(Galatians 5:10 KJV) "I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded (allos {pronounced al’-los} + phroneo {pronounced fron-eh’-o}, none of the same kind of mind. The Galatians will change their minds about legalism) : but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be."

(Galatians 5:11 KJV) "And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offense of the cross ceased."

Paul here makes a point that will always be true: as long as you stick with the truth of the Scripture, you will be persecuted. Had Paul begun to compromise with the Judaizers in saying that their ritualism was essential for salvation, had he turned away from the Biblical truth in order to placate the false doctrine of these people, they still would have found another area of attack. So it is with the deviate - they are never satisfied unless their every whim is satisfied.

There is an insipid danger in drawing back from the Scriptural truth. When we compromise the Word of God to satisfy the few who would do as they wish, we enter a slippery slope of danger. Consider the moral state of America today. Though this is a little off subject, it nonetheless illustrates the point. As little as fifty years ago people knew in their conscience that homosexual or same sex unions were immoral and impractical - they just made no sense whatsoever. It was obvious from the standpoint of the human design alone that man fit woman sexually, but man did not fit man nor did woman fit woman. Only the most perverse of people, at that time, would have suggested in polite company that homosexuality was a viable alternative in the human equation. During the "Sexual Revolution" of the '60s (1960-69) the "free love" that the hippie promoted was a free love between man and woman, not between same sex couples. Such things, even in the loose morals of that time, were spoken of only in whispers. By the '70s (1970-79) the emasculation of men began. Men who were "in" were expected to wear their hair longer, to wear bright modern nylon clothing, to recognize women as - if not superiors, then equal to men in every way. By the '80s (1980-89) men were being emasculated and feminized, and at this time the homosexual revolution began to take hold. Homosexual characters were sympathetically introduced on television. Homosexual shows began to be, at first tentatively aired, then finally broadcast with all the vigor that "wholesome family entertainment" had previously received. No one stopped to ask "what does the Scripture say about the homosexual?". While television remained lilly white, with the occasional African American thrown in to show how progressive we were, homosexuality abounded. How odd! Racism - which is Scripturally wrong - abounded in Hollywood, whereas homosexuality - which is Scripturally wrong - flourished.

Where were America's pulpits during this twisting of Scriptural values? How many pastors stood up and, with wisdom and Bible in hand, fought racism and homosexuality? Very few. In many cases, from 1980-1999, pastors have allowed racism to remain in their congregations while concessions have been made to the homosexual movement that such behavior may be a viable lifestyle. Beloved, these things must not continue! Just as the Apostle Paul recognized the futility of compromising the correct teachings of the Scripture with the world in which he lived, we too must be careful to avoid compromise of the holy for the unholy. Compromising with the homosexual movement, even though Scripture plainly determines such practices are against nature and unholy, has allowed the moral fiber of our country to disintegrate. Those who are ascriptural are not interested in winning equal rights for their constituents. Those who are ascriptural (against Scripture) are interested in total anarchy insofar as their sexual satisfaction is concerned. When the pulpit compromises with the ascriptural the ascriptural will seek wider, more deviate pathways. If homosexuality is viable and blessed by God, then what about unspeakable acts with children? You may be shocked, but once the slippery slope of the ascriptural is stepped on, you have no idea where you will be dragged next! I have known churches that have moved their assemblies from one neighborhood to another in order to avoid an influx of people of the "wrong sort of color", but who look sympathetically at the homosexual "plight in America". The God of the Scripture would condemn the racism that led to such a move, while at the same time condemning the ascriptural behavior that is homosexuality. As the Scripture teaches, so must God's children teach.

As Christians we must teach that homosexual behavior is ascriptural and destructive. We must also teach that racism is ascriptural and destructive. We must not teach hatred of either the homosexual or the person of color, but must love all people while condemning ascriptural behavior. Though the Christian is no longer under the Law of Moses we are under the Law of the Spirit of God, and we must be obedient to the whole counsel of the Word of God. We are not lawless, we are under a Higher Law. Our pastors must learn to stand strong on the Scriptural truth. Our leaders must be willing to lose their salaries and become bi-vocational, if necessary, in order that the truth of the Scripture be preached. Why? Because the same God who created you and I wrote the Book that we are to revere. Certainly the Owner and Creator of all that is would know what is best for His creation. We must stick with the Scripture, not with common consensus.

Paul is an excellent role model for every pastor, every minister, every leader in our Church today. He refused to compromise with the Judaizers, even though, I am sure, his refusal cost him some of his audience. He refused to bow down to the ascriptural for the sake of unity in the Body, for he knew that unity at any cost is only another way of saying anarchy. Paul knew that if he compromised with the ascriptural Judaizers then he would, by silent admission, be teaching the following equation:

circumcision + cross of Christ = salvation

Yet that is not the equation of Scripture. The Scripture teaches:

faith + cross of Christ = salvation

Or, as Paul says elsewhere,

Ephesians 2:8 KJVA For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

When you get the equation wrong, you fill the Church with unbelievers, lost souls. Paul was not willing to do that. He determined that he would stay with God's message, regardless as to the consequences. This may not make the preacher popular, nor will it necessarily fill the congregation with crowds of people bursting to give to God's work. What all Christian leaders need to understand is that by standing on the truth, the written truths of Scripture, our local churches will be filled with Bible believing Jesus loving Christians. It's much easier to pastor a church filled with Christians, the sheep of God, than it is to pastor a church plagued with religious pretenders.

