Paul’s Letter to the Gauls (Galatians) – Chapter 5

He lived here once. He knows how bad off we are. That’s why He invented grace, saints. He didn’t invent it because we were so worthy. He invented it because we were so needy. If you want to put yourself under the obligation of all those things, then do so, for by those things you will be judged. I’d take a run for grace if I were you. Jesus Christ did not teach you legalism and law, and the Spirit within you, which causes you to which you got by faith, and causes you to run so well, did not burden you down with dos and don’ts. One day, I spoke like this about the Bible: “This is not a rule book.” A woman came up at the end of the meeting and said she was horrified. She said, ” If it’s not a rule book, what on earth is it? I couldn’t believe that. I’ll tell you what most of the New Testament is: it’s the fellowship of churches. It’s the fellowship of churches between churches and between men who raised the churches up and the churches themselves.

By the way, Memphis, I want to say two things to you personally. One of them is don’t deny me this privilege, and thank you for this privilege. I’m going to toot Memphis’ horn here for a minute. This is a very loving bunch of people. Yeah, they really are, and I mean what you’re seeing around here is a natural expression of their lives. Memphis is to me what Philippi was to Paul. It was that church that had the least pain about it and the most evidence of mercy, grace, love, and caring. The brothers and sisters here have been gracious to me in ways I have never been shown grace and graciousness anywhere else in the world, and I appreciate that, and you know I appreciate it. You mean a great deal to me. I just thought of that as I ran by here, that these letters are a fellowship between the worker and the church. Don’t deny me the privilege of that intercourse with you, that commerce with you, and you haven’t, and thank you. And don’t do it in the future either. That’s what I’m saying. Don’t deny me the refreshment that you are. Okay? These are dear, precious folks here.

I don’t even know where I am. I am being persecuted for preaching the cross. The cross is a stumbling block to those who are legalists, and it really is a stumbling block. First of all, you should know that the cross, in this respect, is not talking about our suffering or the Lord’s suffering, but its destructive power. Its destructive power. Its ability to destroy Judaism, the law, all ordinances, the Sabbath, and all ritual. We know this from reading Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians. The things that were crucified upon the cross of Christ: our old man, our sinful nature, all obligations, all ceremonies, crucified upon the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we also were crucified, which would cause any of us to stumble because we know good and well we never even been to Jerusalem and we were crucified there; and then the entire creation is crucified there and that is a stumbling block to a man who wants to earn his faith.

A few months ago, I was talking to some Christians, they’re evangelical Catholics, and they’re really evangelicals, and that’s what they are. They don’t even have a priest among them, and they’re a community. A neat bunch of folks, but this brother told me…and I said, “Brother, you can’t do that. I can’t do that. I can’t live the Christian life. It is not possible for me to live the Christian life.” He got so upset. He said, “Well, God wouldn’t ask us to live the Christian life if we couldn’t live it.” Don’t put it past him. He (The Lord) said, “You have been told of old, an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. I say you love your enemy. You have been told, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ And I tell you that if you so much as look upon a woman with lust, you have committed adultery. You have been told not to murder, but I tell you, if you get angry with your brother and hate him, you have murdered him.” Oh yeah. Yeah. He jacked the law up right out of the stratosphere. Just pushing it right up into the heavens, and making it impossible for you to live the Christian life. Why would he talk that way? Listen to Him again when He declared that He could not live the Christian life. Now, if the Lord Jesus Christ cannot live the Christian life, I have hope. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Without my Father, I can do nothing.”

Now, you’ve heard this. I know you’ve heard it on a recording. I’m going to say it to you publicly. You can hear it face-to-face. There is only one Christian in the universe. There is only one person who can live the Christian life. There has never been but one Christian. There will never be but one Christian. And there is only one who can live the Christian life. No one else can, and we are cut off from living the Christian life. He alone lives the Christian life. He is the Christian Life. He’s the one who’s free and does everything He wants to do, and what He wants to do is be a Christian. And so, He is…and that is God your Father. And if you do not have His Life in you, first of all, you’re a reprobate. Secondly, you have no engine within you that could possibly fulfill the standards of the Christian life. You, dear child of God, can only set Him free to be Himself. That’s all you can do. It will be the engine of His life that lives the Christian life; there is no other. I think you ought to say thank you, Lord, or praise the Lord, or something.

The cross is a stumbling block to all of this self-effort of man. And yes, you can get persecuted for preaching this way. You wouldn’t believe that, wouldn’t you? Would you believe that? Would you believe a guy could get in trouble talking this way? I’m going to tell you again, this brother probably got killed because of this book right here. When he got back to Jerusalem years later, they were hunting for him because they said he had said the law of Moses had been done away with, and that’s exactly what he said. Verse 12 is a very ugly, vicious statement made in rage. I don’t know if he would have ever made it again after that. I think Paul mellowed, but nonetheless, this is how verse 12 should read. I will read it exactly the way it should be. He’s referring back to those people who are just so into circumcision. He said, “Alright, fine. If they’re so into circumcision and they’re troubling you, I wish they would get into circumcision so much that they would castrate themselves. He had a mean pen, saints. For you were called to freedom, brethren… and now, the other shoe drops, and I think it’s beautiful.

