Temper Tempered

Temper Tempered

James 1:19-20

Text intro:  James is a very practical letter that speaks to problems we all face.  In fact, he sometimes seems to meddle. 

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James Garner died last Sunday.  If somehow you don’t know who he was, let me say that for six decades he was involved in film and television usually as the good guy—even if he wore a black hat.  He was best known for Maverick, in which he played the gambler who preferred talking his way out of trouble to using a gun, and for The Rockford Files, in which he played an ex-cop, ex-con private eye who lived in a trailer, looked after his dad, and often had to use the bus because his car wasn’t running.  Even though I enjoyed watching Garner for years, there was an aspect of his personality I was totally unaware of.  Every tribute I read mentioned his “volatile temper.”  He was known for punching people who irritated him, sometimes if they just said the wrong thing.  Most of the tributes found this quality commendable.

Yet, explosive anger—rage—is often a destructive thing.  Karen Peterson wrote in USA Today:

Bad tempers are on display everywhere.  The media report incidents of road rage, airplane rage, biker rage, surfer rage, grocery store rage, rage at youth sports activities.  Leading social scientists say the nation is in the middle of an anger epidemic that, in its mildest form, is unsettling, and, at its worst, turns deadly.[1]

All of us know people who explode into anger with little or no warning.  Maybe you’re one of them.

Do you shout at people you think have crossed you?  Do you snap at people without warning?  Are relatives and friends overly compliant around you, always eager to eat where you want to eat, to watch what you want to watch, do what you want to do?  Do you suspect people think you have a short fuse?  For obvious reasons you shouldn’t feel safe just because people haven’t told you about it.

Some people are able to control families and churches with just the threat of losing their temper.

The Bible says a lot about anger.  It recognizes a place for some anger.  Yet, it does so with the ever-present warning about the danger of the hot-temper.

A hot temper can stunt your spiritual growth and nullify your witness.

Progress Delayed

Ideally, as we’ve seen in Galatians, we are on a pilgrimage toward Christlikeness.  We ought to be progressing toward the goal of becoming more and more like Christ—the man who was infinitely patient.  A hot temper can slow you down, delay your progress. 

It makes it hard for us to hear the voice of God as he speaks to us.  No wonder, it’s hard to hear when our hearts are filled with anger, malice, and ill-will toward others.

As a consequence, you’re stuck at a place you should have already moved from.  Let’s face it:  Tantrums belong to infancy.

Your hot temper may make it difficult for your church to do and be what is should be.  Whether it’s your style to rant or to pout, to rage or to sulk, you may keep your church from doing what God may be leading it to do because people are afraid of your reaction to change.  One good threat can overrule the desire of many.

Years ago a friend of mine visited a church on a Wednesday night.  He found himself attending the church’s business meeting.  He sat through the usual reports and then the pastor asked for new business.  Someone recommended the church take a certain course of action.

This received general approval.  But one member—a wealthy member—angrily objected.  He stormed out of the meeting.  The pastor turned to an associate to say, “Go get him, we can’t afford to lose him.”  So, the status quo was maintained in response to an outburst of anger.  That man had learned that if he could get his way with angry threats, he didn’t need to come up with valid objections to any course of action he didn’t approve.

The Greatest Tragedy

The greatest tragedy in allowing free rein to a hot temper is that it blocks the flow of Christ’s love through you.  We are to be channels of Christ’s love to a weary world.  How can we be what we’re supposed to be if that channel is blocked with anger and rage?

Paul writes very pointedly of what can happen when we allow our anger to rule our lives.  He wrote to the Ephesians

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  ³¹ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Eph 4:30-31 (ESV)

Paul links grieving the Holy Spirit, breaking God’s heart, to allowing anger to characterize our lives rather than a loving spirit of Christlikeness. 
          Both James and Paul would agree that whatever “righteousness” might be seen in our lives is a product of God’s work.  One of the promises of the gospel is the promise that the Spirit will work in us to make us more like Jesus.  How can any observer believe that is happening when they see a Christian in the midst of a temper fit?

The truth is, habitual outbursts of temper may cause that observer to wonder if Christ has made any impact on us at all.

Tempering Your Temper

Christians who have low-boiling points, hot tempers, short fuses, seem to respond in one of two ways.

--Excessive self-justification.  They defend their behavior and actions, even to the point of saying God approves of their responses to life—after all, he made them this way.

--Excessive self-recrimination.  These folks know they need to change; they even yearn to change.  But they don’t know what to do.