(Galatians 5:12 KJV) "I would (ophelon {pronounced of’-el-on}, wish that) they were even cut off (apokopto {pronounced ap-ok-op’-to}, Reflexive Future Middle Indicative, to emasculate or castrate. I wish that these people would be CASTRATED, or AMPUTATED) which trouble you."

Now the Apostle makes a statement that is masterful in its execution, and if we don't slow down and read it carefully we'll miss its significance. He says "I wish that these troublemakers were caused to be castrated". This was not just an idle statement from the Apostle. When God instituted the ritual of circumcision with Abraham the Lord stated:

Genesis 17:13-14 KJVA He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. (14) And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

Notice that the Abrahamic Covenant applied to:

1. "He that is born in thy house", i.e. a direct descendant of Abraham, that is, a Jew. The covenant was NEVER given to Gentiles, unless,

2. "he that is bought with thy money", that is, a slave that belonged to Abraham.

So Abraham's children or Abraham's property was to be circumcised as a ritualistic sign that he was under the provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant. If a person refused to be circumcised, or his parents refused to circumcise him on the eighth day following his birth, then that person was to be "cut off from his people". Cut off is the Niphal Perfect of karath {pronounced kaw-rath’}, meaning "to cut off, cut down, or amputate" That was God's solution - submit to the Abrahamic Covenant ritual, or be amputated from the family and thus from the Covenant blessings. These Judaizers had been teaching the Galatians that, unless they were circumcised, they would be "cut off" from salvation. This was a total misapplication of the doctrine of circumcision. Since the Galatians were neither born into the house of Abraham, nor were the property of Abraham, the Judaizers had no right in applying the penalty of amputation to their situation. Paul, however, could apply amputation to the Judaizers, for these people were not Christians by faith in Christ, but were Jews by faith in the Law. As such they may have been faithful to the Old Covenant of Abraham, but by forcing the restrictions of that Old Covenant on people who clearly were not under the Covenant they deserved to be "cut off" or amputated from the Church at Galatia.

Here is a principle that God has established from the beginning of time. People must not be unequally yoked together. Those who were under the provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant were, first of all, believers in God. Abraham believed God, and God counted this belief for righteousness. The Covenant of Cutting, circumcision, came long after Abraham's belief in God. Those who were cut under the Covenant were cut because they believed God, and submitted either themselves or their children to the knife. If they would not be cut, then they were unbelievers, and were to be cast out of Abraham's home. The Galatians were a group of Gentile believers who were never under the Abrahamic Covenant, but believed God in Christ just as Abraham did. The Judaizers did NOT believe God, but believed in the ritual of circumcision as a work that would merit salvation in its adherents. These people, unbelievers all, who preached "be circumcised or be cut off" were, in fact, the only ones worthy of being amputated in the whole mess. Paul advises the Galatians to "cut these people off", cast them out, for they are not truly believers.

How do we know that these Judaizers were not believers, and as such should have been cast from the rolls of the Church? Because their output was not normative of the Christian.

(Galatians 5:13 KJV) "For, brethren, ye have been called (kaleo {pronounced kal-eh’-o}, Aorist Passive Indicative, have been called or elected or chosen to) unto liberty; (Preposition epi + Dative Case eleutheria = for the purpose of freedom) only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve (douleuo {pronounced dool-yoo’-o}, Present Active Imperative, keep on serving) one another." (allelon {pronounced al-lay’-lone}, one another of the same kind)

Who or what is a Christian? Quite simply, a Christian is a person who has accepted the finished work of the Biblically represented Christ who died on the Cross for us. That's as simple as I can put it in this day and age, for heathen abound in our churches, looking to find loopholes in doctrine so that they can play as they wish. Some heathen have dismissed the Scripture as relevant, preferring to believe a Jesus of their own invention. These people are not saved. Other heathen have focused on the Mosaic Law rather than the work of Christ on the Cross, and have drug compromising laws into the Body to shackle it. These people are not saved. A Christian has seen in his heart his own sinfulness, has seen that Jesus paid the penalty for that sinfulness, and has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Because he has called out for salvation from Christ the Holy Spirit has entered his life, and he has become a new creature. The Christian is not bound under the old Mosaic Law, but is freed from those Laws in order to serve the higher Law of Love. The Christian is known by his or her output of love toward other Christians, and by his or her output of service toward other Christians. As one theologian has put it:

"Faith alone saves, but a faith that IS ALONE does not save"

Faith in Christ alone does bring a person into union with God. But if a person claim to be saved, to be in union with God, but show none of the output of God, LOVE, then that person is still damned to hell. Is that plain enough? The CHRISTian emulates and imitates CHRIST. You can have all the revivals you want at Church. You can call all the evangelists you want. You can go to Church everytime the doors are opened. You can be baptized in water many times and many different ways. You can even memorize the Scripture. But, Beloved, unless your life imitates and emulates Christ at some level, great or small, you had better examine your faith. A faith that has no output of love toward other Christians is a dead faith. A faith that has no output of love toward the needy, toward the suffering, toward the world around us is a useless faith that needs to be amputated.

