Galatians 5:1. 13-25

Trinity 4 (27^th June 2010)

Text: Galatians 5: 1, 13-25

 

 

During the World War II the American and British engineers came to Melanesian Island in South Pacific to build airstrips for the planes to bring their cargoes.  The natives watched closely as the engineers did their work.  They were amazed to see that when the airstrips were completed, planes began to arrive filled with cargo: food, building materials, machinery, even vehicles.

To the islanders this was something good and wonderful. They decided that if they built airstrips, then planes would come to them, too, likewise bringing cargo.  They accordingly hacked makeshift runways out of the jungle, built mock-up control towers out of grass and mud, and set up antennas made of bamboo. They put fires along the sides of the runways, and put a man in the grass-hut control tower, with two coconut halves on his head for headphones, and then they waited for the airplanes to land. As far as they could see they were doing everything right.  It looked exactly the way it was supposed to. But it didn’t work. No airplanes ever came. (John Derbyshire, National Review Online, June 14, 2002 "It’s All America’s Fault: The cargo-cult mentality" & Richard Feynman From a Caltech commencement address given in 1974 Also in Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!)

That story sounds funny and stupid. The Melanesian islanders thought that the plane with its cargo would come because they built the runways and control tower. What they failed to realize was that there has to be a relationship and communication with the one who sent the cargo.  You cannot build a mock airstrip, mock control tower and mocked transmitters and expect something real to happen. 

However, before we want to laugh or smile at the stupidity of these islanders, I want us to remember the story is also a parable.  It reminds us of our mistaken, and yet a common thinking that if we look religious or spiritual enough, then God’s blessing will come upon us.   Some years ago we heard about Cell Church movement that drew hundreds of people to Church.  The Churches in Sabah, Singapore and S. Korea were drawing in thousands of people.  I am sure when St. Margaret’s Church decided to become a Cell Church; it was because we hoped that we would also reap in rich harvest through cell church concept. 

So we prepared and set up all the necessary things required to set up a Cell Church: we have our vision statement and goals.  It looks good on paper.  Until today, we, like the Melanesians islanders during the Second World War, waited for the plane to come with its load of cargo.  My point is: the blessings of God do not come because we do what the other Churches are doing, or because we follow certain formula that has been proven to work somewhere else.  God’s blessing of love, joy and peace and all the others do not come upon us simply because we comply with a set of Christian standards: rather God’s blessings grow out of a relationship with God born of faith in Jesus Christ.  I am not saying that God’s blessing will not come upon us if we try to learn from the spirituality of other people. I am also not saying that it is wrong to imitate the good things other people are doing. But if we ever imitate others, it is important to realize that, spiritually speaking, every life bears the kind of fruit that depends upon where that life is rooted.

If you see certain plants or vegetables growing well and bearing fruit somewhere, and you take the seedlings of those plants or vegetables and plant them in your garden, they may or may not produce same results.  The result depends on the type of soil that in your garden.  Is your garden well-prepared to accept the good seeds so that it will also produce good harvest?  The same principle applies to our spiritual lives: when we try to incorporate good ideas and techniques from outside into our church, we have to make sure that the people in our church are first prepared to understand and accept these things.

That preparation involves in making people understand that spiritual fruit is produced under certain conditions.    First we consider the exclusive nature of spiritual fruit.  Some of you, who have farms or gardens at home, know that certain plants cannot grow together.  If you put them together, they could be both infected by diseases or that they would not produce good fruit, or that one plant will completely overshadow another.   Paul said similar things about our spiritual lives in Galatians 5: 16-17: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want”. 

The life lived by the Spirit does not cooperate with the desires of the sinful nature. They cannot co-exist peacefully.  It is because when we put our faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in us and He will reveal to us our sin. In the community we often have conflicts or quarrels between ourselves. Sometimes we get into disagreements and conflicts because of differences of opinions.  That may be OK.  But if we are in conflict because our sinful nature is fighting against the will of the Holy Spirit, then it is a serious matter. When we try to do anything not in accordance to the will of God, it will not be pleasing to him. We cannot succeed.  

