Whitehall Bible Fellowship Church Sermon Podcast

What good are you doing for the kingdom?

How do we help each other overcome sin?

When we follow the Spirit, He transforms our character into Christlike love and nobleness.

Why do some many of us try to vanquish sin in our our strength? God is ready to win if we would only trust Him.

Paul now turns to the Christian life with this discussion of flesh and Spirit. We are clearly not saved by our effort. But how about maturity of faith? We grow in faith by yielding to the wisdom and direction of the Holy Spirit.

When you live by rules, you are always trying to look better than others.

When you live by the grace of God, you depend on Him rather than on self.

Paul takes us through a comparison of legalism and faith using the example of the two sons of Abraham, Ishmael born a slave and Isaac born free.

We find some leadership principles from the heart Paul had for his congregation in Galatia.

Because we have been set free, God does not want us to return to our previous slaveries. Stand firm in His grace and relish His love!

Jesus transitions us from slaves of sin into sons of God. We know this because of His Spirit in our hearts.

We have a new identity now in Jesus Christ. We are sons of God and all equal in the eyes of God our Father.

God wrote the Law with a purpose: to show us our sin and its cost AND to show us our need for a Savior.

God is pleased to bless the believer most precisely and dramatically through the gift of Himself rather than any other gift He gives. God uses Jesus, His death and resurrection, to bless all who trust in Him.

Those who rely on the Law for earning righteousness are under the curse of God. Instead, the righteous live by faith in what Jesus has done for them.

Our attention moves from salvation-by-faith to now maturity-by-faith. Works do not get the believer anywhere, but the person that trusts in God matures by seeking His work in their heart.

We no live for ourselves, but for Jesus. This life of faith centers in surrendering to the will of God rather than serving our own desires.

When it comes to it, keeping the rules does not work because we all break the rules and sin. Only faith in Jesus can make us right before God.

Keeping the Gospel focused and simple is our first task as Christians. Satan so craftily gets our focus on things other than Jesus and we mistakenly add rules and measurements to the Good News. Paul challenges us to keep the Gospel simple and pure.

Paul goes to the defense of the pure and simple Gospel message. A false message of salvation by works had been spreading throughout the Church at that time. In this text, we find a passion that will drive us to continue defending the simplicity of faith in Jesus and His Good News.