(Galatians 5:14 KJV) "For all the law is fulfilled (pleroo {pronounced play-ro’-o}, Present Passive Indicative, fulfilled in past w/ result that it is fulfilled forever) in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

A faith that outputs love is truly the trademark of the genuine Christian. As Jesus our Lord said, "Ye MUST be born again" (John 3:7). Peter speaks of the New Birth of the believer by saying that we are born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God" (1 Peter 1:23). Only a new creature in Christ can love as we are required to love. An unbeliever cannot love as the Christian is called to love. Whatever the unbeliever can do is not indicative of the Christian way of life. The unbeliever loves, but that love is either centralized toward those whom he expects reciprocal love from, or that love is locked into self gratification. The churchman, that follower and imitator of the true Christian, cannot love as the Christian loves. The churchman may attend church regularly with the Born Again, may "tithe" of his income with the best of the believers, may even teach Sunday School or serve on the board of deacons. But love his neighbor AS HIMSELF? No, the churchman does not consider his neighbor in his religious activities, but attends church to appear righteous and holy in the eyes of his peers. Love is not a consideration for either the unbeliever or the churchman. Love is, however, an integral and essential part of the true Christian, one who has accepted Christ as Savior and has underwent the supernatural process that our Lord called "New Birth". Those who are saved by faith are born again, and if born again are new creatures capable of the type of love that God wants us to exercise. We fulfill the target of the Mosaic Law when we love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Before we continue in our study we need to review, in brief, two of the doctrines that we have covered up to this point. The first of these doctrines is that of the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law was divided into three codices (pronounced CO-dices). Each codex had a slightly different emphasis, though all of the Law targeted love, either love toward God or love toward your neighbor.

Codex 1 of the Law was written in Exodus 20, what we normally call "The Ten Commandments". These ten laws or rules of order were first written in the conscience of all people, and is part of the encoding of creation. All men know, instinctively, that violation of the Ten Commandments is wrong. Though God wrote codex 1 down on two stone tablets with His own finger, He wrote these same commandments in every human that ever lived at the moment of their conception.

Codex 2 of the Law, "The Ordinances", was the spiritual code of conduct given to Israel alone. The Ordinances included all feast days (Pentecost, Passover, etc.), the Levitical Offerings (burnt, shake, heave, etc.), and the construction of the holy things (the Tabernacle, the Temple, the furniture, altar, etc.). All that which was ordered in the Ordinances was a type, an Old Testament teaching method to show Israel about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. As the writer of Hebrews states:

Hebrews 10:1 KJVA For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

The Law had no ability to perfect Israel, to make Israel sinless or acceptable before God, but it was "a shadow of good things to come", a teacher of the coming Christ.

Finally, Codex 3, the "Judgments" or the social code of Israel, was introduced in Exodus 21-23 but expanded in Deuteronomy and Numbers. The Judgments contained the dietary (what the people were allowed to eat), farming (what the people were allowed to produce), rest (when the people were allowed to work), and health laws. As a nomadic people Israel was only allowed to eat food that was high in energy but low in toxins. This was the reason that pork and shellfish was forbidden to eat. Pork, if hastily cooked and eaten, contains trichinosis and other harmful parasitic diseases. Both pork and shellfish metabolize quickly in the human body, providing fast but non-sustaining energy. As God promised Israel riches as a nation, He mandated a day of rest and a year of rest for His people. As He wanted these people to learn to trust in Him, and to want for nothing, He mandated when and how the fields would be farmed.

Though Codex 1 of the Law is written in the heart of all humanity, the Mosaic Law was never given to anyone other than Israel (Exodus 19:3). The Bible specifically states:

Leviticus 26:46 KJVA These [are] the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Romans 3:19 KJVA Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

The Mosaic Law was given to Israel, not to the Gentiles, and certainly not to the Galatians.

(Galatians 5:15 KJV) "But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another."

(Galatians 5:16 KJV) "This I say (Lego, Present Active Indicative, Linear Aktionsart, keep on saying) then, Walk (peripateo {pronounced per-ee-pat-eh’-o}, Present Active Imperative, keep on moving forward on balance) in the Spirit, and ye shall not (ou me {pronounced oo may}, Double negative, very strong, Aorist Subjunctive) fulfill the lust of the flesh."

