Sermon Outline

Do Not Indulge, but Do Pursue Galatians 5:13

“However you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Romans 8.9; Galatians 5.13 (NASB)

Introduction
We are learning to walk in the Spirit, so that we can live in the freedom for which Christ has set us free (5.1), so that we do not try to be justified by law (5.4), so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (5.16), and so that we can live in love and holiness (5.22-24).
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Three Enemies of Sanctification
1) The World. Galatians 1.4; 1 John 5.19; 2 Corinthians 4.4; Ephesians 2.2; James 4.4; 1 John 2.15-17
2) The Devil. Ephesians 6.10-13
3) The Flesh. Paul’s description of the internal consequences of sin in man. A deeply embedded rebellion against God that is now part of our human nature. The determination of Self-Rule. Pride that will not humble itself to another person or bow to God. A claim to radical independence and my rights. The need to control my circumstances and others. The demand to satisfy my sensual desires and my greed. Flesh is loveless, hard-hearted, brutal animal behavior. Flesh is deceptive manipulation of others. Flesh is totally and completely opposed to all that God is, and to all that God stands for, and to all that belongs to God. Flesh is an ugly and powerful beast which can disguise itself with charm and religion and respectability. Beware of the flesh.

Do Not Indulge but Do Pursue
-Indulge means “the base of operations for an expedition, a bridgehead, a springboard”.
-Hebrews 12.15, bitterness
-Ephesians 5.3, immorality and impurity
-Proverbs 4.23, guard your heart with all diligence
-Titus 2.11-14, say NO to the flesh
-1 Timothy 6.6-10, the love of money
-1 Timothy 6.11-16, Flee the flesh but Pursue love, faith, holiness, righteousness, godliness, endurance, doing good, peace, gentleness, mutual edification, hospitality.
-The NT commands us to “stand firm”, “fight”, “run the race”, “work”, “be sober”, “submit”, “deny yourself”, “take up your cross”, “make your calling sure”, “put off the old life and put on the new life”, “imitate”, “press on”, “pursue” “take hold”, “be transformed”, etc…
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Conclusion
“Is there something that I am doing in the name of Christian freedom which is nothing more than providing an opportunity for the flesh? …Am I deceptively giving myself permission to indulge in sin by placing my behavior under the banner of Christian freedom?” Put away your sin and pursue holiness and love because it is for freedom from sin that Christ has you free. _____________________________________

MEDITATIONS FOR THE WEEK
[Take some daily quiet time alone with God]

Monday: Read 1 John 2.15-17; 5.19. How is the world described and who controls it? How can we be part of this world but not of the world? Take time to praise that the love of the Father is in you.

Tuesday: Think about John 15.18-19; Galatians 6.14. Because we are new creations in Christ and are now citizens of heaven we are no longer part of the world. Take time to thank God that He has seated you in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2.6).

Wednesday: Read James 4.1-12. What attitudes does the world express and what does the world seek? How is the Christian to live? How do we resist the Devil? Take time to ask God to lead you to deeper humility.

Thursday: Meditate on Ephesians 4.17-24. What were you like before Christ? Notice the importance of the mind (v17, 21, 22) in coming to know Christ. Take time to thank God that you have God’s Word and Spirit to teach you. Learn Bible doctrines.

Friday: Think about Philippians 3.12-14. “I press on” is the word “pursue zealously”. This is our YES to God after we have said NO to the flesh. Take time to worship God for His Word and then in obedience pursue its teachings.

Sermon Notes

Do Not Indulge but Do Pursue Romans 8.9; Galatians 5.13 [NASB]

“However you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

-[Galatians 5] We are learning to walk in the Spirit, so that we can live in the freedom for which Christ has set us free (5.1), so that we do not try to be justified by law (5.4), so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (5.16), and so that we can live in love and holiness (5.22-24).

-Christ has set us free from the penalty of sin, from the condemnation and demands of the law, and from the power of sin. …Christ has made us free to love and to live holy lives in the Spirit of God.

-To walk in the Spirit we need first of all to be born of the Spirit. …We need new life in the Spirit so we can walk in the Spirit. …We then need to understand from God’s Word what God has done in us and for us in Christ. …As Paul writes in Romans 6.17-18, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” …Galatians 5.13 describes our freedom as slaves to love. …The Bible teaches that Christ has set you free from the slavery of sin so that you will have the great privilege of being a slave to righteousness and a slave to love.

-Justification is the first major doctrine we need to understand and apply to our lives. …We need to understand that we can stand before God in righteousness if we are in Christ, and that we are fully and completed accepted by God in Christ. …There is no condemnation from the law or from the Devil or from others, because God accepts us in Jesus Christ. …The Christian is in right relationship to God, by faith in Jesus Christ and His substitution on the cross for our sin.

