Do not Envy One Another

Sovereign Grace Family Church

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December 13, 2021

00:16: And I will read the chapter again.
00:22: It says, chapter 5, verse 1.
00:26: It was for freedom that Christ set us free.
00:28: Therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
00:33: Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ is of no benefit to you.
00:40: And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation to keep the whole law.
00:47: You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law, for you have fallen from grace.
00:54: For we, through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
00:59: For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcisions mean anything, but faith working through love.
01:07: You were running well.
01:08: Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from him who calls you.
01:14: A little leavens the whole lump of dough.
01:18: And I have confidence in you and in the Lord that you will adopt no other view.
01:23: But the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.
01:28: But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, then why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.
01:36: I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves.
01:42: For you were called to freedom, brethren.
01:44: Only do not turn your freedom into the opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
01:51: For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this statement.
01:56: You shall love your neighbor as yourself, but if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
02:04: But I say to you, walk by the spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
02:09: For the flesh sets its desires against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
02:19: And if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.
02:23: Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, and which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and the things like these, of which I forewarned you.
02:42: Just as I forewarned you that those who practice such things, they will not inherit the kingdom of God.
02:48: But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law.
02:59: Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh and its passions and desires.
03:05: If we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the spirit, and let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
03:15: Okay, the last week I was not here, I was off with my wife for our anniversary.
03:20: But the week prior to that, we had talked about, the last two times, talked about liberty and legalism.
03:31: Well, we're going to leave that.
03:33: We're done with that, at least for now.
03:35: And we're going to move on to another part that Paul is going to discuss.
03:41: He said in verse 15, when it said that you don't bite and devour one another, take care that you don't consume one another.
03:48: And then his next statement is this, but I say to you, walk by the spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
03:58: 16 and 25 and 26 are very connected.
04:04: That is a whole section.
04:06: 25 and 26 say, and if we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the spirit, and let us not become boastful, challenging one another, and envying one another.
04:19: So Paul and the one another's we're going to look at are going to be the ones in verse 25, and they're in the negative content.
04:27: It says, if we live by the spirit, let us walk by the spirit.
04:32: The word if is a conditional clause.
04:34: We would all agree with that.
04:35: And sometimes it can be translated since.
04:39: But in this case, I believe that Paul really is making a conditional statement, not as in sense you are, but if meaning if you are living by the spirit, then you're to do one thing.
04:52: You're to walk by the spirit.
04:54: Can anybody, um, is there a believer that does not have the spirit? We all agree that every believer has the spirit, right? So there's no, we don't have anybody in this room that believes in the second blessing, do we? Anybody know what that is? The Holy Spirit.
05:10: Everybody knows what the second blessing is that you get the Holy Spirit after some point of conversion.
05:15: Okay.
05:15: That's more in the charismatic Pentecostal, that kind of jargon.
05:21: So every believer has the Holy Spirit.
05:24: It says here that, and it's in the indicative, we live by the spirit, indicating what the spirit has already done within the life of the believer.
05:35: Now, he also says we will walk by the spirit.
05:40: What does it mean to walk by the spirit? What does it mean? Conversation of life to be directed by the spirit of God.
05:54: Certainly could be that.
05:55: Yep.
05:55: That is part of it.
05:56: And what else? I think he doesn't just mean conversation and speech.
06:01: I think, I know, yeah.
06:02: Conversation of life.
06:03: Life.
06:04: Yep.
06:04: How we conduct ourselves.
06:06: And we should walk by the spirit.
06:08: Now, when you, the word walk here is the word stoicheo, and I know that's a weird sounding word, but it's interesting that the word actually does not mean walk.
06:26: Paul uses the word for walk, which is peripateo back in 16, where he says, but I say to you, walk by the spirit.
06:34: Well, there are two different words in the Greek language.
06:36: One actually meaning to walk out your conversation in life.
06:40: But the one in verse 25 actually means to keep in step.
06:46: There's any, keep in step.
06:49: Yeah.
06:50: Anybody other, other translation? I know the NIV said that you're, you've got the NIV, don't you Jack? Who has the NIV in here? Anybody? Anybody? Yeah.
07:02: I think the NIV and the ESV say keep in step.
07:04: And actually that is the, a more accurate translation because stoicheo means to actually be in a line.
07:13: So let's just take for instance, my son, he's in a marching band at school and we were actually, I was laughing, me and Sybil were laughing at people on the stage on Friday night.