The Mosaic Law was given to Israel, an unbelieving nation when it came out of Egypt, to lead that nation to worship and trust of God Almighty. The ultimate thrust of the Law was to teach both horizontal as well as vertical love, that love toward man and love toward God. The Law was a perfect teaching tool, but failed in that which it aimed at because the Law had no ability to effect a change in the Israelite. God would have to change His people from the inside out. He would have to save them, and change them internally so that they remained saved. This is the thrust of the teaching of Christ. Those who came to Him and accepted Him as Savior, these people, these Christians were changed on the inside and empowered to do the will of God. The Law could only teach of the coming Christ, and teach that we are all fallen. The Law could NOT give us the Holy Spirit, could NOT change us, could not give us power over the Old Sin Nature within. Only Christ could save us, and only Christ could give us the Holy Spirit who would indwell us and aid us as we sought to do the will of God in this life. If we, who are saved by Grace, Christians indeed, keep on walking in the resources that God has given us, in the Spirit and the Word, then we will have an output in this life of love toward both man and God. If not, then the Old Sin Nature will seek to control us through the lust of the flesh.

What is the Old Sin Nature (OSN)? Remember when God warned Adam about eating the forbidden fruit? The Lord told him:

Genesis 2:17 KJVA But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Adam obviously didn't believe God to be a "Man of His Word", so he ate of the fruit - and at the very moment, Adam died a spiritual death. As Paul said:

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 KJVA (21) For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

In Adam ALL DIE. Adam brought spiritual death, and hence physical death, on all of God's creation. When man died spiritually another thing, the OSN, came into being in man. The OSN is that which is constantly seeking anything that is not honoring to God. The OSN is called "the flesh",

(Galatians 5:16 KJV) "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

Those who are controlled by the flesh and not by the Spirit of God are considered "natural man" and not "supernatural man". The natural man, or the unsaved, cannot understand the things of God. All that the unsaved can understand of God is the Gospel message, and many reject that message. This is one reason that I refuse to get into debates with heathen about spiritual issues in this ministry. No good ever comes of debating anything BUT the Gospel with the heathen.

(1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV) "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

It would be like trying to explain the color "red" to a man blind from birth, a total exercise in futility. Without a point of reference how can you hope to explain "red". Can you say, "red like the oak leaves in the fall"? This man has never seen oak leaves, nor the fall. Can you say, "red like an apple"? No, he's touched an apple, but never seen the apple. No, without a point of reference a debate is useless. I have seen and heard many wonderful apologists and Christian leaders enter debates - public debates - with heathen, and all have ended up being made to look foolish by the heathen. These people cannot receive the things of God. Share the Gospel with them, and quit wasting your time!

The OSN is also called the "old man", as it is the antithesis of the new creation of the creature in Christ:

(Ephesians 4:22 KJV) "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;"

(Colossians 3:9 KJV) "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;"

The believer who "backtracks" and moves back into the old ways of the lost person is called "carnal" or "soulish":

(1 Corinthians 3:1-3 KJV) "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. {2} I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. {3} For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?"

The Christian in racism? Carnal! The Christian lying? Carnal! The Christian unfaithful at home or on the job? Carnal! The Christian who compromises his faith with the world, in order to make himself or his church more acceptable to the world? Carnal! The Christian who refuses to study the Scripture or heed his God? Carnal! The Christian in sensual sin, or who refuses to surrender his life to Christ? Carnal!

The OSN is passed down from parent to child by physical birth. As the Scripture states:

(Psalms 51:5 KJV) "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."

This verse does not mean, as one man told me, that the act of sex is sinful in itself, even in the marriage. That is a ignorant interpretation of the verse, especially when the Scripture teaches that God told Adam and Eve to "multiply and fill the earth":

Genesis 1:27-28 KJVA So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Did God tell Adam and Eve to go out and sin? If you believe that the union of marriage is inherently sinful then you must believe that, For God told them to "be fruitful and multiply", just as He told the animals to "multiply":

Genesis 1:22 KJVA And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

There is never any sin in doing what God tells you to do. Adam and Eve were to "multiply", and the only way you can do that is by the wedding bed. This bed is undefiled:

Hebrews 13:4 KJVA Marriage [is] honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

No, what The Psalmist meant of the OSN is that we are born sinners, and born dying. Says Spurgeon:

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity. He is thunderstruck at the discovery of his inbred sin, and proceeds to set it forth. This was not intended to justify himself, but it rather meant to complete the confession. It is as if he said, not only have I sinned this once, but I am in my very nature a sinner. The fountain of my life is polluted as well as its streams. My birth tendencies are out of the square of equity; I naturally lean to forbidden things. Mine is a constitutional disease, rendering my very person obnoxious to thy wrath. And in sin did my mother conceive me. He goes back to the earliest moment of his being, not to traduce {webster's defines as "To represent as blamable; to condemn"} his mother, but to acknowledge the deep tap roots of his sin. It is a wicked wresting of Scripture to deny that original sin and natural depravity are here taught. Surely men who cavil at this doctrine have need to be taught of the Holy Spirit what be the first principles of the faith. David’s mother was the Lord’s handmaid, he was born in chaste wedlock, of a good father, and he was himself, "the man after God’s own heart; " and yet his nature was as fallen as that of any other son of Adam, and there only needed the occasion for the manifesting of that sad fact. In our shaping we were put out of shape, and when we were conceived our nature conceived sin. Alas, for poor humanity! Those who will may cry it up, but he is most blessed who in his own soul has learned to lament his lost estate.

