or Christian friends to you.
I want you to carefully consider Christian friends.
Most of us in this room, we have a lot of friends and acquaintances
from all walks of life.
I'm not talking about just friends in general.
How important, how valuable are your Christian friends to you?
Think of it this way.
What kind of impact do they have on your life?
What kind of influence?
How do they help you live out your faith as a Christian?
Or do they?
Think about it this way.
What kind of influence, what kind of impact do you have
on the Christian life of your Christian friends?
How are you helping them to grow spiritually?
Well, how does it happen?
How is it that Christian brothers and sisters
can really positively impact each other's lives?
What would it look like?
Well, turn to Galatians chapter 5,
and we're going to look at what Paul says
about how we as believers
should and should not be treating one another.
How we should be helping one another,
not causing problems for one another.
Galatians chapter 5 is where we've been for the last two weeks.
We've been looking at the big picture,
how the Holy Spirit, and I want you to look at that title,
how the Holy Spirit is the,
strongly emphasizing the key to living a faithful Christian life.
There's a lot of things involved.
We want to really know the Lord,
become more like Him,
make a difference in people's lives.
There's a lot of things involved.
You've got to be a person who knows what God thinks
by reading His Word,
knowing how He wants us to live.
You've got to spend some time with Him in prayer.
But no matter what we do,
as Christians,
we must have the indwelling power of the Spirit of God
to make it all sort of come together.
He is the key,
most important key,
if we're serious about living a faithful Christian life.
Now, two weeks ago,
we looked at what Paul said in verses 16 through 17,
16, 17, and 18 of Galatians 5,
he talked about how we've got to depend on the Holy Spirit's power.
The Christian faith is a supernatural faith.
When God does something in us,
it is something supernatural
where He changes us from the inside out.
He causes us to think differently,
want to live differently.
He regenerates us,
gives us a whole new perspective.
He puts His Spirit in us.
And so if we are going to be different from people
who are not Christians,
if we are going to develop real Christian character,
we've got to depend on the Holy Spirit's power
to enable us.
Last week, we saw that we must make the Holy Spirit
the dominant source of influence in our lives.
A lot of things influence us.
People influence us.
The world, the culture today influences us.
We have our own sinful desires,
our old habits.
We've got to make sure that it's the Spirit within us
that is the dominant force in our lives.
That's the only way that we're going to be able to
be loving and peaceful
and demonstrate kindness when it's not easy.
As Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit
in Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23.
Well, today we're going to look at how the Spirit of God uses us
to make a positive difference in people's lives.
We're going to summarize it like this.
Demonstrate the Holy Spirit's fruit in all your relationships.
That's what this passage, beginning in chapter 5, verse 26,
through chapter 6, really verse 10, is telling us.
We are called by God.
God expects us in our relationships with one another,
brothers and sisters in Christ.
He expects us to demonstrate that love and joy and peace
and patience and kindness and so on.
Let's start reading it.
Galatians chapter 5.
Let's read verse 25.
That's where a new paragraph starts.
If you've got a Bible translation that has paragraphs,
most likely the new paragraph begins in verse 25.
He says,
If we live by the Spirit,
let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited,
provoking one another,
envying one another.
Brothers.
And that could be translated brothers and sisters.
If anyone is caught in any transgression or sin,
you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.
Keep watch on yourself,
lest you too be tempted.
We're going to stop there
because we're going to look at this part
about our relationships with one another
over a period of about three different messages.
The way we are instructed to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit
in all of our relationships
involves both what we would call negatives and positives.
Let's look at the negative first.
How we should not treat one another.
Verse 26.
Let us not become conceited,
provoking one another,
envying one another.
Paul is beginning this
by
talking about their spiritual pride among you.
Their spiritual pride in the church.
It seems that those who
consider themselves to being,
to living Spirit-led lives,
they've become conceited.
They thought they were spiritually superior
to most other Christians.
Whenever I hear that word conceited,
I think about two guys
that I went to high school with
that are one year ahead of me.
They were best friends.
I want you to understand that at first.
They were best friends.
One of them,
he was just arrogant
because he thought he was a superstar athlete.
He was a good athlete.
But his best friend,
if he told him once,
he told him a dozen times
that I heard it,
his friend would say,
he's not conceited,
he's convinced.
That's what a conceited person is, isn't it?
Prideful, arrogant.
They're convinced about themselves that.
Paul is telling us
that there's people in the church
there's Christians
who are convinced
that they are more spiritually minded
than everybody else in the church.
Maybe they know more,
maybe they know more about the Bible.