To the first group, the Bible offers a stern warning.  To the second group, the Bible offers a way of deliverance. 

I believe the following are some Biblical principles for dealing with your temper. 

1. Adopt a Biblical self-image.  (“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”  Romans 12:3) 

Karen Peterson’s speaks to this point when she talks about the causes of rage:

Experts searching for causes [of runaway rage] blame an increasing sense of self-importance, the widespread feeling that things should happen my way.”[2]

There are other factors, of course, but this sense of self-importance is one of the most significant.  Leslie Charles says we have developed a sense of entitlement.  She reports that this leads to the notion that “life should be easy.  People should get out of my way.  My child should win at this game.”

When Paul said “do not think more highly of yourselves than you ought to think” he was laying the foundation for a realistic self-esteem.

Fits of temper are often tools of manipulation.  When you adopt a Biblical self-image, you’ll not try to control others with your anger.  Instead, you will ask yourself, “What right to I have to force my will on another free person?”

2.  Work toward an adult attitude toward life.

One counselor says we need to deal with anger, in part, by “setting aside idealistic myths.”  It’s childish to expect everything to go your way.

Your boss is your boss, not your mother.  Your boss may never say, “Your idea is so much better than the home office’s, it’s certainly better than mine.”  Your boss may not treat you with the respect you think you deserve but that’s no excuse to rage at your spouse, your children, your dog.

If you’re driving home with 100,000 other drivers on a road built for 50,000, you should expect some bottlenecks and delays.  Check out a good book on tape.

Stop taking things personally.  The grocery store didn’t ask two or three checkers to stay home just so you’d have to stand in line.

3.  Learn to anticipate some anger-producing situations.

You’ve had enough experience to know that being around some people can trigger your anger.  Be ready to be patient, be witty, or be gone.

4.  Don’t store up anger.

Charles says we should beware of “…a fuming, unrelenting sense of anger, hostility and alienation that simmers for months, even years, without relief.  Eventually, all it takes is a triggering incident, usually a minor one for the hostile person to go ballistic.”

When an explosion is so out of proportion to the apparent cause that people say, “Where did that come from?” you can be fairly sure it is fueled by a store of angry feelings.

I’m no expert in these matters but I know that many devices, like air compressors, have what is called a “pressure relief valve.”  This valve is designed to open when a dangerous level of pressure is reached, whether that pressure is caused by a malfunction or some other problem.  Usually, the excess pressure is released in a controlled manner in a safe environment.  Without the pressure relief valve, the device could explode.  Many people need a personal pressure relief valve.  If they store up anger, they might one day explode.

Deal with your anger in a healthy manner.  When Paul said we shouldn’t let the sun go down on our anger, he knew what he was talking about.

5.  Don’t allow anger to close your ears to wise counsel.

Early in David’s life, before he became Israel’s king, a boorish man named Nabal insulted him.  David made plans to kill him.  Fortunately, Abigail, Nabal’s wife, was much wiser than he was.  She intervened and persuaded David to spare her husband’s life.  Had David not listened he would have become an outlaw and a brigand.

Listening for a moment may spare you a lifetime of regret.

6.  Pursue appropriate ways to display anger.

Anger isn’t wrong.  We may display our anger inappropriately—explosive rage, retaliation, gossip, passive aggression are some examples.  An appropriate way to display your anger may involve what one textbook calls “assertive anger.”  The writers say:

When we express our anger assertively, we preserve our sense of self-worth, our need, and our convictions while at the same time considering the needs and feelings of others.  When we express our anger assertively rather than aggressively, we actually enable our relationship to grow stronger.  Assertive anger is a mark of personal maturity and stability.

Taking this course will involve using reasonable, measured words to express your anger.  It will mean staking a claim for emotional freedom.  It will mean holding on to the notion that you matter—and that others matter too.

7.  Recognize there may be times when you simply must surrender your anger.

There are some circumstances that just won’t allow you to express your anger.  Rather than taking that anger in and allowing it to fester, rather than suppressing it, rather than allowing it to control you, you’ve chosen let it go and to pursue a new life. 

8.  Allow God’s Spirit to produce his fruit in your life. 

Giving unrestrained vent to our anger can sadden the Spirit of God.  At the same time, allowing God’s Spirit freedom to work in our lives to generate the virtues that will increase our likeness to Christ will give joy to the Spirit.  According to Paul, in Galatians 5:22-23, one of those virtues is “self-control.”