What are the inherent characteristics of the OSN?

• It is incurable:

(Jeremiah 17:9 KJV) "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

• It is unchangeable

(Jeremiah 13:23 KJV) "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."

• It has nothing good in it:

(Romans 7:18 KJV) "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."

• It is not pleasing to God:

(Romans 8:7-8 KJV) "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. {8} So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."

• It is unprofitable:

(John 6:63 KJV) "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

• The believer does NOT lose the OSN at the moment of salvation. We do not lose it until death or resurrection, whichever comes first.

(1 John 1:8-10 KJV) "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. {9} If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. {10} If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

• The believer has victory over the OSN while in the Spirit of God:

(Galatians 5:16-17 KJV) "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against (Preposition, in opposition to) the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary (military term, to be lined up, face to face, in open conflict against each other) the one to the other: so that ye cannot do (Present Active Subjunctive, cannot keep on doing) the things that ye would. (If you desire to do these things, literally)"

(Romans 8:2-4 KJV) "For the law of the Spirit (Genitive of source, this Law comes from the Spirit of God) of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. {3} For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: {4} That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

(Galatians 5:18 KJV) "But If ye be led (ago {pronounced ag’-o}, Passive voice, receive leading) of the Spirit, ye are not under (este {pronounced es-teh’}, Present Indicative Active, keep on being + ouk , {pronounced ook}, not = absolutely not under the jurisdiction of) the law."

Having reviewed the Biblical doctrines of both the Mosaic Law and the Old Sin Nature, we are now ready to proceed with Paul's great conclusion. IF the Mosaic Law was given to a stiff-necked and unsaved people, and IF the Law was given to be a mirror that these people can look into and see their hopeless estate, lost in the Old Sin Nature; IF the Old Sin Nature is in every person, corrupting all the good that they try to do in the eyes of God; and IF the Old Sin Nature, exposed by the Mosaic Law as inherently evil, is universally on all men ....

Then we all need the Savior. We all must have the Savior. Not only that, but the saving power of that Savior must not be external only, but must also be resident within those whom He saves. God must not only save me, but He must come and take up residence inside of me, leading me, so that I, weak as I am, can do the good that God wants me to do. Christianity alone has the answer to humanities needs.

At the point of salvation every believer, EVERY BELIEVER is indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. How do I know this? Again, turn to the Scripture. The Spirit was promised to us by Jesus Christ our Savior:

John 14:16-18 KJVA And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (17) [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (18) I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Jesus promised that the Spirit would come and be in us who believe.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 KJVA (21) Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, [is] God; (22) Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

What Jesus promised He has delivered. Even to the Corinthian believers, a church riddled with problems, God gave the Holy Spirit to them to indwell them because of Grace, because of Christ. There is no need to go back to the well of God after salvation and seek the indwelling of the Spirit. The Spirit of God is given to every believer at the point of salvation. In fact, Paul is so certain of this giving, that he stated:

Romans 8:7-11 KJVA Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (8) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (9) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (10) And If Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness. (11) But If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Unless you have the Spirit of God indwelling you, you are none of His. Unless you have the Spirit of God in you, because you have accepted Christ as your Savior and God has planted Himself inside of you, unless this is true then you are yet dead in your sins, lost and undone. Beloved, you must have the Spirit of God indwelling you! Whether you feel or experience some sensation is of no consequence. God had promised, Jesus has promised, it is as sure as your salvation. All believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. If not, then you are not saved.

Here now is the great Pauline conclusion. Follow this line of reasoning with me, and you will understand. The Ten Commandments, as I earlier noted, are ten foundational truths that are embedded in the conscience of every man by the Creator God. All men inherently know that it is wrong to steal, wrong to kill, wrong to perjure oneself, wrong to take God's name in vain, etc., etc. The wrongs listed in the Ten Commandments are universal to all, for the same God has created all. If a person naturally follow the Commandments, that is, If they follow their conscience and, keeping a clear conscience, avoid breaking the Ten Commandments, then they have no need of the Ten Commandments. Follow me?

The Law was never given to the righteous, but to the evil, to those who twist away from the leading of the conscience:

1 Timothy 1:9-10 KJVA Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, (10) For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and If there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

Since the Holy Spirit indwells every Christian believer, and since the duty of the Spirit is to guide every believer in their walk with God, the Christian who is indwelt with the Spirit of God is not under the Mosaic Law. The Christian does not follow the Mosaic Law, but the Law of the Spirit. The Christian does not kill, steal, perjure, etc., because the Mosaic Law says, "Don't do it"; but the Christian does not kill, steal, perjure, etc., because the Spirit of God indwelling him leads him away from such activity. Or, as Paul puts it succinctly in Galatians 5:18, "If you are led by the Spirit of God, you are not under the authority of the Mosaic Law". Once we understand this principle, we can easily avoid the excesses that many in Christendom follow. We are not under the Sabbath (Commandment 4) because, being led by the Spirit of God, we who are Christian daily spend time in prayer, study of God's Word, and worship of God. We do not have to follow the Sabbatical year because we enjoy a moment by moment rest in Christ through the Spirit of God. We are not under the childlike Tithe, like babies following a formula of 10% of our income to give mechanically to God. No, Beloved, we give as the Spirit of God leads us to give, giving sacrificially to His ministry where He says give. We do not restrict the intake of certain foods as those under the Mosaic Law did, but:

1 Timothy 4:3-5 KJVA Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. (4) For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing to be refused, If it be received with thanksgiving: (5) For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

We know that all foods are the provision of God. As long as we thank God for the food, and pray over it, it is sanctified for our use. We who are indwelt by the Spirit of God have a relationship, a relationship, with God our Savior. No husband gives his wife a list of orders saying, "This list you will follow If you wish to be my wife". No, this would be foolish! The husband loves the wife, and the wife the husband. Because there is love between the two there is no need for a list, but the mere upset of your Beloved is enough to make you revise your approach. If my Beloved does not care for certain things I do then I will not do them, lest I offend my mate. True Christian marriage and true Christian unity with God are nearly synonymous in their function. I know of a couple who are married in name only, but not in soul. The woman then the man take vacations without telling one another, going off without the other without word of warning. The man berates the woman, the woman refuses the advances of the man. Such a twisted relationship needs a Law written that would say, "No, you must not do this! You must do this, and this, and this If you are to remain married".

Do we who are saved need such a list? If God tells you to open your wallet and give, do you need a rate table where you can compute 10% of what you have so you can give Him that much? If God tells you to spend time in prayer and Bible study, do you need a rate table to tell you how much time to spend? When God hung on the Cross for your sins did He give His all, or did He use a rate table? Did He hang there suffering and bleeding just long enough to get the job done, or did He hang until He said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit"? What did your Beloved give to you? Just enough, or all that He had? My Beloved gave all that He had for me, and because of this I will serve Him as a living sacrifice until the day I die. When I discover sin in me I will confess it, asking forgiveness in my Beloved's name. When I fall short of what He wants I will, with tears in my eyes, try again to satisfy Him. Though all the world disdain Him, though all the media think me a fool for following Him, though I have no friends nor allies in the game of life, though all shun me as unworthy (which I am), He is all the world to me! When I see my Savior I see love, and can't help but respond in love. What does He need? Tell me, precious Jesus, and I will give. Whisper through your Word, and I will make haste.

If you need a list such as the Law provides, a tithe or a Sabbath or a restricted diet, then you do not know my Beloved. If you are led of the Spirit, of His Spirit, you are not under the List, the Law.

Galatians 5:19-21 KJVA Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, (21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do (prasso {pronounced pras’-so}, Present Active Participle, keep on practicing) such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

If you must have a list of don'ts, Paul now provides the list. All of these things are called the works (plural) of the flesh, that is, things that are done by those who are not indwelt by the Spirit of God. You see these things all around you, on television and in your very real world in which you live and breathe. Some of you who are Christians may have even fallen into these things. I am told by friends of mine who are pastors that they have discovered, in their very churches, single believers who are living together and sharing one another sexually without benefit of marriage. This is a work of the flesh called adultery or fornication, is sinful, and is something that no wise believer would be engaged in. Other believers feel that it is fine for them to go out and drink alcohol and party with their friends. Again, this is a work of the flesh, sinful, and called uncleanness or lasciviousness. Those who practice such things habitually and without repentance are NOT believers, but are unbelievers parading as believers. These people, whether faithful attendees of church or not, shall NOT inherit the Kingdom of God. As the Scripture says:

(1 John 3:9 KJV) “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

If a person is a believer he or she will not fall into unrestrained and unrepented of sin. If sin is unrestrained and habitual then you need to reexamine your salvation. Yes, I know that all believers still have an operating Old Sin Nature, and that we are not perfect yet … but we are in the family of God, indwelt by the Spirit. If indwelt by the Spirit the believer will evidence some spirituality, some evidence of the status we have before God. If someone walks away from service to Christ, never looking back, never shamefully recognizing their actions as sinful, then as the Apostle said:

1 John 2:19 KJVA They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

(Galatians 5:22 KJV) "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,"

There are many works (plural) of the flesh, but only one fruit (singular) of the Spirit. The Christian is like a tree, inhabited with the Spirit of God. The Spirit flows through our lives, touching all that we do. A true believer will output fruit that demonstrates that he is inhabited by the Spirit. That fruit of the Spirit has nine characteristics, but it is only one fruit. The output of this fruit is what draws the unbeliever to Christ. The Law, like a mirror, shows man that he is totally lost. I can look in the mirror in the bathroom and see that my hair is messed up, but when I see this I do not take the mirror off of the wall and comb my hair with it. No, I get a comb and correct my grooming. The world sees itself represented as evil in the mirror of the Law. The world needs to see someone who has been corrected, who has had their grooming fixed, and to see how this correction has enriched that person's life. If the world looks at the Law and is convicted of sin, then looks at a purported Christian happily engaged in sin and compromise, then the world has nowhere to turn. We who believe and are led by the Spirit of God are to output fruit, desirable and Godly fruit, that will entice the world to Christ. We do not need to compromise with the world to make Christianity more palatable. We do not need to yoke ourselves together in churches with unbelievers, excusing and minimizing the sins that the Law has condemned in their lives. We do not need to tell the adulterer or the fornicator or the homosexual that their sexual sin, their alternate lifestyle is perfectly acceptable because God made them that way. That's a lie from the pit of hell! You will be held accountable for that lie. God would not make someone one way, then forbid the action in His written Word. This would be a psychotic God who would do such a thing! God is not psychotic. He has forbidden the works of the flesh in His Law to convict man of their evil destructiveness.

