Cracking the Code to True Freedom in Christ
Remember, Galatians 5 opens with these words:
Galatians 5:1
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
I asked Colonel Robert Glazener about this fight for freedom. He said…
You know, having a nation that is free…political freedom…freedom to vote as you wish…choose what career you will be involved in…having religious freedom…these are great gifts.
Then he said, “But guys, the even greater gift is being free from sin and death, and knowing Jesus Christ. His freedom is even greater.”
As we stop and remember those who have laid down their lives for us in our nation, let us also remember Christ, who has laid down His life for an even greater freedom that we enjoy.
Let us recognize the call to freedom in Christ, and the great responsibility we have to steward this freedom well.
I have heard my entire life a call to steward the freedom we have been given in this nation:
As we read Galatians 5, we see that the church all over the world is called to walk in freedom. We see that there is a freedom in Christ that is available to anyone, anywhere, in any governmental system.
And we also see that there is a bondage that both legalism and license both lead to.
Look with me briefly at this call to freedom in Galatians 5:13.
Galatians 5:13
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.
Remember, we have been studying a lot about legalism … the man-made rules that are placed upon us to properly live out faith. And Paul has been battling this in the letter.
But here, he moves to the other end of the spectrum… a life of License…where you think you are free to do anything you want.
But the call…the call is to liberty. It’s not legalism. It’s not license…It’s liberty.
Did you know that Legalism and License both lead to the same place?
Today, we are going to recognize the fight for freedom in the life of the believer. Let’s look at our passage today in Galatians 5:16-26.
Galatians 5:16-26
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Our Outline today…
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh
The Spirit Enables Us to Produce Fruit
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh
Notice Galatians 5:16-21, 24
Galatians 5:16-21, 24
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Notice the Conflict: The Flesh is against the Spirit. The Spirit is against the Flesh…
v. 17 - And notice it says, “…for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
Warren Wiersbe states…
Just as Isaac and Ishmael were unable to get along, so the Spirit and the flesh (the old nature) are at war with each other. By “the flesh,” of course, Paul does not mean “the body.” The human body is not sinful; it is neutral. If the Holy Spirit controls the body, then we walk in the Spirit; but if the flesh controls the body, then we walk in the lusts (desires) of the flesh. The Spirit and the flesh have different appetites, and this is what creates the conflict.[1]
The first thing we need to note here is this:
The Christian cannot simply will to overcome the flesh.
The flesh is powerful. And we are unable to conquer it in our own strength.
Now, when we talk about the flesh here, we need to keep in mind, here, in Paul’s writings, it has to do with our sin nature.
It’s not the flesh that has to do with the:
Actual body
Human existence
But our human nature of fallen sinfulness.
And then the Apostle Paul lists 14 different “works of the flesh” – these are deeds or acts of sinful humanity.
Notice verses 19-21.
Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Warren Wiersbe says that this list in Galatians can be divided into three major categories:
The sensual sins
The superstitious sins
The social sins
D.K. Campbell says that this list can be divided into four categories:
1. Sexual Sin – Adultery, Fornication, Impure and filthy lives
2. Religious Sins – Idolatry and Witchcraft
3. Societal Sins – there are 8 listed here from Hatred all the way to Dissensions and Factions, and Envy.
4. Alcohol Related Sins – Drunkenness and Orgies
Campbell states:
The apostle then solemnly warned the Galatians, as he had done when he was in their midst, that those who live like this, who habitually indulge in these fleshly sins will not inherit the future kingdom of God. This does not say that a Christian loses his salvation if he lapses into a sin of the flesh, but that a person who lives continually on such a level of moral corruption gives evidence of not being a child of God.[2]
Unbelievers have no struggle with things on this list. The more that they give way to and dominion to their sin nature, the deeper into this list their lives go.
But in Romans 7, The Apostle Paul talks about the believer’s struggle between the flesh and the Spirit.
Romans 7:18-25
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
D.K. Campbell states:
“…Each Christian has two natures, a sinful nature received at birth, inherited from fallen Adam, and a new nature received at regeneration when said Christian became a participant in the divine nature (cf. 2 Peter 1:4).
Both natures have desires, the one for evil and the other for holiness. Thus they are in conflict with each other, and the result can be that they keep a believer from doing what he otherwise would. In other words the Holy Spirit blocks, when He is allowed to do so, the evil cravings of the flesh.”[3]
Can you relate?
This is the struggle that each of us has – the battle within between my sin nature and my life in Christ.