Conclusion

For the past few minutes I’ve been speaking to those of you who want to change.  Some of you see no reason for change.  Your temper gets you what you want.  Just remember, someday the bill for your behavior will come due.

If you’ve been the victim of such a temper, ask God for the strength to stand up for yourself.

Now, let me speak, again, to those who want to change.  Maybe you’ve seen the shocked, hurt expression on the face of your wife, your children, of some other loved one you’ve just snapped at.  You feel self-revulsion because you seem unable to control that angry beast:  your temper.  You sense the protective barriers put up by your family whenever you’re around.

Each time you give vent to an outburst you feel ashamed, but helpless to stop yourself—no matter how many resolutions you make.  Maybe you’ve even stopped apologizing for those outbursts because an apology seems so hypocritical.  You wonder if there is any hope.

There is.  Victory seldom comes without struggle.  But through his Spirit, God has provided the means to confront and ultimately conquer the angry beast.  Even if that beast is living within you. 

---

[1] “Why Everyone Is So Short-Tempered,” 18 July 2000.

[2] Ibid, emphasis mine.

What a Community of Grace Looks Like

Galatians: A Study of Christian Freedom

Lesson 20:    What a Community of Grace Looks Like                       Galatians 6:1-5

The letter is nearly finished.  Paul has passionately defended the gospel of grace.  But his work isn’t done.  It’s easy to forget the Galatian congregations were probably a mess at this point.  The doctrinal struggle had probably resulted in charges and counter-charges.  Some members had behaved as if they stood on the moral high ground just because of their diet.  Some members may have tried to hold on to the gospel of grace but inwardly worried that the Judaizers might be right.  Above all, the day-to-day caring for one another had been neglected.  Paul needed to remind them of what a community of grace looks like.

6 My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, 

The battle is ongoing, the battle between that side of us that prefers to go it alone, to get along without God and that side that has been redeemed, that knows “how great a debtor” we are to grace.  And, sometimes, the fleshly side wins.  

Notice how Paul begins this discussion:  “My friends,” not “You pitiful, weak hypocrites.”  It is literally “my brothers,” which is understood to inclusive, meaning '“brothers and sisters.”  There is an implication to the word adelphos that may have a place here.  The word often is used to imply someone is of equal rank.  (Mounce)  If that’s the idea here, Paul may intend for the Galatians to understand that every Christian is susceptible to the danger he discusses.

To be “detected in a transgression” does not mean a church member was discovered to be sinning.  It is not as if the congregation woke up one Sunday morning to read a story in the Galatian Dispatch about the church treasurer being arrested for embezzling from the bank where he worked.  There’s no doubt Paul has in mind someone who has done wrong but an element in their failure involved letting their guard down.  To put it in terms from the previous chapter, it is as if they had neglected to keep checking the nails on their crucified flesh.  This is why several translations use “overtaken in some transgression” to convey the idea.  

But the emphasis here is not so much on how or why their fellow believers had sinned as it is on how those believers who were “spiritual” (those keeping in step with the Spirit) responded to then.

you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one 

Those who are “spiritual” or “who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit” are to
“restore” the one who has fallen into sin.  The word "restore" means “to restore to a forfeited condition, to reinstate.”  It is the same word used in the Gospels to describe James and John repairing their fishing nets.  In a sense, Paul was calling on the Galatians to repair the fallen ones so they might be returned to a useful condition.  

This clearly implies the fallen are not beyond redemption; they are not to be discarded as if forever lost either to the fellowship or to usefulness.  

What Paul does not say and what the Galatians would have probably understood is that the fallen would have acknowledged their failure, repented, and sought restoration.  To have welcomed back the unrepentant would have been to trivialize their sin; to have refused to welcome the repentant would have been to underestimate the sacrifice of Christ. 

The church fails when it is either indifferent to sin or too stingy with forgiveness.

This restoration is not done with finger-pointing and shaming, instead it is to be done in a spirit of gentleness. The fallen one would not be asked to wear a scarlet letter; but, instead, would be genuinely forgiven and embraced by the community.  

This “gentleness” is part of the fruit of the Spirit and reflects Christ’s own dealing with sinners.  

Not only are we to be gentle in restoring the fallen, we are to be thoughtful and humble.  There is no room for a holier-than-thou pride.  As Paul says, Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.  J. B. Philips translates it this way, “You should quietly set him back on the right path, not with any feeling of superiority but being yourselves on guard against temptation.”

