Conflict of Will

Conflict of Will
Galatians 5: 16 – 26.


I. Introduction.

For the past couple of weeks, I have been promising you that we will enter into a period of forty days of prayer for our church. That is still the plan, and the plan is beginning to take some shape. For example, our Long Range Planning Committee met last Sunday to begin praying together and organizing our church-wide prayer emphasis. We are planning to launch our forty days of prayer on Wednesday, March 9. That day is also known as Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Lent is a forty day period of prayer that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday.

Many of us have probably never observed Lent. We are Baptists and (for those of us who grew up in Baptist churches) this is not something we are accustomed to. The only reference we have to Lent is that it has something to do with fasting and “giving up something for Lent.” That is part of the story. Lent is a season of repentance and “getting ready” for Easter, just as Advent is a season in which we “get ready” for Christmas. People “give up something for Lent” as a way of participating with Jesus in his forty days of fasting and as a way to remember to pray. If someone gives up meat for Lent, they are supposed to remember to pray every time they think about meat.

What I would like for you to do is to pray for your church during this period of time. Actually, I hope you pray for our church regularly—I know that I could really use the prayers. The difference between asking you to pray for our church regularly and asking you to pray for our church during Lent is the fact that we are going to provide you with a “prayer guide.” This will hopefully mean that we will all pray about the same things.

Several themes surfaced in our Town Hall Meetings that will be placed on our prayer guides for the forty days of prayer. (I know I have said this before, but the best way to communicate an idea is to keep saying it over and over.) Three themes were repeated consistently by many of our church members: Sunday morning worship, the need to do more and better outreach, and the condition of our church buildings. We will definitely pray about these specific topics.
However, there is one theme that I want you to pray about which did not show up on any of our responses. The Culture of Our Church. What kind of church are we?

In my opinion, there are basically three kinds of churches.

First, there is the church that tries to make ME happy. Therefore, this kind of church can only grow by reaching out to more people who are just like me.

Second, there is the church that tries to make EVERYONE happy. I know some people like this. They call themselves “people pleasers.” They have never learned the lesson that it is impossible to make everyone happy. On one hand, there will always be someone unhappy about the things you do as an individual or as a church. On the other hand, if everyone around you is happy with you, then you are probably miserable on the inside. You make everyone else happy only to discover that you have driven yourself insane.

Third, there is the church that tries to make GOD happy. This is the church I want to be a part of. This is the church which functions as the Body of Christ in the world, continuing to do the works that Jesus began and demonstrated in his earthly life and ministry. Preaching the Gospel to the lost and serving people who are in need.


Galatians 5: 16 – 26.

16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.(NIV)



The section before this section deals with Christian freedom. True freedom is the freedom that can only come from Jesus. For example, the Old Testament reminds us of God’s expectations for his people. This is what we call the Law. The Law is an impossible standard for us. No one has ever kept the Law perfectly. We all sin and fall short of God’s glory and expectations. Therefore, we are deserving of God’s anger and wrath.

However, Jesus took all of God’s anger and wrath away when he died on the cross. Anyone who places their faith in Jesus does not have to fear God’s anger and wrath. The message of the cross is that anyone who believes has freedom from God’s anger and wrath. God is no longer angry at us, even though we are sinners. God will never be angry at us again.

As a result, Christians are free from God’s anger…free from God’s wrath…free from the Law…free from sin…free from death…free from Satan.

The Galatians were probably a little bit jealous of their neighbors. The pagans had a standard of ethics they lived up to on a daily basis. The Jews tried to fulfill the Old Testament Law. But, what about Christians? How are Christians to measure our conduct? The answer is the Holy Spirit.

The Galatians were in the process of considering to walk away from the freedom that Christ offered on the cross. They wanted to exchange that freedom for the Law. It was a clear, understandable, black and white ethical standard. But, to do this is to return to slavery. This is not how free people are to live. Free people live by the power of the Holy Spirit.


II. Flesh and Spirit.

So, Paul begins this section arguing for the Holy Spirit over the Law. Yet, he begins this argument by contrasting the Spirit and the “sinful nature.” Literally, the “sinful nature” is the Greek word “flesh.” I prefer to use the NIV’s term “sinful nature,” because it is not as confusing. For example, Paul is not trying to tell us that we can divide our nature into two sections: the human spirit and the human flesh.

You do not have a good side and an evil side. It is not like the cartoons with an angel that looks like you on one shoulder and a devil that looks like you on the other shoulder.

Paul’s point is much more complicated than that. Paul says that as long as you live in the “flesh”—or as long as you have an earthly body—you will deal with sin and temptation. There will be a day when you can get rid of your earthly body in exchange for a heavenly body. Only at that time will the victory over sin and temptation be complete. Sin affects our nature as long as we live on earth.

Notice that the word “Spirit” is capitalized. This is an interpretation based on the theology I just explained. The Greek word for spirit can mean either human spirit or the Holy Spirit. The interpreters of the NIV agree with my statement that you and I do not have a good and reliable spirit. However, we do have the Holy Spirit who is both good and reliable.

The only way to avoid sin is to follow the Holy Spirit. God has given each of us what we need to live good and godly lives. It is not the Law. It is not human ethical standards. It is not within us (i.e. human spirit or human goodness). All we need is the direction of the Holy Spirit.

When Paul talks about the “flesh” or the “sinful nature,” he is really talking about what it means to be human. I cannot imagine a life without flesh or a body. In the same way, I cannot imagine a life without a sinful nature. Both “flesh” and “sinful nature” describe who I am. Therefore, the contrast Paul is drawing is not between two forces within me. Paul is describing the conflict between me and God. It is a conflict of doing things my way versus doing things God’s way.

