Everything that grows needs to be nourished. Without basic nutrients; without being fed, there is no growth. If feeding is discontinued long enough, there is withering, and then death.
God created all living things to be dependent on what He gave us in nature to survive. If a tree is rooted in rich and fertile soil, and it receives the right amount of water, clean air and sunlight it will grow strong and tall. Without that proper balance, the growth becomes stunted. Remove those elements, and the tree begins to die.
A tree has a great disadvantage compared to man. If man is lacking in the elements needed to survive, he can seek those elements elsewhere. Man also has the ability to choose his source of nourishment. Man not only feeds his body, but also his mind and soul. God gave us the ability to actively pursue what we need to survive and grow. Unfortunately, that isn’t always a good thing.
We know that the difference between a saved man and an unsaved man is that an unsaved man has no choice but to sin. The sin nature we are all born with enslaves the unsaved man and keeps him from inheriting the Kingdom of God.
A saved man is also born a sinner and has that same sin nature. But a saved man has the ability to not sin. We can choose not to sin. In fact, because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us, through sanctification we no longer want to sin. We grow to hate sin.
The Apostle Paul addresses this issue in his letter to the people of Galatia. The Galatian people had strayed from Paul’s teachings and were allowing themselves to be led by Judaizers who were teaching the Mosaic laws of the Old Testament. In Galatians 5:16-25 Paul writes:
(16) But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
(17) For the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
(19) Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, (21) envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (24) And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
(25) If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Verse 16 tells us “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”.
I do my best to walk in the Spirit every day. I have the ability to choose to sin or not to sin. Unfortunately, I do not always choose wisely. The urge to gratify the desires of the flesh can be strong.
Let’s take food for example. Many of the foods I enjoy eating aren’t always the best choices. I love Cinnabons. If I’m walking through a mall and I smell them baking I feel a tug that draws me towards the Cinnabons. I begin thinking about all of that cinnamon infused gooey goodness within that delicate balance of bread and pastry. It dominates my thoughts and soon my heart is filled with cravings. In the midst of this culinary struggle, I’m not thinking about the 730 calories or the 24 grams of fat. I’m not thinking about the health risks of being overweight. I’m not thinking that a salad would be a better choice. No. Satan has me right where he wants me. He knows that gratifying the desires of my flesh is the easier path to take. It takes no will power. Because of our sin nature it’s the easy choice.
It’s times like these that I need to take control of my urges. I need to remind myself that I have the ability to choose not to eat that Cinnabon. I have the ability to choose to nourish myself with something healthy instead.
Verse 17 reads “For the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do”. We are literally at war with sin each and every day of our lives. Our mind, body and soul are faced daily with choices of good over evil. Do we live our lives in Adam or in Christ?
The Spirit is within us to help us fight this daily battle against our sin nature. Ephesians 6:11 teaches us to “Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” The Spirit is our armor. Satan can not pierce the armor of the Spirit. But we have to wear the armor for it to be effective.
There is a great danger of falling into complacency when it comes to sin. Sin is a powerful foe. I can fight the urge to eat a Cinnabon. I can put on my armor and walk past the Cinnabon booth. I can win that battle. But the Cinnabon booth is still there. The Cinnabon people don’t care about my health. They aren’t going to feel compassion for me and close up shop if I’m visiting the mall.
The next time I come to the mall I need to remain humble and know that the Cinnabon war rages on. I need to put on that armor each and every time I go into battle. It doesn’t matter how many times I was victorious. The first time I let pride lead me to believe that I no longer need my armor, that I’ve defeated my sin and no longer need my armor, that I can win the battles under my own power; the moment I put my guard down and think the Cinnabon no longer has power over me, I begin to rationalize.
It’s just one Cinnabon. I can eat that Cinnabon now and just have a salad for dinner tonight. One Cinnabon isn’t going to kill me. The desires of my flesh win the battle. 30 minutes later I’m in a Cinnabon coma, my belly filled with SIN-abon and my heart filled with guilt and remorse.
But then Paul gives us some good news. Verse 18 tells us if we are led by the Spirit we are not under the law. When we are led by the Spirit, Satan and sin have no stronghold. We are no longer slaves to sin. The Spirit is giving us a way out.
I love the Apostle Paul’s writings. He doesn’t cinnamon coat his messages. In verses 19 to 23 he passionately presents a very detailed list of behaviors that describe the contrast between a man who is enslaved in sin versus a man walking in the Spirit.
First he characterizes the works of the flesh as “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these”.
Then he gives examples of the characteristics found in a man who is walking in the Spirit. “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”.
Paul frequently presents these contrasting lists in his writings to illustrate the vast differences between those who walk in the Spirit and those who gratify the sins of the flesh.