Dr. Huber Drumright, who taught for many years at Southwestern Seminary, told of overhearing a student’s comment about another student who had fallen into sexual sin, “I would never let that happen to me.”  Dr. Drumwright then added, “About a year later, it became known that that boastful student fell prey to temptation and had an affair with another student’s wife.”  

Paul moves from restoring the fallen to another aspect of life within the Christian community.  He calls on the believers to…

² Bear one another’s burdens, 

Caring for others within the Christian community not only involves those occasions when a fellow-believer falls, it involves an ongoing commitment to help them face the challenges of living.  

Let’s look at the word “burdens.”  The Greek word literally refers to that which is very heavy.  While baros refers to the weight of an object, it has some figurative uses referring to “anything grievous and hard to be borne;” so some translations use “troubles” or “problems” to get at Paul’s meaning.  At the same time, the root word baro refers to “pressure,” as in barometer (a device that measures atmospheric pressure);  keep in mind how we often refer to individuals who are living under pressure.

These are not carefree saints living in a trouble-free environment.  These are individuals who face tough situations and challenges that sometimes threaten to crush them.  You know, real people.

Their “burdens” might take many forms:  Sickness, poverty, family conflict, and so on.  Whatever form their burdens may take, these people often need a helping hand to keep going under the weight of living.  

Paul sees this helping hand as a way to “fulfill the law of Christ,” the law of love. As Paul has already made clear, this love demonstrates itself in real, practical ways.  

Of course, even in the church there are those who do not feel inclined to “fulfill the law of Christ,” choosing instead to play the role of critic because they believe they are above failure. They have no inclination toward “gentleness” and its attendant humility.

Paul has some words for them.

³ For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 

Earlier in the letter, Paul made it clear there were individuals who saw themselves as superior to their fellow believers; they considered their allegiance to the old law as evidence of a greater commitment.  Paul knocks the pins out from under any such claim.  This “somebody” is really a “nobody” who has only succeeded in “hoodwinking” himself.

British scholar R. A. Cole commented:

A more crushing assessment could hardly be made of one who, at best, can have been nothing than a large frog in a small pool.  But Paul is probably thinking more of the poor man’s spiritual state than of his unimportance….

Perhaps Paul’s choice of the word here is is governed by the fact that such a man has been ‘too clever by half,' as the colloquial tongue has it.  He has succeeded in taking himself in, although he has deceived nobody else….

Paul’s observation notwithstanding, these self-deceived “nobodies” are often given more credit than they deserve and, consequently, are allowed to create havoc as they challenge church leadership and urge harsh treatment for the brother who failed.  

Years later, Paul would instruct the Romans, “Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought to think.”  It’s easy to imagine Paul was thinking of these individuals—who likely were the Judaizing teachers and their more ardent disciples—when he wrote to the Romans.

A more intelligent approach to self-evaluation is found in the next verse.

⁴ All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. 

It is truly tempting to paraphrase this verse as “Mind your own business.”  

If it were only that simple; this is a strange verse.  It’s hard to picture Paul endorsing “pride” in the as a proper pursuit for the Christian.  It doesn’t seem to fit the context where “meekness” and humility have been such prominent themes.

The Amplified version offers:  “ But let every person carefully scrutinize and examine and test his own conduct and his own work. He can then have the personal satisfaction and joy of doing something commendable [in itself alone] without [resorting to] boastful comparison with his neighbor.”  

That helps to a degree but it seems to take a long way around to make the point.  Could it be  that Paul is saying this with tongue-in-cheek?

How would this self-evaluation proceed?  Such testing demands we focus on who we are and what we are doing in the broadest sense as Christians.

Any Christian would do well to ask—

• Am I a believer because of my own spiritual intuition or because of the call of the
  Spirit?  (Good Christians debate matters such as “election,” but most agree we are believers because of God took the first step toward us.)
• Did God take me into His Kingdom because of my piety and holiness?  (Paul called himself “the chief of sinners” and honest Christians have admitted that term might well be theirs.)
• Have I always successfully resisted temptation?  (I want to meet the Christian who says “Yes” to that question; or, maybe, I don’t.)
• Am I always dependent upon God’s grace?  (Countless hymns have made it clear that every believer is a debtor to God’s grace.)
• If this is a true picture of who I am—a sinner saved by grace—do I have any reason to be proud?