07:26: We went to their little thing and it's, it was funny to see those that were not in step with one another.
07:32: You'd have some of them kind of doing this, you know, walking or same thing.
07:39: They were all doing, they were doing something, but you could see that they were not together.
07:44: Oh, then sometimes when he was in the marching band, they'd be on the field and you'd see one of them like a step, half a step behind.
07:51: And I would be the one to go, look at that guy.
07:56: So when you see, when you see that, you go, man, that's odd, don't you? You go, man, that's not right.
08:02: Well, that's the point Paul's making here because Stoicheo is a military, as a march.
08:08: So if we are, if we were all, anybody in here been in the military? When you marched, everybody marched to the same beat, didn't they? If you stepped out of line, what happened? There was repercussions.
08:20: You're right.
08:21: So that's the, that's the, that's the word that's used here.
08:25: It's basically used as a military march.
08:27: So it's keeping in line with the spirit.
08:30: So not only is he talking about walking your life being worked out in the spirit, but then walking in a way that's in line with the spirit.
08:39: That's what he is saying.
08:41: But then when he says, let us walk by the spirit, then he says, he, he gives the description of what it means to walk by the spirit.
08:51: And it's interesting to me that when I read this, he does not say, um, do this.
08:59: If you're going to walk by the spirit, do this.
09:01: If you're going to walk by the spirit, do this.
09:04: Everybody's translation should say, do not do this.
09:08: Everybody's translation has a negative there, doesn't it? Right? Has a negative, a not.
09:14: It tells us what not to do, and it tells us to not do what? Become boastful.
09:24: Uh, 26.
09:25: So he says this, you walk by the spirit, then he says, he gives a, he basically gives a command.
09:34: Let us not become boastful.
09:37: What does it mean to be boastful? To brag? Okay.
09:43: What else? Somebody said the word I like.
09:47: Conceded.
09:48: Okay.
09:49: Somebody said arrogant, didn't they? Seek your own glory.
09:52: Sure.
09:53: And actually one, well, I'm going to get into that because one, okay, yeah, it does.
09:57: It says vainglory or, and it's got the Greek word there means false and, uh, the, uh, uh, uh, dot say, and it means vainglory or false glory.
10:09: It means that someone is making up glory for themselves.
10:13: It's false.
10:15: It is.
10:15: It's prideful.
10:16: And, um, Paul's dealing with prideful people in Galatians and he deals with the same type of pride and arrogance, but in a different context in with spiritual gifts and such.
10:27: And, uh, in Corinth, in the church at Corinth, in this case, the ones that he's dealing with boastful and pride are who? The Judaizers.
10:37: Yep.
10:37: The ones who think they have this elevated knowledge of quote, the old Testament scriptures and new Testament revelation that you should not only believe in Jesus, but also continue to obey the Mosaic covenant.
10:52: Uh, when you remember, when Jesus came, he was the fulfillment of the old and the substance of the new.
10:59: There is no old Testament, uh, law, no part of the old Testament covenant that Jesus did not fulfill.
11:08: Now, I know there may be some people in here that say, well, the moral law of God is still in effect.
11:14: Understand that the moral law of God was fulfilled in Christ and that quote, moral law, which I'm not real on the three part fold of the law.
11:24: I'm not real keen of that because it makes it confusing.
11:28: Um, but the, the quote, moral components of the law that we would say, the 10 commandments, which most of us, how we would see that, um, they are, are not no longer enforced as a covenant, but they are a guide by which we should live.
11:43: Okay.
11:43: Right.
11:44: Agree or disagree on that? Okay.
11:47: But under the old covenant, what wasn't a moral infraction of God's law? Everything you, if you wove two fabrics together that weren't supposed to be, that was a moral infraction.
12:04: Why? Because it was a picture of the purity of God.
12:07: Now you took two things that were, uh, pure of themselves and then you wove them together, making something impure.
12:15: Okay.
12:16: Back to verse 26.
12:17: So let us not become boastful, become prideful, arrogant, conceited.
12:22: What else? What's that? No, just what, what other, other terms for boastful? Puffed up.
12:36: Yup.
12:37: Puffed up.
12:38: How does, uh, becoming boastful within the, within the local body or within a local community of believers, how does it manifest itself? We know it manifests itself here in legalism, but what else? Well, actually, we were proposed, and we know, more than you know, to do this and stuff like that.