-Justification is the foundation upon which the process of becoming holy and loving takes place. …The process of becoming holy and loving is called Sanctification. …God’s purpose for saving you is that He might conform you to the image of His Holy and Loving Son (Romans 8.29). …A holy and loving life is lived, and grows, and is manifested to others, as we walk in the Spirit.

-There are three enemies that oppose our conformity to Christ. …1) The world. …Galatians 1.4 says that the Lord Jesus Christ “gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age”. …This world is described as belonging to Satan (1 John 5.19) and under the control of the Devil (2 Corinthians 4.4; Ephesians 2.2). …To be a friend of this world is to be an enemy of God (James 4.4) and to love the world is to not love the Father (1 John 2.15-17). …Why go back to the world you have been rescued from?

-Have you taken a good Biblical look at the world lately? …Have you noticed what the world focuses on, what it promotes, and what it says life should be about? …Have you noticed what the world does not talk about, and what it rejects as stupid and narrow minded? …Have you paid attention to what the world jokes about?

-The world seeks to draw us into its godless, materialistic, self-centered, sensual, body-focused, blind, heartless – system. …The world seeks to harden our hearts, and to turn our hearts away from our Holy and Loving Father, and His purposes, and His heavenly ways. …The world wants to deceive us into believing its way of living is right and good. …The world wants us to think that all is well, and that we should get the most of what the world has to offer because we only go around once.

2) The Devil. …Jesus said the Devil is the Father of lies and a murderer from the beginning. …He seeks to rob and to destroy and to keep us from fellowship with God, from glorifying God, and from expressing the image of God in our being. …He condemns us, slanders us, accuses us, lies to us, and seeks to mislead us through: arousing our emotions and our passions, disturbing those around us, false religious systems, promises of happiness and material blessing, unforgiveness and anger and bitterness, by encouraging us to claim our rights. …Paul warns us in Ephesians 6.10-13, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

3) The Flesh. Likely the most powerful enemy we will have to battle as Christians is the flesh. …The world and the Devil are fighting us from without but the flesh fights us from within. …The flesh is powerful, is always active, and never gives up.

-We have been studying our enemy first by defining the flesh. …Flesh can be the physical body and its covering. …Flesh can be humanity in general, human perspective, human power (according to the flesh; by the flesh). …But flesh is also Paul’s description of the internal consequences of sin in man. …Flesh is a deeply embedded rebellion against God that is now part of our human nature. …Flesh is the determination of Self-Rule. …Flesh is pride that will not humble itself to another person or bow to God.

…Flesh is a claim to radical independence and my rights. …Flesh is the need to control my circumstances and others. …Flesh is the demand to satisfy my sensual desires and my greed. …Flesh is loveless, hard-hearted, brutal animal behavior. …Flesh is deceptive manipulation of others. …Flesh is totally and completely opposed to all that God is, and to all that God stands for, and to all that belongs to God. …Flesh is an ugly and powerful beast which can disguise itself with charm, religion, and respectability. …Beware of the flesh.

-Paul describes all of humanity apart from Christ as “in the flesh” because all of humanity is born under the power of sin as a result of the sin of Adam. …When a person becomes a true believer, God makes supernatural changes, but God does not remove the flesh from the Christian. …The enslaving power of the flesh is broken by the cross but the desires of the flesh toward sin remain in the Christian and continue to oppose God and the things of God at work in the Christian. …The flesh can only be overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit in the Christian’s life.

-Have you experienced the raging fury of the flesh in your Christian life this week? …Have you looked into the eyes of the beast and seen the unrelenting desire of the flesh to rule over you and lead you into sin and away from God? …If you have not been bothered by the flesh this week then you are not yet a believer or you are not pursuing holiness and love as you should be. …The flesh will always oppose the work of the Spirit in the Christian (5.17).

-Now in Galatians 5.13 Paul warns us not to use our freedom to “indulge” the flesh. …With freedom from the penalty of sin in Justification, and freedom from the meticulous demands of the law in Christ, it would be easy to follow the desires of the flesh, but Paul says not to do this. …Leaving legalism behind does not mean living in lawlessness. …For the Christian who is walking in the Spirit freedom means living in love and holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit.

-The word translated as “indulge” in the NIV and “opportunity” in the NASB in Galatians 5.13, is a military term. …It means “a bridgehead, the base of operations for an expedition, a springboard”. …This word describes securing the beaches of Normandy in order to get a foothold in France, to eventually retake all of Europe from the enemy.

-Illustration: Camel sticking nose in tent to warm up. Then head. By morning the camel was sleeping in the tent and the owner of the camel was sleeping outside. …All the camel needed was an opportunity to work from, a base of operations and he got it

-We are not to provide any opportunity for the flesh. …We are not to allow the flesh to set up any kind of base of operations in our life. …A thought or an attitude that indulges the flesh soon becomes an action. …An action in the flesh soon becomes a habit. …The habit turns into a lifestyle. …Over time the small opportunity given to the flesh leads to spiritual disaster.