Maybe they've memorized more verses.
Maybe they are more gifted.
The fact is,
everybody's gifted differently,
some more so than others.
Maybe they were prideful
because they were involved.
I've known people who took pride
just because they were here
Sunday morning,
Sunday night,
and Wednesday night
as if that made them
some kind of spiritual giant.
You can be a doorstop
and be here Sunday morning,
Sunday night,
Wednesday night.
Makes no difference.
But they,
hey,
the people I'm talking about,
they were prideful.
They let you know
they were here Sunday morning,
Sunday night,
Wednesday night.
So,
I want you to think about it.
Let me,
let me mention something here.
We talk about Christian friends,
Christians in the church.
Most of the New Testament letters
were written
to a church
in a city.
Galatia,
Galatians,
that letter,
it was written to a group of churches
in a region called Galatia.
Here's what I want you to know.
When Paul wrote to the Galatians,
those people in the church,
they were all the Christians
they knew.
When Paul wrote to the church
in Ephesus,
the letter to the Ephesians,
most likely,
the only Christians
those people knew
were those who were part
of this Ephesian church.
We're not like that.
You may have more friends
who are committed Christians
outside this church
than you have inside.
Some of you may,
you have good Christian friends here,
but your life revolves
in another place, really.
Maybe you've got some good Christian friends
you work with.
Maybe there's a group at school
that you know.
They care about their relationship
with the Lord,
and so you hang out with them.
They're your,
they're sort of like
your church family.
They're your Christian brothers
and sisters
that you have a closer relationship with.
So as we go through this message,
I'm going to apply it a lot
to this church,
but I want you to understand
it applies to you
and your relationships
with other Christians
in other places.
So,
Paul's telling us
there's people,
Christians,
spiritually minded Christians,
who've maybe let their spiritual maturity
go to their head,
and they're very prideful.
They're condescending towards some others.
You know,
such attitudes are usually spotted quickly.
You pretty well can see it pretty early,
and it causes problems, doesn't it?
It causes problems at work.
It causes problems among your friends
when one person's sort of
looking down at everybody else.
it causes problems in the church.
An arrogant person,
condescending person,
they,
they provoke people.
They stir up trouble.
They stir up a lot of negative attitudes,
including envy.
Paul singles that out here.
I want you to picture the problem
in this church.
You've got a small group of members
who are probably more spiritually minded,
truly,
and they use their gifts and talents
in the ministry.
They're involved.
They're,
they're,
they're up front.
They're doing things.
People see them,
but they think they're spiritually superior.
And because of that,
they're really not all that spiritual.
They're displeasing to God.
Pride's one of the most serious sins.
It can ruin our lives.
It can ruin a lot of relationships.
But you've got another group,
they not only resent
these arrogant spiritual people,
they're envious.
They envy the gifts and talents
of those who are up front and serving.
These people feel spiritually inferior.
And the other ones,
these arrogant ones,
they feel spiritually superior.
Now let's apply that.
We,
we need to guard against
both an attitude of inferiority
and superiority.
No one is superior to anyone
in this church
or anywhere else.
I want you to understand that.
There's no pecking order
in the family of God.
We are all in this room sinners
that if we're Christians,
we're saved by the grace of God
and the grace of God's unearned.
I want you to understand something.
Not many people,
this may not apply to,
but God is not impressed with you.
God's not impressed with me.
You see,
God's standard is perfection.
And we're far from that.
God stooped down.
I better not do that again.
I won't get back up.
My knees aren't like they used to be.
God really bent way over
to make us His child.
And He didn't have to do that.
God chose to be gracious
and merciful
and not give us what we deserve,
but give us the gift of salvation
through the work of His Son,
the death of His Son on the cross,
that we just received by faith,
the gift of salvation.
We have nothing to feel superior about.
Whatever gifts we have,
they've been given to us by God.
Some of you in this room,
you have some real gifts and talents
that you use for God
in some visible ways,
some things behind the scene,
maybe not even in this church,
but in other realms of life.
You use what God's given you
and it's significant.
But He gave you those gifts
for you to serve Him
and serve other people,
not to make you feel superior.
So in light of what Paul is saying here,
the best thing for you to do this morning
is to forget about yourself.
Don't seek to be honored.
To be thanked.
Don't even seek to be noticed.
Just think instead
that you have the privilege,
by the grace of God,
you have the privilege
to use what God's given you
in a way that does
help other people,
that does help
serve God's purpose in this world.
number two,
that not only is no one superior,
no one is inferior.
No one is inferior
to anyone in this church
or anywhere else.
We're all made in the image of God.