Warren Wiersbe says…
“These opposite appetites are illustrated in the Bible in different ways. For example, the sheep is a clean animal and avoids garbage, while the pig is an unclean animal and enjoys wallowing in filth (2 Peter 2:19–22). After the rain ceased and the ark settled, Noah released a raven which never came back (Gen. 8:6–7). The raven is a carrion-eating bird and found plenty to feed on. But when Noah released the dove (a clean bird), it came back (Gen. 8:8–12). The last time he released the dove and it did not return, he knew that it had found a clean place to settle down; therefore the waters had receded.
Our old nature is like the pig and the raven, always looking for something unclean on which to feed. Our new nature is like the sheep and the dove, yearning for that which is clean and holy.”[4]
So, if this is our reality, what are we to do?
The task for the believer is three proactive decisions in relationship to the Holy Spirit.
to walk by…
be lead by…
and live by and keep in step with the Holy Spirit.
Notice the declaration of victory in verse 16.
Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Walk – to live or behave in a specific manner.
In walking by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Walking by the Spirit is aligning your heart and mind with the Lord. This daily exercise will save you from a life of license. It keeps you from fulfilling the desires that come from this life in the body.
Galatians 5:18
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Led – To be led is to be “Directed by the Spirit.” literally – to be “WILLINGLY LED.”
Being directed by the Spirit, you are going to live in such a way as to not be placed under the legalists, and the “legal system” that seeks to earn God’s favor by perfect obedience to the law. Instead, the Holy Spirit writes the law of God on your heart, so that our desire is to obey Him in love.
Galatians 5:25
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Live – to live or become alive in a transcendent manner; especially as characteristic of resurrected life, or life without sin or with sin subjugated.
keep in step – Marching in a precise line – military on parade…there is great concern and care in how they march…following the one in front, mastering the way they turn, being in precise uniform.
We are to live in such a way as to set ourselves apart for a Godly life that marches in line following the Spirt of God.
You and I have been given a new nature.
2 Peter 1:3-5
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
We have been given a divine nature and we possess the Holy Spirit. We have been given the Mind of Christ. Our spirit has been brought from a state of death and condemnation to life.
So, it’s important for us to be active in participating with God the Holy Spirit’s leading in our life.
Here is what is true…
You and I, though we have battles with the sinful nature, we are no longer enslaved to it. If we walk by and are led by, and keep in step with the Holy Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
D. K. Campbell states,
Again Paul reminded the Galatians that in addition to a divine judgment of the sinful nature there is a divine enablement in the person of the Holy Spirit. He made the believer alive by regeneration (cf. John 3:5–6), so each believer is exhorted to keep in step (stoichōmen, trans. “follow” in Gal. 6:16) with the Spirit. Step by step one’s Christian walk should conform to the Spirit’s direction and enablement, lest believers become conceited, provoking and envying each other.[5]
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh! We are no longer slaves, but have victory available to us. That’s the first thing we see today.
Second…we see that The Holy Spirit Enables Us to Produce Fruit.
Our Outline today…
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh
The Spirit Enables Us to Produce Fruit
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh
If you have ever driven the famous Hwy. 1 that goes along the ocean side from Seattle to San Diego, you have driven one of the most scenic routes in our nation. It is a beautiful, awe inspiring ride.
From the Napa and Sonoma Valleys to Monterrey, Carmel and Big Sur you pass through some of the most amazing vineyards and crops of strawberries, peaches, apples you will ever lay eyes on. As a matter of fact, there is a town called Castroville. Do you know what Castroville is known for? It is the artichoke capital of the world.
This is one of the most fruitful regions in the world. It is amazing, nourishing, beautiful and bountiful.
It is set between the ocean and the mountains. It is like heaven on earth!
Now what a tragedy it would be if we drove that beautiful coastal highway and same to fields designed for fruitfulness but we only found barrenness.
As clearly as those fields were designed to be fruitful, so you and I as followers of Christ were designed to be fruitful.
Let’s consider: What is the fruit of the Spirit?
What is the freedom that comes to our lives because we bear this fruit?
And
How we bear the fruit of the Spirit?
A. What is the Fruit of the Spirit?
Look again at Galatians 5:22-23.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
There are 9 qualities of virtue or Grace here that are to be produced in the life of the believer if we walk in a relationship of dependence on God the Holy Spirit.
The qualities are to be produced in us through God’s Spirit. You see the Bible teaches us that our lives are intended to bear fruit.
In John 15:16 Jesus commissions His disciples to go and bear fruit.
Instead of the works of the flesh that lead to chaos and destruction, we are to produce the fruit of the spirit which leads to freedom.
Let’s examine each one briefly.
Love:
This is the dominant product of the Holy Spirit.