12:58: Sure.
12:59: Because they did think that they, um, Paul addresses that in the book of Romans where they thought they had an advantage.
13:06: They said, Hey, we, you think that you have an advantage and Paul says, well, you did, but not really.
13:12: The only advantage that you had is that, that God gave him then the oracles.
13:17: Well, then actually, Paul goes on to basically say, and this is my commentary on that, is Paul basically said, yeah, you had the advantage, but now you're without excuse because now that God had given you the law, you're without excuse to knowing how you violated his law because he, he has explicitly given it to you.
13:36: Well, I would say in reformed circles, we become boastful because of our theology.
13:45: Wouldn't you agree? Yeah.
13:48: Yeah.
13:49: And a lot of times those that come to the conclusion of the doctrines of grace, um, act as if they have a, uh, a sense of knowledge that no one else has.
14:00: Yeah, I think traditionalism can cause that too.
14:02: Sure it can.
14:04: I was just thinking about where the church that I come from and grew up in since I was 12 years old.
14:08: I've seen so many different, um, so many things, different things have been brought to a light since I've been coming here that I didn't see, it's the print of a Baptist denomination.
14:20: I don't know if you're familiar with that or not, but, um, uh, man, traditionalism is steeped in a lot of churches.
14:32: Yeah.
14:32: And it makes the word of God without effect.
14:33: It brings a boasting effect.
14:35: Yeah, it does.
14:36: And within reformed circles, it brings up a boasting.
14:38: And we, when we speak to those who have not come to the conclusion of, um, the, the sovereignty of God in every area, whether it be in salvation or in every area of life and men, men begin to, uh, speak down in a condescending speech to those who have not come to that conclusion.
14:55: I'm just using this as an example, but think about this.
14:58: What does a man, what did Paul say in Corinth? What does a man have that he has not received? What? That's exactly right.
15:08: What, Hey, how did you and I come to faith in Christ? Was it something you did on your own? No, it's something that God did.
15:15: How did you come to God's mercy? He showed mercy.
15:18: How did we come to the conclusions that we have theologically? Because God has opened up our eyes.
15:24: We've got no reason to be boastful and prideful.
15:28: Yes, yes, sir.
15:33: I think their intention was to, to be very synchronistic.
15:39: Would you agree with that? When you say synchronistic, Andy, they wanted to try to bring Judaism and Christianity together.
15:59: Yeah, they wanted to, they still wanted to hold to the Old Testament way of worship, but then just include Christ to that.
16:05: And when I say synchronistic, I mean trying to combine the two.
16:10: But then he goes on after he says they become boastful and he says, challenging one another.
16:15: And some of your translations may say provoking, but the word in the Greek actually means to call someone out.
16:23: It means to call somebody out.
16:27: Normally we think, give somebody a call out, you're like, Hey, you and me in the parking lot.
16:32: That's how we kind of, you know what I mean? That's how I'll call out.
16:36: But they were challenging one another in who are you to say that I am wrong about what I am saying? Well, Paul says, I can tell you who you are to say you're wrong because that's not the gospel that they had received.
16:52: What gospel had they received? They had received a justification by faith alone, apart from any works of the law.
17:00: And what were these people bringing to them? Law plus.
17:04: Yep.
17:05: Law plus.
17:07: So they were not to be challenging one another, not provoking one another.
17:12: How do we provoke one another within the body? Examples.
17:19: And not everybody speak at once.
17:20: Are you talking about the body here or the body at large? We do it here.
17:25: Okay.
17:26: I was thinking the other way.
17:28: I was thinking.
17:29: But I'll take it.
17:29: I'll take any example.
17:30: Okay.
17:31: I was thinking how people say, well, good luck.
17:34: And, you know, if you right away jump in there and say, well, we don't believe in luck.
17:39: You know what I mean? I want to say that every time and then tell them, but it's not all, you know what I mean? It's not always good.
17:47: Yeah.
17:48: And sometimes when people say that, I think it's just a way of speech.
17:53: I think it means basically, I understand.
17:57: Yeah.
17:57: I know.
17:57: I understand.
18:00: But in provoking is actually wanting to cause dissension.
18:06: What were the Judaizers there to do? They were there to cause dissension and to turn people away from Paul's justification by faith alone and to turn them back to parts of Judaism.