There's people,
everywhere you go,
there's people who battle
this thing about self-image.
I want you to know,
as a human being,
even if you're not a Christian,
as a human being,
you were created
in the image of God
and that gives you automatically
worth and value.
We should treat
all human beings,
no matter what their walk of life,
with worth,
with value,
with a sense of dignity
because they are created
in the image of God.
And if you're a Christian,
you need to think
a little bit more.
Jesus Christ died for me,
gave up His life,
suffered for me,
for my sins,
so that I could be forgiven
and not suffer.
That does make you
worth something,
doesn't it?
Worth a lot.
Now,
if someone is more gifted
or talented than you are,
and somebody is,
always,
that's not their fault.
Don't be mad at somebody
because they're smarter than you,
they're sharper than you,
they can do certain things
that you can't do.
If you've come on Sunday nights some,
you spiritually minded people
who come on Sunday nights,
you know that a lot of times
we have done some video studies
with Matt Chandler.
He's one of my favorite preachers.
And I know
he's better than me.
I mean,
he just communicates,
I can sit and listen to him
for an hour.
I couldn't listen to me
for an hour.
Some of you have made it plain,
you won't listen to me
for an hour.
So,
I get that.
But I really like Chandler.
And I'm thankful
that God gave him
those gifts,
he's helped me
in some ways,
taught me some things,
I've learned some things
from him.
I can honestly say
I'm not jealous of him.
I'm thankful for him.
And I recognize
that he's more gifted
than me.
We need to learn
to do that.
Learn to do that
in whatever realm
of life you're operating in,
that there are people
better than you,
so what?
If they're just more
naturally gifted,
or they've just got that drive
that makes them better,
your problem
is not with them,
your problem's really
with God
because he made them
that way.
Why be jealous
of somebody
who is quicker than you,
faster than you,
in whatever sports
you play?
God made them
that way.
So,
accept that.
But instead of
being jealous,
just appreciate it.
And in the church,
if there's somebody
who's serving
more than you,
they're just more faithful
than you,
they're more gifted
than you are,
or they're having
a greater impact
than you are,
instead of being jealous,
why don't you just try
to follow their example,
maybe?
Learn from them,
maybe.
Serve like they do.
Be involved
like they are.
What I want us to see,
what Paul wants us
to see here,
there is no place
for an attitude
of superiority
or inferiority
among Christians
in any setting,
and that is especially
true in the church.
But if we are either,
looking down
or looking up,
feeling inferior,
feeling superior,
either way,
if that's true
about us right now,
that means we're not
living in the power
of the Holy Spirit,
we're giving in
to the temptation.
We're giving in
to the temptation
to let how someone else is
affect how we are
and how we actually function
in the church
or even among our friends.
That's the negative,
how we should not
treat one another.
Let's move on.
He tells us how we should
treat one another.
The first thing
he tells us
is in verse 1,
and this is very hard.
We're just going to look
at verse 1 this morning.
I want you to think
about it as we go
through this.
What we're going to look
at is something
God expects you and me
to do in each other's life
when necessary.
We hope it's never necessary,
but it may be necessary
for you to do something
in a person's life,
in my life.
Look at what he says,
verse 1.
Brothers,
brothers and sisters,
if anyone is caught
in any transgression,
you who are spiritual
should restore him
in a spirit of gentleness.
Keep watch on yourself
lest you too be tempted.
Paul's telling us here
we need to learn
to confront sin
in one another's lives.
Now he's not telling us
to pronounce judgment
on somebody
and just write them off.
He's not telling us
to have this judgmental spirit
and just looking for faults
and trying to condemn people.
He's talking about
confronting someone
that we know,
that we care about,
that we see something
happening in their life
and we want to help them
and not let it hurt them.
Let's look at it.
The time to confront.
If anyone is caught
in any transgression.
The NIV says
if anyone is caught
in a sin.
The idea here now
is that,
let's just say,
let's just talk about
the church.
But it applies to you
and your friends at work.
It applies to you
and your friends
at church,
at school.
Let's just say
you've got a friend.
We're not talking about
nitpicking someone,
looking for trouble.
We're not talking about
getting our spiritual
microscopes out
and trying to find
flaws in people.
That's not what
he's talking about.
Here's what he's talking about,
something serious.
Maybe you notice
your friend.
It seems,
it seems inappropriate
the attention
they're giving
to someone
of the opposite sex
and it's not their spouse.
Or maybe it's
one of your friends
you go to school with
and you know
they're too involved
with the person
they're dating.
