True Spirituality | Prelude
This message begins with a critical question for every believer: "How is your Christian life? Is it sweeter each day with Jesus, or is it becoming more bitter? Do you feel stuck?" The sermon explores the nature of true spirituality, which is not a list of rules but a life of liberty found by "walking in the spirit according to Galatians chapter 5." It argues that many Christians are miserable because they have left their first love and will not experience joy until they first admit their true spiritual condition. The key to victory is understanding that the gospel is not just for our justification, but is the very pattern for our sanctification. We are to live a life that "becometh the gospel of Christ," reckoning ourselves crucified with Him, dead to sin, and alive to God. This is God's solution, as "if you walk in the spirit, ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Ultimately, this is a call for believers to stop being "carnal" and to surrender everything—not just sins, but dreams, ambitions, and all that is important—to the lordship of Christ, asking Him to "restore unto me the joy of my salvation."
Published: 7/5/2025
Let me start this morning with a question: How is your Christian life? Is it sweeter each day with Jesus, or is it becoming more bitter? Do you feel stuck, as if you are in a ditch with no movement, no growth, and no change? Are you joyful and peaceful, or are problems and anxieties the only things on your mind?
There is a joy that should be in our hearts, a peace we should feel. We cannot hide what is truly inside us. Are you still zealous for the things of God, or do you now feel forced in your service? Does serving God feel like a heavy burden? Do we still have a passion for souls, a desire to reach those who do not know Christ Jesus?
Remember the time when you were filled with the Holy Spirit? You wanted to hand out tracts, you wanted to greet people at the church door, you wanted to go to preachings, you wanted to share the gospel, and you wanted to bring people to church. Where is that desire now? Where is the passion to reach those who have no relationship with the Lord Jesus? Are you still excited for church? Or do you find yourself dragging your body out of the house, thinking, “Oh no, church again”? Before, your desire was, “Yes, it’s time for church!” but now, has it become a reluctant, “Church again?”
What happened? Before, you did not want to go home; you wanted to stay and have fellowship. Now, you are in a hurry to leave. Do you get irritated when others are excited about the Lord, when someone shouts, “Jesus!” and you think to yourself, “That’s just too much”? Are you bitter or envious toward someone here in the church? Are you afraid of being replaced? Have we become calloused to what we learn from the Bible? I believe many of us have learned a lot from the Bible, but have we simply heard it and let it go out the other ear? Or do you have secret sins you refuse to admit?
This message is not meant to bring us down. It is designed to help, because you cannot get out of quicksand until you first admit you are in it. You cannot escape your situation if you do not first admit that you need help. Until you say, “Lord, help me in my situation. I am miserable. I need you,” you will not be helped by God. Without His help, you are like someone in quicksand, sinking lower and lower.
So that is the question, my friends and brethren. How is our Christian life? Perhaps there is a difference between your life now and your life when you first came to know the Lord. When you first understood the gospel, you were excited. You always wanted to learn, to fellowship, and to be with other Christians. But now, you would rather not. What happened? There is a problem, and if we do not acknowledge it—if we do not say, “Lord, I have left my first love, which is You”—we can neither return to where we once were, nor can we grow. What we need is a realization of our present condition and our need for God in our lives.
The Necessity of True Spirituality
This topic, which I believe will become a series, is all about true spirituality. What does it mean to be truly spiritual? Who is the spiritual person? Is it the one who knows many verses? Is it the one you always see in church? Let’s admit that even if we are always here, sometimes we are just forcing ourselves to come. And why do we force ourselves? Perhaps because we are more afraid of being asked why we were absent.
We are going to talk about true spirituality. If we learn how to be a truly spiritual person, walking in the spirit according to Galatians chapter 5, then we will be living truly in liberty. God does not want us to feel like we are in a prison, unable to move, always worried about what others will say. God does not want us to have that kind of view of ourselves and our Christian life. When we learn true spirituality, we will understand these things and we will enjoy our Christian life. But if we do not learn how to be a truly spiritual person, we will never enjoy it. You will think it is always about rules, always about a list of things to do. But it is not so.