18:19: And if we even go back, and I think I read it last time we talked about it, is when this actually took place, is that, you know, Barnabas, I remember Barnabas, he was even turned away to their hypocrisy because they were provoking one another to cause division, to cause dissension and to be divisive.
18:44: There it goes.
18:46: And those are works of the flesh.
18:48: So, if you go back up to verse 19, he says this, now, the deeds of the flesh are evident.
18:55: And he gives the list of immorality, impurity, idolatry, sorcery, but look here, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, disputes, dissensions, and factions.
19:11: The word for factions is where we get our word heresy, because the Greek word is heresia.
19:18: And some of your translation may even say that.
19:21: So, that's what they were doing.
19:22: They were causing strife and jealousy.
19:26: There was outburst of anger within Galatia.
19:29: There were disputes and certainly disputes and dissensions because of what was going on.
19:35: And Paul's saying, don't challenge one another in these areas.
19:38: Now, we are to challenge error, okay? We are to challenge error.
19:46: But are we to challenge those who are weaker in their faith? I mean, we can actually injure someone's faith by challenging them.
19:58: When we speak to them in such a way that we go, I can't believe you don't get it.
20:04: You can challenge without being condescending.
20:07: Sure you can.
20:07: Because you don't want them to continue in error.
20:11: If they're bent on going off one way, we need to speak truth into their life, but not in a way that beats them down.
20:21: You can do that, you and me brother off to the side, rather than calling somebody out at Sunday school and saying, what are you, you know? Hey, I can remember not knowing why Jesus had to be born of a virgin when I was first saved.
20:40: And I grew up in the church.
20:42: And I remember talking to my dad going, you know, I know Jesus.
20:45: I believe that he was born of a virgin.
20:47: But why? I said, all the years I grew up in a church, I couldn't tell you one time.
20:51: Obviously, I was unconverted.
20:53: So maybe I wasn't paying attention.
20:55: I said, how many times a pastor preached at the time of Christmas and I never heard the necessity of Jesus being born of a virgin? Well, my dad walked me through that.
21:05: Here is why.
21:07: And then, okay, well, that's why I believe that.
21:10: Now, if someone, let's say my father would have walked me through that and I would have said, you know what? Well, I don't believe it was necessary for Jesus to be born of a virgin.
21:21: That would be, I should be calling my faith into question.
21:26: Not understanding something and then being explained to you and then rejecting that truth.
21:33: Now we have a problem.
21:35: Not understanding it because there's nobody in here.
21:38: Well, I don't know.
21:39: I might ask who in here completely understands the Trinity? Okay, I was going to provoke someone.
21:48: None of us do.
21:50: There's nothing in our minds that the Trinity fits in.
21:57: Nothing.
21:57: And even when we try...
21:58: I'm sorry.
21:59: I was just going to say that being condescending to a new believer, we can quench the spirit.
22:08: Sure we can.
22:09: You know what I'm saying? Yeah, we can work against it.
22:11: Yeah.
22:11: Yeah, and I think that's what when he talked about quenching the spirit.
22:14: Can we work against what the Spirit's doing in the life of a believer? Yeah, by being a jerk.
22:20: Yes, ma'am.
22:21: How about when you have to argue a path? When you're questioning someone about why do you believe in Kimmy Kreme and instead of beer, or something like that? Well, that's non-essential to the faith.
22:36: I know it's non-essential, but you're still challenging them, right? That's not...
22:40: Asking someone why they believe something and provoking them to anger are totally different.
22:47: Totally different.
22:47: We could come to conclusions on their areas and even in theology that we could disagree on and still serve together.
22:57: I'm sure that there in this room, there are probably three, maybe four different views of eschatology that we have in this room, but that doesn't stop me from serving with you guys.
23:08: And I know without a shadow of a doubt, I am in the minority.
23:11: Okay, so it doesn't stop me from serving with someone.
23:14: You said cremation or burial or whatever.
23:19: That's an area of conscience in that case.
23:22: That would be what we did with somebody's liberty.
23:25: That would be in someone's liberty.
23:27: But there...
23:27: Did you raise your hand? Yeah, but topics that we do get dissension and can get in and heated in is over an election.
23:39: Because you look at...
23:41: You take Baptist, when you mention that, they just go off into a tantrum that you don't have to do nothing, God's just going to pick his people or whatever and quarrel back and forth between the reform that believes in election.