The Christian worker might ask—

• Am I always as faithful to my work as I should be? (The honest Christian worker would admit to times of when priorities were confused.)
• Am I always successful in my labors for the Kingdom?  (Again, the honest worker will admit to failures along with successes.)
• When I am successful, is it because of my own abilities or because of the power of the Spirit working through me?  (Again, honest workers would admit their successes were “…not accompanied by clever, wise words, but by a display of the Spirit's power….”—I Cor. 2:4)
• If my successes depend upon the Spirit, do I have any reason for pride?  (The obvious answer is “No.”)

Anyone coming to these conclusions, would hardly have any grounds for judging others.

The enduring lesson concerns the folly of comparisons. 

⁵ For all must carry their own loads. 

These words are not a contradiction to what Paul said earlier.  The two verses use two different words, baros and phortion, both sometimes translated as “burdens.”  Vine explains how to understand them:  “The difference between phortion and baros is, that phortion is simply ‘something to be borne,’ without reference to its weight, but baros always suggests what is ‘heavy or burdensome.’”  When Jesus said, “my burden is light,” he used phortion.

J. B. Philips translates the verse as “every man must ‘shoulder his own pack.'”  It’s an interesting image that reflects the fact that some commentaries say the word referred to the soldier’s backpack, however, I can’t find confirmation in the standard Greek dictionaries so this may be taking too much liberty with the verse.  The ERV translates it as “ Assume your own responsibility.”  That’s not especially literal but gets to the point.  

Whatever this burden may be, it appears to be a personal, private, unique possession. (Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament)

[Kenneth Wrest’s comment is worth quoting at length (on the blog but not from the pulpit); he argues that Paul is attempting to force his readers to think seriously about their own weaknesses and inclinations to sin.  

Here he exhorts the saints to bear their own burdens. This is doubtless an intentional paradoxical antithesis on the part of the apostle. It is the Christian who knows that he has a burden of his own, namely, a susceptibility to certain sins, and who has fallen himself, who is willing to bear his neighbor’s burden. Again, when each man’s self-examination reveals infirmities of his own, even though they may not be the same as those of his neighbors, he will not claim moral and spiritual superiority to others. Furthermore, each saint should bear his own burden in the sense that he must recognize his personal responsibilities towards God and man. He is responsible for the kind of life he lives. Again, when he sees his own failings, he will have no inclination to compare himself with others. The word own is from idios, which means “pertaining to one’s self, one’s own as compared to that which is another’s.” ]

All in all, a review of commentaries shows there are two common interpretations of this verse.  

1. Paul is calling on his readers to recognize that all believers—themselves included—bear the burden being inclined toward sin.  As such, we have no warrant to judge others.  This inclination will vary from person to person, with individuals being susceptible to different temptations.  Paul does seem to suggest this in Romans 7:7-8 but is he here?  
2. Others see the two verses (2 and 5) saying there are some burdens we must have help carrying and there are some burdens that are our responsibility and ours alone.  I think this is the more likely interpretation.

What are these responsibilities that are ours and ours alone?  

Certainly, no one can repent on your behalf.  You must recognize your rebellion against God, surrender, and submit to his rule.

No one can have faith on your behalf.  You alone must trust Christ for salvation.  

No one can grow in grace on your behalf.  Tempting as it might be, you can’t sleep in on Sunday morning, pay someone to go to church for you, and expect to grow spiritually.

I could go on but you get the basic idea.  

These are our burdens and unless we pick them up, we Christians in name only.

Concluding observations:

Let me revisit a couple matters.

Regarding the task of restoring the fallen.

Keep in mind that restoring the fallen aims primarily at restoring them to fellowship.  It is within the fellowship that there is the greatest opportunity for renewing strength and commitment.  

If the one who experienced some moral failure was involved in the ministry of the church, restoration may not necessarily involve restoration to the position they held before the fall.  That may come about later but not immediately.

For that matter, restoration sometimes takes time.  Here the patience and kindness that is part of the fruit of the Spirit will play a key role.

Regarding the bearing of burdens.

While it’s possible to distinguish two types of “burdens” in thesethses verses, the two are not entirely unconnected.  Personal faith is an individual’s responsibility, a burden that person must bear.  But sometimes individuals face threats to their faith that may take the form of the crushing burden of verse 2.  It may be some personal tragedy that causes them to question God’s goodness or the claim of skeptics that undermine the grounds of their faith.  We can be there to help them bear those burdens through support and counsel.

As we learn to restore the fallen and support the burdened, we will discover how to be a community of grace.

