This morning I'd like us to read Galatians chapter 5. It's been a little over a week, almost two weeks since we have last met to study, and so I'd like us to go back to Galatians 5.13 this morning and read this passage of Scripture, and then we're going to walk through one verse this morning, Galatians 5.18. We began our study as we looked at the whole idea of walking in the spirit. In Galatians 5, verse 13, he says, for brethren, you have been called unto liberty. And so we took at least two chapel services to talk through Christian liberty. What does that mean? And of course, it's a glorious doctrine because it teaches us that we're free from the law as a means of relationship with God through the work of Jesus Christ by both his life and his death. But it also means more than that, it also is a part of our sanctification, so we are free from our own sinful desires through the indwelling life of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to live a Christ-like life. And then it comes at the second half of verse 13, and he basically gives us a warning. Because of the presence of our sin nature, we can take the concept of liberty and obviously twist it. It's so natural, we just do it naturally. We have to be taught how to think differently. So he tells us in verse 13, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. And so he's teaching us, how do we know we get Christian liberty right? We know we get it right. When our viewpoint of the Christian life is one of love, it is one of sacrifice, it is one of giving and not getting. So he says in verse 14, for all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. So how does the law ultimately work? It works by loving. Then verse 15 is a warning. He says, but if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. So he's concerned that Christians don't get liberty right. And what's the end result? It ends up in conflict. It's like having two kinds of people in the church, those that are on the legal side and those that are on the libertarian side, the loose side, and they're constantly fighting over their personal rights. It's like Paul saying, you guys aren't even getting it. That if you get it right, you're going to be serving others. You're going to be thinking of others, not yourself. So we come to verse 16, and he says, this I say then, or here's my advice. Let me show you how this works. And he makes this statement, he says, walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, which is really our theme of the semester. Walk in the spirit, that is, order your life under the directive influence of the Holy Spirit. And then he makes this powerful statement. He says, you will not fulfill the sinful desires of your flesh. And he opens up to us the battle of the Christian life between the flesh and the spirit. And what he is telling us here is that we basically are dealing with this conflict that's in the heart of every believer. And that's what verse 17 is all about. When he says these words, he says, for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. You could say it this way, that the flesh is anti-spirit and the spirit is anti-flesh. The flesh has its own desires. The spirit has its own desires. And these are bitter enemies who oppose one another. It's the civil war of the soul. It's the conflict of the heart where the spirit will direct you in one way and the flesh will lead you in the opposite way. They're mutual opposites so that you cannot follow one and at the same time follow the other. What he's simply saying is this. If you're in the spirit, you're not going to be in the flesh. And if you're in the flesh, you're not gonna be in the spirit. Now we come to verse 18. And verse 18 is a continuation of the idea of walking in the spirit. This is not a verse that you just pull out and isolate it to make a statement. But he is showing us that only walking in the spirit really deals with the lust of the flesh. For notice verse 18 of Galatians 5. He says, but if you be led of the spirit, You are not under the law. So now he's taking us down the road a little bit further. And so this morning, I wanna speak to you on the theme that we find here in this verse, and that is victory by the spirit and not by the law. And so I'm gonna have to follow some logic this morning, so I hope that you'll follow along with me. And this is so crucial, so please listen, because this is really going to help, I think, in understanding the believer's relationship to the law. And basically, there are two primary truths I'd like to draw your attention to today. The first truth will take the longest time, the second one will be a little quicker. The first truth is this. What Paul is saying is this, that victory over the flesh requires that we be freed from the authority of the law. Victory over our sin nature requires that we be freed from the authority of the law. As long as we are under the law, we cannot have victory. So two questions I'd like to try to answer here. First of all, why is that so? Why is it that Victory over the flesh requires that we be freed from the authority of the law. And then secondly, how does that victory work? And the way to answer this is to go to one chapter in the Bible that I think deals with this whole subject, and that's Romans chapter 7. So please