One writer says, “In a very real sense, all other dimensions of the fruit flow from this quality.”
The word love is Agape in the Greek. We have discussed this word at length before today, so allow me to remind you briefly what Agape love is.
Agape is the love that always seeks the highest welfare of another. It is a sacrificial, unconditional love that always keeps the covenant.
Now look with me at Romans 5:5 as we ask, where do we get this kind of love that might produce it in our lives.
Slide: Romans 5:5
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
The Spirit gives us this love that seeks the highest welfare of another.
Joy:
Joy is an internal experience of Grace. It comes from the word Chara – that shares the same root as the word grace – Charis.
All too often, we identify joy with happiness. But it is so much more than happiness. Happiness is often just an emotional experience, Joy goes deeper.
Bob Beltz, in his book, Becoming a Man of the Spirit, says,
“Joy is a spiritual reality. It is the product of being in the proper relationship with God. Joy transcends circumstances. It is possible to have joy even when circumstances are quite difficult.”
Joy is an internal experience of Grace!
Peace:
Peace is a state of inner well-being. It is more, than the absence of strife. Peace is the Shalom of God – the total state of well-being that includes physical, emotional, spiritual and relationship dimensions of life.
In the Old Testament, this reality was intimately related to God’s blessing. When God blessed a person, the result was peace.
Beltz states:
“When you are experiencing God’s peace, it will be manifested by the sense of serenity, tranquility, and contentment that only the Spirit of god can produce in your life.”
Patience:
Patience is an endurance and forbearance in the midst of provocation and injury from others. In a number of other languages, patience is translated as “enduring troubles” or “remaining quiet when persecuted.”
It is a spirit of long-suffering. To be patient with another is to look beyond the surface to the heart of who they are as people loved by God.
Many scholars will lump the next two words kindness and goodness together.
Kindness and Goodness:
They both come from the same word in the Greek and they both refer to one’s favorable disposition toward his neighbor. These two words together give a picture who aggressively seeks care for others.
Kindness fanatically avoids inflicting pain on another and then seeks to express tenderness and compassion by doing something good for the person.
Goodness seeks to express the love of God in acts of generosity.
These are acts of grace – gifts given, not to repay someone for something else, but simply to bless them.
My wife is remarkably good at acts of generosity. When Cooper was in 3rd grade, it was Cooper’s teacher’s birthday. Julee wanted to express her gratitude to the teacher for the job that she is doing so she decided to buy her a couple of movie passes.
Once she realized that it would be just a ho-hum gift, she decided to jazz it up.
Now, Coopers teacher was a big LSU fan. So, Julee decided to make her a birthday wreath and insert the movie tickets.
Once Julee got this in her heart and mind to do this, she got after it. Then she got up early, went to the donut store and bought 30 donuts so the class could celebrate their teacher’s birthday together.
This kindness and goodness aggressively seeks to express care to others.
Faithfulness:
The quality that causes people to be trustworthy. Faithfulness is the cultivation of loyalty through time.
A person who bears this dimension of the Spirit’s fruit is a man whose help we can rely on, whose loyalty we can count on, and upon whose word we can depend.
Gentleness:
The Greek word here literally means strength under control.
The word gives the picture of a wild horse that has been tamed and domesticated so that all of its strength is now at the disposal of the master.
Thus, gentleness is the characteristic of the Spirit’s influence that both motivates and enables us to bring:
Gentleness is the quality that leads to a submitted life.
Self-Control:
If gentleness is strength under control, then self-control describes our egos under the dominant influence of the Holy Spirit.
Self-control is the ability to control impulse and passion, which is vital to living the Christian life and maintaining our witness.
These 9 virtues or qualities make up the fruit of the Spirit.
Now let’s quickly answer our 2nd and 3rd questions.
B. Why is there the freedom that comes to our lives when we bear the fruit of the Spirit?
The Apostle Paul answers this question fairly simply for us in verse 23b.
He states, “Against such things there is no law.”
Have you ever had the thought, “Oh to be a kid again?” “Wouldn’t it be great to go back to being a kid?”
What are we wishing for? A life free from all of the Rules, Regulations, and Responsibilities.
It is a wish to simply be free from all the burdens that come along with being an adult.
It is funny – when we were kids, we wanted to be adults – “When I grow up . . .”
Now that we are adults, we want to go back to being kids!
Why?
Because kids can have messy rooms, and can get dirty, they have fun, and get to build tree houses or sand castles.
Little kids are free!
Right? They get to live a life without a care in the world. They are free.
