The Law of Sin and Death

Romans 8:2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

The law of sin and death is not a reference to the Law of Moses. In the book of Romans there are many references to the Law of Moses, but Romans 8:2 is not one of them.

Earlier Paul tells us that the Law of Moses was “holy, just and good” (Rom 7:12) and he denies that the law is sin (Rom 7:7). Therefore in Romans 8:2 he cannot be referring to the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments as the “law of sin and death.”

No, the law of sin and death is the relentless tendency in human nature to do wrong. Paul tells us that it is the sin which dwells in our flesh, in our “members,” that produces death, and it is when the flesh interacts with the commandment that the sin that dwells in our fleshly nature is incited and inflamed. (Rom 7:7, 13, 17-18, 20, 23-24). That’s why 1 Corinthians 15:56 tells us that “the strength of sin is the law.”

The law of sin and death is a law in the sense that it is a principle that works against us every time, all the time, unless a superior, overriding law or principle intervenes.

Thank God for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus!! It overrides and overcomes the law of sin and death in our members!!

The Law of the Spirit of Life

Romans 8:2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Many Christians try to serve God first of all out of their minds.

They serve Him intellectually. They try to reason everything out. They try to grasp spiritual things with their natural mind.

They do their best to live according to a standard of righteousness that they maintain in their mind. They become so focused upon defeating the carnal appetites of the body, that they find themselves constantly wrestling with the flesh to bring it under control. With their minds they serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. (Rom 7:25).

It was at this juncture that Paul introduced one of the greatest revelations of all time and it is found in a verse that we all love to quote—Romans 8:1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus! (The second half of Romans 8:1 is not found in the oldest and best manuscripts, but even if it were part of the original letter, the words “who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit” describe the effect of not being under condemnation, not the cause).

But do you know WHY there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus? In Romans 8:2, Paul tells us. He says that it’s BECAUSE the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death! 

Strengthened with Might in your Spirit

Ephesians 3:14-16. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man…

Your spirit is what Paul refers to as your “inward man.” (2 Cor 4:16). Peter refers to your spirit as the “hidden man of the heart.” (1 Peter 3:4). Since we serve God with our spirits (Rom 1:9), we want our spirits to be strong!

That’s why Paul prayed for the believers at Ephesus that God would grant them to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in their inner man.

In his prayer, Paul said that by virtue of the believers at Ephesus being strengthened by the “dunamis”-power of the Holy Spirit in their inward man, Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith; they would be rooted and grounded in love; they would be enabled to comprehend and know the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge; and they would be filled up to all the fullness of God Himself!! (Eph 3:14-21).

We can pray that same prayer for ourselves and for other believers! Hallelujah!! When you ask God anything according to His Word, the Bible says that He hears you and that you know that you have the petitions that you have desired of Him. (1 John 5:14-15).

Not only that, but your spirit grows and develops the same way your body does—through proper diet and exercise.

Meditating on the Word of God and praying in tongues is to your spirit what food and exercise are to your body. Together they will cause you to be strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit in your inner man!

Lighting the Lamp of your Spirit, Pt 2

1 Corinthians 2:14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

Proverbs 20:27 says that the spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being. As Kenneth Hagin often taught, God will enlighten you and God will guide you through your spirit.

Psalm 18:28 says that God will light the lamp of your spirit and enlighten your darkness. How does God light the lamp of your spirit and enlighten your darkness? Through the entrance or revelation of His Word! (Ps 119:130). The entrance of His Word gives light to your spirit.

What is darkness? According to Psalm 119:130, “light” is understanding. Therefore, in this context, darkness would be a lack of understanding in any area of your life.

God uses the lamp of your spirit to illuminate your mind, bringing you understanding of all things necessary for you to fulfill His plan and purpose for your life.

The more time you spend meditating upon the Word of God, the more He is able to enlighten you through the lamp of your spirit!

Lighting the Lamp of your Spirit, Pt 1

1 Corinthians 2:14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The things of God are spiritually discerned. They have to be understood and grasped in your spirit first and foremost.

You cannot grasp spiritual things merely with your mind. The things of God make no sense at all to the natural man. To him they are foolishness.

It would be profitable to learn how to serve God with your spirit in the gospel of His Son (Romans 1:9); not out of your head, but out of your heart—not primarily with your mind, but with your spirit.