23:58: And I think you get sidetracked by what the actual gospel is saying and doing in the life of someone.
24:05: Is it something that we need to argue at that time? Well, God's going to elect you whether you listen to me right now or not.
24:13: Or should we just share the gospel and let the Holy Spirit do what he does in the life? Yeah, I don't think...
24:21: That is one of the biggest issues that divides the church today is on that subject.
24:28: Sure, and I think when that happens, that person needs to be, like you said Mike, pulled to the side and let's walk through that.
24:37: Because sometimes it just takes someone connecting the dots.
24:40: They've been reading their Bible.
24:42: If somebody just did...
24:43: If you just read your Bible, there is no way you're going to come to the conclusion that Adam sought out God after he sinned.
24:53: There's no way you're going to come to the conclusion that Noah said, hey, God, I know you're going to destroy the earth, but can you put me in a boat and save me? You know, and just go on down the line.
25:05: Abraham, Abraham didn't say, hey, you know, I'm bowing down to these idols in Mesopotamia.
25:11: Would you make a nation out of me? No, God chose one.
25:14: It takes, like I said, causing a big division and an argument in a setting like this or in a larger setting.
25:25: Pull the person to the side and begin to walk with them and show them.
25:29: I think it goes back to like you say in the boasting because mankind drastically wants to be in control of everything.
25:37: So when he says, I chose God, I accept him.
25:42: No, you didn't because it is physically impossible.
25:45: But yet man still wants that.
25:47: There can also be a boasting and saying and believing in a lecture.
25:50: Sure.
25:51: That's what I was reading earlier.
25:52: Yeah, that's what I was saying earlier.
25:56: How can you not believe that? I mean, it's so plain in day.
25:59: But yet, as we do read the Bible, God says that there are things for us to see and there are stuff we want for others.
26:06: And, you know, just that simple election is a stumbling block to a lot of people.
26:13: And not to get off on that because we got about 15 minutes.
26:16: But just to let you know, if someone does not believe in an election, I would say they're on the verge of heresy.
26:23: And understand why.
26:25: The Armenian and the Calvinist all believe in election.
26:31: OK, it's how that election takes place.
26:33: That's where the difference is.
26:37: So if anybody says, well, I don't believe in that, well, then you can let it whether they're Armenian or Calvinist.
26:42: You would have to say then you don't believe your Bible and you don't even understand the theology that you believe because the Bible is very clear that God chooses every person that believes.
26:51: But it's how that the mode of election takes place with the Armenian.
26:56: They believe that God looks through.
26:57: We all know it looks at a corridor of time and saw that someone believed in their chosen unforeseen faith to where the Calvinist view is that God in eternity passed before anything was ever created.
27:09: God decreed the fall.
27:11: And then he decreed after the fall that he would choose sinners out of that.
27:17: So so that would be the provoking and dissensions that we can at times do that.
27:23: Now, hey, here's the here's the one that I struggled with trying to explain.
27:28: Even trying to when it says envying one another.
27:33: Does anybody know what envying means? We often think about it just being jealous of someone, don't we? I was thinking it just well, you know what? I'm jealous of that person.
27:46: But envy has the carries with it a malicious intent.
27:52: It says Dan has something that I want and I'm willing to deprive Dan so that I can have it.
28:00: That's envy.
28:02: Hey, how does that I mean, also just how we can how we can practically work it out in life.
28:07: And I don't know how that practically works out in in in the body.
28:12: I don't I don't I don't think there's anybody in here that would want to deprives one of us of something over something that someone else has now, I can say how that works out in unbelievers life.
28:26: Okay, now somebody can step in here and they have some instances and can help.
28:32: I mean, hey, I'm fine with it.
28:36: We now there are areas that I can say, okay, there are men that I can look around this room and I can say there are areas in their life that I wish that I had.
28:48: Do we all we all agree with that? There's women that look around at other women and go, man, I wish I had that quality.
28:56: There's nothing wrong with wanting to have that level of sanctification in that person's life.
29:02: There's nothing wrong with wanting to go, man, I wish I had the knowledge that that person has in those areas of theology and doctrine, or I wish I had the wisdom that that person has has accumulated over a course of years in his life.
29:17: But that's not what Envy is saying.
29:20: Envy is willing to harm or hurt someone either physically or emotionally over that.
29:31: So like I said, I struggle with trying to understand what Paul was saying in Envy.
