed. And so, you will not have to give an account of the failures of others. You will not. But, you will have to give an account as to how you responded. you will have to give an account as to what was your response when you saw your burdened brother or your sister overtaken in the trespass. Did you display the character of your God, your master? Or did you edify yourself and place yourself above your hurting and needful brother and sister? And so to the strong, Your reasons to look to your neighbor are as follows. To rejoice when they are rejoicing. To mourn when they are mourning. To bear their burdens and to restore them when they have fallen into a trespass. Do not display such a misunderstanding of the gospel as to look at your hurting neighbor and use that as a means to justify the strength of your spirituality. To the weak, life is hard. There are burdens that we will be given and we will swing and miss. And when that happens, be thankful that God has sovereignly placed people in your life who will reset that bone in a spirit of gentleness. Do not reject the reproof, the love, the helping hands of your brothers and sisters, because you are not just rejecting them. You are rejecting the ministry of the Spirit. You are rejecting what the Spirit is leading these individuals to do. Let's pray. Father, Paul addresses this task to you who are spiritual, those who read verse 25 and say, Amen, I have been indwelled with the Spirit. And that in and of itself is such a blessing. And so I ask that you would stir in us obedience in what the Spirit calls us to do concerning one another. that we would not flee from hurting brothers and sisters, that we would not deceive ourselves into thinking that we are something, that we would look at what you've accomplished through us and rejoice that you have enabled us to serve one another. Lord, thank you that you have given us the opportunity to model Christ to those hurting and those needful and weak. Help us, Lord, to continue to increase and display the fruit of the Spirit. And so we ask these things in your name. Amen.