Personally, when I read these lists, I am humbled when I find characteristics in the sinful list that are still a part of my life. I long for the day when my life will be described as being filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But until then, the war wages on and I have to deal with my sins every day.
In the middle of verses 19 to 23 is a message from Paul that was very unsettling for me. After listing the characteristics of the works of the flesh, he warns me that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”. Wait a minute. Does that mean that since I still do some of these things, am I going to lose my salvation? Thankfully, for the Believer the answer is no.
Paul’s admonishment was intended to point out that if someone continues to sin without remorse; without a heartfelt desire to avoid sin, then it is possible that person is not a true believer. In John 15:1 Jesus teaches us that “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit”. A true believer will show fruit through evidence of a life walking in the Spirit. A life of sanctification. Not by living an unchanged life remaining in the flesh.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Paul gave a similar message in his letter to the people of Corinth. However, after listing the sinful characteristics he reassured the believers with verse 11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”.
In John 10:29 Jesus reassures those justified by God that no one can snatch them from The Father’s hand.
I believe what Paul is telling us is that God knows we will continue to sin. We can’t help it. God knows that there may be specific sins that we will repeat and struggle with. But the difference in a saved man versus an unsaved man is that that struggle will come with guilt and conviction and a hatred of sin.
We must hate the sin, not just the consequences of that sin.
Sanctification is a process of growth. The more we walk in the Spirit, the less we walk in the flesh. As verse 17 says, the two are opposed to each other.
It’s not enough to put on armor and shield ourselves from fleshly desires. We can’t just shut down our senses and remove temptations. We must be fed, and we must filter out the bad food from the good.
Sin must be fed to survive. If we feed our sins, they will grow. If we starve our sins they will wither away. They will occupy a much smaller place in our hearts.
Our heart is a void that must be filled. It can be filled with sin or the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit we are feeding and nourishing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in our lives. Our heart fills up with these characteristics, leaving little room for sinful behavior.
There is a saying “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT”. The head feeds the heart. What we take in through our mouth, our eyes and our ears is stored in our heart. What flows from our heart is reflected in our words and actions. If we feed our hearts with works of the flesh, our lives will reflect works of the flesh, our weak bodies caught in a vicious cycle of sin.
If we feed our hearts with the Holy Spirit, our lives will be filled with love and peace, and our bodies will be healthy and strong. Thoroughly equipped for every good work.
God created all living things to be dependent on what He gave us in nature to survive. If a tree is rooted in rich and fertile soil, and it receives the right amount of water, clean air and sunlight it will grow strong and tall. Without that proper balance, the growth becomes stunted. Remove those elements, and the tree begins to die.
A tree has a great disadvantage compared to man. If man is lacking in the elements needed to survive, he can seek those elements elsewhere. Man also has the ability to choose his source of nourishment. Man not only feeds his body, but also his mind and soul. God gave us the ability to actively pursue what we need to survive and grow. Unfortunately, that isn’t always a good thing.
We know that the difference between a saved man and an unsaved man is that an unsaved man has no choice but to sin. The sin nature we are all born with enslaves the unsaved man and keeps him from inheriting the Kingdom of God.
A saved man is also born a sinner and has that same sin nature. But a saved man has the ability to not sin. We can choose not to sin. In fact, because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us, through sanctification we no longer want to sin. We grow to hate sin.
The Apostle Paul addresses this issue in his letter to the people of Galatia. The Galatian people had strayed from Paul’s teachings and were allowing themselves to be led by Judaizers who were teaching the Mosaic laws of the Old Testament. In Galatians 5:16-25 Paul writes:
(16) But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
(17) For the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
(19) Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, (21) envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (24) And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
(25) If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Verse 16 tells us “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”.
I do my best to walk in the Spirit every day. I have the ability to choose to sin or not to sin. Unfortunately, I do not always choose wisely. The urge to gratify the desires of the flesh can be strong.
Let’s take food for example. Many of the foods I enjoy eating aren’t always the best choices. I love Cinnabons. If I’m walking through a mall and I smell them baking I feel a tug that draws me towards the Cinnabons. I begin thinking about all of that cinnamon infused gooey goodness within that delicate balance of bread and pastry. It dominates my thoughts and soon my heart is filled with cravings. In the midst of this culinary struggle, I’m not thinking about the 730 calories or the 24 grams of fat. I’m not thinking about the health risks of being overweight. I’m not thinking that a salad would be a better choice. No. Satan has me right where he wants me. He knows that gratifying the desires of my flesh is the easier path to take. It takes no will power. Because of our sin nature it’s the easy choice.