29:37: Andy, do you have any comment on that? I think when we Envy, to your point, maybe it doesn't work itself outwardly, but I think there's this issue in our hearts where we want to see the demise of another so that we can kind of take that spot, fill in that piece.
30:01: So I think when we Envy each other, I think we're more like lusting more than, you know, just a passing thought that we truly seek to bring someone down to enter into the spot that they're in.
30:16: How many people in here would say that they've struggled with pride? And if you didn't raise your hand, you're prideful.
30:24: How many people in here have struggled with provoking someone? How many people in here know when they're struggling with Envy? How many people in a small group have you ever said, hey, you know what? I'm struggling with Envy.
30:41: I have never.
30:43: I've never, never heard someone say that.
30:47: And to bring validity to what Andy just said, I do wonder, is it because we're not willing to say, you know what? Someone has an advantage over me and I want the advantage that that person has over me.
31:00: I want over them.
31:02: And I think that's what you were saying, right, Andy? We want the advantage over someone.
31:06: And we want so whatever it is that they have.
31:10: And if we do say that we were envying someone, then we're saying that someone is has something superior than us.
31:21: We agree or disagree.
31:23: That is very true.
31:28: And just to let you know, I read a book twice in the last two weeks called, anybody know Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins? Very good book.
31:40: I would suggest that you read it, but be prepared to be beat up.
31:45: And it deals with those very things.
31:47: Is it? Yeah, it'll hit you in the head twice.
31:51: And it deals with those things that we don't see as sinful.
31:56: And it is dealing with envy and theological pride and doctrinal pride.
32:04: It deals with those things that are within the church that we don't, hey, we would all say that, hey, immorality, impurity, sensuality, sorcery, enmities, and strife.
32:15: All those things are wrong, wouldn't we? But do we see outburst of anger at times? No, because we justify our anger.
32:27: So this thing, it is, it's the inward parts that envy is one of those.
32:32: I would just suggest y'all to read that book if any of y'all can get it.
32:37: So as we leave Galatians in this part, Paul tells us to live by the Spirit, be in step with the Spirit.
32:46: Oh, J.
32:47: I.
32:47: Packer book.
32:48: Anybody ever read it? Keeping in step with the Spirit deals with that very thing.
32:51: Great book.
32:52: You can read it.
32:53: You have time to read it.
32:56: We are to walk by the Spirit by doing these things, not doing these things.
33:02: Do not become boastful.
33:04: Do not become provoking or challenging to one another or calling one another out and stop envying one another.
33:11: That's what Paul's saying.
33:13: Let me turn over to Romans 8 real quick.
33:16: This is a great parallel to… Hey, when y'all have read through Romans or read through Galatians, do y'all see how similar they are to one another? They're very similar.
33:37: A lot of parallels.
33:39: He says, and we'll read, let me see where I'm going to start at.
33:49: We'll get in verse 3.
33:52: For what the law could not do, weak as it is through the flesh, God did.
33:58: First of all, what could the law not do? It could not save.
34:02: And because of the weakness of the flesh, the flesh could not obey the law of God.
34:05: So God did.
34:06: It says here that then God did something.
34:08: And what did he do? He sent his son in likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin.
34:14: He condemned sin in the flesh so that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.
34:20: Who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
34:24: There it is again.
34:25: Walk according to the Spirit.
34:27: For those who are walking according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh.
34:34: But those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
34:38: For the mindset on the things of the flesh is death.
34:43: But the mindset on the Spirit is life and peace.
34:46: Because the mindset on the flesh is hostile towards God.
34:50: For it does not subject itself to the law of God.
34:53: For it does not eat it.
34:55: I'm sorry.
34:56: For it does not subject itself to the law of God.
34:58: For it is not even able to do so.
35:01: For those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
35:06: I want you to understand that you don't fluctuate out of the Spirit and in the flesh positionally.
35:14: Understand? Once you are in the Spirit, you are forever secured with the seal and down payment of the Holy Spirit to the day of your redemption.
35:25: Now, can you carry out the deeds of the flesh? Certainly.
35:30: Certainly.
35:32: And that's what Paul is saying.
35:34: But when a person does not have the ability to obey the commands of God, what would we say that person is? Lost.
35:44: Scripture says it very clear.
35:46: He cannot obey the law and he would not even if he could.
35:52: He cannot.
35:56: Verse 9.