take your Bibles and turn to Romans 7, because this is really the core that I'd like us to focus on this morning. In Romans chapter 7, beginning in verse 7, Paul tells us why it is that victory over the flesh requires that we be freed from the authority of the law. And notice what he says beginning in verse 7. He says, what shall we say then? Is the law sin? In other words, is there any problem with the law? The answer is what? Yes or no? What's the answer? Come on y'all, talk to me. Is there any problem with the law, yes or no? No, we gotta get that in our mind. So we're not talking about the fact that the law is a problem. Notice what he says, God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust. And the word lust there means evil desire. I would not have known lust, except the law said thou shall not covet. Now, what is he saying there? He's saying, first of all, that we are so sinful that God's laws actually provoke us to sin. When you bring the law in, it actually provokes you to sin. Notice what he says in the next verse, but sin, taking occasion by the commandment, or sin using the commandment as an opportunity, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. And the word concupiscence is just simply meaning evil desire. So let me just make it really simple. When the law comes in, it actually provokes you. For example, you won't remember this, but when you were little and you were crawling across the floor in your home and your mother was watching you, this is before you could walk, you were making your way across the floor and you were heading to the electrical socket. Because that was about eye level and you wanted to stick your finger in that electrical socket. And your mother looked at you and said, no, no, no, no. And you looked at your mother and you said, yes, yes, yes, yes. And your mother said, no, do not touch it. If you touch it, I'm going to give you a spanking. And you looked at your mother and you looked at that wall socket and you looked back at your mother and you went. Where in the world did you learn that? What is wrong with us? If you see a sign on the door that says, do not enter, what do you wanna do? Have you ever gone out to eat and they brought you a hot plate and they said, don't touch it, what did you do? If somebody says to you, you can't have this, what do you naturally want? So what does that tell me? It tells me that there is something in our nature that actually resists the law. And that's what Paul is saying here. He said, I didn't know that I was that bad until the law came in. And when the law came in, it actually provoked me to want what the law forbid. So notice what he says in verse eight. For without the law, sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived. That is, sin got stirred up. And then he said, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to bring life, I found to be unto death. Stop right here, ask the question, is there a problem with the commandment, yes or no? Come on, talk to me. No. Is it wrong for the law to say thou shalt not? No! Then what's the problem? Notice what he says in verse 10. For sin, when he says for sin, what is he talking about? He's talking about your heart. For sin taking occasion or opportunity by the commandment deceived me and by it slew me. What does that mean? It means that when the law came, two things happened. One is it provoked me to want to sin more and more. And secondly, it actually made me think that I could keep the law. And I would decide, because some of you say, I'm not going to keep the law. And it provokes you to go one direction. Others say, I'm going to keep the law. And then you find out that you're incapable of doing it. Because your sin nature is so weak that you cannot keep the law in your own strength. So the very commandment that God gave you to keep, you find out, number one, you don't want to do it. Number two, you find out you can't do it. And then notice what he says in verse 12, wherefore, this is a conclusion, the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good. What does the law do? It reflects the nature of God. It shows us what God is like in a practical way. So there's nothing wrong with the law. Then he asked the question, was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. Is there anything wrong with the law? The answer is absolutely no. So what is the problem? And the problem is me. I am the problem. Would you say those four words? Say it with me. Ready? I am the problem. You're not really convinced. Say it again. I am the problem. You are. It's not the law, it's not God, it's you. This is what Paul is saying. Look at verse 13, but sin, what's the problem? But sin, that it might appear sin. The word appear there means to be unmasked. It's like he's taken off the real culprit. You see, it's not the law that's a problem. God takes off the mask and guess who's behind the mask? You are. Notice what he says, working death in me by that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful, for we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. What does the law do? It actually squeezes out of me the sin that's already there. It's like squeezing a pimple, and the blackhead comes oozing out. And when you and I have the law come in our life, it squeezes and what comes popping