Back on Course

It is so easy for us to get bumped off course in life--both physically and spiritually. So, at times, it is good to stop and consider the road one has been on and where one is headed. This sermon serves two purposes: First of all, after a short side trip on Spiritual revival, by reviewing the past two years of study in the book of Galatians this sermon is designed to get us back on course to finish our study through Galatians. But a second purposes is to encourage us to stay the course in our spiritual walk. It is easy to get bumped off course to the far right into legalism or to the far left into license. But the road we as believers are to walk is the road of Liberty. And we do so as we walk in the Spirit. If we are walking in the Spirit, we will not be fulfilling the lusts of our flesh. If we are walking in the Spirit, we will be in constant warfare with our fleshly desires. We will exhibit the character traits of Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, in our lives. And we will operate outside of the realm of the law, for we will be under the control of our internal guidance system, the Spirit of God. But how do we practically walk in the Spirit. Paul closes this section with two admonitions--one positive, the other a negative warning. If we are to walk in the Spirit we need to practice what we already know to be true. We died with Christ and were raised with Him. When we choose to obey God rather than the dictates of our own fleshly nature, we in essence crucify the flesh and live for God. We practice what we already know to be true. But we need to beware of spiritual pride whereby we think we've arrived or that we are better than others.