Walk by the Spirit

Have you ever felt powerless before your sin... like the temptation to sin was just too strong for you to fight alone? Or, have there been times when you didn’t even feel like fighting temptation? I know I've felt that way. What we need is an ally in our fight against sin. We need someone who is stronger than us and who is stronger than sin to help us defeat the power of sin in our lives. And that's exactly what God gives us in the Holy Spirit.

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Listen to what God promised to do for His people in Ezekiel 36:27 God says, 

“I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” 

God promised that when He put His Spirit in us the Spirit would move us to follow His decrees and keep His laws. God’s Spirit helps you want to obey God! 

We see the same thing in Galatians 5:16-17. ‌‌There the Apostle Paul says....

‌"Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want."

The Holy Spirit in you is in conflict with your sinful flesh and its temptations. It fights against your sinful desires. If you are a believer, then you are not fighting temptation alone any more. You have an ally. Before you got saved all you knew was the pull of temptation. You were drug around by your flesh like a dog on a leash and you weren’t strong enough to fight against it. But now, there is a tug of war inside you. The Spirit in you pulls against the flesh and helps you desire what is right.

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But the Spirit doesn’t just help you desire rightly, it also gives you the power to fight sin. Never forget that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside you and helps you fight sin. You have God’s eternal, limitless power helping you say no to sin. That’s why 1 Corinthians 10:13 can say 

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

No temptation is too strong for you, because you have God’s resurrection power on your side. You can say no to temptation. ‌‌You can win the war against sin in your life. But first you must learn to walk by the Spirit as Galatians 5:16 urges. If you are a believer, then you should live every day with an awareness of the Spirit’s presence in you. You should obey not only God’s Word but also the promptings of His Spirit in you. When the Spirit convicts you of sin, be quick to repent. When the Spirit prompts you to do some good thing, be quick to obey Him. When you are tempted to sin, don’t fight it alone but ask the Spirit for help. Ask Him to help you say no to temptation. Ask Him to change your desires. The Spirit’s presence and power should be a major part of your everyday walk with the Lord.

All In the family

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:26-28

When you became a Christian, God not only saved you from your sin He also adopted you into His family. Some Christians act as though they would like it if God's family consisted only of themselves and the Trinity, but that's not how it works. You see on the same day you became a child of God you also became a spiritually adopted brother or sister in Christ to believers everywhere. The church universal is one spiritual family with God at its head. 

Galatians 3:26-28 teaches that we are all children of God, made one by our baptism into Christ. This passage lists several of the major ethnic, socioeconomic and spiritual barriers of the day and says that they no longer matter at all! Now, these barriers weren't obliterated overnight. A Jewish Christian was still Jewish. Slaves who got saved often remained slaves for some time. And certainly male and female distinctives never went away in the New Testament church. So what does it mean when it says that there is "neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus"? It simply means that no matter what divides us, what Christians have in common in Jesus far outweighs our differences!

This is an important reminder for believers today. Too many Christians would rather speak to a heathen from their own political party than a Christian from the other. Too many Christians claim to oppose racism but would rather their child marry an unbeliever from their own race than a Christian from another race. And far too many Christians are more comfortable socializing with people who have attained their own socioeconomic and educational level than they are socializing with poor, uneducated Christians in a bricko block church in a third world country on a mission trip. 

This isn't how it should be! All who believe in Jesus have been adopted into God’s family; and if we have been joined in one family in heaven, then certainly we can be on earth as well! If someone is good enough for God’s family, then who are you to say they aren't good enough for you?! Are you going to tell God that His child isn't good enough to marry your child? Are you going to tell God that you can't bear to talk to His child because of their political leanings? Are you going to tell God that some of His children are beneath you because they aren't as wealthy or as educated as you are? We would never dream of saying such things to God's face, so let us be careful and set a watch on ourselves to ensure we never think them in the dark recesses of our hearts and minds.

Simple Faith

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.

Galatians 5:13-14

There is much about Christian faith and doctrine that can seem complicated to understand and difficult to put into action. This isn't one of those things.

In these verses Paul reminds the Galatian believers that they have been set free from slavery to the Old Testament law which had only the power to condemn them for their inability to meet its standard. Now that they are free from the law they shouldn't use that freedom to indulge their sinful desires. Instead, they should use their freedom to serve one another. They should use their freedom to keep the spirit of the law that they are now enabled to keep only by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit- that is to love their neighbor as themselves. 