In a very similar vein, when we bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, we experience freedom from the bondage of sin or the bondage of religious performance and we can really enjoy what God has done for us. You see, there is no law, no restraint against the kind of behavior that blesses and encourages and builds up. Laws are for things that tear down and destroy.
Bob Beltz says,
“When we are actively bearing the fruit of the Spirit, we really don’t need the Law. There is no need for an external standard when the internal reality of our lives looks like this.”
So let’s get to our final question then:
C. How do we bear the fruit of the Spirit?
Let’s look at verses 24 & 25 again
Galatians 5:24-25
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit.
How do we bear the fruit of the Spirit?
First, there is a Death involved. – Crucify the sinful nature – We are called to take up our cross on a daily basis and follow Christ. So, it’s a daily death. A daily surrender. A daily choice to submit my will to His.
The result is what I’ll call Spiritual Will-Power.
Philippians 2:12-13
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do you see the balance here of God’s part and our part?
We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
In other words, we are to submit our wills to God, position ourselves to receive instruction and do the work of spiritual formation:
We have to obey and do our part.
God then does His part. His presence in our pursuit of spiritual formation is there to shape and form us and produce a fruit through us that will glorify the Father.
Did you know that every dimension of the fruit of the Spirit is a quality about which some other part of the New Testament instructs or commands us to take action.
Jesus said in John 13:35: “love one another.”
That is our part.
His part is to make it possible in our inner being. We step out in his enabling power, dependent upon Him.
This is also thru of Joy, Peace and the like.
To bear joy, we are called to Rejoice.
Paul says, - Rejoice in the Lord always.
Joy is a spiritual reality that requires an act of the will on our part.
Peace is a product of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.
We are also called to cultivate Peace.
Colossians 3:15 states, “Let the Peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”
We could do this exercise for each dimension of the fruit of the Spirit.
Be kind to all
Let your gentleness be evident to all
Be faithful
Do good to all.
Beltz states,
“Over and over we are instructed to initiate these behaviors. We are to depend on God to be at work within us to transform our hearts and give us the ability to take these actions, but we have to step out in faith and obey what God has already said.“
So let me ask you something as we close today…
What would happen if, this week, instead of merely trying harder to be a better Christian, you intentionally walked with the Holy Spirit?
Because that’s Paul’s language all throughout this passage:
This is not about perfection.
This is about direction.
The fruit of the Spirit is not produced through frantic striving.
Fruit grows through abiding relationship.
Jesus said in John 15:
“Abide in me.”
Stay connected.
Stay near.
Stay surrendered.
And maybe that’s the practical step some of us need to take this week.
Not ten steps.
Not twenty.
One.
Before your feet hit the floor each morning this week, simply pause and pray:
“Holy Spirit, lead me today.
Shape my responses.
Guide my words.
Form my desires.
Produce Your fruit in me.”
And then throughout the day:
Because walking in the Spirit is not merely a Sunday experience.
It is moment-by-moment surrender.
It is:
And here is the encouragement:
You are not fighting FOR victory.
In Christ, you are fighting FROM victory.
The Spirit of God already lives within you.
You are no longer enslaved to the flesh.
You are no longer who you used to be.
You belong to Christ.
So walk with Him.
Yield to Him.
Keep in step with Him.
And over time…
you will look back and realize:
the Spirit has been producing in you what you could never manufacture on your own.
That…
is the freedom of the Christian life.
[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 718). Victor Books.
[2] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 608). Victor Books.
[3] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 607). Victor Books.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 718). Victor Books.
[5] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 609). Victor Books.
This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at our CityRise West U Baptist campus. Check out the full message below!
Galatians 5:1
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
I asked Colonel Robert Glazener about this fight for freedom. He said…
You know, having a nation that is free…political freedom…freedom to vote as you wish…choose what career you will be involved in…having religious freedom…these are great gifts.
Then he said, “But guys, the even greater gift is being free from sin and death, and knowing Jesus Christ. His freedom is even greater.”
As we stop and remember those who have laid down their lives for us in our nation, let us also remember Christ, who has laid down His life for an even greater freedom that we enjoy.
Let us recognize the call to freedom in Christ, and the great responsibility we have to steward this freedom well.
I have heard my entire life a call to steward the freedom we have been given in this nation:
- It’s a call to not give up our freedom,
- to not lose sight of what has been secured for us through others sacrifices.
- It’s a call to be active by voting and serving and doing our civic duty,
- and it’s a call to leave our nation better than we found it.
As we read Galatians 5, we see that the church all over the world is called to walk in freedom. We see that there is a freedom in Christ that is available to anyone, anywhere, in any governmental system.
And we also see that there is a bondage that both legalism and license both lead to.