Our generation has been so intent on conforming the Church to something the world will accept that we have lost sight of what we're here for. Remember those diet commercials, with the "Before" and "After" pictures? The "Before" picture showed what a slob the person was before he or she went on this fantastic diet, and the "After" picture showed what you could be by following the diet. The "Before" and "After" pictures led millions to follow these fad diets. The Law of God is the "Before" picture, and the Christian, led by the Spirit of God, the "After" picture - at least, that is our Beloved's intent. But if you look just like the "Before" picture, if you look no better than the lost soul - what good are you within the Plan of God?

Constable’s Commentary (available at soniclight.org) states:

Paul identified the behavior that results when we rebel against the Holy Spirit's leadership and follow the dictates of our sinful nature (cf. v. 17). He next listed the behavior characteristics that become evident when we allow the Spirit to control us rather than the flesh.

Note that he called what issues from our sinful human nature "deeds" or "acts" (v.19), but he called what issues from the Holy Spirit "fruit" (v. 22). This contrast is consistent with Paul's emphasis throughout the epistle. He repeatedly contrasted working and trusting. "Fruit" is singular suggesting the unified Christlike character that the Holy Spirit produces. This fruit comes in nine delicious flavors. Both deeds and fruit are the behavior manifestations of the driving forces within the Christian: his or her sinful human nature and the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:23-25 KJVA Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (24) And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (25) If we live (zao {pronounced dzah’-o}, Present Active Indicative, Linear Aktionsart, if we keep on living) in the Spirit, let us also walk (stoicheo {pronounced stoy-kheh’-o}, Present Active Subjunctive, Linear Aktionsart, keep on walking) in the Spirit.

Paul ends this section with a very interesting statement we need to carefully scrutinize. If we keep on living in the Spirit .... this statement is in the Indicative Mood in the Greek, which makes it a statement of fact. Every believer is to keep on living his or her life in the Spirit, not by the Law. If what is driving your life with God is the Law, then you have no real relationship with God. You are approaching Him on a non-personal plane, trying to appease Him by following something that was never given to you as Gentiles in the first place. If you are following the Law you are doing so in your own power, and you will never succeed at pleasing God. When you give 10% of your income to God because the Law says to do this, are you pleasing God? When you give 10% of your time, or one day of your week to church work, are you pleasing God? What if God wants more? What if God wants you to give all of your income to Him that week ... can you do it? I can, and have, not because I felt oh so holier than thou in doing it, but because my Beloved said to do it. How much of your time do you invest in God and in study of His Word? How often do you speak to Him during the day? You cannot follow any list, any formula, any Law and get anything out of your relationship with God. We do, indeed, keep on living in the Spirit, if we are Christians. He gives us eternal life, and we shall never perish. But notice the second part of this statement.

Let us also keep on walking in the Spirit. The Greek verb is in the Subjunctive Mood, which is not a statement of fact, but a statement of wish. The Apostle, by using the Subjunctive, shows that we ourselves control whether or not we will direct our lives by the Spirit. Some Christians never reach much higher than babyhood in the faith. They keep on hanging onto the Law; the tithe, the Sabbaths, the feasts, the rituals. They try to follow a list of doS and don'tS: I DO this because it's on the list, I DON'T do this this because it's not on the list. These believers never push the envelope of Christian love and service, and never aspire to greatness in God. They tithe faithfully, but refuse to step out on faith and teach Sunday School or Bible class. They attend church meetings regularly, but only vaguely understand what the preacher is saying, for they never touch their Bibles between services. When they open their Bibles the pages crackle with newness - the ink is never smudged. They love those who attend church with them, and who are in their Bible class at church, but speak of Christ only in these closed circles. In their everyday lives they are undercover Christians, outwardly moral and law abiding, but never spreading the good news of Christ's redemption to anyone else. They may struggle and invite you to revival at their Church in hope that the preacher can lead you to Christ, but never stretch forth their hands to rescue the perishing themselves. They are the children who stand on shore, looking outward and seeing a struggling person, who then run and call for help because they can barely swim themselves.