Maybe it's someone
you work with
and you've,
you have found
something that gives
you the idea
you're almost,
you're 99% sure
they're embezzling
from the company.
We're talking about
something serious
that is sinful.
Something that would
not please God
if he sees it
in one of his children.
we're supposed
to confront them.
Now how do we do it?
Well,
we don't ignore it.
How do we respond
to these situations?
We don't ignore it.
That's the natural
thing to do.
You just don't,
you shake your head.
Don't,
just ignore it.
I didn't see that.
Stick your head
in the sand.
We do that sometimes.
We,
we should not respond
by exposing it
to other people
and gossiping.
You don't go
to somebody else
and say,
you know what I'm thinking?
You know what I've seen?
That's not what he's saying.
And right here,
he is not talking about
passing on
what we know
to somebody else
like in the church.
He's not saying
go and tell the pastor
or another church leader.
No.
There may be a time
and place for that
but initially,
if there's a Christian friend,
you see something
going on in their life
that it needs
to be dealt with
and they need
to be confronted
and the Lord
lays it on your heart
and you see it
and you know it,
you've got to do that.
That's a part of living
a spirit-filled life,
bearing one another's burdens
that when someone
is caught in a sin
and we're talking
about privately,
everybody doesn't know
this yet
according to what
we're reading here.
We'll go to them
privately
with the prayer
that God will help us
help them
to turn around,
to stop it
and hopefully never even
be publicly exposed.
Now there are exceptions
to be made
for crimes.
Child abuse,
nothing private.
child abuse,
we call the police
or the sheriff's department.
Child abuse,
I want to know it.
It will not be ignored,
it will not be swept
under the carpet.
Spousal abuse,
the church for too long
has tried to just
close their eyes,
hope things go away,
stick their head
in the sand.
That should not be.
So we're not talking
about covering up
crimes.
We're not talking
about failing to do
what we're supposed
to do.
We're not talking
about protecting
children or other
vulnerable people.
We're talking
about friends
who are doing
something and no one
else knows it
but you find out
about it,
you can intervene.
Number two,
look at the person
who confronts.
He says,
you who are spiritual.
The spiritual would be
those people who are
seeking to obey
the Holy Spirit's
leadership.
They're people who
are growing in their
faith.
They demonstrate
Christian character.
They're not perfect.
No one is perfect
but some people
are more spiritually
minded than others.
Some are more
mature than others.
This is the kind
of person who could
deal with such an
issue in love
and try to help
the person,
not hurt them.
Don't ever get
involved in trying
to deal with
someone else's
sin.
If you don't have
that spirit-given
maturity
and wisdom
and you can do
it in love.
Number three,
the way to confront
is in a spirit
of gentleness.
Gentleness is part
of the fruit of the
spirit.
That's why Paul says
only the spiritual
can do this.
Now,
such gentleness
does not mean
leniency.
intimacy.
We're not talking
about overlooking
a problem.
Sometimes love's
got to be tough.
You know that.
Sometimes love
has got to be tough
in families
and among friends.
The idea here is
that the work
of restoration
should be done
with sensitivity,
care,
concern for the
other person.
Number four,
the goal of
confrontation is to
restore.
You're not trying
to punish.
The sin you have
seen in this
person's life
has alienated
them from God.
Their relationship
with Him is strained.
And so you're
wanting to bring
them back to a
right relationship
with Him.
You're wanting
to help them
to be restored
to where they
need to be
in their walk
with the Lord.
So the purpose
of such confrontation,
the purpose of
church discipline
is always to help
never to hurt.
It's always
redemptive,
not punitive.
Number five,
the caution
about confrontation.
If you don't
hear anything else,
you listen to this.
He says,
keep watch on
yourself,
lest you too
be tempted.
There's no place
in the whole
kingdom of God
for this spiritual
pride where you
think of yourself
as something,
you're above sin,
you're above what
somebody else can do,
and you just look
condescendingly down
at them,
and you're going
to correct them
because you're so
much better than
them.
None of us
are immune
from any kind
of temptation.
None of us
are above any
sin.
Some people
in churches
today,
and we're a
church today,
some people
need to really
let that sink in.
If you don't
see in your own
life a personal
battle with sin,
that means you
have a very
poor understanding
of what sin is
and how holy
God is.
If you have
any understanding
at all of how
holy and pure
God is,
and how
repulsed he
is by
sin,
you'll know
I am a
sinner.
I'm not
above anybody.
I could fall
in a lot of
different kinds
of ways.
No matter what
you see in
another person's
life,
you could,
under certain
circumstances,
you could fall
in a very
equally bad
way.