Look with me briefly at this call to freedom in Galatians 5:13.
Galatians 5:13
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.
- We are called to freedom…this is what is available to us.
- And it is through love we are to serve one another.
- It’s here in Galatians that Paul introduces the idea of living a life of license.
Remember, we have been studying a lot about legalism … the man-made rules that are placed upon us to properly live out faith. And Paul has been battling this in the letter.
But here, he moves to the other end of the spectrum… a life of License…where you think you are free to do anything you want.
- It’s liberty without a sense of responsibility.
- It’s the idea that I have been forgiven, so I will do what I want. I am under grace.
But the call…the call is to liberty. It’s not legalism. It’s not license…It’s liberty.
Did you know that Legalism and License both lead to the same place?
- Legalism and License both lead to bondage.
- Sin enslaves…Rules enslaves.
- But the Spirit…the Spirit sets us free.
Today, we are going to recognize the fight for freedom in the life of the believer. Let’s look at our passage today in Galatians 5:16-26.
Galatians 5:16-26
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Our Outline today…
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh
The Spirit Enables Us to Produce Fruit
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh
Notice Galatians 5:16-21, 24
Galatians 5:16-21, 24
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Notice the Conflict: The Flesh is against the Spirit. The Spirit is against the Flesh…
v. 17 - And notice it says, “…for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
Warren Wiersbe states…
Just as Isaac and Ishmael were unable to get along, so the Spirit and the flesh (the old nature) are at war with each other. By “the flesh,” of course, Paul does not mean “the body.” The human body is not sinful; it is neutral. If the Holy Spirit controls the body, then we walk in the Spirit; but if the flesh controls the body, then we walk in the lusts (desires) of the flesh. The Spirit and the flesh have different appetites, and this is what creates the conflict.[1]
The first thing we need to note here is this:
The Christian cannot simply will to overcome the flesh.
The flesh is powerful. And we are unable to conquer it in our own strength.
Now, when we talk about the flesh here, we need to keep in mind, here, in Paul’s writings, it has to do with our sin nature.
It’s not the flesh that has to do with the:
Actual body
Human existence
But our human nature of fallen sinfulness.
And then the Apostle Paul lists 14 different “works of the flesh” – these are deeds or acts of sinful humanity.
Notice verses 19-21.
Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Warren Wiersbe says that this list in Galatians can be divided into three major categories:
The sensual sins
The superstitious sins
The social sins
D.K. Campbell says that this list can be divided into four categories:
1. Sexual Sin – Adultery, Fornication, Impure and filthy lives
2. Religious Sins – Idolatry and Witchcraft
3. Societal Sins – there are 8 listed here from Hatred all the way to Dissensions and Factions, and Envy.
4. Alcohol Related Sins – Drunkenness and Orgies
Campbell states:
The apostle then solemnly warned the Galatians, as he had done when he was in their midst, that those who live like this, who habitually indulge in these fleshly sins will not inherit the future kingdom of God. This does not say that a Christian loses his salvation if he lapses into a sin of the flesh, but that a person who lives continually on such a level of moral corruption gives evidence of not being a child of God.[2]
Unbelievers have no struggle with things on this list. The more that they give way to and dominion to their sin nature, the deeper into this list their lives go.
But in Romans 7, The Apostle Paul talks about the believer’s struggle between the flesh and the Spirit.
Romans 7:18-25
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
D.K. Campbell states:
“…Each Christian has two natures, a sinful nature received at birth, inherited from fallen Adam, and a new nature received at regeneration when said Christian became a participant in the divine nature (cf. 2 Peter 1:4).
Both natures have desires, the one for evil and the other for holiness. Thus they are in conflict with each other, and the result can be that they keep a believer from doing what he otherwise would. In other words the Holy Spirit blocks, when He is allowed to do so, the evil cravings of the flesh.”[3]
Can you relate?
This is the struggle that each of us has – the battle within between my sin nature and my life in Christ.
Warren Wiersbe says…
“These opposite appetites are illustrated in the Bible in different ways. For example, the sheep is a clean animal and avoids garbage, while the pig is an unclean animal and enjoys wallowing in filth (2 Peter 2:19–22). After the rain ceased and the ark settled, Noah released a raven which never came back (Gen. 8:6–7). The raven is a carrion-eating bird and found plenty to feed on. But when Noah released the dove (a clean bird), it came back (Gen. 8:8–12). The last time he released the dove and it did not return, he knew that it had found a clean place to settle down; therefore the waters had receded.