We who are Christians are in the Army of God. The Greek "stoicheo" in the above text, "walking", also means "to march in order". We who are Christians do not follow the Mosaic Law, but we do follow the leading of the Spirit of God. America, no, the world needs to see a revival in the Church of Jesus Christ. Each and every one of us need to refocus on who and what we are. Are we Christian? Then quit compromising with the world! Tell people the Gospel of Christ unashamedly. Turn off the television and open your Bibles, read them, and study them. Take paper and pen to church with you and, just before the preacher begins to speak, say a prayer for him and for yourself. Ask God to show you a truth that you have yet to apply to your life, then pray that God will help you apply that truth. Take notes while the preacher preaches. Bring a friend to church with you this week, but before you bring him or her tell them about Jesus and what He means to you. When the collection plate passes you, stop trying to compute 10% of your income so you can give God "just enough", but bow your head and ask, "How much, Father?" - then give what He says. Preach a sermon at work by how you live your life for Jesus. When someone comes to you for counseling, stop being sympathetic and compromising, but ask the Spirit to guide you in showing this person "what saith the Scripture". We've had enough compromising and liberalism in Christianity to choke a demon. Stop playing for the other side, start working for God our Savior!

(Galatians 5:26 KJV) "Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking (prokaleomai {pronounced prok-al-eh’-om-ahee}, Present Middle Participle, to keep on being caused to irritate) one another, envying (phthoneo {pronounced fthon-eh’-o}, Present Active Participle, constantly envying) one another."

Most of all, let's realize that we are in the same battle against the same demonic forces that all of our Christian brothers and sisters are in. Paul says, "stop becoming conceited boasters, constantly irritating one another, constantly envying other Christians". As Christians we need to be concerned about the BIG things in doctrine, not the little things. Be concerned that the ones you fellowship with all believe in the same God. Do they believe God is Triune? Do they believe that Jesus, the Spirit, and the Father are all equally God? Do they believe that Jesus came as Messiah to pay for our sins? Do they believe that the Scripture is God's Word, without error and complete in itself? Do they believe that the Spirit of God indwells every believer? Do they believe that salvation can only come by the finished work of Christ on the Cross, only by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and accepting Him as Savior? There are a number of major doctrines that all true Christians should share, doctrines that are clearly established in the Word of God. Enough said about that ...

What are the little things that we need to let pass? Here's a few. Some believers worship God loudly, happily, and joyfully in the service, whereas others worship quietly and with reservation. God does not mandate either method of worship. Raise your hands, or kneel and quietly pray .... do as you feel that God the Holy Spirit leads you. But quit condemning other good Christians who worship differently than you do. Some believers have dark skin, others have lilly white skin, others fall somewhere in between. Quit allowing something like racial prejudice to come between you and your fellow Christian, for racism is demonic, not of God! We all dress differently, we all groom ourselves differently, we all have different secular jobs, but we all - everyone of us who are Christian - have believed in and been saved by the same wonderful Jesus Christ. As Christians we have often divided ourselves into different denominations to make our union with one another and with God more peaceable. But do not look down on someone in another denomination as less than Christian unless their belief in the greater doctrines of Scripture differs from the Scripture. I am not ordered by God to call an idol worshipper or a hedonist or an atheist or an evolutionist or a Darwinian or a cultist or a mystic or any other sect that refuses the clear teachings of Scripture a "brother" or a "sister". In fact, I am ordered by God:

Titus 3:9-11 KJVA But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. (10) A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; (11) Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

To try and correct the heretic with the Scripture and, if they will not be corrected, to stay away from them. In fact, the Scripture says of such a person:

2 John 1:9-11 KJVA Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. (10) If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into [your] house, neither bid him God speed: (11) For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

That I am not even to let this person come into my house. I cannot even be friends with a heretic. But, Beloved, level the charge of heresy carefully, knowing that differences of opinion and of worship not forbidden by Scripture are not necessarily heresy. We as Christians must learn to get along with one another in love. We should correct one another via the Scripture and the Spirit when one errs, but always do this in love. The world disagrees among itself, but binds together in attacking Christianity and Christian values. Christians need to learn how to disagree among themselves on minor methodology and practice, yet remain bonded together as brothers and sisters saved by Grace in Christ Jesus. If we are going to effect the 21^st century like the early Church impacted their society then we need to march to the same God in love and concern for one another. We need to compromise with and accept the differences of our fellow believers insofar as these differences do not negate the clear teachings of the Scripture. We MUST stop compromising with the world, and with the worldly who have snuck in unawares into our congregations.

God, send a revival to your Church. Give us Godly pastors willing to take risks for Your truths. In Christ's name I pray, Amen.

• Why should the Christian never compromise his faith in order to compromise with those around him?

• What is the proper formula for Biblical Salvation?

• What does it mean to be unequally yoked together? Does this refer to people of different races or interests being in itimate union with one another?

• Faith alone saves, but a faith that IS ALONE does not save. What does this mean?

• How many codices is the Law divided into? What does each codex relate to?

• What is the Old Sin Nature? How does the Old Sin Nature effect each and every person?

• Is the Christian devoid of the Old Sin Nature? Is it possible for a Christian to fall into sin?

• The saving power of God must be both ______________ and _______________ if it to be effective.

• Who was the Law made for?

• Why should I avoid using ritualism or a list when I serve God?