This is the only place where Paul backed up from anything he said; he qualified it, and I think we should read it together. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. Will you read that with me now? Here. I’m going to repeat it. I’m going to say it. You repeat it after me. Brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. He did not say, “Do not use your freedom to break the Ten Commandments.” He shifts this thing totally, watch him move it totally away from rules and regulations into this right here, the flesh. He shifts it from rules and regulations to a living thing. And brothers, that’s all I have to say to you this week. I will not qualify it in any other way. You are free. Just don’t use your freedom to give your flesh an opportunity. That’s all. You’re free to break all laws; just don’t use your freedom. You’re also free to obey Him. Now, you do it for the testimony of Jesus Christ. You’re doing the world a favor. Besides, sometimes it’s a nuisance to break them. I mean, paying the fine is not worth it. You’re free to break them. You’re free to keep them, only don’t use your freedom to get into the flesh.

Now, it looks like it’s time for the Ten Commandments, doesn’t it? But I’m going to say to you again, He shifts to the flesh. Now, He says, “Instead, use your freedom for serving one another with love.” And I’d even say that can be a bondage, so let’s be a little careful here. This is going to get a little clearer in a minute, but why would Paul talk about freedom in relation to loving one another and caring for one another? There seems to be no relationship to me. Freedom. Use your freedom to love and care for one another. Why? Audience: because you can’t help it. This flesh is really self-centered, too.

I believe all this is correct, but I appreciate that. The flesh is so self-centered. It serves itself. You think about that. Is that not true? It serves itself. Use your freedom to pour out love and care. By the way, it’s needed from sea to shining sea. How many of you in this room right now could really stand a little love and care? Would you please raise your hand? Wouldn’t hurt you a bit. Little encouragement, a little love from somebody, kind of. Yeah. Absolutely. Don’t use your freedom for an opportunity of the flesh, but rather love and care for one another. Serve one another in love. We’re going to come back to that in a minute. It gets clearer. Nonetheless, it is that which is not centered on yourself.

I love verse 14. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. By the way, what commandment is that? Do you know what commandment that is called? That is the second…I think it’s something else. Jesus Christ. He’s quoting the Lord Jesus Christ here. The Lord Jesus said, “You may fulfill the entire law from sea to shining sea in one word. Love one another. Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus Christ left this world with one commandment, and you cannot fulfill it. He got it down to one, and you can’t fulfill it. That’s right. Nonetheless, let us hear it. Love your neighbor as yourself, and you’ll fulfill everything God would ever expect of you. And now I’m going to warn you: you cannot do that. You can’t even do that one. You’d be making a hypocrite out of yourself, or you can get into bondage over it, but you just can’t do that. Alright, we will find out why in a minute.

But if you bite and devour one another, take heed lest you be consumed by one another. This sentence may not mean much to you, but I’m old enough to know what it means. We’re here in church life. Don’t look at this like the Beatitudes. Brothers and sisters, there’s heartbreak in that word. This is an apostle, a church planter, writing to a people. He knows that something tragic has happened at your church in Pisidia. You’ve had some fights over the law, and some of you have yelled at one another and bitten at one another, and it’s breaking Paul’s heart. And he said, “Be careful. Are you going to devour…what?” One another. What does that mean? I’m going to get up there and what? “There were two cats from Kilkenny, each thought there was one cat too many. So, they fought, and they scratched, and they bit, ‘til instead of two cats, there weren’t any.” I didn’t even know I could quote that. Did you catch it? If you keep on doing this, by the time I get there, there’s not going to be a church left; there’s just going to be some claws and some teeth and the ends of tails. You will have devoured the body of Christ. You’d better find out how it is God loves, being as you and I can’t because we are all bound to this place right here. That’s why I don’t recommend Atlanta because I’m going to be working with people who don’t know the cross of Christ, and they don’t know how to live in their spirits, and until they learn and until they know how to go to the cross, there are going to be a few little problems. Memphis…say amen. There are going to be problems, and you can also learn to love one another. She comes out of the cross of Christ; that’s where she comes from.

Okay. But I say walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Alright, here is where it gets important. Are you in the spirit? Answer me that question. Yes or no. You are put there on the day of your salvation. You are plunged into Christ. You are plunged into His Spirit. You are clothed by Him, but there is one thing to be in that realm…and it is a realm…it is a locatable place. To be in spirit is to be in a geographically locatable place. It is another thing to walk around inside that place. You are there. It is possible for you to step out into the flesh, but you are…your home…your place: you are in Spirit. It is another thing to learn to walk in that realm, and therein is the difference between the typical Christian and a few other Christians. We’re all in His Spirit; not all of us know how to walk around in another world, in another realm. The more you learn to walk in that realm…Drew, you reported back from that realm this morning, an experience you had with the Lord Jesus Christ; that’s another realm, and many of us have never had even 10 minutes of the privilege of walking in that realm. And I’m not speaking of tongues. I’m not speaking of some aesthetic thing or something mysterious; I am telling you there is a realm, and you can walk there.