Listen to your Spirit

Romans 1:9. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son…

We ought to learn to serve God, not out of our head, but out of our heart—not primarily with our mind, but with our spirit.

Praying in tongues and meditating on the Word of God consistently causes your spirit to become strong and helps you to recognize the difference between the promptings of the flesh and the promptings of your spirit.

It causes you to become keener to the things of the Spirit and to the Holy Spirit’s leading in your life. You become more sensitive to your own spirit, and are able to follow the promptings of your own spirit in what you do and say.

If you learn to follow the Spirit in what you say, you’ll learn to follow the Spirit in what you do. If you follow your heart in what you say, you’ll follow your heart throughout the day.

Follow the Unction!

Ephesians 4:29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

A wise person once said, “You may have something on your heart to say, but do you have an unction from the Holy Spirit to say it?”

An unction is an anointing, or in this case, a leading.

In other words, you may want to say something, but is the Holy Spirit leading you to say it? That requires discernment. That requires knowing the difference between your spirit and your mind; between your spirit and your emotions.

If the Spirit of God is leading you to say it, it will bring life and blessing. If not, it will bring death, because death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Learn to speak words that edify and build you up. Learn to say words that register positively on your own spirit.

If you’ll feed your spirit by meditating on the Word of God and pray consistently in other tongues, gradually you will become more and more aware of your own spirit and of the leading of the Holy Spirit from within.

Then you’ll be able to speak when there is an unction to speak, and remain silent when there is not.

The Words that I Speak to You are Spirit and They are Life

James 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

If you can bridle your tongue, you can bridle your whole body. If you can bridle your tongue, you can walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

A believer who bridles his tongue is one who, like Jesus, speaks words that are “spirit and life.” (John 6:63). No corrupt communication proceeds out of his mouth. Only words that edify and minister grace to his hearers flow from his lips. This is the mark of a spiritually mature man or woman. (James 3:2).

How do you bridle the tongue?

Learn to follow the unction of the Holy Spirit in your own spirit concerning what you say and what you do.

Following the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your spirit empowers you by the Spirit of God to dominate the outward man and to live in victory, grace and peace!

Don’t Deceive your Heart!

James 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

Bridling the tongue has a lot to do with walking in the Spirit so that you do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

For one thing, faith comes by hearing and your faith is your victory over the world. (1 John 5:4). If you do not bridle your tongue, and continually speak things that contradict the truth of God’s word, your heart will be deceived by what it hears. (James 1:26).

Your heart has been created by God to bring forth “fruit” from whatever kind of seed is sown into it—for better or for worse. In Mark 4:28, Jesus said that the earth—which is the heart of man—brings forth fruit all by itself. Whatever seed is sown into your heart, that’s the kind of harvest that your heart will bring forth.

If you deceive your own heart, you will reap a harvest from seeds that your own tongue has planted, that contradict the truth of God’s word in your life. That’s why James 1:26 says that the religion of the man who does not bridle his tongue is vain.

“See how great a forest a little fire kindles!” (James 3:5-6). You may plant a whole forest of seeds for your life, but if you don’t bridle your tongue, you’ll burn the whole forest down!

Serve God with Your Spirit

James 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

If you bridle the tongue, you will bridle the whole body. Even though the tongue is an unruly, restless, unstable evil that no man can tame, (James 3:2,8), the Word of God says that you can do all things through Christ who empowers you from within. (Phil 4:13).

When it comes to bridling the tongue and walking in the Spirit, Paul gives us a very helpful insight in Romans 1:9 where he wrote, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son…”

You serve God with your spirit. You serve Him first of all out of your spirit, and not first of all out of your mind or body. If you serve God with your spirit, you’ll serve God with your mind and your body.

The Spirit of Christ dwells in your spirit. He empowers you from within your spirit. Learning to yield to your spirit is learning to yield to the empowerment of Christ within you!

Learning to follow and yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit within your own spirit will lead you and empower you to bridle the tongue, so that you bridle the whole body as well!

Empowered!

Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Actually, the English translation of Phil 4:13 is weak. In the NKJV, it says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In the original Greek, though, it conveys a much stronger sense that the English barely touches.

The word translated “strengthen” is the Greek verb “Endunamao.” It is related to the Greek word from which we get our English word “dynamite.”

Literally, in the original language, Phil 4:13 says, “I can do all things through the One empowering me.” To be empowered means to be powered from within!

