I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5.17-18
Introduction
Christian friends and all who are listening - Today's worship service encourages us to "walk in the Spirit." In the battle of the heart, the Spirit gives us victory, from vice to virtue, through the cross.
Battlefields
When I was a boy our family visited the national park at Vicksburg, Mississippi, which commemorated the famous Civil War Siege of Vicksburg. I remember visiting the museum where we saw many artifacts and a canon being fired. Battlefields have always given me a sense of awe when I realize how forces of good and evil clashed and how the outcomes determined the future. There are also other kinds of battlefields such as the scientific, political and cultural battlefields that have helped shape the course of this world. But none of these battlefields are as important to you and me as the battlefields I see sitting in front of me in the pews and the battlefield you see standing before you right now. I'm talking about the battlefield of the heart.
Last Sunday's service focused on the devil and the demon Legion and Jesus' power over demons past and present. In that service I also mentioned other enemies of faith: The world and the flesh. The battlefield of the heart is the battle that goes on in our hearts between our flesh, that is, our sinful nature and the Spirit of God. This is the most important battle of all. If it is not won, then no other battle on earth matters. For the remainder of the sermon we'll look at the two opponents on this battlefield.
The Flesh
The New Testament uses the word "flesh" to describe our human nature when it is under the control of sin. The two most important things to know about the "flesh," or our "sinful nature" is that it is evil and that we cannot overcome this evil without the grace of God.
It is not popular today to say that humans are by nature evil. But it is true. One of the main problems with human nature is that it is deluded to think that it is good. Most people will admit that they are not perfect, but overall, they believe their good outweighs the bad. There are three things wrong with this. First, if this were true, the world itself would be basically good. We would need a relatively small number of police and soldiers to protect us. We would need just a few number of lawyers to prevent and inadvertent lie slipping into a contract. Second, if this were true marriages would almost always be "happy ever after," and we wouldn't have to listen to so many songs about unhappy relationships. Third, and most important, very few of us would ever feel guilty or depressed or unsatisfied with the way our lives were going. We would almost always be happy. There would be very few tears in this world. But this is not reality at all.
The Bible clearly says that the flesh, human nature is over all bad. Solomon said in Proverbs 20.6 "Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man?" Jesus said, "No one is good but God" (Mark 10.18). The Apostle said, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3.23). Both human experience and the Bible tell us that human nature is not good by itself. Not only that, we cannot cure this problem on our own. Over an over again people think they can solve this problem with better education, better government, better technology, or a new and better false religion. Generation after generation the problem continues and often gets worse. Especially in our own hearts we know that we cannot overcome our sinful thoughts and desires. Jeremiah famously asked, "Can a leopard change its spots? Then may you do good who are accustomed to evil" (13.23). And here in Galatians Paul said that "You do not do the things that you wish" (5.17).
All people are in this darkness until the light of God's grace and Spirit enters their heart. Even after that the battle against sinful thoughts, desires, feelings and actions continues. In Romans chapter seven Paul complained about this when he said, "Oh wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (7.24-25). Notice he says "that I am," not "that I used to be." In fact the more we grow in our faith and the more we grow closer to God, the more we realize our sinful condition and regret it. But we are still sinners, and we must still pray every day, "Forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" (Matthew 6.12).
Paul goes on to describe life under the power of the sinful nature. He starts with sexual sins probably because these were common and acceptable practices among the Galatians as they are among us today. The word "sensuality" refers to the lack of constraint, and that is the very excuse that the world gives - "I can't help myself." Yes, that is true when you are a slave to sinful nature. He mentions idolatry which, as I mentioned on Trinity Sunday, is the way we create our own gods to worship. Sorcery is pharmacea in Greek and gives us the Engish word "pharmacy." It is very similar to our drug problem today. Although they were not as advanced as we are today, the ancient people had a great desire for potions to control their feelings. Last of all he mentions "orgies." When you get to this, you know you are at the bottom of the pit. Sadly, America is almost there. Within a decade I predict that Christian parents will be telling their children, "You can't go to the orgy." And the children will say, "But everyone is doing it!" Paul warns us all not to be controlled by the flesh saying, "Those who do such things (without regret, repentance or resistance) will not inherit the kingdom of God." They will find themselves in Satan's orgy of eternal suffering and death.
The Spirit
Now, thankfully, he turns us to better things: Walking in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person of God along with the Father and the Son. The Spirit's special work is to come into our hearts through the word of God. The Spirit helps us realize our sin and repent of it. The Spirit gives us faith or trust in the forgiveness of sins which God promises through Jesus' perfect life and His death on the cross for us. This begins to change things in our bodies. To the Corinthians Paul said, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God. You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which you have from God" (1 Corinthians 6.19-20). The power of sin is great. But the power of God is greater. This is how we win the battle of the heart.
Now the apostle describes the life of the Spirit which he calls the "fruit of the Spirit." He lists nine, but to really understand them I think it is best to really concentrate on the the first one: Love. The Bible says that love is the greatest gift of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 13.13). This love is a love for God and for our neighbor. It is the realization that these things matter most in this life. We love God because He first loved us even while were still sinners (1 John 4.19; Romans 5.8). This love is centered in forgiveness, the washing away of our sins. The fruit of the Spirit continues to flow out of this gift of love. We have joy rather than sorrow because our sins are forgiven. We have peace instead of conflict because of our sins are overcome. We can afford to be kind, good and faithful to others because we know that we have been given an endless supply of God's love and support. As we give to others we don't worry about what we are losing because we know that the giving only increases the receiving. This what Jesus meant when He said, "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10.8). Last of all Paul says the Spirit produces the fruit of "gentleness and self-control." The Romans understood self-control. They desired it, but the did not really have it. On the other hand gentleness was a mystery to them. Most would have probably considered it a vice rather than a virtue. Gentleness in their mind was weakness and weakness was death. But their great failure as is the great failure that our world teaches today is that you can muster the strength to live on your own. This approach will fail every time. To the Romans, famous for their self-confidence and self-determination Paul said, "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (8.13). Jesus taught "Whoever would come after Me, let Him deny himself and take up His cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16.24-25). In all our weaknesses of this life we put our faith in God, and therein we find our strength (2 Corinthians 10.12). There is no law against these things. That is, there is nothing bad in them that you should avoid them. These things we pursue, and in them live.
Conclusion
I mentioned the Siege of Vicksburg earlier. It ended on July 4th, 1863. This Tuesday, July 1st marks the beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg. That battle ended on July 3rd. Both battles together marked a huge turning point in the Civil War. It was virtually over at that point. When Jesus successfully battled all the forces of evil on Good Friday and gave His life as a holy ransom for the sins of the whole world, the battle between good and evil reached a tremendous turning point. For Christians this war is virtually over. The only thing left is for us to walk in the Spirit and to follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit is directing the battle for us and winning it. In the battle of the heart, the Spirit gives us victory, from vice to virtue, through the cross. Amen.
Michael P. Walther
Sermon for Third Sunday After Pentecost, July 29, 2025
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Greenville, Illinois
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