Spirituality is a very necessary topic, one that new believers ought to learn and be educated in. Sadly, many who have trusted Christ are ignorant of this subject. And rightfully so, because many religions and many churches do not know true spirituality. To them, spirituality is a list of rules—a list of dos and don'ts. You must be like this; you cannot be like that. But spirituality is more than that; it is beyond that, deeper than that, and broader than that. It is not just a list. By the grace of God, you do not need a list to be truly spiritual, because you have a pattern to follow in the Bible.
Ignorance of this very doctrine will lead to defeat in our Christian life. You can be singing “Rejoice in the Lord,” but your face is not rejoicing. Why? Because there is no joy in your heart. You have left your first love; you have replaced God with something else, prioritizing something higher than the God who created you and me. That is why there is no joy. Remember, Galatians 5:22 says the fruit of the Spirit is joy. If you are not walking in the Spirit, no joy will be produced. That is why you are sad, and I am sad. If you are a “sad boy” or a “sad girl,” it simply means you are not walking in the Spirit. It means we are not in the Lord, not in the will of God. We need to be shaken up and disciplined to feel something again, because our hearts have become calloused.
This topic deals with how we, as believers in Christ, ought to live according to the Scripture in a very practical sense. For some of us, the Christian life is only for church. When you go home, when you are a student, an employee, a husband, or a child, your Christianity disappears, or you fail to apply the Scriptures in whatever context you are in. But the Christian life is not just about being here in church. The Christian life extends even to when you are alone in the dark. Wherever you are, you are a Christian by the grace of God, and you should be a Christian anywhere and everywhere you go. We are Christians at home, in the kitchen, and even in traffic when the light turns green and the car in front of you doesn't move. You are still a Christian. Your identity as a Christian does not disappear just because something unpleasant happened.
The Gospel: The Key to Justification and Sanctification
Many Christians know these truths, but few reckon on them and yield to them. Our salvation has tenses: past, present, and future. For the past, we use the word justification. For the future, glorification. And for the present? Sanctification. True spirituality deals with the present; it deals with sanctification, our current life here on this earth while we have not yet been raptured or passed away. God saved us, but not to take us immediately to heaven. If that were His desire, we would already be there. The process from the moment you were saved until you die or are raptured is called sanctification. It is the work of God in a believer while he is here on Earth, and it currently depends on us whether we want to grow in the Lord or not. True spirituality is about sanctification, about living a holy life in the present.
And let me repeat, this is not based on how well you can follow a list or meet the expectations of other people. Sanctification and holiness are based on our relationship with the Lord, on how well we are yielding to the Holy Ghost. The more we are yielded to the Holy Spirit, the more holy our living will become. For example, if you teach modesty to someone who is not spiritual, it is just a law to them—legalism. But if you teach modesty to a spiritual person, they will do it willingly from their own heart, unto the Lord. They do it not because they are forced or pressured by what others might say. That is the weakness of the law; if there is no law, there is nothing to obey. However, when it comes to spirituality, it does not matter if there is a law or not. What is important is what pleases my God. And if this pleases my God, I don't care what you say; I am pleasing my Jesus. True spirituality is greater than the law, because you do not need a law to be spiritual.
It is sad how many things we Bible believers know, yet we are criticized. We know so much, we can rightly divide everything, and there is nothing wrong with that; God commanded it. But you will be assailed when you know so much about the Bible, yet your life is a mess. It is good to preach a Christ who died for our sins, but it is better to preach a Christ who changed my life, who changed your life. That is a great testimony against a world that does not believe in God. If our lives are not consistent with the Word of God, we can become blasphemous in the eyes of men. We say we believe in a holy God, but we do not live a holy life. We say we believe God is a Spirit, but we are not spiritual. We say we believe God knows all things and makes no mistakes, but we do not trust Him completely, thinking we have a better way to do things than Him.
Let us turn to Philippians chapter 1, verse 27: “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.” The gospel is essential for our justification, for us to be declared righteous before a holy God. You need to understand that Christ died and paid for our sins, that His blood was the payment. We must recognize that we are justified by faith in the gospel of Christ, and in God’s sight, our sin has been paid for. Justification cannot be by our own way; it must be God’s way, and God’s way is the finished work of Christ. You come with empty hands and simply receive salvation. The moment we believe, we are justified, passed from death to life, transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son.