out? Our own sinfulness. So what's Paul's conclusion? For we know the law is spiritual. But what about me? I am carnal. And when he says sold under sin, he says, I'm actually enslaved. Now, here's the point. You cannot have victory over your flesh. until somehow you were freed from the law. Because the moment the law comes in, what does it do? It motivates me to sin, or I deceive myself and think I can do it, and I try to keep it. And what the law does, it actually shows me where I am. And so what does it do? It humbles me. I mean, actually, we should all be humbled over our own selves. I mean really, that's, you know, maybe for some of you this really bothers you. This really, what I'm really saying, really gets you. And what it actually does is actually reveals what's really deep in our heart, and that is we're all proud. We're all wanting to live in our sin, and we're all wanting to try to please God by our own self-efforts. And in both cases, we fail. And God intends for this to humble us because, folks, it's supposed to drive us to the cross. It's supposed to drive us to Jesus. We should be humbled not only over our own nature, that we actually are rebels. But we should be humble over our own inability. We're so weak we can't even lift up our own hand. So what do we need? We need freedom. And where is freedom found? It is found in being liberated from the law. So that leads me to the second question, and that is how does this freedom work? And I want you to go now to Romans chapter 7 verse 1. So we'll go back to the beginning of the chapter because this is where Paul explains how it works. And what I'd like to do this morning is I'd like to read beginning in verse 1, and we'll read down. And I'm going to read in the ESV because I think it's a little clearer, and I think it will help us all understand what is oftentimes something very confusing. Paul says in verse 1, as long as you live under the law, you're bound to the law. Look at what he says. Or do you not know, brothers, for I'm speaking to those who know the law, that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? And then he uses an illustration. What's the illustration? It's the illustration of marriage. Look at verse two. For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives. If her husband dies, she's released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law and she marries another man, she is not an adulteress. So here's a woman, simple illustration, here's a woman who is married, and she wants to be freed of her husband. Do you think that ever happens? So, what has to happen? He's got to go. And there's only one way for him to go. He's got to die. And if he doesn't die, and she marries another man, then she's committing adultery. She's violating the law. So the issue is we have to be free from the law. So how does that happen? The God's got to die. So now Paul takes that idea and look at verse 4. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ. so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. Paul explains that our relationship to the law changes through our being connected to Jesus. When you believe in Jesus, when you put your faith in Christ, you are instantly connected to him. You are instantly connected to his perfect life and his sacrificial death. And how did Jesus live? He lived under the law. And what did he do with the law? He kept it perfectly. He never disobeyed the law. He's the only person that's kept the law perfectly. Secondly, he went to the cross and died on the cross to pay for the laws that I broke. And so he satisfied the offended justice of the law. Now, when you and I accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we are literally connected to him. And what are we connected to? His life, which is imputed to our accounts and we're declared righteous. And we are connected to his death for Jesus suffered under the penalty of the law. So actually the broken laws I've already paid for in Jesus. I've already paid for the law, because I died with Jesus. And what happens is when you're placed in the Christ, you die on the cross with Him, He rises from the dead, you rise with Him. So actually you are now disconnected from the old life under the law, and now you've been connected to the new life in the Spirit. Because as the Spirit rose Jesus from the dead, so we are resurrected with the Spirit within us. Now maybe you're sitting here and you're going, whoa. That's a little too much doctrine for me. Let me tell you something. You have to think these things through because this is what is absolutely necessary for you to live a spiritual life. So think. Work through it. Think about it. Read it. Study it. Because what Paul is saying is this is the way that you become spiritual. It is not trying to keep the law, you can't do it. You don't have a relationship with God by keeping the law. You have a relationship with God through Christ. Now notice what he says beginning at the end of verse four. He says, in order that we may bear fruit unto God. Now watch verse five. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. In other words, what did the law do? It provoked me to sin and it killed me. Verse six, but now we are released from the law having died to that which held us captive so that we serve in a new way of the spirit and not in the old way by the written code. What he is saying is now the spirit of God is at work in our life. And what is the fruit that it bears? Galatians 5, 22 and 23, turn back there, and he talks about the fruit of the spirit. Now the fruit of the spirit is, and he gives the qualities, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, gentleness, meekness, temperance, faith. Against such, there is no law. There's no law against this kind of fruit, and there are no laws that can create this kind of fruit. It only comes from the inner life of the spirit working in the believer's life. So we are freed from the law because of our connection to Jesus Christ. And this is an amazing thing because that leads me to the second truth. Truth number two is only a lifestyle freed from the law can actually fulfill the law. It's like God has flipped it upside down. The only way you can keep the law is you have to be freed from it. And the moment He sets you free, what does He do? He gives you the power and the desire to keep the law. You see, you're not freed from the fact that you can live a disobedient life to the law. That's not what He's teaching. He says you're freed from it as a relationship with God and a means of pleasing God. You're freed now by the spirit that lives inside of you. And Romans 8 verse 3 and 4 says, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. In other words, the spirit of God always leads us to be law keepers and not law breakers. So we look at verse 18 again and notice what he says, but if you be led of the spirit, you're not under the law. The word if there, Usually refers to something conditional. In this case, it's referring to something that's happening right now. He's saying, since you are being led of the spirit, then it's obvious that you're in a new relationship with God. A life that is directed by the spirit in his word, and therefore you are freed from the law, and yet you're actually fulfilling the law because the spirit of God is at work in your life. And how do I know that I'm fulfilling the law? Because I'm doing the one most important thing the law teaches us. And what is that? Look at verse 14. He says, for all the laws fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt what? Say it. Say it. Love thy who? Neighbors thyself. That's the law. And so what happens is God is working in us the desire to love him through the indwelling Holy Spirit. I love what John Stott wrote regarding the Christian's relationship to the law. He said, God has never done away with his law, his basic commands have not changed. His will for our lives is expressed in his moral law is eternal. Although we cannot gain acceptance by keeping the law, yet once we have been accepted, we shall keep the law out of love for him, for it reflects who he is, who has accepted us and given us his spirit to enable us to keep it. Let me close with just a couple simple illustrations. Number one, when my wife and I were married August 16th, 1980, 38 years ago, I did not come to my wife after our wedding day and say, now, if you want to stay in relationship with me, you have to cook, you have to clean, you have to iron, you have to sweep the floor, you have to vacuum, and you have to iron all my shirts. And if you want to have a relationship with me, you have to keep these laws. Let me ask you a question. What kind of relationship do you think will happen? It's called problem. It doesn't work that way. But you know what? While I was gone yesterday, traveling, you know what my wife did for me yesterday? She ironed all my shirts. And I never told her to do it. You know why? Because she loves me. And now she's motivated to please out of love and not because a law has been placed upon her to have a relationship. Why do we please God? Because we love him. Final illustration. My oldest son, Steven, came here, graduated in 2014. When he came to be a student, I said, let me tell you how to survive Bob Jones University. I said, because Bob Jones has rules. How many of you ever get irritated at the rules of Bob Jones? Please be honest. Raise your hand. Okay. You know what? It doesn't matter if we decrease more rules. It's still irritating. You know why? Because when you focus on the rules, it always provokes you. So I said to him, it's simple, son. It's so simple. Just decide to love. I love my RA. I love my dorm suit. I love my president. Thank you. Hey, I love you even if you don't love me. I'm gonna love you, okay? Because you know why I love you? Because God told me to. And I'm going to love you. And you know what? Whatever it takes to show love to you and to defer to you, I'll do it. So whatever Bob Jones tells me to do, it's pieces of cake. It's simple. It's just love. Because once you focus on the law, you get tent. You know why? Is the problem the rule? No. The problem is you. I am the problem. You know what? It's amazing God loves any of us. It really is. Why don't you leave today and say, Lord, thank you for loving me even though I am so bad. But Lord, you still love me, and you will always love me because I am connected to Christ. Father, thank you for your word, and thank you that you do love us, and you have freed us from the law in order to fulfill the law. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless you.