Have you ever seen a vanilla cream-filled pastry? You might say that it has been empowered with vanilla cream! And if you are born again, you are empowered by the Spirit of Christ within!

Friend, the reason you can is because God can! Hallelujah!

You Can Because He Can

Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Often, when we quote our text today, we emphasize the first part of that verse and say it something like this, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

It’s right and good to emphasize that truly we can do all things through Him. But the last part of that verse is more important than the first part.

The only reason YOU can is because CHRIST can! When we talk about taming or bridling the tongue, we need to understand something. No man can tame the tongue, and that goes for just about everything else God asks of you. Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

The New Covenant is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27).

So when we talk about bridling the tongue and walking in the Spirit, we ought to have the last part of Phil 4:13 in mind. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 

No Man Can, but the Holy Ghost Can!

James 3:2,8. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body…But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

The man who can bridle his tongue is able also to bridle the whole body. The problem we run into, however, is that the tongue is an unruly evil that no man can tame! (James 3:8).

That word “unruly” also means “restless, unstable”.

Unstable people have unstable tongues. Restless people have restless mouths. Your mouth wants to talk when you should stop. Your tongue wants to speak when you should be silent.

Your restless, unstable tongue wants to continually prattle on with foolishness and empty words. That’s why Proverbs 10:19 says, “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”

You may be thinking, “But what can I do? No man can tame the tongue!” True—no man can, but the Holy Ghost can!

Bridle Your Tongue

James 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

Walking in the Spirit has to do not only with what you think, but also with what you say. Really, the two are connected, because what you think is what you say and what you say is what you think. The two together determine what you do!

It really does not matter how much spiritual “activity” you find yourself involved in—if you cannot bridle your tongue, your religion is “vain”, according to James 1:26.

That means that although you may pray and fast; pay tithes; give offerings; help the poor; attend church regularly, lead a cell group; preach, prophesy and heal the sick—if you do not bridle your tongue, your religion is vain, useless, worthless! Why? Because if you do not bridle your tongue, you deceive your own heart.

Faith is of the heart, and your faith is your victory over the world. (Rom 10:10; 1 John 5:4). If you deceive your own heart, your faith will not work and you’ll walk in defeat.

But the man who bridles his tongue, is able also to bridle the whole body! 

God’s Thoughts are Higher Than Your Thoughts

Romans 8:6.  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Walking in the Spirit largely has to do with what you think and with what you say. If you think and speak in line with the thoughts of God, you’ll walk in step with His Spirit.

The thoughts of God are contained in God’s Word, just as your thoughts are contained in your words! The mind of the man who walks in the Spirit is filled with God’s thoughts! God’s thoughts are higher than your thoughts, and His thoughts will always lead you into His ways, which are higher than your ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9).

If you allow your mind to feed and dwell on the written Word of God, the thoughts of God concerning you and your life will begin to rise up big on the inside of you and fill you, so that you begin to walk in the Spirit and fulfill the plan of God for your life on a daily basis!

A Perfect Righteousness

Romans 8:5-6. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

To be mindful of the things of the Spirit (Rom 8:4-8), is to be mindful not only that the Lord Jesus Christ has paid the price for your violation of the Law, but that He has also fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law for you!

Covenants and contracts always contain two basic elements: (1) terms and conditions to be performed, and (2) the penalties that apply if they are not.

In legal terms, the Lord Jesus has totally fulfilled all of the terms, conditions and penalties of the Old Covenant on your behalf. He not only fully performed all of the requirements of the Law on your behalf; He also fully paid the penalty for your failure to do so.

His righteousness is an absolutely perfect and complete righteousness, and it is His free gift to you by faith apart from your works. In place of your imperfect and flawed righteousness, the Lord Jesus has given you His very own righteousness in its stead.

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10). Knowing this absolute and unconditional love of His for you will cause you to walk in the Spirit so that you do not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

The more mindful you are of your own shortcomings and failures in the flesh, the more you will walk in the flesh. On the other hand, the more mindful you are of God’s free gift of righteousness abiding in you, the more you will walk in the Spirit.

Stop trying to establish your own righteousness and instead submit yourself to the righteousness of God which is yours in Christ. As you do, you become a servant of righteousness unto holiness and more and more you’ll enjoy the mind of the Spirit, which is life and peace! 

Carnally Minded

Romans 8:5-6. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

We can yield to the Spirit just as we have yielded to the flesh. Just as we have yielded ourselves servants to uncleanness and iniquity, we can yield ourselves servants of righteousness unto holiness. (Rom 6:19).