Cultivating the Orchard

Galatians: A Study of Christian Freedom

Lesson 19:    The Spirit’s Orchard, Part Two:  Cultivating the Orchard  Galatians 5:24-25

Will we let the Spirit do his work? The last lesson ended with that question.  While “the fruit of the Spirit” is not the product of our own effort, we can order our lives to promote its development. or we can allow conditions to exist that will impede the orchard’s development.  That reality shapes Paul’s admonition ending this chapter.

²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus

These words describe a certain class of people.  Paul is describing  “those who belong to Christ Jesus.”  In other words, he is talking about Christians.  But not those who are Christians in name only.  As will be clear, he is speaking of those who have undergone the life-transforming work of the Spirit in their lives.  To try to generate the qualities Paul has just described on  our own is to embark on a path of failure.  

At the same time, Paul is telling those claiming to be among “those who belong to Christ Jesus” that exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit in their lives should be a given.  

But how?  Paul gives a twofold answer.  

 First, such Christians who hope to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in their lives have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

Paul has been contrasting a life controlled by the flesh and a life controlled by the Spirit.  You will remember that the “flesh” is that aspect of our being that attempts to get along without God, either in open rebellion against God or in the attempt to accomplish on our own that which only God can accomplish in our lives.  Those who are unredeemed order their lives by  the dictates of the flesh, even when their outward behavior seems to have a religious, even spiritual, quality.  You will remember we said that the flesh is that which is broken about us, desperately needs to be fixed, and which we cannot fix on our own.  Ironically, it is the nature of the flesh to persuade us to attempt to fix what is broken about us on our own.  Even after our conversion, the flesh is still part of who we are.  But Paul says we do not have to allow the flesh to have the upper hand.  He tells us the flesh may be crucified.

What does he mean?  Those reading this letter in the Galatian churches knew that crucifixion was a means of execution used by the Romans.  They would have known, of course, that Jesus had been crucified.  All across the empire, rebels were regularly crucified; they would not incite insurrection ever again.  All across the empire, murderers were regularly crucified; they would not threaten the lives of others ever again.  All across the empire, thieves were regularly crucified; they would not show contempt for the property rights of others ever again.  Crucifixion was an effective way to deal with troublemakers.  

In picturing the flesh nailed to a cross, Paul was saying that Christians should deal with this part of their being in a decisive, manner. Then, the flesh—that troublemaker—would not impede the believer’s growth toward Christlikeness ever again.

Can you believe The Wizard of Oz is 75 years old?  Do you remember the scene where the Munchkins discover that Dorothy’s house has fallen on and killed the Wicked Witch of the East? The Munchkins begin dancing around singing “the wicked witch is dead.”  They were free from her power.

Paul wanted the Galatians to be free from the power of the flesh.

Again, how?  We can speak of believers’ crucifying the flesh but what does Paul have in mind.

One thing he didn’t have in mind was the interpretation some Christian groups have given these verses and others like them where Paul instructs us:  “Mortify or put to death your worldly impulses.” (Col. 3:5)  Some believed Paul was recommending severe punishment to drive out impulses that might lead to sin.  Some monks believed they were to never allow themselves enough sleep, never eat until satisfied, and wear coarse hair shirts or lay for hours on the cold stone floor of the monastery.  Others attempted to suppress their impulses by flagellation, beating themselves or allowing themselves to be beaten with a lash.  Martin Luther, as a monk, engaged in some such behaviors until his mentor told him to stop the nonsense.

While Paul does not have such behavior in mind, he is telling us that this aspect of our spiritual pilgrimage is our responsibility.  He tells us these model believers have “crucified their flesh.” Like them, we need to take a firm and decisive action against the impulses that would lead us to give in to the varied “passions and desires” claiming our allegiance.  

Walter Hansen says that this self-crucifixion…

“…means that Christians have said an absolute, unconditional no to all their sinful desires and passions. Renunciation of evil…is a practical everyday discipline.  When my sinful nature subtly suggest paging through a pornographic magazine, I shout a defiant no to my sinful nature.  When I hear a juicy bit of gossip and start to repeat it, I close my mouth and say ‘no way’ to my sinful desire.  When another Christian criticizes me unfairly and my flesh screams for revenge, I say ‘absolutely not’ to my sinful passion.”

Most of us could take Hansen’s list and expand it to cover “a multitude of sins.”  We could certainly apply the principle to the attitudes mentioned in verse 26,  “ Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another”; we’ve treated this passage already but you can see how denying such impulses a say in our behavior would change so much.  But the point is, every time we say “No” to our crucified flesh we drive the nails a little deeper.  At the same time, when we say “No” to our crucified flesh we can hear the Spirit say, “I’ve got your back.”  We are not in the battle alone.

