In this video, Chip Brogdon continues his series of messages from the book of Galatians. He emphasizes the importance of a change on the inside rather than just focusing on outward conduct. This change happens as we walk after the Spirit and draw closer to Christ, resulting in the fruit of the Spirit being manifested in our lives. Paul's final appeal to the Galatians is also discussed, highlighting the significance of his personal handwriting at the end of the letter. The video concludes with a prayer for understanding and application of the truths presented in the book of Galatians.

...and be glad in it. Hello again everyone, this is Chip Brogden coming to you again with another edition of our weekly webcast. We're streaming online at www.watchman.net and this week we are completing our series of messages from the book of Galatians. So grab your Bible and let's turn to the book of Galatians. Last week we ended on chapter 5 verse 23 so let's pick up in that neighborhood again this week and let's go to the Lord right now in prayer and ask Him to bless this time of study that we have in His Word. Thank you Father again for the opportunity and the privilege to come together and to study your Word and to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. I thank you for this book of Galatians and for the truth that is presented to us through and by the Holy Spirit writing through Paul. Thank you Lord for opening the eyes of our heart that we can see and know and understand and have insight and wisdom into what your Word is teaching us and help us to take these truths and apply them to our lives and live them out in a practical manner. I thank you for the liberty that is ours in Christ, not a liberty to live according to the flesh but a liberty to walk after the Spirit and to produce the fruit of the Spirit which is the character and the life, the love of Jesus Christ. Thank you again Lord and we appreciate your blessing on this study and thank you for all the people that are listening to us right now around the world through this internet. We praise you for it in Jesus' name. Amen. Praise the Lord. Galatians chapter 5, again we left off last week in a discussion of the fruit of the Spirit. Why don't we just go back and read, picking up with verse 22 of Galatians 5. Paul says, The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Then verse 24, And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. See, he has already applied this to himself in Galatians 2.20. A couple of chapters back he says, It is no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me. I have been crucified with Christ. And see, that is the secret of the Christian life. It is to be crucified with Christ and to be identified with His death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension, and His seating in heavenly places. The Scripture teaches that when we are one with Him, when we are abiding in Him, then we are one with His death and with His burial, His resurrection, ascension, and seating. And that is the secret of living a life that overcomes. It is the secret of living the Christian life as God intended for it to be lived, which is a life that demonstrates the preeminence of Jesus over sin, self, and Satan. Most Christians, unfortunately, do not demonstrate the preeminence of Christ over these areas. They are still defeated in these areas. So what we want to do, Paul says, is to walk after the Spirit and will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. And he gives us the evidences of what it means to walk after the Spirit here in Galatians 5. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with His passions and desires. Folks, the cross is a tree of life. It may look like death. It may look like the end. But the cross is our way. It is our path towards Christlikeness. And that is the secret of the Christian life. It centers around the cross of Jesus Christ. And not just the cross that He died on to forgive me of my sins. Obviously, that's important. But there is a cross, he says, that you must take up daily and follow me with. It is a daily reckoning myself to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God because of that cross. It is a cross that I take up daily that enables me and empowers me to overcome. And that cross is simply a symbol. It's a representation of what's going on on the inside of me. It's no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me. It means not my will, but Your will be done, Lord. And so, those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Verse 25, If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another and envying one another. And certainly, that's self-explanatory. Now, chapter 6 of Galatians, verse 1, Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Wow, isn't that a powerful lesson? And again, folks, it's not to say that when you walk in the Spirit, you'll never fail, you will never stumble. Of course, we're going to have times where we mess up. We'll have times when we make mistakes. The victorious Christian life is not a continuous string of victory, and you never ever fall, you never stumble, you never have any problems. That wouldn't even be realistic, and that's not the point. Paul here acknowledges the fact that sometimes we'll be overtaken by a sin. We'll slip and we'll fall. And it requires those in the body of Christ who are spiritual, who are mature, who are walking by the Spirit, to restore someone like that in a spirit of gentleness and to consider yourself, he says, lest you also be tempted. So you will never get to the place where you will never ever again be tempted by sin. So what does that mean? That means that we are to continually walk in the Spirit and continually, every day, take up the cross, which is to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God. Not my will, but your will be done. And, folks, you don't do that just once. That is a continual process every day of walking that path of discipleship. And we need other people in our life so that when we do stumble and we do fall and we do make a mistake and we do mess up, that we can have people around us who love us, who care for us, who are able, spiritually mature, and able to restore us when we have fallen. Verse 2, Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. And, again, what is that law? It's the law of love. Paul says all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this, love your neighbors as you love yourself. So if you bear one another's burdens, you are fulfilling the law of Christ. And notice how he keeps coming back to that word law as opposed to the law, the Mosaic law, the old covenant that the Galatians were being tempted to go back and put themselves into bondage to. Paul says you've got a greater law. You've got a higher law. It's a law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. It's the law of love. It's the law of Christ. So if you're walking in the spirit, you are obeying the law, just not the Mosaic law, the law of Christ. And in so doing, Paul says you are fulfilling all the law. Now, verse 3, If anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Verse 4, But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. Verse 5, For each one shall bear his own load. And so, again, we are talking about a change on the inside. We're not talking about if you come to Jesus, then you're going to have to start changing your outward conduct. See, that's going to happen, but it's not going to happen from the outside in. It's going to happen from the inside out. It's going to happen because we walk after the spirit, and then that fruit of the spirit begins to come forth spontaneously, naturally, as we draw closer to Christ, as we draw closer to Jesus, we're more conformed to His image. And it doesn't happen all in one day. It doesn't happen in a week or in two weeks. It is a process Jesus calls discipleship. It's a narrow path, and a path is for walking. It only takes a moment to get through the gate. That's salvation. But this path that leads to life is a journey. It is a trip. It is putting one foot after the other and walking down this path every day. So, we should do that in the spirit of meekness and in a spirit of humility and gentleness. And, again, that's part of the spirit. You can't figure that out on your own. You can't make that happen. That is the natural result of being conformed to the image of Christ. Praise the Lord. The law of love. Now, verse 6, Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Let him, verse 6, Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Now, we've had a lot to say about tithing because we've been talking about our freedom from the law, and tithing is a part of that law that we've been freed from. But, again, the Bible does not say, hoard everything, keep it all to yourself. The Bible says, give, and it shall be given to you. Jesus says it's more blessed to give than to receive. And you see in the early church that they shared all of their possessions. You see that Paul encouraged the Corinthians to lay aside, in proportion to how God had blessed them, funds that could be used to help the Christians in Jerusalem. So, we're certainly not saying, okay, you don't have to tithe, so that means you don't have to give. The difference is, giving is not legislated. Giving is not commanded insofar as setting aside a certain percentage. But Paul does say, if you are receiving teaching, or if you are being ministered to, share in all good things with the one who is teaching. I think that's, again, going back to a condition where you hear from the Spirit, and if the Spirit leads you to share, or to give of your time, or give of your money, or give of whatever it is you have that God has blessed you with, if the Spirit leads you, fine. If the Spirit doesn't lead you, then you don't. But, giving certainly is a principle, just not tithing, okay? So, I hope we've made that clear. And, again, the issue is not money. The issue is, we are free in Christ from the Old Testament mosaic laws that regulated to whom, and how much, and how often we were to give. We don't have that in the New Testament. So, we need to walk by the Spirit, and we need to be obedient to the Spirit, because there is no commandment written in stone, or any place else that's going to tell us who to give, where to give, okay? So, what does that mean? It means that we have to press into the Lord, and develop our relationship with Christ, get to know Him, and walk in the Spirit, so when the Spirit speaks, we'll be able to hear, and respond, and be obedient. Now, verse 7, Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For what every man sows, that will he also reap. Now, a lot of faith teachers, and prosperity, name it, and claim it teachers, will take this, and use it, and apply it primarily to money. If you sow a seed, if you give $10, you're going to reap $100, and you've heard all that before. But, you know, verse 8, if we'll keep reading, Paul's really not so much talking about money. Jesus says, Give and you will receive. That's evident, but here, when he says, What every man sows, that will he also reap. What's he talking about? Well, verse 8 explains it. He who sows to his flesh, will of the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit, will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. So, he's not talking about, Give $1 and get $10 back. Give $100 and get $1000 back. He's talking about the process, again, of walking in the Spirit, not walking in the flesh. He is talking about the process of discipleship, where we sow to the Spirit. And what does that mean? It means, basically, that we do those things that are conducive to walking in the Spirit. We are meditating in the Word. We have a prayer life that is developed and ongoing. We're in communication with the Lord. We are in fellowship with the Lord's people. I didn't say anything about going to church every week. You can be in fellowship with the body without necessarily attending a church service. In fact, the greatest times of fellowship, the most enriching times of communion with the body that I have, has nothing to do with the context of a church service. Most of the time, a church service does not lend itself very well to fellowship with others. But, again, sow to the flesh, you reap of the flesh corruption. Now, Paul has already told us what the works of the flesh are. If you live according to that, then you're going to reap corruption. Instead, we want to sow to the Spirit. And here's the promise. Verse 9, Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season, and that's the key, in due season, we shall reap if we do not lose heart. That's the promise. It doesn't mean that if you follow Jesus for two or three days that you're set for the rest of your life. It requires some discipline. That's what a disciple is. Someone who exercises discipline or submits himself or herself to the discipline of the Holy Spirit. And that discipline is an ongoing process. It's an ongoing relationship that you have with the Lord. And it's very easy to become discouraged and become frustrated when it doesn't seem like we are growing spiritually the way we feel like we should be. And a lot of people are tempted just to say, Well, I've done the best I could. I don't see any results. Paul says, Let's not grow weary while doing good, for in due season. Everything God does, He does according to a season. Even in creation, you see seasons. You've got a natural progression of seasons in which creation is regulated by. God set it up that way. There are also seasons of the Spirit. There are seasons of loneliness. There are seasons of fellowship. There are seasons of fruitfulness. There are seasons of barrenness. There are seasons of heat and cold. And all of these different experiences that we go through as we live this Christian life. The key thing is, don't give up. But in due season, you will reap if you don't lose heart. You keep sowing those seeds. Sowing the seeds and the harvest comes. In due season. You don't plant the seed, dig it up the next day to see if it's grown and then get mad because you don't see any results overnight. The Christian life is not a quick fix solution. It is a process of knowing the Lord, drawing closer to Him, and being conformed to the image of Christ. Being disciplined by the Holy Spirit. And that's a process called spiritual growth and discipleship. It just doesn't happen overnight. But it is possible to make progress and to see a harvest of spiritual fruit if we don't give up. And that fruit, again, it's not some kind of financial blessing, folks. Just get your mind off of the material things for a moment. And remember that Paul says the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy. All of these wonderful fruits of the Spirit are ours if we don't quit. All we have to do is just keep going. Don't give up. Don't quit. God can overcome anything if you will just give Him the opportunity. Verse 10, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Now, we're not safe by our works, but it is very clear that part of walking after the Spirit is to do good. Obviously, walking after the Spirit will not cause you to do evil. But I believe that if you are conformed to the image of Christ, Jesus says, works you will do in greater works than these because I go to the Father. Well, what does that mean? I believe it simply means you're going to do good works. Paul says, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. So, the point is a Christian is not someone who sits in a room by himself and just kind of meditates on God all the time and has no contact with the outside world. A Christian is someone who does good as opposed to doing evil. So, again, it's not something that you do good in order to please God or in order to try to gain favor with God or in order to try to save yourself. The point is, fruit, including good works, should be coming forth as a result of what God has already done on the inside of you. So, as we have opportunity, Paul says, let us do good to all. Obviously, a Christian is not going to take the opportunity to do evil. So, that's pretty clear and to the point. Now, as we get down to the end of Galatians 6, Paul is beginning his final appeal here to the Galatians. Verse 11, See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand. Now, most of these letters, in fact, all of these letters, are dictated to a writer by Paul. Paul is not actually writing these letters. He is speaking these letters and that's why sometimes maybe it's hard to follow because he didn't actually sit down and write them. He spoke them and someone copied them down. But it was customary when you got down to the end of your letter that the actual person writing the letter, dictating the letter, would then begin to write the final few paragraphs in his own hand. And so, that's what this neat little verse is referring to. See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand. So, this is his final appeal to them in verse 12. As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, but only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. Verse 13, For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. So again, he's taking a very direct and confrontational approach to this problem of the Jewish brothers. He's called them false brothers who came up from Jerusalem and told the Galatians you need to be circumcised and obey the law of Moses if you want to be safe. The whole theme of Galatians has been the exact opposite. That we've been delivered from that and in Christ we've been set free. So, I like what he says. Even those who are circumcised don't keep the law. Okay, so verse 14, But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. You see how Paul continually is going back to the cross of Christ, the cross of Christ, because that's where I died with Christ. That's where my life began is there on the cross where I became one with Christ, where he became one with me. I am identifying myself with his death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating in heavenly places. And see, again, that is the secret. The secret is not trying to overcome the world in your own strength. And so many Christians fail because they feel like, well, now that I'm a Christian, it's up to me to do all this in my own power, in my own strength. And typically, they adopt a religious mindset that is all about trying to do all of these impossible commandments, all of these impossible demands in their own power and in their own strength. And Paul says, here's what I glory in. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Paul says, I'm dead to it. I don't have to fight it. I just died to it. Praise the Lord. So, he concludes in verse 15 by saying this. In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. See? Praise the Lord. It is not the outward ritual of circumcision. It is not the outward ritual of keeping the Mosaic Law or the Jewish commandments or all the Hebrew types and shadows that we have in the Old Testament. Paul says, that doesn't matter. It doesn't avail anything. The only thing that matters, he says, is a new creation. And why is that? Because the new creation is something that's happening on the inside. God begins this new covenant work on the inside of a person. And again, the Old Testament was all about trying to regulate people from the outside in. And religion has done a fine job of continuing that work. The cross of Jesus Christ changes someone from the inside by making them a new creation. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.17, If any man or any woman is in Christ, they are a new creation. Old things are passed away, and behold, all things are become new. And so, what you have, he says, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything in Christ Jesus. Why? Because that is an outward thing. That is a thing of the flesh. And so many of us are judging ourselves and judging other people by what is happening in their flesh, by the outward appearance, by the outward doctrine, or by the outward beliefs that they hold to. And Paul says that really doesn't matter. What matters is what's happening on the inside of that person. Is that person a new creation in Christ? If so, then old things are passed away. All things are become new. The old covenant is passed away. The old Mosaic laws have passed away. All things have become new. We have a better covenant established upon better promises, Hebrews says. So praise the Lord. Now, verse 16. There's so much we could say about that, but we have to press on. Verse 16. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. Very profound statement here. Because what he is suggesting is the true Israel of God, the true Jew, the true Hebrew, the real Jerusalem, belongs to those who are in Christ Jesus and not those who are circumcised. A very powerful distinction. You remember in earlier chapters here in Galatians, he talked about the Jerusalem that is from above, who is the mother of us all. And what he is basically saying is now that Christ has come, our citizenship is in heaven. The only Jerusalem that counts is the new Jerusalem. It is not the circumcision of the flesh, but the circumcision of the heart that matters. And the true Israel of God is not the earthly nation. He says, the true Israel of God are those who walk according to this rule. What rule? The rule that in Christ, circumcision or uncircumcision avails nothing. It is the new creation. That is the Israel of God. Praise the Lord. Verse 17. From now on, let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Now unfortunately, they did trouble Paul. They continued to persecute him. And Jesus says, I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name. And certainly Paul did suffer. I bear in my body, he says, the marks of the Lord Jesus. Someone who bears in their body the marks of the Lord Jesus is someone that we need to listen to. Is someone that we need to pay attention to. How many people speaking and proclaiming things in the name of Jesus actually have the mark of the Lord Jesus on them? Paul says, I bear it in my body, but he certainly bore it in his heart as well. And what are the marks of the Lord Jesus? I would say it is the mark of the crucified life. It is the mark of those who have been crucified with Christ. Now you may not have the marks of the Lord Jesus in your physical hands, in your physical feet. But I would say to you, if you are abiding in Him and He is abiding in you, and if you have discovered the secret of living the Christian life of I am crucified with Christ, then you will bear the marks of the Lord Jesus. The marks of the Lord Jesus upon your soul, upon your spirit, upon your character as you are conformed to the image of Christ, as that fruit of the Spirit begins to produce a hundredfold return in your life. The marks of the Lord Jesus will be evident. That anointing, that fragrance that is put upon you as you live and move in the secret place of the Most High, that fragrance that gets into your skin, that gets into your hair. And as you go out from that Holy of Holies, that fragrance of Christ is there. The mark of the Lord Jesus. You just know when someone has been in the presence of the Lord. And if they haven't been in the presence of the Lord, then there is not that distinction. There is not that mark of the Lord Jesus. Now Jesus says, if they persecute Me, they'll persecute you as well. But Paul also says, if we are not willing to suffer with Him, we will not reign with Him. I'm willing to suffer loss, he says, for the cross of Jesus Christ. And again, people, it is not just the cross and the forgiveness of my personal salvation and the forgiveness of my sins. It is the cross you take up daily and you walk after Jesus, following Him as a disciple. Praise the Lord. Verse 18, Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. And that's my prayer for you as well. Praise the Lord. This concludes our study in the book of Galatians. This audio series will be available on compact discs. Just go to watchman.net and you'll get information for how to order this series so that you can listen to it at any time. Thank you so much again for listening. This is Chip Brogdon streaming online at www.watchman.net We'll be back next week with a brand new study. See you then.