You may not
be as susceptible
to the same
sins as somebody
you know,
but there are
other ways
the devil tempts
us and traps
us if we're not
on guard
and seeking to
be faithful.
We need to
always guard
against pride
and self-righteousness,
and that is
always present
in many churches.
Some Christians,
I don't understand
it,
just have this
smug attitude
as if they are
above
other Christians.
Confronting
someone in their
sin is a very
uncomfortable
thing to do,
but it's an
important thing
if you really
love your
brother or
sister.
sometimes it's
just,
you just got
to be
uncomfortable
because you
love them
enough.
You're going
to say
something,
you're going
to step
up before
they ruin
their family,
before they
lose their
job,
before they
ruin their
reputation,
before they
ruin their
life.
It's also
important for
us to realize
somebody may
need to talk
to me
someday.
if somebody
comes to
you that
you know
is a
godly
person,
you know
that they're
saying it
because they
just have
to,
they don't
want to,
and you
know they're
coming to
you because
they love
you,
swallow your
pride and
listen.
It may be
that it's
not true,
but listen
to them,
find out why
they're coming
to you.
Something has
caused that.
We all need
to be open
to such
confrontations
because that's
how the Lord
may intervene
to help us
or save us
in some way.
Are you
demonstrating the
Holy Spirit's
fruit in your
relationships with
other people?
Let me ask you
this, are you
involved in
meeting relationships
with other
Christians?
Do you have,
I mean,
real,
close relationships
with other
Christians in
this church?
Maybe in other
settings.
Maybe your life
is mostly at
work, at
school, and
you're just
here on
Sundays.
You don't
really have
the opportunity
to know that
many people
here.
Are you
involved with
other Christians
in a meaningful
way, have
meaningful
relationships?
relationships.
You need, I
need, every
Christian needs
the blessings
that come from
other Christians
who demonstrate
the fruit of the
Spirit toward us.
Your friends need
it from you.
Not just your
friends in general,
but your Christian
friends need it.
Will you be this
kind of friend?
It may be that
you need to be
more intentional
about developing
better, deeper,
more meaningful
friendships with
other Christians.
You may need
some help in
doing that.
You may need to
think, I've got
good Christian
friends, but we
only talk about
sports.
We only talk
about the
weather.
We only talk
about our
families.
Why don't you
work on developing
a relationship
with them in
which you can
talk about
spiritual things?
Maybe if
they're a member
of this church,
talk about this
sermon.
There's you in
opening.
Talk about how
God is working
in your life.
If you're a
really good friend
and you trust
Him, talk about
how you need
God's help in
certain areas of
your life.
Talk about some
of your struggles,
some of your
weaknesses.
And if anybody
ever does confide
in you that way,
that means you've
got to keep it
confidential.
You don't tell
your spouse, you
don't tell anybody,
you just don't
mention it.
It may be that
you ask somebody
to pray for you.
That's an opening.
Maybe you even
get together and
pray together.
God works through
His Spirit and
His people to
develop us into
the people He
wants us to be.
I want to
encourage you,
make sure you
are in the
position to
grow, to
develop more
Christ-like
character by
living in
obedience to
the Spirit of
God who
indwells you and
by living in
closer fellowship
with other
Christians that
God's put in
your life to
also help you.
let's pray
together.
Dear God,
help us to
think about
what you have
said here in
this passage
about how we
should and
should not live
in relationship
with one another.
If there's sin
in our lives,
if there's
shortcomings,
failures,
convict us,
make it clear and
help us to know
what we need to
confess and turn
from, show us
how we need to
change specifically.
Father, if there
are some situations
that you have
touched us about
that we see in
another person's
life, Lord,
help us to be
willing to get
out of our
comfort zone and
because we love
that person so
much, help us to
confront them in a
spirit of love
gently.
Father, if
somebody comes
to us, help
us to listen
and receive it
as something
done in love by
a brother or
sister in Christ.
Lord, if there
are people in
this room who
are not
Christians, and
all through this
message, we've
talked about
Christians, Christian
friends, you've
convicted them that
they're not one of
yours, they're not
one of your
children.
They don't have
any real Christian
friends.
Lord, so work in
them right now that
they have a desire to
turn from the way
they've been living
away from you.
Call them to truly
trust Jesus as their
Savior and Lord and
surrender their lives
to Him now.
help them to begin
today to start
developing real
Christian friendships.
And let's just
pray.
Listen to the Lord
and you obey Him
during this time.
And if I can pray
with you, I'm here
at the front, happy
to do that right
now.
Amen.