How do you yield to the flesh? The first step toward walking in the flesh is to be mindful of the things of the flesh. The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. (Rom 8:6).

You have to understand what Paul is talking about in Romans 8:1-17. He’s talking primarily about walking in victory over condemnation and the flesh. Condemnation brings death. The Law was a ministry of death and condemnation. (2 Cor 3:7,9). The Law constantly reminds people of their shortcomings and how far short of the glory of God they have come. To be mindful of the things of the flesh is to be continually mindful of your weaknesses, mistakes, sins and shortcomings.

To be mindful of the things of the Spirit is to be mindful of who you are in Christ, and mindful of His victory, His righteousness, His sanctification, His holiness, His wisdom, His strength, His purity, and His all-sufficiency, all of which are in you, because you are in Christ and Christ is in you!

When you become more mindful of who you are in Christ than of who you are outside of Christ, you will be well on your way to walking in the Spirit so that you do not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

You are My Beloved Son!

Mark 1:11. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Did you know that the Lord is pleased with you right now?

One day many years ago, when I was a young Christian, I was feeling so bad about all of my failings and mistakes. As I looked back on my walk with the Lord, I was sad. I felt as though I had utterly failed him. I said, “Father, how could you possibly be pleased with me at all? How could you find anything pleasing in my life?”

Do you know what He said to me? He is so gracious! He spoke to my heart and said, “I am WELL PLEASED with my beloved son.” When He said that to me, I knew immediately what He meant. It had a wonderful, double-meaning.

1 Cor 6:17 says that he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. When God the Father spoke that to my heart, I knew that at one and the same time He was referring both to the Lord Jesus Christ and to me.

He was saying to me in effect: “Joe, because you are in Christ and your sins are washed away in His blood, when I see you, I see Jesus. I don’t look at what you did wrong. I look at what Jesus did right. He is in you and you are in Him. All that He has done has been credited to you. Because of Jesus, YOU are my beloved son!”

Isn’t God good! Doesn’t that make you just want to love him even more!? That’s being spiritually-minded! Glory to God!

Spiritually Minded

Romans 8:5-6. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

To be spiritually minded is to be ‘Christ-inside minded’—not flesh and failure-minded.

The man who walks in the Spirit is mindful of the things of the Spirit. He is more mindful of who he is in Christ than of who he is apart from Christ. He is more mindful of who he is in Christ than of who he is in the flesh! He’s not striving to please God after the flesh, in the ability of the flesh.

He lives in the knowledge that because of Christ’s perfect work of redemption on his behalf, he is his Father’s beloved son and is ‘well-pleasing’ to Him—not because of what he has done, but because of what Jesus has done. He is free of condemnation, because the requirements of the law have been fulfilled for him by the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is Christ inside-minded, not condemnation-minded.

Submit Yourself to the Righteousness of God

Romans 6:14. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

When you are living under the Law, you struggle to please God in your own strength by your own merits, and you live under condemnation, always mindful of your weaknesses and how far short your efforts fall of God’s righteous standard.

If you are always mindful of your flesh, you will always walk in the flesh! 

But in Romans 6:19 Paul said that just as you have yielded yourself a servant to iniquity, now yield yourself a servant of righteousness. How do you walk in the Spirit? First of all, by yielding to righteousness! How do you do that? By submitting yourself to God’s righteousness and no longer trying to establish your own! (Rom 10:3-4).

Romans 5:17 says that those who receive the abundance of grace and of God’s gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ. You can reign in many spheres of life, but if you want to reign in any sphere of life, the first thing you’ll need to reign over is your flesh! If you don’t reign there, you won’t reign anywhere, because the flesh constantly endeavors to sabotage your success in life. And the only way to reign over the flesh is by receiving the abundance of grace and God’s gift of righteousness.

As you give up trying to establish your own righteousness and submit yourself instead to the righteousness of God which is His free gift to you in Jesus Christ, you become a servant of righteousness unto holiness. (Rom 10:3-4). 

How to Walk in the Flesh

Romans 6:19. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

If you want to know how to walk in the Spirit, think about how you walk in the flesh! How do you walk in the flesh?

Paul said that “they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom 8:5-6).

