“Jan 22, 2024 - The Battle Within”

Sunday, January 21, 2024

The Battle Within

Reading:  Galatians 5:16-21
    
    So if Christians do not keep the Law of Moses, does that mean anything goes?  Does freedom mean we can keep sinning?  How can sin be overcome when there is no law to limit it?  Paul posits an entirely new framework:  “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”(Gal 5:16).  God’s powerful Spirit makes possible true reform that mere law could never achieve.  When we follow the Spirit, we no longer give in to our 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”(Gal 5:17).  There is an issue:  the flesh (shorthand for our own will) conflicts with the Spirit (shorthand for God’s work and will).  We don’t always want to obey God—and this explains the disconnect between what we proclaim and what we do.  There is a battle going on.

     Who is winning this battle?  We can tell by the “works” or “fruit” that show up.  “Now the works of the flesh are evident”(Gal 5:19).  When we are living out our own desires, it leads to sexual misconduct (v. 19), false gods (v. 20), serious interpersonal sins (v. 20-21), and a penchant for excess (v. 21).  When this is the pattern of our lives, we “will not inherit the kingdom of God”(Gal 5:21).  This behavior does not please God in any era.  The issue here is not that we need more laws, but that we must choose to follow the Spirit.

    Each of us has his or her own battle within.  We want to follow God, but we also want to go our own way.  We want to say no to evil, but we also want to do evil.  God’s solution to this is not to forbid evil more loudly, but to send his Spirit to change the equation.  Now, when we are willing to deny ourselves (Luke 9:23), “renounce ungodliness and worldly passions”(Titus 2:12), and crucify the flesh (Gal 5:24), that decision has real power.  The Spirit works within us to produce good fruit (Gal 5:22-23) and the voices of the flesh quiet down.  “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

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One Thing to Think About:  Who is winning this battle in my life?

One Thing to Pray For:   Courage to deny myself and follow the Spirit
 

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