Think of this in terms of the church. There are basically two ways to think about church. Some people think church is a place for perfect people. If this is true, then church is a holy huddle. A place where Christians can hunker down and escape from sinful people and sinful activities. The other view of church is to think of it as a hospital for sinners. This is what I think the church is—or at least ought to be.

What kind of people do you find in a hospital? Sick people! What kind of people do you find in church? Sinners!

Just as sick people go to the hospital to recover from sickness, sinners come to church to recover from sin. The only difference between a hospital and a church is what the hospital does with well people. Once you get well—or even start to get close to well—they kick you out of the hospital. Even people who come to church their entire lives will never get well.

Sin will always be a fact for human beings. We are constantly in a struggle between flesh and Spirit, self and God. But we are not left alone in this struggle.

Where do you go to find help in times of temptation? Do you turn to the Law? Do you turn to ethics? Do you look deep within yourself? Do you read the Bible?

A friend of mine told me this fable about a chicken and a hare. A chicken and a hare were talking one day. The hare asked the chicken, “How do you escape from the fox?” The chicken replied, “I have 42 patterns of flight. Sometimes I run straight and take flight. Other time I run left or right and fly straight up. I have 42 options. What about you? How do you escape from the fox?” The hare answered, “I run left, then right, then left, then right, then left, then right…until the fox is gone.”

One day, the fox came. The hare ran left, then right, then left, then right… The chicken thought, “Which of my 42 patterns of flight will serve me best?” While he was considering this, the fox ate the chicken.

God has not given us 42 options for dealing with temptation. God has given us only one…Be led by the Spirit.

There is a difference between sin and temptation. Everyone faces temptation on a daily basis. Opportunities present themselves for sin. There is lust, greed, anger, hatred, envy, etc… What is there to help you resist daily temptation?

If you try to look at the Law or search the Bible for answers, you might end up like the chicken—overtaken by the fox. But, if you pray for the Holy Spirit to lead, then you can be like the hare—run away from the fox. The Spirit is the only resource we need and the only resource that can help us resist temptation.

The Holy Spirit is the only resource you need as an individual. AND, the Holy Spirit is the only resource we need as a church. The Holy Spirit is IN us and AMONG us.


III. A Church who Pleases Itself.

This passage looks a lot like a typical “catalogue of vices.” Paul uses a catalogue like this in other places of his writings. He lists several sins that are easily recognized as sins. There is no gray area here. Most everyone will read this list and agree that these are sins.

Notice that Paul used the word “acts” to describe these sins. An act is something that you and I do by our own strength, ability or even our will. These are intentional acts. They are things we accomplish for ourselves. Now, compare that to what Paul described as a conflict between flesh and Spirit. If Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit and God…If flesh refers to the sinful nature and human beings in general…Then, this is a list of the things human beings do when left to our own devices. It describes us individually and corporately (as a church).

In the Book of Galatians, Paul is addressing a community of Christians and not individual Christians. I have usually thought of this passage as a warning to individuals. What if Paul is writing about the ethics of the community? What if Paul is writing about the Culture of the Church? Churches have personalities and cultures and ethical standards as well as individuals.

If you look for the word “and” in verses 19 - 21, you will notice that Paul’s list can be organized into four categories. The first three sins are sexual sins. The next two sins are spiritual sins. The next eight sins are social sins within the church. The last two sins are social sins in the community at large. It seems that Paul spends more time focusing on the sins that can bring harm to the church.

Another way to think about this is to say Paul is describing the way a godless and pagan temple would operate. It was common to find sexual sins and idolatry in a pagan temple. Those sins would never appear in a Christian church. However, the sins in the middle of Paul’s list are not exclusive to pagan temples. Some Christian churches are plagues with the same sins. In other words, it is possible for Christian people to sin by allowing our sinful desires to keep us from following the Holy Spirit. AND, it is possible for Christian churches to act like pagan temples!


IV. A Church who Pleases God

Notice that Paul does not refer to the “acts” of the Spirit. He talks about the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit is the natural produce found in the agricultural world. Farmers don’t produce fruit. Plants produce fruit. Farmers wait for and harvest fruit. In fact, harvest is another word we can use here. The Harvest of the Spirit. This is what your life will look like when the Spirit does his work in you.

However, what if Paul is addressing this to a church and not to individuals? I think we can make a great case for that by reading the entire book of Galatians. Therefore, Paul is describing what a church ought to look like.

Love… Agape
Joy… From the Spirit, regardless of circumstances
Peace… Peaceful relations with God and each other
Patience… Bearing with one another’s burdens…All are sinners
Kindness… Attitude of the heart
Goodness… Action that results from a kind heart…Generosity
Faithfulness… Could be translated “faith,” but probably refers to our relations with God and one another…Like Peace
Gentleness… Word also translated meekness…Means under control…Probably refers to having emotions under control and thus treating others mildly
Self-Control…Word refers to controlling the animalistic instincts of over eating, indulging in sexual activity…or in general resisting temptations

The end of verse 23 literally reads, “Against such there is no law.” The NIV chooses to interpret “such” as a neuter and thus adds the word “things.” It is possible to interpret “such” as masculine and a reference to people. So, Paul could be saying, “Against such people there is no law.” I choose to think of this as people. Therefore, Paul is saying people and churches who are led by the Holy Spirit have no need for the Law. If we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, we will live our individual lives and our community lives in ways that are pleasing to God


V. Conclusion.

This is a vivid illustration of two different church cultures...A church which pleases itself versus a church which pleases God.