We continue with our comparision of the two courses we can take in life. For the child of God there are two and only two courses we may follow – there is no middle ground. One course follows the old nature – that part of us that wishes to rebel against God, have our own way, and do things by ourselves apart from God. Then there’s the new nature that is guided and empowered by the Spirit of God.

In the first half of Gal 5 we saw that we are to stand firm in the freedom that we have in Christ (v1) and that although we were called to freedom, we are not to use ourt freedom as an opportunity for the old sin nature.As you read the 5th chapter – something becomes clear – for the child of God there are two and only two courses we may follow – there is no middle ground. One course follows the old nature – that part of us that wishes to rebel against God, have our own way, and do things by ourselves apart from God. Then there’s the new nature that is guided and empowered by the Spirit of God.In Galatians 5 starting at verse 16 and continuing to the end of the chapter, we find a comparison between the two courses we may follow.

As the gospel spreads, lives are changed and chains that hold us in bondage are broken. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. But the last thing the spiritual forces of darkness want to see is the deliverance of those who are a part of their realm. That is why Paul writes to the Ephesians that we struggle against the forces of darkness in a spiritual battle.

Today we return to the Book of Galatians and look at our freedom in Christ.

Today our guest speaker is Gary Ritter from the Voice of the Martyrs. Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide. VOM was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisioned 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ.

After pursuing pleasure through partying and living by the “work hard, play harder” motto yet finding no purpose to all his toil, the Teacher focuses on the purpose of all of man’s activities in relation to time and death. With limited time, as death awaits us, what activities can we do under the sun that will bring purpose and meaning to our lives.

Have you ever spoken with someone who said “I’d consider being a Christian but I don’t think I can live the life?” Here’s the truth, no one can live in righteous perfection. We all fall short. That’s why God must do the work of righteousness in us- we need a spiritual birth that comes from Him – not us! This morning we’re going to see 3 truths from God’s Word about our spiritual birth. We begin first with the truth that it is from God – not man.

For several chapters, Paul had given doctrinal reason after doctrinal reason as to why the Galatian church, which was rushing headlong into error, needed to abandon false teaching and come back to the basics of being made right with God by His grace through faith.

Many view people who live devout, rigid lives as more spiritual than others. The more rules they observe, the better Christian they are. Today we’re going to see that it isn’t what we do that makes us more spiritual, it’s why we do it.