Now, fast forward to today. Does it still have an effect on you? Do you still feel its power?
If you're new to the walk, enjoy it. Enjoy the fervor of walking with the Lord. If you've been walking for some time, this is the time to take a pit stop.
We may have gone a long way battle after battle. Or we may be struggling in the middle of it. How are we going? Is our faith still intact?
"I don't understand my own actions. I don't do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate."
Sounds familiar? We all plan to be done with that thing - addiction, procrastination, negativity - only to find ourselves back at it again. Are we in this struggle?
We know we shouldn't give ourselves to things that don't benefit us and have little to no eternal value. And then, we say to ourselves, it's better to give in, give up, or just give it our best. It'll all be over someday when Jesus comes to deliver us.
Is this what we really want? I'm sure it's not. We want deliverance and victory. And we want it now, not in the distant future. And the Gospel has provided that. It's a game changer in a way that nothing else can. If we're not convinced by this, it's time to understand it fully.
We are to follow God's commands because they direct us toward obedience. But being under this law, we know we can't fulfill everything because we're prone to break it. We're enslaved to sin. If this is the basis, then sheer will alone, no matter how determined we are, is never enough.
But God's righteousness has been manifested apart from the law. He now brings about obedience in His people through faith in Jesus Christ. We don't need to earn our right standing with God by obeying Him. It's been placed through Jesus' obedience and sacrifice.
With this, we have a new life of freedom. And because of this, we can obey in love. It's a fruit we grow in us in this truth.
So how does this play out in the sinful desires in us?
Let's connect it with the keywords spirit and flesh.
Spirit can be commonly described as the inner being or soul. It contains one's personality and will. It's assumed that the corruption, the fallen nature exists in it and is the product of the own will, thus a reflection of that person. But it may not be the case.
The flesh is the term used for all living creatures on earth, carrying the connotation that's earthly, carnal, or animal in nature, as opposed to a spiritual or heavenly one.
So it can be seen that our flesh is the source of all our sinful passions. It's not to say that our flesh is evil. The desires of the flesh are those controlled by evil to deceive our spirits into sin.
We can see that it's a battle between a corrupted body of flesh and a willing spirit. And we must be able to distinguish them so that we can confidently say, "It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me."
And what becomes of the heart?
It's been circumcised by the Spirit of God Himself. He transforms the heart entirely and instantly, and He makes it pure. He has already done the renewal. And with that, we have become one Spirit with Him. Our spirits have been joined. Our identity is in Him. When our faith has come to this, we can confidently say, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." So we walk in the Spirit and find a new life and new nature.
In this sense, we're baptized into Jesus. He was crucified in the flesh and raised in the Spirit. But in our case, we have a new and unseen life not in the flesh but in the Spirit with Christ. We would have to wait for our resurrection bodies, but we know by faith we're no longer captive to sin and corruption of the flesh.
We have died in the flesh and been born again. We're not of this world anymore but of heaven. We have become God's children as we share in His nature. The work isn't complete since we haven't been resurrected bodily, but the Spirit within us now carries the power of His resurrection to our earthly bodies.
We have become this because of the work of atonement. Jesus died for the forgiveness and the removal of our sins. And this work is complete. We're not guilty. We are clean. We are pure. We are righteous in God's sight. Our freedom from sin has been accomplished. That itself is the victory. Oh, how amazing this grace is!
By this, we cannot continue in sin because it's no longer who we are. And our new identity doesn't find its nature to sin. We now see ourselves in this Light.
This is all true because of His doing, and we shouldn't allow the enemy to rob us of this truth. We believe in this greatly. The thoughts, feelings, and actions we feel in the flesh shouldn't dictate to us, and we don't allow that. For we're not in the flesh anymore but in Christ. We let God's Word tell us who we are despite what we see and feel at a given moment.
And given the work that's still to be done, we're in the process of being sanctified. So we learn to live through Jesus, our new being, and abide in Him through faith. We need to be continually transformed by the renewing of our minds. We allow Him to manifest more in us. We must grow until we become the person He wants us to be. We need to remind ourselves of these truths and thank Him for that.
So when we find ourselves in addiction, we remind ourselves that we're a new creation in Christ. The old has gone, and the new has come. When tempted by this, we know it comes from the flesh, not the Spirit.
In sloth, we remind ourselves that God made us clean and holy. We thank Him that we don't want to be that way. We want to be productive and prayerful. We thank Him for giving us His energy and diligence. When tempted by this, we know it comes from the flesh, not the Spirit.
In unforgiveness, we know we need to forgive because Jesus forgave everyone, including you and me. We remind ourselves that we're crucified with Christ. His identity is our identity. So we should forgive others as He did. Anything contrary to this comes from the flesh, not the Spirit.
In anger, we remind ourselves that Christ is a gentle and patient person anyone has known. Anything contrary to this comes from the flesh, not the Spirit.
This may sound like new learnings or reminders for you. But rest assured that these don't take away the truth of the Gospel. They place the Gospel in a full circle.
And when we understand this, we see living the walk as it should be. We find the walk in the process of being, not doing. Our repentance to take a new life in Him is a belief in what He can do. So our journey with Him should be a belief in what He has done and what He will do.
It takes the correct understanding of God's grace and the love within us so that faith propels us out of sin, unlike anything else. And as far as the battle goes on, we persevere. We fight to believe in His promises. We make our faith genuine with the intent to be holy because God is holy.
We can overcome anything because of this truth and God helping us. We take the Gospel to heart always, and our life in Him can shine further, brighter, and with power.
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