In the dog-eat-dog world that we live in, it is all too easy for us to begin focusing only on ourselves. There are days when it is difficult for me to find extra the energy or compassion to serve even my closest family members. When was the last time you served someone else and humbly met their needs at the expense of your own? When did you last love your neighbor as yourself?

Make it a point today to serve someone. Make it a point to show someone else the same love you would show yourself. It's just that simple.

Walk by the Spirit (W.o.W. Rewind)

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice 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. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-25

When I was a kid we had a big, untrained dog named Bear. This Australian Shepherd mix was aptly named (in my eyes anyway). I was only an eight year old boy at the time and Bear was much bigger and stronger than me, so my feelings toward him were a mixture of love and fear. Anytime I tried to take him for a walk Bear would see something worth chasing and tear off after it. It was all I could do to hold onto his chain and get drug behind him. I simply wasn't big enough to stop him. The truth is I never walked Bear. Bear walked me.  

Sadly, this is exactly how a lot of people live their lives. Only it’s not a big, untrained dog that drags them around... it’s their flesh. When our fallen, sinful nature gets a craving it simply takes off after the thing it desires. Sex, money, success, proving you were right and winning the argument. Whatever it is that the flesh wants it runs after. The problem is that all of us are like that eight year old version of me. We are drug around like rag dolls behind our cravings. None of us are strong enough to fight the lusts of the flesh alone. We need a stronger power to pull against the flesh. A power that will ultimately overpower the flesh and put it down like the rabid dog it is. Only then can we be truly free. 

Galatians 5 tells us that this is exactly what happens in Christ. Verse 24 says, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." When a person declares Jesus as Lord of their life, they die to sin and are raised to live a new life for Christ. In this sense they participate in Jesus' death and resurrection spiritually. But how is this possible? 

It happens by the supernatural work of God's Spirit who indwells believers at salvation. Once the flesh has been dealt with, the Spirit begins leading us in the way that we should go. Prompting, convicting, and directing us. Unfortunately, though the final death blow has already been landed, Christians are not completely free of their sin nature until heaven. So there is a constant tug of war going on in a believer's life. 

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. (Galatians 5:17)

Thankfully, Scripture tells us what we can do to gain the victory here and now. "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). When Christians aren’t living by the Spirit daily, when they return to their old ways of living, then they strengthen their fleshly desires. They actually join in with their flesh and fight against the Spirit of God in their hearts. But Paul shows us a better way. WALK BY THE SPIRIT! If the believer chooses to listen to the Spirit's whispered promptings day by day, if he chooses to turn his ear to God's voice, and if he sets his heart to obey the Spirit's tugs, then the great promise of verse 16 awaits him. He will no longer carry out the desires of the flesh.

You don't have to taste defeat at the hands of that addiction or bad habit any more. You can finally be free of the sin that has entangled you for so long and kept you from becoming the person God is calling you to be.

So what does it mean to walk by the Spirit? It involves drawing nearer to God through things like:

• Scripture Reading- This is God's primary way of revealing Himself to us. Don't take it for granted. You must make time to be with the Lord, if you are to walk with Him daily.
• Prayer- And I don't mean just a one-sided conversation where you download your wish list. God placed His Spirit in believers for a reason. We have to stop and listen some. We have to tune our hearts to be sensitive to the Spirit's promptings.
• Be sensitive to God’s voice- According to John 3:4-8 & 6:44, every believer feels the tug of the Spirit when we get saved. Since we are all called to salvation, we have all felt Him move in our hearts before. It is that burning conviction in your heart and in your gut. Oftentimes you just know what it is that God is telling you to do. At other times God speaks to us through our circumstances, through opportunities that come our way or through the wise counsel of Christian friends. But of course we must always make sure to check our understanding of these leadings against Scripture. Only Scripture is inerrant. 
• Be Eager to Obey what you know- We need a prepared readiness to eagerly obey whatever God leads us to do. Whether he reveals it to you, be careful not to quench, grieve, or resist the Holy Spirit. Step out on faith and see what God does. 

Consider Paul's admonition in verse 25 as a challenge to take up. "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."

