We are to vote no on religion because religion produces rotten fruit...

During this election season, we have been looking at a letter in the bible called the book of Galatians, where we have discovered several reasons why we must vote no on religion. This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week where we see the Apostle Paul continue to contrast a gospel centered life with a religious centered life. And as Paul continues to contrast a gospel centered life with a religious centered life, we will discover another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion. So let’s discover this reason together, beginning in Galatians 5:16:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Paul begins this section of his letter by commanding the members of the churches of Galatia to walk by the Spirit. The Spirit that Paul is referring to is the Holy Spirit, who takes up residence in the life of the person who believes, trusts, and follows Jesus as Lord and Leader. The word walk here refers to how one conducts one’s life in terms of how they behave and live. So this command, if it was communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: Live your day to day life in the power of the Holy Spirit so that you are controlled, influenced, and led by the Holy Spirit.”

Paul then explains that when we live our day to day lives by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will not carry out the desire of the flesh. When Paul refers to the flesh here, he is referring to our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by the evil and destructive power of sin. And our old nature apart from Jesus has desires when it comes to how we conduct our day to day lives. And those desires are committed to engage our head, heart, and hands in what is contrary to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. 

Now a natural question that arises here is “why would Paul command us to live our day to day lives under the control and influence of the Holy Spirit? I mean, just because I don’t live a life that is controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit, that doesn’t mean that I am going to be dominated by selfishness and sin, does it?” Paul provides the answer to these questions by revealing the reason for his command in verse 17. Let’s look at it together:

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

Here we see the Apostle Paul reveal the reality of spiritual warfare that occurs in the lives of followers of Jesus. This spiritual warfare involves a battle that occurs between our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by the evil and destructive power of sin and the Holy Spirit. Paul explains that the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit.

In other words, our old nature apart from Jesus has a strong desire to place itself in opposition to the Holy Spirit’s activity in our lives.  And is the same way, the Holy Spirit sets its desire to place itself in opposition to the evil and destructive power of sin. And because our old nature apart from Jesus and the Holy Spirit are in opposition to one another and their activity in our lives, Paul explains that the result is that you may not do the things that you please. But what does that mean?

With this phrase, that Apostle Paul is revealing for us the reality that when it comes to the spiritual war between our old nature apart from Jesus that is dominated by the evil and destructive power of sin and the Holy Spirit, we cannot remain neutral. As we have talked about throughout this series, every day we cast a ballot in an election for one of two candidates. And neither of the two candidates is neutral.

Paul’s point here is that we either cast a ballot to live our lives as followers of Jesus by the power of the Spirit in a gospel centered way; or we cast a ballot to live our lives in the power of our old nature apart from Christ in a religious centered way. There are no third party candidates. Paul then reveals for us what happens when followers of Jesus choose to cast their ballots to live gospel centered lives by the power of the Holy Spirit in verse 18:

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

When followers of Jesus choose to cast their ballots to live gospel centered lives by the power of the Holy Spirit that are controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit, Paul explains that the result is that you are not under the Law. As we previously discovered, the phrase under the Law literally means to be in subjection to the Law. To be under the Law requires that we live religious centered lives that attempt to do things for God in order to be in a right relationship with God by keeping a list of rules for God.

However, as we discovered a few weeks ago, following a list of rules will never result in us being declared not guilty of having a problem with God and experiencing a right relationship with God, because God’s standard is perfection and no one perfectly keeps their list of religious rules for God. What the Law and other sets of rules do is to reveal and provoke the selfishness and rebellion within us that we need to be rescued from.

But when we are led by the Holy Spirit; in other words, when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us morally and spiritually, we are able to overcome the desires of our old nature apart from God. To embrace the religion of legalism that advocates faith in Christ plus works for God in order to be right with God by keeping a list of religious rules only reveals that we are living religious centered lives in our old nature apart from Jesus.

Paul’s point here is that when we live gospel centered lives that are influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit we will win the spiritual war between our old nature apart from Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s activity in our lives. The battle is won because the Holy Spirit delivers us from the desires of our selfish and rebellious nature apart from Christ and the condemnation that results from the evil and destructive power of selfishness and sin in our lives. 

We are no longer under the condemnation that results when we attempt to do things for God by keeping a list of rules for God. Instead we are declared not guilty and are empowered to live life in the relationship with God that we were created for as the Holy Spirit leads and guides us in our relationship with Christ.

Now you might be wondering “Well Dave that sounds all fine and great, but how do we know who is winning the war? How do we know when we are living gospel centered lives that are influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit? How do we know when we are living religious centered lives in our old nature apart from Christ? If those questions are running through your mind, I want to let you know that those are great questions to be asking. And in the remainder of this section of this letter we are going to see Paul answer those questions. And in his answer we see Paul reveal another timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion. And that timeless reason is this: We are to vote no on religion because religion produces rotten fruit.

You see, so often I have heard followers of Jesus attempt to answer these questions by pointing to emotions. In other words, I have heard followers of Jesus explain that they evaluate whether or not they are living gospel centered lives that are walking in the power of the Spirit because of how they feel. But how do you know that the feeling you are experiencing is the Holy Spirit’s activity or heartburn from the pizza you ate last night?

The timeless reality is that it is not feelings that determine whether or not you are living gospel centered lives that are influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Instead, as we will see Paul reveal for us, it is the fruit, or what is produced, from your life that determines whether or not you are living gospel centered lives that are influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Tomorrow, we will begin to see Paul reveal and contrast for us the fruit, or what is produced, from a life that is influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit and a life that is influenced and controlled by our old nature apart from Jesus….