The law was a ministry of death. (2 Cor 3:7). To be carnally minded is to live under the law, striving in your own strength to please God by your perfect performance. Such a person constantly measures himself by the law, and consequently lives acutely aware of his own weaknesses and failures in the flesh.

A person who constantly dwells on his flesh, his weaknesses and his mistakes is ‘law-conscious’ instead of ‘Christ-conscious’ and will walk in the flesh.

Romans chapter 7 makes it clear that a life lived in the ability of the flesh is a life doomed to failure and frustration!

Yield to the Spirit Just As You Have Yielded to the Flesh!

Galatians 5:16-17.  Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

If we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. The flesh tries to keep you in defeat, but the Spirit always leads you into victory!

How do you walk in the Spirit? Paul makes an interesting statement in Rom 6:19. He says that just as you have yielded yourself to be a servant of uncleanness and iniquity, even so now yield yourself to be a servant of righteousness unto holiness. In other words, the way you yield to the Spirit is the same way that you yield to the flesh.

Some people don’t have much experience yielding to the Spirit, but we all have plenty of experience yielding to the flesh!

Here’s the point: if you know how to yield to the flesh (and you do!), you know how to yield to the Spirit! 

Freedom from Condemnation Causes You to Walk in the Spirit

Romans 8:1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

The great lesson of Romans 8:1 is that knowing there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus causes you to walk in the Spirit and not after the flesh.

When you remove the condemnation of the law for your failings and your sins, you cut off the power of the flesh to dominate you, because the strength of sin is the law. (1 Cor 15:56). Sin loses its dominion over you as you stop living under the law in your own ability and begin to live instead in the power of God’s ability—which is His grace. (Rom 6:14).

The true grace of God gives you dominion over sin. God condemned sin in the body of His Son, Jesus Christ, so that the righteousness requirements of the law would be fulfilled in us.

In other words, Jesus not only paid the penalty for our failure to keep the law perfectly, He also fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf.

The knowledge that the ‘pressure to perform’ has been lifted off of us because Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes, enables us to walk in the Spirit and not after the flesh. (Rom 8:4).

As you walk in the grace of God and God’s unconditional love for you, it becomes supernaturally “natural” for you to walk in the Spirit! 

How to Walk in the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-17.  Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Many Christians think that walking in the Spirit means that you prophesy and have visions all day, but that’s wrong. True, a person who is “in the Spirit” might have a vision (Rev 1:10), or prophesy, or experience a special anointing to minister. But that’s not what “walking in the Spirit” is all about.

Actually, if you’re born again, Paul said that you are in the Spirit. (Rom 8:9). He meant that you have life in the Spirit—in other words, that your spirit is alive unto God. But then in Gal 5:25 he went on to say, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” In other words, if the Spirit of God is living in your inward man, let Him affect the life you live in your outward man.

The first step to walking in the Spirit and reigning in life is to receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17). In other words, learn to depend upon God’s ability rather than your own ability, and to trust in His righteousness rather than your own righteousness.

If you are the righteousness of God in Christ, there is no condemnation to you. If you cut off condemnation, you cut off the power of sin, because the strength of sin is the law. (1 Cor 15:56).

Condemnation perpetuates the works of the flesh.

The High Life

Galatians 5:16-17.  Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

As a Christian, your life is over in the realm of the Spirit. What does that mean?

It means that if you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are born of the Spirit of God. Jesus Christ is actually dwelling in you in the person of the Holy Spirit and your human spirit has been recreated in Christ. You have the life of God in your spirit and you are the righteousness of God in Christ. Rom 8:10. 

That’s why Paul said that if we live in the Spirit (i.e. have life in the Spirit), let us also walk in the Spirit. Gal 5:25. In other words, allow the life of God that’s dwelling on the inside to affect your manner of life on the outside.

The flesh wants you to fail, and it wants to sabotage your success in this life. But we’re not obligated to live after the flesh, as Paul said in Romans 8:12. We don’t have to serve the flesh. We don’t have to be dominated by our flesh. We can walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

Every day you have a choice: you can walk in the Spirit or walk in the flesh, but the only way to fulfill the plan of God for your life is to walk in the Spirit. Your flesh will try to sabotage you, but if you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

For the child of God, what the flesh desires is the opposite of what your heart desires. The flesh leads you into failure; the Spirit leads you into success. The flesh leads you into defeat; the Spirit leads you into victory!

Your Flesh Wants You to Fail

Galatians 5:16-17.  Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

When Paul talked about the “lust” of the flesh, he wasn’t just referring to the physical appetites of the flesh. He was referring to all that the flesh wants and desires.