Our flesh robbed of its influence is one part of Paul’s vision for our lives; the other part of his vision involves replacing the old fleshly directive with a new spiritual directive.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 

This admonition takes us back to the question Paul asked in chapter three:  “Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by way of the flesh?”  Paul assumes his readers now have reaffirmed that they “live by the Spirit,” that their regenerated condition is the product of the Spirit’s work in their lives.  That being so, it only follows that we should be “guided by the Spirit.”  

What Paul says is based on the New Testament teaching that every believer has received the gift of the Spirit.  That being said, Paul also seems to suggest that not every believer is being guided by the Spirit.  That’s a situation Paul hopes to correct.

Historically, the church has sometimes shied away from the thought of the Spirit being active in the life of each believer.  Church leaders have feared the notion would lead to excesses.  Yet the positive benefits of the Spirit’s guidance in the lives of individual Christians so far outweighs the threat of possible problems in the lives of confused saints that we should be more concerned to never “quench” the Spirit.  The truth is, the Spirit will help us avoid the excesses.

Paul’s thought is captured in Peterson’s paraphrase of the command:  “Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.”

The phrase translated as “walk in the Spirit” or “keep in step with the Spirit” literally means to have our conduct framed by the Spirit.  This would involve the Spirit shaping all of our lives, not simply at church but wherever we are.

This is the second part of Paul’s vision for our lives, that we be “guided by the Spirit.”  

But, how does this take place?

The Spirit guides through the Scripture.  The Bible consistently teaches that it is the product of the Spirit’s inspiration, the Scriptures are said to be “God-breathed.”  When we properly interpret the Scripture, we hear the Voice of the Spirit teaching us, correcting us, and guiding us.  That’s important because Paul would have insisted the Galatians could not find their return to legalism sanctioned in Scripture.

This doesn't mean you will find directives for every issue you may face in your pilgrimage, but the Spirit can help us take the material we find in the Scripture and weave it into a course to take.

The Spirit guides through the Church.  In Acts 16, we are allowed to observe a episode in the life of the church at Antioch.  Luke reports:  “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me to do the work for which I called them.’ Then they fasted and prayed, laid their hands on them, and let them go.”  While such remarkable experiences may not be commonplace, the Spirit very often still speaks with the voice of the church.

The Spirit speaks through the church’s formal structures such as its preaching, its singing, its confession of faith.  Because the Spirit is “the Spirit of truth,” this assumes the church is being faithful in proclaiming the Biblical message.

But the Spirit also guides in our more informal contact with our fellow believers.  It may be over dinner, on the golf course, or in a casual, unplanned conversation. 

Then, too, the Spirit may guide you in other ways, perhaps through the words of a Christian author who may have died long before you were born or who you're unlikely to ever meet.

The Spirit guides through direct, personal impressions.  Of course, we’ve all experienced pangs of conscience.  That may well be the Spirit calling us on the wrong we may have done or the good we have neglected to do.  That’s a common experience.  But these personal impressions also include those occasions when we sense the Spirit prompting us to claim God would have us take a specific course of action.

This is the matter that frightened Christian leaders the most.  The mere claim to such personal impressions was one reason Anne Hutchinson was banished from Massachusetts.  And, of course, some Christians have tragically confused the wrong voice for the voice of the Spirit.  But when Christians recall that the Spirit will never contradict the Scripture or usually coincides with the counsel of their fellow believers, they may feel comfortable considering those impressions.

In 1958, Pastor David Wilkerson picked up a copy of Life magazine and saw a picture of several teenage gang members who were on trial in New York city.  He was struck by the anguish on their faces and came to believe the Spirit was directing him to go to the city and begin a ministry to the gangs.  The result was Teen Challenge.  His ministry did not result from attending a youth conference or receiving an impassioned letter from his denominational headquarters; it resulted from the Spirit using a picture in a secular magazine.  

While the Spirit will surely lead Christians into opportunities for ministry, Paul probably is thinking of how being led by the Spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  Of course, it is as that orchard is cultivated and bears fruit, that we become better equipped to face the challenge of ministry.  Indeed, no one is equipped to minister in Christ’s Name unless they are somehow demonstrating the character of Christ.  That character is mirrored in the fruit of the Spirit.

Observations:

Now, I want to spend a little time revisiting a couple matters.

A Note on Hearing the Spirit.  