Our old nature is like the pig and the raven, always looking for something unclean on which to feed. Our new nature is like the sheep and the dove, yearning for that which is clean and holy.”[4]
So, if this is our reality, what are we to do?
The task for the believer is three proactive decisions in relationship to the Holy Spirit.
to walk by…
be lead by…
and live by and keep in step with the Holy Spirit.
Notice the declaration of victory in verse 16.
Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Walk – to live or behave in a specific manner.
In walking by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Walking by the Spirit is aligning your heart and mind with the Lord. This daily exercise will save you from a life of license. It keeps you from fulfilling the desires that come from this life in the body.
Galatians 5:18
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Led – To be led is to be “Directed by the Spirit.” literally – to be “WILLINGLY LED.”
Being directed by the Spirit, you are going to live in such a way as to not be placed under the legalists, and the “legal system” that seeks to earn God’s favor by perfect obedience to the law. Instead, the Holy Spirit writes the law of God on your heart, so that our desire is to obey Him in love.
Galatians 5:25
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Live – to live or become alive in a transcendent manner; especially as characteristic of resurrected life, or life without sin or with sin subjugated.
keep in step – Marching in a precise line – military on parade…there is great concern and care in how they march…following the one in front, mastering the way they turn, being in precise uniform.
We are to live in such a way as to set ourselves apart for a Godly life that marches in line following the Spirt of God.
You and I have been given a new nature.
2 Peter 1:3-5
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
We have been given a divine nature and we possess the Holy Spirit. We have been given the Mind of Christ. Our spirit has been brought from a state of death and condemnation to life.
So, it’s important for us to be active in participating with God the Holy Spirit’s leading in our life.
Here is what is true…
You and I, though we have battles with the sinful nature, we are no longer enslaved to it. If we walk by and are led by, and keep in step with the Holy Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
D. K. Campbell states,
Again Paul reminded the Galatians that in addition to a divine judgment of the sinful nature there is a divine enablement in the person of the Holy Spirit. He made the believer alive by regeneration (cf. John 3:5–6), so each believer is exhorted to keep in step (stoichōmen, trans. “follow” in Gal. 6:16) with the Spirit. Step by step one’s Christian walk should conform to the Spirit’s direction and enablement, lest believers become conceited, provoking and envying each other.[5]
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh! We are no longer slaves, but have victory available to us. That’s the first thing we see today.
Second…we see that The Holy Spirit Enables Us to Produce Fruit.
Our Outline today…
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh
The Spirit Enables Us to Produce Fruit
The Spirit Enables Us to Overcome the Flesh
If you have ever driven the famous Hwy. 1 that goes along the ocean side from Seattle to San Diego, you have driven one of the most scenic routes in our nation. It is a beautiful, awe inspiring ride.
From the Napa and Sonoma Valleys to Monterrey, Carmel and Big Sur you pass through some of the most amazing vineyards and crops of strawberries, peaches, apples you will ever lay eyes on. As a matter of fact, there is a town called Castroville. Do you know what Castroville is known for? It is the artichoke capital of the world.
This is one of the most fruitful regions in the world. It is amazing, nourishing, beautiful and bountiful.
It is set between the ocean and the mountains. It is like heaven on earth!
Now what a tragedy it would be if we drove that beautiful coastal highway and same to fields designed for fruitfulness but we only found barrenness.
As clearly as those fields were designed to be fruitful, so you and I as followers of Christ were designed to be fruitful.
Let’s consider: What is the fruit of the Spirit?
What is the freedom that comes to our lives because we bear this fruit?
And
How we bear the fruit of the Spirit?
A. What is the Fruit of the Spirit?
Look again at Galatians 5:22-23.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
There are 9 qualities of virtue or Grace here that are to be produced in the life of the believer if we walk in a relationship of dependence on God the Holy Spirit.
The qualities are to be produced in us through God’s Spirit. You see the Bible teaches us that our lives are intended to bear fruit.
In John 15:16 Jesus commissions His disciples to go and bear fruit.
Instead of the works of the flesh that lead to chaos and destruction, we are to produce the fruit of the spirit which leads to freedom.
Let’s examine each one briefly.
Love:
This is the dominant product of the Holy Spirit.
One writer says, “In a very real sense, all other dimensions of the fruit flow from this quality.”
The word love is Agape in the Greek. We have discussed this word at length before today, so allow me to remind you briefly what Agape love is.
Agape is the love that always seeks the highest welfare of another. It is a sacrificial, unconditional love that always keeps the covenant.
Now look with me at Romans 5:5 as we ask, where do we get this kind of love that might produce it in our lives.
Slide: Romans 5:5
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
The Spirit gives us this love that seeks the highest welfare of another.
