Galatians 3:1-5 (ESV)

1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—

Galatians 1:6-9 (ESV)

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Four False Paths of Common Sense

#1) THE PATH OF REASON

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

• To solely focus our lives with Christ on our own reasoning and intellectual understanding of God is to place our faith, focus, direction, joy, ministry, resources, and ultimately our very lives on something that is unregenerate.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

#2) THE PATH OF COMPARISON

Galatians 6:4-5 (NLT)

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

#3) THE PATH OF THE PURSUIT OF COMFORT

God saved you for His glory, His purpose, His plan, His vision and His name.

2 Corinthians 11:23-30 (ESV)

23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

God is not nearly as interested in your short-term comfort as He is in your long-term character.

Isaiah 42:8 (ESV)

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

Isaiah 48:11 (ESV)

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

God will not give you more than He can handle.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 NLT

We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Luke 9:23 (ESV)

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

• Are you seeking the hand of God or the face of God?

#4) THE PATH OF COMPARTMENTS

• We begin to divide the relationships and roles of our lives into boxes. Two words that describe this living arrangement: excessive pride and a lack of integrity.
• Living a truly integral life means developing and harmonizing all parts of who we are—our spirit, mind, body, and connections with others.
• We use God and ask his blessing in the boxes of our lives in which we think we need his help and forego his presence in the boxes which we think we can handle.

Psalm 101 (NLT)

1 I will sing of your love and justice, LORD. I will praise you with songs.

2 I will be careful to live a blameless life— when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.

3 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.

4 I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.

5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.

6 I will search for faithful people to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me.

7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence.

8 My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked and free the city of the LORD from their grip.

• A life of integrity is a life that submits to God in every aspect of their life. It is doing the right thing in every situation, guided by His Word and His Presence.

Proverbs 11:3 (ESV)

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

Proverbs 20:7 (ESV)

The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!

James 4:7 (ESV)

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

CONCLUSION

• When we try to live our lives in the flesh and with human efforts, we will fail.
• Our lives must be lived in the Spirit.
  • Fear the Lord & turn from evil.
  • Submit to God & trust Him.
• Common sense gets in the way when God is asking us to live in the realm of the unreasonable.
• The crucifixion of our idolatry of common sense is the difference between knowing and experiencing God.