Who Tripped you up?

The Silver-Tongued Snake You were running a good race.  Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 5:7 Who threw you into confusion? 5:10 Who bewitched you? 3:1 Who deceived you – man or angel? 1:8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 5:7

Three Enemies? The World The Flesh The Devil

One Enemy – Three Strategies The Devil The World – Hunger for Human Approval The Flesh – Attitudes and Appetites The Law – The Bondage of Religion

God’s One Solution The World Crucifixion “If I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased”. 5:11 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 6:14

God’s One Solution The Flesh Crucifixion  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 5:24

God’s One Solution Crucifixion Law   “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! 2:19-21

The Cross is the Crucial Centre Freedom “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 3:13   Offence “... if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.” 5:11 Judgement “... But the one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty ... As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! ” 5:10, 12

The Law cannot Justify Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.   Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.  You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5:1-4

The Law cannot Sanctify For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 2:19 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. 5:6

A New Way of Living It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 5:1 Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 5:16

A Little Leaven

A Little Leaven Leavens

A Little Leaven Leavens The Whole Loaf 5:9

Ingredients for a Holy Life Faith “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight—the only thing that matters is faith working through love”. 5:6 Love “For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbour as yourself.” 5:14 The Spirit “But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh”. 5:16

The Law (OT) RemainsVery Useful It reveals Who God is – His “Autobiography” The Story of Salvation History Types and Shadows of the New Covenant Promises about the Coming Messiah Godly Wisdom Prophecy still to be fulfilled Examples of how to love God and Neighbour

We do keep the Law – but Accidentally! For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself. 5:14

The Unchanging Nature of God The Eternal Torah The Unchanging Nature of God

Knowing God - Jews Ritual Law Creation History Moral Code Circumcision Conscience Civil Law

Knowing God - Gentiles Creation False gods Conscience

Revealing God - Jesus THE ETERNAL WORD Made under the Law Born of a Woman Gal 4:4 Gal. 4:4 John 1:1 Jewish Human

Old Covenant to New Covenant  “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -  not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers ...  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  ... they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer. 31:31-34

Jewish Believers Holy Spirit/Word Creation Circumcision Unique Calling Customs/Culture Conscience

Gentile Believers Creation Holy Spirit/Word Conscience

Jews and Gentiles remain Distinct  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 3:28 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 6:15-16  

But One in Christ You are all one in Christ Jesus ... Heirs according to the promise 3:28-29 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 3:27

An Exhilarating Adventure For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, but through love serve one another. 5:13 Spirit Live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. 5:16   Flesh Liberty Licence

The Works of the Flesh are Obvious Sexual immorality, impurity, depravity,  idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God! 5:19-21 No special revelation of the Law is required It’s Obvious! Don’t do it!

The Works of the Flesh are Obvious Jesus said this about religious people who knew the law For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder,  adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.   All these evils come from within and defile a person. Mark 7:21-23 No special revelation of the Law is required It’s Obvious! Don’t do it!

Two Mutually Exclusive Activities (Even for women!) But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. 5:16 “I find it difficult to be good, but when I am pursuing the Kingdom it seems to get easier” John Wimber

An Exhilarating Adventure Spirit  If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 5:18 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.  Religious Regulations Liberty Legalism

An Exhilarating Adventure Spirit Live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. 5:16  If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 5:18 Regulations Flesh Liberty Legalism Licence

Relationship replaces Religion Live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. 5:16 Overcome by the Spirit “For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want”. 5:17   “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law”. 5:18

Relationship replaces Religion Live like the Spirit. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit”. 5:25 Love one another “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another”. 5:26 “ Through love serve one another,  for the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbour as yourself.” 5:13-14

The Fruit of the Spirit For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbour as yourself.”  5:14 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 5:22-23 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me - and I in him - bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. John 15:5

Onward and Upward For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 5:5 One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil. 3:13-14

All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure. The Stunning Promise See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see him as He is.  All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure. 1John 3:1-3

Your Spiritual Progress?  And we all, who with unveiled faces  contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2Cor. 3:18