Joy:
Joy is an internal experience of Grace. It comes from the word Chara – that shares the same root as the word grace – Charis.
All too often, we identify joy with happiness. But it is so much more than happiness. Happiness is often just an emotional experience, Joy goes deeper.
Bob Beltz, in his book, Becoming a Man of the Spirit, says,
“Joy is a spiritual reality. It is the product of being in the proper relationship with God. Joy transcends circumstances. It is possible to have joy even when circumstances are quite difficult.”
Joy is an internal experience of Grace!
Peace:
Peace is a state of inner well-being. It is more, than the absence of strife. Peace is the Shalom of God – the total state of well-being that includes physical, emotional, spiritual and relationship dimensions of life.
In the Old Testament, this reality was intimately related to God’s blessing. When God blessed a person, the result was peace.
Beltz states:
“When you are experiencing God’s peace, it will be manifested by the sense of serenity, tranquility, and contentment that only the Spirit of god can produce in your life.”
Patience:
Patience is an endurance and forbearance in the midst of provocation and injury from others. In a number of other languages, patience is translated as “enduring troubles” or “remaining quiet when persecuted.”
It is a spirit of long-suffering. To be patient with another is to look beyond the surface to the heart of who they are as people loved by God.
Many scholars will lump the next two words kindness and goodness together.
Kindness and Goodness:
They both come from the same word in the Greek and they both refer to one’s favorable disposition toward his neighbor. These two words together give a picture who aggressively seeks care for others.
Kindness fanatically avoids inflicting pain on another and then seeks to express tenderness and compassion by doing something good for the person.
Goodness seeks to express the love of God in acts of generosity.
These are acts of grace – gifts given, not to repay someone for something else, but simply to bless them.
My wife is remarkably good at acts of generosity. When Cooper was in 3rd grade, it was Cooper’s teacher’s birthday. Julee wanted to express her gratitude to the teacher for the job that she is doing so she decided to buy her a couple of movie passes.
Once she realized that it would be just a ho-hum gift, she decided to jazz it up.
Now, Coopers teacher was a big LSU fan. So, Julee decided to make her a birthday wreath and insert the movie tickets.
Once Julee got this in her heart and mind to do this, she got after it. Then she got up early, went to the donut store and bought 30 donuts so the class could celebrate their teacher’s birthday together.
This kindness and goodness aggressively seeks to express care to others.
Faithfulness:
The quality that causes people to be trustworthy. Faithfulness is the cultivation of loyalty through time.
A person who bears this dimension of the Spirit’s fruit is a man whose help we can rely on, whose loyalty we can count on, and upon whose word we can depend.
Gentleness:
The Greek word here literally means strength under control.
The word gives the picture of a wild horse that has been tamed and domesticated so that all of its strength is now at the disposal of the master.
Thus, gentleness is the characteristic of the Spirit’s influence that both motivates and enables us to bring:
- all of our gifts,
- abilities,
- talents,
- strengths
- and resources to God and then give Him control over them.
Gentleness is the quality that leads to a submitted life.
Self-Control:
If gentleness is strength under control, then self-control describes our egos under the dominant influence of the Holy Spirit.
Self-control is the ability to control impulse and passion, which is vital to living the Christian life and maintaining our witness.
These 9 virtues or qualities make up the fruit of the Spirit.
Now let’s quickly answer our 2nd and 3rd questions.
B. Why is there the freedom that comes to our lives when we bear the fruit of the Spirit?
The Apostle Paul answers this question fairly simply for us in verse 23b.
He states, “Against such things there is no law.”
Have you ever had the thought, “Oh to be a kid again?” “Wouldn’t it be great to go back to being a kid?”
What are we wishing for? A life free from all of the Rules, Regulations, and Responsibilities.
It is a wish to simply be free from all the burdens that come along with being an adult.
It is funny – when we were kids, we wanted to be adults – “When I grow up . . .”
Now that we are adults, we want to go back to being kids!
Why?
Because kids can have messy rooms, and can get dirty, they have fun, and get to build tree houses or sand castles.
Little kids are free!
Right? They get to live a life without a care in the world. They are free.
In a very similar vein, when we bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, we experience freedom from the bondage of sin or the bondage of religious performance and we can really enjoy what God has done for us. You see, there is no law, no restraint against the kind of behavior that blesses and encourages and builds up. Laws are for things that tear down and destroy.
Bob Beltz says,
“When we are actively bearing the fruit of the Spirit, we really don’t need the Law. There is no need for an external standard when the internal reality of our lives looks like this.”