The Ultimate Imitation of Christ (W.o.W. Rewind)

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

At any given moment most of us have a burden, some heaviness or trouble in our lives. If you are anything like me, then you are acutely aware of your own burdens and almost completely oblivious to those of anyone else around you. It's true. Serving others, thinking of others, being considerate- these aren't my natural strong suits. So when I came across this verse, I was prompted by the Spirit to ask myself this question. "Do I help bear the burdens of other believers?"

The second half of the verse reveals just how important this question really is. It tells us that if we are helping to bear burdens then we are fulfilling the law of Christ. So if we aren't, then we must be failing to fulfill Christ's law. 

Why is this so important? The ESV study Bible adds a helpful footnote here. "To bear one another's burdens is the supreme imitation of Jesus, the ultimate burden bearer" (p.2255). Think for a moment about Jesus as the ultimate burden bearer. 1 Peter 2:24 says, "'He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness." Galatians 3:13 reveals that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." But perhaps Isaiah 53:4-5 puts it best of all: 

Surely he took up (bore) our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

In Christ we have been set free from the Old Testament law; we are no longer obligated to observe times and seasons. So what is this law of Christ? We are obligated by the grace and freedom we have received through Jesus to live for God as His servants, obeying His commands. Jesus taught us that the second greatest command of God is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). If we are to fulfill Jesus' teaching, if we are to obey His commands, then we must bear one another's burdens.

All of us know a believer with a burden. Stop right now and think of at least one.

Now, prayerfully and considerately, do something about it. Help bear that burden. Encourage them. Pray for them. Serve them. Come alongside and mourn with them. Volunteer to help them get some work done. Give generously to them. Remember that we are called to love one another as a family- a new family, created through Jesus, as we are adopted as God's children. So do something to lighten the load of a brother or sister in Christ today. 

For further reading

• John 13:1-17 & 34- Consider Christ's service through the lens of a powerfully symbolic act.
• 2 Corinthians 8:9- The prince of heaven becomes a poor carpenter with no place to lay his head so that we might be saved.

God Doesn't Hurry (W.o.W. Rewind)

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5

I loved philosophy in undergrad. I'll never forget talking about Aristotle's ideal man. My professor explained that this ideal man would be tall, have a deep voice and he would never be in a hurry. He invoked John Wayne's slow, swaggering gait as an example. To hurry meant to be late, which meant you had made an error. The ideal man always had time to slow down and swagger. I knew right then and there that I was ruled out on all accounts. I was a short tenor who often had to run across campus to get to classes in time. 

I don't really know what the ideal man is like, but I am convinced that any God worthy of worship is never in a hurry. I mean what kind of a god would be in a hurry? One who didn't know the future? One who procrastinated or who had lost control? That's not a god I want to serve. 

Thankfully, the God of the Bible passes this test. He is never in a hurry. Over and over again in Scripture we see that God, knowing all future events, simply waits until the right time to act. God waited until Abraham was 99 years old before He gave him a son. It had been 24 years since He first promised him a child. Then once Israel went down into Egypt God let their numbers increase for 430 years before He rescued them from slavery. And when they fearfully refused to enter the Promised Land, God didn't hesitate to banish the entire generation to live out their remaining years in the wilderness. He would simply take the next generation into the Promised Land. Why not? He has all the time in the world.

We find the same God at work in the New Testament. During the time between the old and new testaments God was silent for roughly 400 years, biding His time. By the time Jesus finally was born it had been more than a thousand years since God first promised a Deliverer. What happens then? Basically nothing until Jesus is thirty years old. After Jesus' birth and circumcision we only have one story about His entire adolescence recorded in Scripture. He was roughly thirty years old before anyone really took notice of Him. The Messiah was living right under people's noses and they didn't notice... and God took His time revealing it to them.

What does this mean for us? Well, it means that God isn't in a hurry in your life either. Now don't mistake God's patience for indifference. You can be sure that God has a plan for you (Ephesians 2:10) and that He cares that He will not tolerate disobedience. But you can also be sure that He is not going to rush you. He will prepare you for what lies ahead and He will make sure it happens in His time. So relax. Trust the process. Trust God. Focus less on where you are right now or on how quickly you are moving forward. Focus more on being in right relationship with Him today and taking the steps of obedience you need to take right now.