35:57: However, you are not in the flesh, but you are in the Spirit.
36:01: If indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, every believer has a spirit dwelling within them.
36:07: But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.
36:13: If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.
36:20: But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
36:32: So then, brethren, we are under obligation to what? Not the flesh and not to live according to the flesh.
36:42: For if you are living according to the flesh, you will die.
36:46: But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
36:52: For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.
36:57: For you have not received the Spirit of slavery, again leading to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, I have a father.
37:05: And the Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.
37:09: And if children heirs also and heirs of God, fellow heirs of Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
37:19: If you're here today and you are not putting to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit, the Bible says you need to check if your salvation is legit.
37:29: That's not Mike Call you're saying that.
37:31: That's not the elders of this church saying that.
37:34: There's no deacon saying that.
37:35: That's the Apostle Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit saying, What does it say? If you are living according to the flesh, you're going to do what? You're going to put to death the deeds of the flesh.
37:47: Now, is it happening with the same rate with every person? No, it's not.
37:52: But when you sin and you recognize there's a sinful inclination in your life and that you're heading down a path that's not keeping in step with the Spirit as we said, then what are we to do? We're to be killing sin as John Owen said or sin will be killing us.
38:09: That's what that's what Paul is saying.
38:12: And that is what John Owen said.
38:16: We have two minutes.
38:20: Okay, he's gone.
38:22: He gone.
38:24: Two minutes for anybody wants to make a comment.
38:27: Maybe three.
38:28: You said that when you're talking about Indian being desiring something had someone has and willing to have malicious intent.
38:38: Yeah.
38:38: Would you say that's at the heart of most church splits? Selfishness.
38:43: Yeah.
38:44: Yeah.
38:45: A desire to have or a desire to just have one's way.
38:51: Yeah.
38:54: Envy and envy is weird, man, especially in the when you think about how in the context of what Paul's talking here, like I said, I struggled with how to even explain that because when we think about envy, there's nobody in this room that I would want to just I don't envy.
39:11: I mean, there's like I can look around here and see things in each one of you men's life that I go, man, I wish I had that quality, you know, but as I'm not willing to deprive you so that I could ever cause any type of harm.
39:23: Envy has a malicious intent.
39:26: I think that's in our party.
39:29: That's something that we battle.
39:31: The Judaizers were trying to force them from an outward perspective, which are precision and the whole of that whole thing.
39:43: And then we'll come to says, well, let us not do this.
39:46: I think he's trying in a way of connecting it that what goes on in our hearts is going to be what goes on in our lives.
39:54: And if we can't, we can't get a hold of our hearts internally.
40:00: It's going to manifest itself externally.
40:03: Sure.
40:04: And I think it's in James where he says you want and you do not have and then you murder one another.
40:10: Yeah.
40:11: Some people say, well, I don't think he's really talking about murder.
40:14: Well, it certainly can lead to that.
40:17: I'm not firmly convinced that he's saying not murder or murder.
40:23: I'm not sure.
40:24: I know this.
40:24: He uses harsh language and he is making a condemnation.
40:28: And in the book of James to say, look, man, that's why people murder one another.
40:32: And it's over ending.
40:35: Not every time.
40:36: But I know it does cause murderous.
40:39: Certainly, as Andy was saying, if it's if it's just if he's just speaking strictly in the condition of the heart, envy is begins in the heart because it begins with covetousness.
40:49: We would all agree with that.
40:52: And covetousness then works itself out through a malicious intent of either stealing or malicious sin.
41:02: Until the law told him.
41:04: Yeah, because it's an internal thing.
41:06: All right.
41:07: Let's pray.
41:09: Father God, thank you so much for your word.
41:12: Thank you that we have gathered here today to to read it, to study it, to try to understand it, that we could be more conformed to the image of your son.
41:22: Father, thank you for the spirit.
41:24: Thank you, Father, that we have the ability to walk according to the spirit, that we can keep in step with the spirit.
41:30: And Father, give us the strength through the power of the spirit to continue to put to death the deeds of the flesh.
41:35: Father, you said those who live according to the flesh will die.
41:39: And Father, but those who live according to the spirit will live or we love you.
41:43: We thank you and be with us in this time of corporate worship as we hear preaching, singing prayers and the taking of the ordinances in Christ's name.
41:51: Amen.
42:25: Thank you.
42:28: Oh, my God.