However, what is happening in the community at large is part and parcel of what is happening in each one of us.  If many of us are living lives that are in conflict with the will of the Spirit, we shall experience dissatisfaction and unhappiness with ourselves.  Paul said the result is “you do not do what you want” – that is we end up doing what we don’t want, and having what we don’t like. 

The point is: if we want to bring change into our church, it is not enough just to incorporate good things that we see happening in other churches.  It is not good enough to improve the externals. It is the internal change that is important. And that requires a lot of humility on our part; meaning that each one of us has to see what is not right - not in other people’s lives, but in our personal lives.  I have been the ministry long enough and I dare to say that most church people think: “If any change is to be made, it is other people who must change – not me”.  We tend to look at other people’s mistakes instead of our own.  I tell you that we can’t bring transformation into a situation like this.  

In what area have we disobeyed God that caused us to be unsuccessful? Paul listed out the fruit of the flesh in verses 19 -21: The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

There are few important points to note here. First of all, take note of the diversity of this list.  I know most of us are not involved in the acts of the sinful nature that are obvious: sexual immorality, debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; fits of rage, and orgies.  But, what about sins that are referred to as impurity, hatred, discord, jealousy, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy and drunkenness? These are more problematic for us, but take note that Paul did not separate them into two groups.  They are woven together and put on the same level.  The point is none of the sin is more acceptable than another: selfish-ambition or jealousy is no better than sexual immorality and drunkenness. All of these are the works of the flesh as opposed to the work of the Spirit.

The second thing to take note of here is Paul’s warning in verse 21.  He said that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Take note of how Paul said it because they are important: he did not say that those who do these things will not inherit the kingdom. He said that those who live this way will not inherit the kingdom.  Paul recognized that we all make mistakes and do wrong things from time to time, and God will not immediately punish us and sent us to hell when we commit our first sin.   But what Paul is advising us is not to make any of these sins into a habit or a lifestyle.   Once the bad fruit becomes a habit or lifestyle, then it become an obstacle to Church growth and hindrance eternal life with God.

Let us now look at the fruit of the Spirit.  Paul says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The fruit of the flesh is described as "acts of the sinful nature". They are actions, behaviours, and things people do – it is something we see or accomplish.  On the other hand, the fruit of the Spirit is something internal.  Fruit is not something we do - we cannot bear fruit on our own. And so while we display both the works of the flesh and the fruit, we know that fruit comes only from Holy Spirit.   Of course they do manifest themselves in behaviours consistent with the life of the Spirit, but it is first, internal transformation.  

A lot of times, in church we want to change people’s behaviours – we want them to be more generous and be more active in church.  Let me read to you some of the goals that we set up for ourselves some years ago when we plan for the formation of a Cell Church.  Here are some of the things mentioned: “Every member is committed to the Church vision and purpose God has for St. Margaret’s Church, Seria.  As such we sincerely try to pray 10-15 minutes daily; reading the Bible daily; fasting as the Lord leads; tithing and giving offerings; attending cell-group meetings; Sunday services & seminars organized by the Church; to come to the monthly prayer meeting and witnessing for Jesus Christ.  Have we done all these? No.  Can we do all these? Yes. But we have to be changed in the inside first; and then, the behaviour changes as a result of that.

It is this internal change that we must be interested in. Yes, we can build life based on externals, like the Melanesian islanders building their mock airstrips; but we shall never receive our supply of real cargo.  If you plant a fruit tree in your garden and it never bears good fruit it is hard to keep on maintaining the tree. Eventually, you will abandon the tree. Likewise if we try to build our spiritual life based on externals – it will lead only to frustration because we cannot forever pretend that things are OK with us.  

Let us look at verse 24.  It says, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires".  We cannot live a spiritual life other than the one that is rooted in faith in Jesus.  Paul goes on to say, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”  This is the life we should go after because it is life that will lead both to a life filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, and to a life that is externally pure.  

The key to success in this church is love.  Every one of us must have love for this Church and desire to see it grow.  But because we are different we are bound to have different opinions on how things should be done, hence we may disagree and get angry with one another. But do not let that stop us from respecting one another and working together because they are keys to success.  If you really want to see the wonder of God being expressed in this Church, it is not in the external things: but when individual hearts and minds are transformed.