It’s times like these that I need to take control of my urges. I need to remind myself that I have the ability to choose not to eat that Cinnabon. I have the ability to choose to nourish myself with something healthy instead.
Verse 17 reads “For the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do”. We are literally at war with sin each and every day of our lives. Our mind, body and soul are faced daily with choices of good over evil. Do we live our lives in Adam or in Christ?
The Spirit is within us to help us fight this daily battle against our sin nature. Ephesians 6:11 teaches us to “Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” The Spirit is our armor. Satan can not pierce the armor of the Spirit. But we have to wear the armor for it to be effective.
There is a great danger of falling into complacency when it comes to sin. Sin is a powerful foe. I can fight the urge to eat a Cinnabon. I can put on my armor and walk past the Cinnabon booth. I can win that battle. But the Cinnabon booth is still there. The Cinnabon people don’t care about my health. They aren’t going to feel compassion for me and close up shop if I’m visiting the mall.
The next time I come to the mall I need to remain humble and know that the Cinnabon war rages on. I need to put on that armor each and every time I go into battle. It doesn’t matter how many times I was victorious. The first time I let pride lead me to believe that I no longer need my armor, that I’ve defeated my sin and no longer need my armor, that I can win the battles under my own power; the moment I put my guard down and think the Cinnabon no longer has power over me, I begin to rationalize.
It’s just one Cinnabon. I can eat that Cinnabon now and just have a salad for dinner tonight. One Cinnabon isn’t going to kill me. The desires of my flesh win the battle. 30 minutes later I’m in a Cinnabon coma, my belly filled with SIN-abon and my heart filled with guilt and remorse.
But then Paul gives us some good news. Verse 18 tells us if we are led by the Spirit we are not under the law. When we are led by the Spirit, Satan and sin have no stronghold. We are no longer slaves to sin. The Spirit is giving us a way out.
I love the Apostle Paul’s writings. He doesn’t cinnamon coat his messages. In verses 19 to 23 he passionately presents a very detailed list of behaviors that describe the contrast between a man who is enslaved in sin versus a man walking in the Spirit.
First he characterizes the works of the flesh as “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these”.
Then he gives examples of the characteristics found in a man who is walking in the Spirit. “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”.
Paul frequently presents these contrasting lists in his writings to illustrate the vast differences between those who walk in the Spirit and those who gratify the sins of the flesh.
Personally, when I read these lists, I am humbled when I find characteristics in the sinful list that are still a part of my life. I long for the day when my life will be described as being filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But until then, the war wages on and I have to deal with my sins every day.
In the middle of verses 19 to 23 is a message from Paul that was very unsettling for me. After listing the characteristics of the works of the flesh, he warns me that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”. Wait a minute. Does that mean that since I still do some of these things, am I going to lose my salvation? Thankfully, for the Believer the answer is no.
Paul’s admonishment was intended to point out that if someone continues to sin without remorse; without a heartfelt desire to avoid sin, then it is possible that person is not a true believer. In John 15:1 Jesus teaches us that “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit”. A true believer will show fruit through evidence of a life walking in the Spirit. A life of sanctification. Not by living an unchanged life remaining in the flesh.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Paul gave a similar message in his letter to the people of Corinth. However, after listing the sinful characteristics he reassured the believers with verse 11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”.
In John 10:29 Jesus reassures those justified by God that no one can snatch them from The Father’s hand.
I believe what Paul is telling us is that God knows we will continue to sin. We can’t help it. God knows that there may be specific sins that we will repeat and struggle with. But the difference in a saved man versus an unsaved man is that that struggle will come with guilt and conviction and a hatred of sin.
We must hate the sin, not just the consequences of that sin.
Sanctification is a process of growth. The more we walk in the Spirit, the less we walk in the flesh. As verse 17 says, the two are opposed to each other.
It’s not enough to put on armor and shield ourselves from fleshly desires. We can’t just shut down our senses and remove temptations. We must be fed, and we must filter out the bad food from the good.
Sin must be fed to survive. If we feed our sins, they will grow. If we starve our sins they will wither away. They will occupy a much smaller place in our hearts.
Our heart is a void that must be filled. It can be filled with sin or the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit we are feeding and nourishing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in our lives. Our heart fills up with these characteristics, leaving little room for sinful behavior.
There is a saying “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT”. The head feeds the heart. What we take in through our mouth, our eyes and our ears is stored in our heart. What flows from our heart is reflected in our words and actions. If we feed our hearts with works of the flesh, our lives will reflect works of the flesh, our weak bodies caught in a vicious cycle of sin.
If we feed our hearts with the Holy Spirit, our lives will be filled with love and peace, and our bodies will be healthy and strong. Thoroughly equipped for every good work.
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