That’s clear from the works of the flesh that are listed in Gal 5:19-21. The flesh is multi-faceted. It’s not just selfish, lustful, and greedy—it’s also impatient, angry, unkind, insecure, fearful, full of doubt, mean, critical, foolish and so on.

Our biggest enemy is not the devil, but our own flesh. If you are in Christ, the flesh constantly works against the desires of your re-created spirit and of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you. If you allow it to, the flesh will sabotage you, because the flesh tries to keep you from fulfilling God’s plan and purposes for your life.

But those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the lusts and affections thereof, and if you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Instead you’ll fulfill God’s desires for you! All His paths are peace and pleasantness.

We can have victory over the flesh as we learn how to walk in the Spirit!

Abide in Him and Let His Word Abide in You

John 15:7. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Our chief aim and primary goal each day is to have fellowship with the Lord and to abide in communion with Him, and not to accomplish what’s on our list of things to do. Actually, those are subordinate to our “main ministry,” which is to abide in communion with the Holy Spirit!

On the other hand, we don’t want to get into the position of spending time with the Lord simply out of a sense of duty or obligation. Notice something about Martha. She said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” (Luke 10:40). The harder she worked to serve the Lord, the less she thought He truly cared about her! That’s what serving the Lord out of a sense of guilt or obligation produces.

1 John 4:19 says, “We love, because He first loved us.” When you serve the Lord out of a sense of guilt and obligation, it only produces more guilt and a feeling that God does not really care for you. Cast that aside, and instead, dwell upon His love for you as revealed in His written word.

Come before Him just as you are, and begin to receive His love for you as you spend time in His presence. As you do, your prayer life will become a joy and something that you eagerly desire to do from your heart, rather than an obligation to be performed. 

Blessed and at Rest!

Luke 10:41-42. And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

In this story from the gospel of Luke about Mary and Martha, there are many lessons to be learned.

What a contrast between the two! Mary is resting; Martha is working. Jesus is talking; Mary is listening. Martha is talking; Jesus is listening! Mary is focused on one thing; Martha is worried about many things. Mary is at peace; Martha is distracted.

Martha is so busy serving the Lord that she has no time to spend with the Lord! 

It’s not that the things Martha was doing were unimportant; it’s just that they were not the most important. When you look at everything you have to do, and strive to get those things done, you will be pulled and fragmented in many different directions. And usually it’s your time with the Lord, in the Word and prayer, that suffers first.

But if you see that the most important thing and the most needful thing for you to do each day is to first spend time with Him in the Word and prayer, then all the other things that need to get done, will get done, and they’ll get done at the right time and in the right way.

Instead of feeling fragmented and pulled in many different directions as Martha was, as you make it your aim first to have fellowship with the Lord, you will find that you are unified in plan and purpose throughout the day and that your productivity will actually increase. Your life will ebb and flow in and out of your fellowship with Him!

One Thing

Luke 10:41-42. And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

At any given moment, I may have over 50 items on my “to do” list. Not only that, but very often I have several different “to do” lists!

Once while thinking about everything I needed to do, the Lord showed me that out of all those things, “only one thing is necessary.”  As in the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, every day only one thing is essential, and that is to take time to sit at the feet of Jesus and to hear His word!

It’s not that the other things you need to do should not get done or will not get done, but that everything you need to do and will do flows out of your time spent with the Lord. 

Jesus is Coming!

Titus 2:11-14. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

The Early Church lived with a constant expectation of the Lord’s personal return to the earth. It is a blessed hope; it is a purifying hope; it is a hope that puts our lives in proper perspective.

While we enjoy victory by the grace of God, and liberty by the Spirit of God, we do not use our liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but by love we serve one another, knowing that each one of us shall give an account of ourselves to God. (Galatians 5:13; Romans 14:12).

There is coming a day when we will stand before the Lord and see him face to face. “When He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3).

Jesus is Coming!

Acts 1:9-11. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

As surely as the sun rose this morning, Jesus will return to this earth “in the same way” as he went back to heaven. He ascended to heaven physically and visibly, and one day he will return to this earth physically, visibly and gloriously.

Jesus said that when he comes, “all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt 24:30.

The Early Church lived with a constant expectation of this greatest of events that would signal the end of the age in which we now live. It would behoove us to do the same!