The TNT series Perception is about a college professor who helps the FBI solve crimes.  Nothing especially unusual about that plot. However, the professor also suffers from schizophrenia; he hears things and see people who aren’t there.  It’s good entertainment but it is fiction.  In reality, people are not always so accepting.

In the minds of many people suggesting that the Spirit might speak to us human beings is grounds for a psych evaluation.  We’ve all read frightening stories of crimes committed by those who claimed to be following the voice of God.  But I’m am not talking about the actions of those with certifiable mental illnesses.  I’m talking about those people who might share pews with us or those in our neighborhoods who might head off to their churches the same time we do on a Sunday morning.

Let me tell you that I have seldom had an experience in which I believed God was telling me something unusual.  In fact, the only such occurrence that might fit occurred years ago in Texas.  One morning I was studying at my desk when an ambulance rushed through town.  I don’t usually chase ambulances—that’s a lawyer thing—but I just felt I needed to follow the path of that ambulance.  I did and about four miles out of town, at an intersection near the grain elevator, I came across a car wreck.  A pick-up had T-boned the small car being driven by a family in the church.  When I arrived the wife—who was most seriously injured—had been loaded into the ambulance but she was resisting the EMTs.  They were unable to restrain her so they could get a IV going and get on the road.  Again, in an uncharacteristic move, I got into the ambulance, took her by the hand, and said, “Sharon, this is Pastor Jim, these people are trying to help you.  You need to settle down.”  She did and the EMTs were able to stabilize her and head to the hospital in Amarillo, forty miles away.

Had the Spirit told me to follow the ambulance?  I don’t know.  Obviously, in a town of eighty-eight, there was a pretty good chance I would know anyone the ambulance had been called to help.  And maybe anyone whose voice was familiar would have gotten through to Sharon.  Still, Sharon and her family were convinced God had put me there at that particular time.

Although I can think of only one occasion where God may have “spoken” to me, directed me to do what I would ordinarily never do, I know people who are constantly saying “God told me….”  The skeptical side of me (which can be pretty prominent at times) can’t help but notice that very often God tells these people to do what they wanted to do in the first place.  At the same time, it often seems some people use “God told me” as a means to end all discussion.  If your argument is weak, dropping a divine endorsement into the debate has a way of causing all but the most ardent opponents to back-off.

On the other hand, I notice there are those occasions in the Bible when God does speak directly to people.  Then, too, there are people I admire very much who occasionally say, “God told me…” and, knowing the depth of their faith, I’m inclined to believe them.

When Paul wrote the Thessalonians, he was aware there were a few skeptics in the congregation, skeptics ready to discount what purported to be God speaking to and through some members.  To these he wrote:  “Don’t suppress the Spirit.  Don’t downplay prophesies.  On the other hand, don’t be gullible.  Check out everything, and keep only what is good.”  That’s good advice when anyone says to you, “God told me….”  Do that and there may be times when you respond to someone claiming to have heard the Spirit’s Voice by saying, “Go for it” and times when you say, “That’s interesting.”

Again, in this context, I believe Paul is more concerned with our hearing the Spirit’s voice instructing us as we long for that time when we will experience “conformity to God’s will in in purpose, thought and action.” (Gal. 5:5 Amp)

The Ideal versus the Real.  

The notion of our fleshly nature never again impeding our growth toward spiritual maturity or Christlikeness is a beautiful ideal.  It gave rise to the medieval legends of saints so pure they hardly seem to be of this world.  More recently, some groups, claiming inspiration from John Wesley, have claimed we may attain moral perfection.  But is it reality?  

The truth is the rebel element of our identity does not want to remain on the cross and has a remarkable capacity to break free no matter how securely we believe we have driven the nails.  In fact, it is often at that moment when we believe the nails are most firmly fixed that the flesh breaks free.

The battle is ongoing.  Paul knows this, as the next chapter confirms.  Our pilgrimage is marked by both victory and defeat.  But it can never be one where we seek a truce.  With the Spirit’s help, we can experience long-term victories but we can never forget the enemy waits to seize the opportunity to sabotage us.  We may celebrate the victories and mourn the defeats but, above all, we depend upon God’s grace.

In 1757, twenty-two-year-old Robert Robinson wrote words still being sung today, words reflecting the quest for the ideal and an acknowledgement of the reality.

O to grace how great a debtor, Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.  Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.

In words that aren’t included in our hymnal, Robinson continues his poem by looking forward to that day when the battle will be over.

O that day when freed from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face;

Clothed then in blood washed linen, How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace…