Scripture Reading: Acts 15:1–2

Introduction

A. We are creatures of habit, and often that isn’t a good thing.

B. When you became a Christian, you made a choice to stop living for yourself and to start letting Christ live within you, but it can be easy sometimes to forget that.

Discussion

I. Early Christians found it easy to fall into old patterns of behavior.

A. Paul saw this in the Galatian churches (Galatians 1:6–9), and he even rebuked Peter for it (2:11ff).

B. This kind of behavior really needed to change, principally because it negated the death of Christ (Galatians 2:20–21).

C. This type of change was going to require a strong faith in God and His promises (Galatians 3:6–9, 15–18, 19–22).

II. Have you been guilty of falling into old habits?

A. As Christians we have chosen to walk away from certain things (Galatians 5:16–24).

B. If we wish to keep from falling back into old habits, we must remember who it is that lives within us (Galatians 2:20).

C. We need each other’s help in this struggle (Galatians 6:1–3).

D. We also need to remember why we resolved to make these changes in the first place (Galatians 6:8–9).

Conclusion

A. When trials come knocking, may they find a new man inside.

B. In a world that insists on having its own way, God calls upon us to surrender our way and to trust Him enough to accept His instead.