The Desires of the Flesh

[Christsfreeservant]

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 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. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:16-24 ESV)​

Many professing Christians today are claiming that they are “struggling” with particular sins, usually sexual sin, meaning that they are regularly and consistently and habitually and deliberately giving in to these sins. And then they will claim that they don’t know how to get free from their addictions to repetitive and willful sins. Generally speaking, they will have all sorts of excuses as to why they are still “struggling,” and as to why they are not yet free, even blaming others and not taking full responsibility for their sins.

So, what’s the solution? Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. We must surrender our lives to Jesus Christ to do his will. We must be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And now we are to walk by the Spirit of God and no longer according to the flesh, for if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to God, we don’t know God.

And this is what it really comes down to. Who, in reality, is really our God/god? God, or the flesh. If God, then our lives must be surrendered to him. And we must be those who are exercising self-denial, self-sacrifice, dying daily to sin, and following our Lord in obedience to his commands. This does not mean we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2), but that sin must no longer be what controls us. But now we are to be living under Holy Spirit control and self-control in holiness, godliness, honesty and moral purity.

So, such things as sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, lying, and things like these, should no longer be part of our lives, not in practice, i.e. not as something that we keep going back to over and over again. For if we are those who practice such things as this, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. For Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter, but the one DOING the will of God the Father.

And this is not a rare teaching in the New Testament. This is all throughout the teachings in the New Testament, that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord, and not love for God and for our fellow humans, that we are not in fellowship with God, we don’t know God, we are not born of God, but we are of the devil. And if we profess to know God and to be in fellowship with him but while we walk in sin and while we do not obey his commandments, then we are liars. Truth is not in us.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

But we can’t just exercise behavioral modification and think that we will now be okay. For if all that we do is just try to kick bad habits, we may be successful in some areas, or not, but that still leaves the door wide open for the devil because our lives are not surrendered to Jesus Christ, and he is not truly our Lord (Owner-Master) because we are still the ones trying to control our own lives, in that case. So our lives must be surrendered to the Lord and we must be walking by the Spirit so we don’t gratify sinful cravings.

And when we are walking by the Spirit, and no longer according to the flesh, then the fruit (outgrowth, results) from that will be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (reserved strength), and self-control. And this is not saying that we will never fail in any of these areas or that we will be instantaneously perfect in all of these areas, but there should be evidence of this fruit in our lives and it should be increasing as daily we walk by the Spirit and no longer by the flesh.

For we who belong to Christ Jesus, in truth, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires, and we should now be those who are walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, in practice, by the grace of God, in the power, strength, and wisdom of God. For we cannot do this in our flesh. For flesh cannot put flesh to death, for it desires the flesh and it opposes what is of God. So, again, our lives must be surrendered to our Lord to do his will, which we are to live by in daily practice.

Just a Closer Walk with Thee

Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown
Music by American Melody

“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

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[bèlla]

Excellent post!

I think "struggling with sin" is a modern way of expressing our disagreement with God in respect to the sin and desire for continuance although we're aware it's wrong. They differ from the second camp who neglects "to struggle" and considers the prohibition non applicable.

It's interesting you posted this. I was thinking along these lines earlier and questioning the purpose of following God while doing things our way. Or citing the bible while picking and choosing what applies. I questioned the absence of wrestling. The willingness to confront those places within ourselves that don't align with word. The book doesn't change we're supposed to bend.

Sometimes the sidestepping is bothersome. I don't see the point of lying to ourselves. We won't get it right all the time but the desire to view things God's way and live with that mind matters. We may fool the world but we won't fool Him or ourselves if we're honest.

Being a watchman is difficult and you bear it with much grace. Thank you for your posts. God bless you Sue.

~bella

 

[Christsfreeservant]

Excellent post!

I think "struggling with sin" is a modern way of expressing our disagreement with God in respect to the sin and desire for continuance although we're aware it's wrong. They differ from the second camp who neglects "to struggle" and considers the prohibition non applicable.

It's interesting you posted this. I was thinking along these lines earlier and questioning the purpose of following God while doing things our way. Or citing the bible while picking and choosing what applies. I questioned the absence of wrestling. The willingness to confront those places within ourselves that don't align with word. The book doesn't change we're supposed to bend.

Sometimes the sidestepping is bothersome. I don't see the point of lying to ourselves. We won't get it right all the time but the desire to view things God's way and live with that mind matters. We may fool the world but we won't fool Him or ourselves if we're honest.

Being a watchman is difficult and you bear it with much grace. Thank you for your posts. God bless you Sue.

~bella

Thank you, Bella. All glory to God. I like what you said here: "The book doesn't change. We're supposed to bend." We're supposed to submit to God and to his will and purposes for our lives, not go our own way. And yes, honesty is critical to living in freedom from sin and according to the will of God. Thank you for this encouragement. God bless you.