But here is the question: if you have been transferred, why does your life sometimes still look like it belongs to the kingdom of darkness? Why does it seem you are still living for Satan, far from God? This is the issue of sanctification. And if the gospel was the solution for you to be saved, the gospel is still the solution for how you live. Philippians 1:27 tells us to let our conduct, our way of life, become the gospel. How does a Christian live his life? The same way he was saved. Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ,” nailing his affections and lusts to the cross. I am dead to sin, but I am alive with Christ to walk in newness of life. Death, burial, and resurrection—this is the pattern. As the song says, “That I might learn to see myself upon the cross of Jesus Christ.” Have you died? Have you signed the warrant of your own execution? Have you come to the end of yourself and all your resolutions?
The crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ are historical facts. If that happened in history, and the way to live as a Christian is also the gospel, then it must also be happening in us in the present moment. Right now, I should be crucified to my affections and lusts. In the present moment, I should be dead to my sin. In the present moment, my life should be for the Lord, alive unto God, walking in newness of life. The finished work of Christ is not only the basis of our justification but also the basis of our sanctification. It is the basis not only for how you are saved, but also for how you can live without sinning while you are here on this earth.
In Romans chapter 6, verse 11, the Bible says, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Are we doing that? Have we reckoned ourselves dead to our sin? When you sin, it means that in that moment, you did not consider yourself dead to sin. You may say, “But preacher, I have so much on my mind, and sometimes people are just so annoying.” That is true, but that is why we need the renewing of our mind. If the Word of God is not stored in us, then whatever is stored there will come out. If you store gossip, gossip will come out of your mouth. If you store hatred and anger, that will come out. If we want to reckon ourselves dead to sin, then what Philippians 4:8 says must be in our minds: “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
When we believe the gospel, the Father becomes our Father—this is a literal truth. The Son becomes one with us—we are in Him and He is in us. And the Holy Ghost comes to live inside every one of us who is saved. Do you believe that? Or is the indwelling Holy Ghost just an imaginary concept to you? My brothers and sisters, the Holy Ghost in every believer is a literal truth, not an imaginary one. If I say, “Christ liveth in me,” I believe it because His Spirit is literally in me, in this fleshly tabernacle, right now as I speak. If you truly believe that, then you ought to live according to that truth. If you believe the Holy Ghost is in you, you must not grieve the Holy Spirit; you must not quench the Holy Spirit. When He says, “Child, that is enough,” we must stop, yet we often continue. When the Holy Spirit says, “It is not my will,” we say, “It’s okay, no one will see.” That is our disobedience to the Holy Ghost who lives in us. We are the temple of the living God, and it is a shame before this world to live in a way that contradicts what He says. It is a waste to know so much of the Bible if Christ is not seen in our lives.
Living by the Spirit, Not by the Flesh
Let's look at the two lists in Galatians chapter 5. One list, in verses 19-21, contains the works of the flesh. The other, in verses 22-23, contains the fruit of the Spirit. Which of these brings glory to God? The answer is obvious: the fruit of the Spirit. If we find it difficult to leave our fleshly lusts, then this lesson is for us. If you currently enjoy your Christian life, then this is a reminder. If you find your Christian life to be a monotonous repetition—attending church on Sunday, then Wednesday, feeling overwhelmed by your worries—then may you find comfort in the Word of God. Nothing else can help us but the Word of God.
The manifestations of the flesh—adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and the rest—are tangible; they are actions that can be seen. If the works of the flesh produce visible sin in a person’s life, then the demonstration of the Spirit in the life of a believer must also be visible. The Holy Spirit can manifest love in us. The Holy Spirit can manifest joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. So why are these not seen in us? It is because the flesh is having dominion over us. What must I do? Learn the doctrine: I am not under sin; I am under grace. Christ was crucified for my sins, so I must also crucify my fleshly desires.
The old man in us is very powerful, is it not? Some might say, “Just provoke me, and you will see who I really am.” I believe the old man is powerful, an enemy. The flesh is real. But I do not believe it is more powerful than the Spirit who lives in you. So why does the old man always win? Why does the flesh triumph in our lives? It is because that is what we are feeding. That is what we are giving our time to. What we feed the most will be the healthiest. If our minds are filled with carnal things, it is because we have been feeding on carnal things. This teaching requires an admission. God cannot help you if you do not admit that you are carnal. Do not hide it. Say, “Lord, teach me the truth that will help me so I will no longer be a pitiful, gloomy Christian.” Why is there no joy? We sing, “There’s a peace in my heart that the world never gave,” but in reality, you have no peace. Can you sleep well? Why are you always thinking about your problems? It implies you think God is asleep, that He is no longer God because your problems are what you magnify.
In Galatians 5:13, the Bible says, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Look to your left, to your right, behind you, and in front of you. Can you say that you love that person? It is a command. Before you leave this church, just let your eyes wander. Do you love those people or not? If you do not love even one person here, you have a problem. You need to repent. That person will be with you in heaven—perhaps right next to you, and you will be miserable for all of eternity. Verse 14 says, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” How much do you love yourself? That is how you are to love others. “Lord, that is so hard! I can love everyone except him.” I am sorry, but you have no choice. The Christian life is not meant to be one where we are just enduring one another. God wants us to be joyful. “Rejoice evermore” is a command, not a suggestion for when you feel like it.
Verse 16 says, “This I say then, Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” We all have lusts of the flesh, but God provides a solution so that you will not follow them: walk in the Spirit. We should be led by the Spirit, and the Spirit cannot lead us if we are grieving Him. How do we grieve the Holy Spirit? By not communicating with God. When we ignore Him, He is grieved. When the Lord says, “Child, do not forget Me,” and you reply, “Lord, I have to prioritize this first, I’m sorry,” the Holy Spirit is grieved. He is grieved when we prioritize other things above Him, when we play up the importance of the temporal things of this life, and when what people say is more important to us than what God says. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light, the Lord says. You just haven’t tried it yet. You have only tried the world’s way, so you think the way of the church and the Bible is hard. But if you calculate how many brain cells you have burned on your problems, you will realize that the Lord’s way is much lighter.
The fruit of the Spirit is evidence of a Spirit-controlled life. If love, joy, and peace are seen in us, it means the Spirit is in control. If not, it means the flesh is in control. And think of the word “fruit.” Can you force a mango tree to bear fruit by hitting it? No. A tree bears fruit naturally. Likewise, the fruit of the Spirit is not forced. If you truly have love, it will be seen. If you truly have joy, it will be seen. You do not have to force it. It will be evident when problems arise.
Conclusion: A Call to Surrender
Finally, verse 24 says, “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” It is not just our sins that we need to surrender to the Lord, but also the things that are important to us. God asked Abraham for Isaac, who was very important to him. God asked for him because Isaac had become more important to Abraham than God was. Everything must be under the Lordship of Christ. Perhaps our job has become more important than God. Give it to God. Our plans, our dreams, our ambitions—give them to the Lord. We get frustrated when we force the issue instead of being led by the Spirit of God. All must be under the Lordship of Christ because He must be preeminent in our lives. Our career, our income, our family—let us give them all to Christ, because what we cannot do, God can.
So, how is your Christian life? Are you fed up? Are you lazy? Are you feeling forced? Give it to Jesus Christ. Let us admit it without hesitation. “Lord, I am sorry. I have become distant from You. I have sinned. I chose my lusts over You. Lord, restore unto me the joy of my salvation.” I am saved, but I am no longer happy in my salvation because all I think about are problems and frustrations. My brothers and sisters, we are Christians. We represent Christ. If Christ is not seen in us, we are failures. It is better to pray and ask the Lord for help. Let us come to the Lord in prayer.
Lord, thank You for this morning. It is the Scriptures that tell us who we are and what we are in Your sight. I believe I’ve done my best as a preacher, but I am just an instrument in Your hands to speak what You want us to hear. Many times, we get ahead of You; we want our way instead of Your way, and then we blame You for the problems that we ourselves have caused. But Lord, we do not want to continue in a Christian life that is sad and miserable. We do not want to live without joy, without strength, listless. Lord, we acknowledge our faults and our sins against You. Help us, Lord. Help us to love You and to love these people, to love the brethren. If there is anyone here who does not love his brother or sister, help that person to give it all to You. Lord, You are deserving of our obedience, our worship, and our lives, because we are Yours and our lives are not our own. Thank you, Lord, for Your Word. May it not return void. May we meditate on these things and choose the things of God rather than the things of this world. Help us to be spiritual, not carnal; lovers of God, not lovers of pleasure. We thank you, Lord, for today and for Your grace upon us. In Christ’s name, we pray, amen and amen.
Related Topics
spiritualitywalksound doctrine