Eye Of The Beholder-
Christianity is an unusual religion, in that we put our confidence in what God has already done for us, rather than putting our confidence in what we are capable of doing for him. Our salvation is seen by us as a gift, not a salary. We did nothing to earn it; we can do nothing to pay God back for having given it to us.
But what we can do is have faith that even as God did all that is necessary in order to ensure our salvation, he will do all that is necessary in order to ensure that our words and actions truly conform to what he would have us say and do. And therein lies the problem for many people, especially new Christians have. They ask the question, "What must I do to earn the salvation that i've been given," instead of asking the question, "What am I to expect God to do in order to accomplish his purpose in my life?"
In Scripture we find a code of conduct that requires of us that we put our utmost confidence in the power of God himself to transform our natural state into his spiritual state. At first glance it simply looks like another list of Do's and Don't's. But when we study it, we realize that the person doing the work isn't we ourselves; it's God:
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:16-26,NIV)
Look at the 1st paragraph. Whose actually engaging our sinful nature in battle? It's God's Spirit. And where are we to be? We're to be behind God's Spirit, allowing him to go ahead of us. That's what the word 'led' means.
In the 2nd paragraph we see a list of acts that are categorized as 'acts of the sinful nature'. But take a close look at those acts. Notice how many of them aren't acts at all; they're the emotions which, if left unchecked, culminate in the commission of sinful acts. We can no more control our own emotions, which lie at the very core of our being, than a leopard can exchange his spots for the stripes of a tiger. It must be God himself who 'reins in' these emotions, because just as it took his power rather than our own to save us, it takes his power rather than our own to bring our base nature under control.
In the 3rd paragraph we see that God's Spirit doesn't just try to create a vacuum where our sinful nature had been in control. He brings with him the 9 'fruit', which are also to be seen as a gift from God, just as our salvation was a gift from God. He implants these 9 'fruit' within us, forming a new nature that is more in conformity with what God wants. So long as our words and actions have as their beginning these 9 'fruit', we have confidence that we are saying and doing what God wants of us. They are the borders within which all our words and actions are to have their inception. They are the parameters within which we know that the Spirit is still in the lead, and we are still dutifully following behind him. They are the mindset that determines the genuineness of our faith.
