5Pentecost2010 - Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, NM

In Galatians chapters three and four, we learn that in Christ we are all sons of God, we have been clothed with Christ in our baptisms and the Holy Spirit has been sent into our hearts crying, “Abba, Father!” As baptized believers, we have not received a counterfeit grace from God. The favor that God bestows upon us is true and has absolutely nothing to do with our behavior. God’s grace is underserved. If it were counterfeit, it would not truly be grace. It would only be grace in name. It would have strings attached to it. It would be like those offers we see on the television and in the magazines that offer you a free gift if you only pay the shipping and handling fees. We are saved by grace alone and there are no conditions attached.

At the same time, we have not been forgiven of pretend sins. Our sins are very real and very damnable. These sins must be paid for in full. Either we must pay for them with our own lives or Christ pays for them with His life. Either, we live in our sins and remain an enemy of God or we live in faith and remain an enemy of our sins.

Now we are not talking about a game in which you can play in your sins. Sin has the power to enslave. These sins are very real. Unless you have real sins, there would be no need to have a real Savior. Thus, we rejoice in the freedom that we have in Christ. Again, this is not a fictitious freedom. You can only have one master. Either you belong to Christ or you belong to sin.

In today’s epistle lesson, we are taught to understand the seriousness of our condition. We hear these words from St. Paul. "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another." (Galatians 5:13-15, ESV) Because sin still clings to our bodies, when we learn that we are free, we automatically think of all the possibilities. Yet, the Holy Spirit warns us and instructs us so that these possibilities do not become opportunities for the flesh.

Now this is a great challenge for us who live in the land of opportunity in which are encouraged to get ahead by biting and devouring one another. Usually, we associate opportunity knocking with the possibility of a newer and better things whether it is a job or a life style. Each year Honda has an ad campaign promoting their annual car clearance. A cartoon character by the name of Mr. Opportunity shows up on your television set knocking on the glass and saying, “I’m Mr. Opportunity and I’m knockin!” He then tries to persuade you that now is the time. The conditions and circumstances are just right for you to have a newer and better way of life. He is trying to convince you to come on down to the local Honda dealership.

In a similar way, if we are not careful, we’ll be tempted when sin knocks at our door when the conditions and circumstances are just right. Sin wants to employ you as a slave and fails to disclose to you that the wages are death. This is no cartoon. Rather than seek for opportunities for the flesh, as Genuine Christians we are called to seek for opportunities to serve one another in love. O how contrary to our sinful human nature this is.

It is natural for a human being to be ruled by the flesh and unless the Holy Spirit changes the heart there is no hope for that individual. So that we do not become Pseudo Christians, the Holy Spirit instructs us that True Christianity is guided by love for our neighbor. To be clear, our neighbor includes all people and most especially those who are in need. God has placed us in our vocations in life in which we seek for opportunities to love our neighbor.

A genuine Christian is one who has been set free from sin by God and lives in that freedom by faith. A false Christian is one who lacks love for neighbor and refuses to be led by the Holy Spirit. Instead, a false Christ tries to led the Holy Spirit and instruct Him. To be sure, pseudo Christianity uses the language of the Bible and sounds very spiritual. They’ll even use language that sounds like it comes from the Bible like, “God helps those who help themselves.” Or “In God we trust.” Or “God bless America.” Or even, “Judge not lest ye be judged.” However, it is not the business of true Christianity to sound spiritual. Such spirituality lacks the word of the cross. The flesh must be crucified. Without the Crucified Christ, the flesh lives on.

The way of a True Christian is to be led by the Holy Spirit. In our epistle, St. Paul is instructing the Christians in Galatia so that they do not deceive themselves and become Pseudo Christians. He sets up the dichotomy in this way, either you walk by the Spirit or you will walk according to the flesh. These two ways lead in different direction. They take you to opposite destinations. Rather than give to them and to us a 5 step program or a strategy for sanctification, the Apostle merely identifies works of the flesh. They are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. Out of the sinful heart comes such things that despise God’s gift of marriage, desire to worship God without His word, destroy the unity of the church, and dwell in decadence.

In this way, when we see such things in our own lives we know that they are NOT fruits of salvation. Like the sign that says “Do not feed the bears,” we are warned so that we do not gratify the desires of the flesh. In this life, the remnants of sin remain in us. So that we understand that these are real sins and not imaginary, Paul goes on to say, “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

As baptized believers, we are called to walk in newness of life, that is to put to death the desires of the flesh. We are to be led by the Spirit. So, what does it mean to be led by the Spirit? This does not mean to be spiritual. There are plenty of people who are spiritual. But, that is not the answer. There are many false spirits who allure people into spiritual experience that leads them away from the One True God. Thus, St. John warns us to test the spirits to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1-6).

We know the Spirit of Truth through the God breathed scriptures. These scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us and leads us into all truth. He opens our eyes to see the spiritual reality and truths that we cannot see with our physical eyes. Through the power of the gospel, He instills faith in our hearts and strengthens it so that we can stand firm.

To be led by the Spirit is to be instructed by the word of God which tells you that in this life you are both a saint and a sinner at the same time. You are at war. This life is a struggle. The remnants of sin cling to you; yet, you are not to gratify the sin, but resist it. If you gratify the flesh, then you create the opportunity for sin to take hold of you. You will begin to despise that which you have and to desire that which you do not have. Because of sin, you will love that which is forbidden for you.

However, to those who live by the Spirit, God is at work in them creating new desires. Those who are led by the Spirit are being transformed into the image of the crucified Christ in which sin has been put to death. Those who walk by the Spirit walk in the way of the LORD. The Spirit of God is active in the lives of such disciples. We learn that “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV) Again there is not method for holiness. It is solely the work of the Holy Spirit through the power of the gospel in our lives. In this way, when we see such things in our lives we know that they are not the means of our salvation, but rather the fruits of our salvation.

If you walk by the Spirit, that is dwell in the word, the remnants of sin that remain in you are not imputed to you. They have been imputed to Christ. To be imputed is to be charged. Christ was charged with you sin and put to death on account of it. Those who are led by the Spirit are not under law. Rather, they are sons of God and if sons, then heirs of the kingdom. The Spirit who dwells in us testifies to us with His promises that we are sons of God and belong to Christ. In your baptism, you have been crucified with Christ. The Holy Spirit instructs you in today’s epistle with these words, "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24, ESV) You have been set free in Christ. Amen.

5th Sunday after Pentecost, 2010