So let’s get to our final question then:
C. How do we bear the fruit of the Spirit?
Let’s look at verses 24 & 25 again
Galatians 5:24-25
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit.
How do we bear the fruit of the Spirit?
First, there is a Death involved. – Crucify the sinful nature – We are called to take up our cross on a daily basis and follow Christ. So, it’s a daily death. A daily surrender. A daily choice to submit my will to His.
The result is what I’ll call Spiritual Will-Power.
- Will Power usually speaks only of shat we can accomplish by the sheer force of our own resources.
- Spiritual will power involves a partnership of a person’s will and God’s power.
Philippians 2:12-13
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do you see the balance here of God’s part and our part?
We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
In other words, we are to submit our wills to God, position ourselves to receive instruction and do the work of spiritual formation:
- Prayer
- Scripture Memory
- Service to the Church
- Take the Gospel to the World
We have to obey and do our part.
God then does His part. His presence in our pursuit of spiritual formation is there to shape and form us and produce a fruit through us that will glorify the Father.
Did you know that every dimension of the fruit of the Spirit is a quality about which some other part of the New Testament instructs or commands us to take action.
Jesus said in John 13:35: “love one another.”
That is our part.
His part is to make it possible in our inner being. We step out in his enabling power, dependent upon Him.
This is also thru of Joy, Peace and the like.
To bear joy, we are called to Rejoice.
Paul says, - Rejoice in the Lord always.
Joy is a spiritual reality that requires an act of the will on our part.
Peace is a product of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.
We are also called to cultivate Peace.
Colossians 3:15 states, “Let the Peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”
We could do this exercise for each dimension of the fruit of the Spirit.
Be kind to all
Let your gentleness be evident to all
Be faithful
Do good to all.
Beltz states,
“Over and over we are instructed to initiate these behaviors. We are to depend on God to be at work within us to transform our hearts and give us the ability to take these actions, but we have to step out in faith and obey what God has already said.“
So let me ask you something as we close today…
What would happen if, this week, instead of merely trying harder to be a better Christian, you intentionally walked with the Holy Spirit?
Because that’s Paul’s language all throughout this passage:
- walk by the Spirit,
- be led by the Spirit,
- keep in step with the Spirit.
This is not about perfection.
This is about direction.
The fruit of the Spirit is not produced through frantic striving.
Fruit grows through abiding relationship.
Jesus said in John 15:
“Abide in me.”
Stay connected.
Stay near.
Stay surrendered.
And maybe that’s the practical step some of us need to take this week.
Not ten steps.
Not twenty.
One.
Before your feet hit the floor each morning this week, simply pause and pray:
“Holy Spirit, lead me today.
Shape my responses.
Guide my words.
Form my desires.
Produce Your fruit in me.”
And then throughout the day:
- when irritation rises,
- when temptation comes,
- when anxiety surfaces,
- when selfishness creeps in,
instead of simply reacting in the flesh, stop and ask:
“What would it look like right now to keep in step with the Spirit?”
Because walking in the Spirit is not merely a Sunday experience.
It is moment-by-moment surrender.
It is:
- responding differently,
- loving sacrificially,
- speaking gently,
- forgiving quickly,
- choosing peace,
- practicing self-control,
- rejoicing in difficulty,
- and trusting God when your flesh wants control.
And here is the encouragement:
You are not fighting FOR victory.
In Christ, you are fighting FROM victory.
The Spirit of God already lives within you.
You are no longer enslaved to the flesh.
You are no longer who you used to be.
You belong to Christ.
So walk with Him.
Yield to Him.
Keep in step with Him.
And over time…
you will look back and realize:
the Spirit has been producing in you what you could never manufacture on your own.
That…
is the freedom of the Christian life.
[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 718). Victor Books.
[2] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 608). Victor Books.
[3] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 607). Victor Books.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 718). Victor Books.
[5] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 609). Victor Books.
This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at our CityRise West U Baptist campus. Check out the full message below!
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40 Days of Faith: Day 3240 Days of Faith: Day 33The Pathway of Planning40 Days of Faith: Day 3440 Days of Faith: Day 35The Right Way to PlanA Note from Pastor Roger40 Days of Faith: Day 3640 Days of Faith: Day 3740 Days of Faith: Day 38Because You Give: Kenya Mission Trip40 Days of Faith: Day 3940 Days of Faith: Day 40A Note from Pastor RogerHow to Move From Planning to ActionBecause You Give: Student MinistryThe Pathway of Authentic LeadershipA Note from Pastor RogerBecause You Give: Women's RetreatThe Pathway of Joyful WorshipHow to Be Guided by GodA Note from Pastor Roger
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