-When we indulge the flesh and God taps us on the shoulder to warn us about it and we ignore Him, our conscience begins to desensitize to the Holy Spirit. …As we continue to indulge the flesh we become less sensitive to God’s Spirit. …Soon we are still maintaining our religious activities but we are no longer walking in the Spirit. …We are performing empty ritual and law but without spiritual life. …Do not allow yourself to get to that point in your life by indulging the flesh.

-Much alcohol abuse, immorality, greed and gluttony is committed in the name of Christian freedom but it is really indulging the flesh. …People live undisciplined lives, do not regularly attend Sunday services and prayer meetings, act irresponsibly, ignore authority and leadership, carry out independent solo ministry, claiming their behavior as Christian freedom. …It is really indulging the flesh and serving Self and will bear no lasting fruit for God.

-Let me give you some other examples. …Hebrews 12.15 tells us that we can give an opportunity to the flesh by holding a grudge against someone or even against God, and allowing bitterness to root in our heart. …After awhile the small bitterness plant grows up and causes a whole heap of trouble and defiles many others.

-Ephesians 5.3 says that “there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people”. …Many a flirt, or emotional affair, or an innocent touch, has eventually led to immorality, even though that was never the original intention.

…The flesh was given a base of operations and slowly it moved forward and carried out its plan to defeat the work of the Spirit. …Adultery does not happen all at once. …It happens in stages to those who have provided the flesh with a base of operations and who did not realize the power of the flesh to lead them into sin.

-Proverbs 4.23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” …Make no provision for the flesh but guard the input channels of sight and hearing. …Watch what you put in your mouth and what your hands take hold of, so that the flesh has no springboard into your life.

-Titus 2.11-14 says, “The grace of God teaches us to say ‘NO’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”

-By the Grace of God we are to always say NO to the persistent appeals of the flesh so that we might live disciplined, upright and godly lives. …Do not indulge the flesh.

-I want to close with one more passage so please turn to 1 Timothy 6.6-10. [Read]

-The “love of money” is an opportunity that many give to the flesh. …Indulging in the love of money leads to faithless behavior and many griefs. …Learn to trust in God and not in money and do not indulge the flesh in this way.

-We are not to indulge the flesh. …Paul’s warning to Timothy in relation to lust and the love of money is “flee” these things. …To Titus Paul says, “just say NO” to the flesh. …But saying no to the flesh is only half of the solution to overcome the flesh.

-Look at verses 11-16. [Read]. …Christians must turn to temptation and say NO, but then they need to turn away from the negative and turn toward God and say YES to God and pursue the things of God. …Always saying no to the flesh will not keep us from sin if we do not fill our life with the pursuit of God. …If you are on a constant diet of no’s you will eventually fall into sin. …You need some yes’ to build yourself up for the fight against the flesh.

-The Greek word translated “pursue” literally means “to chase, to run after, to pursue something zealously”. …In the NT this Greek word is most commonly translated as “persecute”, so it means a passionate and zealous pursuit. …Now I went through the NT with my Greek concordance and looked up this word pursue and I found 11 things that we are told to pursue as Christians. …Pursue> Love, faith, holiness, righteousness, godliness, endurance, doing good, peace, gentleness, mutual edification, hospitality. …Pursuing those 11 things should keep us busy until we meet with Jesus. …In fact that is what Paul says to Timothy, “keep this command without spot or blame until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

-Sanctification is not a passive, automatic evolution into love and holiness. …As I said last Sunday we are responsible to build godly lives and character through obedience to the truth of God’s Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. …That is why the NT commands us to “stand firm”, “fight”, “run the race”, “work”, “be sober”, “submit”, “deny yourself”, “take up your cross”, “make your calling sure”, “put off the old life and put on the new life”, “imitate”, “press on”, “pursue” “take hold”, “be transformed”. …On and on God commands us to be active in taking hold of holiness and love in Christ. …At the end of Paul’s life he said, “I have fought a good fight. I have finished the race.” …The Christian life is always an upstream battle against the world, the Devil and especially the flesh.

-Do not give any opportunity to the flesh and zealously pursue the things of God and you will take yet another giant step toward walking in the Spirit.

-In closing lets ask ourselves this question. …“Is there something that I am doing in the name of Christian freedom which is nothing more than providing an opportunity for my flesh? …Am I deceptively giving myself permission to indulge in sin by placing my behavior under the banner of Christian freedom?”

…Seriously ask God to examine your life. …If God points out sin then put away your sin and pursue holiness and love because it is for freedom from sin that Christ has set you free.