God doesn't hurry

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5

I loved philosophy in undergrad. I'll never forget talking about Aristotle's ideal man. My professor explained that this ideal man would be tall, have a deep voice and he would never be in a hurry. He invoked John Wayne's slow, swaggering gait as an example. To hurry meant to be late, which meant you had made an error. The ideal man always had time to slow down and swagger. I knew right then and there that I was ruled out on all accounts. I was a short tenor who often had to run across campus to get to classes in time. 

I don't really know what the ideal man is like, but I am convinced that any God worthy of worship is never in a hurry. I mean what kind of a god would be in a hurry? One who didn't know the future? One who procrastinated or who had lost control? That's not a god I want to serve. 

Thankfully, the God of the Bible passes this test. He is never in a hurry. Over and over again in Scripture we see that God, knowing all future events, simply waits until the right time to act. God waited until Abraham was 99 years old before He gave him a son. It had been 24 years since He first promised him a child. Then once Israel went down into Egypt God let their numbers increase for 430 years before He rescued them from slavery. And when they fearfully refused to enter the Promised Land, God didn't hesitate to banish the entire generation to live out their remaining years in the wilderness. He would simply take the next generation into the Promised Land. Why not? He has all the time in the world.

We find the same God at work in the New Testament. During the time between the old and new testaments God was silent for roughly 400 years, biding His time. By the time Jesus finally was born it had been more than a thousand years since God first promised a Deliverer. What happens then? Basically nothing until Jesus is thirty years old. After Jesus' birth and circumcision we only have one story about His entire adolescence recorded in Scripture. He was roughly thirty years old before anyone really took notice of Him. The Messiah was living right under people's noses and they didn't notice... and God took His time revealing it to them.

What does this mean for us? Well, it means that God isn't in a hurry in your life either. Now don't mistake God's patience for indifference. You can be sure that God has a plan for you (Ephesians 2:10) and that He cares that He will not tolerate disobedience. But you can also be sure that He is not going to rush you. He will prepare you for what lies ahead and He will make sure it happens in His time. So relax. Trust the process. Trust God. Focus less on where you are right now or on how quickly you are moving forward. Focus more on being in right relationship with Him today and taking the steps of obedience you need to take right now.

Walk by the Spirit

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice 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. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-25

When I was a kid we had a big, untrained dog named Bear. This Australian Shepherd mix was aptly named (in my eyes anyway). I was only an eight year old boy at the time and Bear was much bigger and stronger than me, so my feelings toward him were a mixture of love and fear. Any time I tried to take him for a walk Bear would see something worth chasing and tear off after it. It was all I could do to hold onto his chain and get drug behind him. I simply wasn't big enough to stop him. The truth is I never walked Bear. Bear walked me.  

Sadly, this is exactly how a lot of people live their lives. Only it’s not a big, untrained dog that drags them around... it’s their flesh. When our fallen, sinful nature gets a craving it simply takes off after the thing it desires. Sex, money, success, proving you were right and winning the argument. Whatever it is that the flesh wants in that moment it runs after. The problem is that all of us are like that eight year old version of me. We are being drug around like rag dolls behind our cravings. None of us are strong enough to fight the lusts of the flesh alone. We need a stronger power to pull against the flesh. A power that will ultimately overpower the flesh and put it down like the rabid dog that it is. Only then can we be truly free. 

Galatians 5 tells us that this is exactly what happens in Christ. Verse 24 says, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." When a person declares Jesus as Lord of their life, they die to sin and they are raised up to live a new life for Christ. In this sense they participate in Jesus' death and resurrection spiritually. But how is this possible? 

It happens by the supernatural work of God's Spirit who indwells believers at salvation. Once the flesh has been dealt with, the Spirit begins leading us in the way that we should go. Prompting, convicting, and directing us. Unfortunately, though the final death blow has already been landed, Christians are not completely free of their sin nature until heaven. So there is a constant tug of war going in a believer's life. 

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. (Galatians 5:17)

Thankfully, Scripture tells us what we can do to gain the victory here and now. "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). When Christians aren’t living by the Spirit daily, when they return to their old ways of living, then they strengthen their fleshly desires. They actually join in with their flesh and fight against the Spirit of God in their hearts. But Paul shows us a better way. WALK BY THE SPIRIT! If the believer chooses to listen to the Spirit's whispered promptings day by day, if he chooses to turn his ear to God's voice, and if he sets his heart to obey the Spirit's tugs, then the great promise of verse 16 awaits him. He will no longer carry out the desires of the flesh. You don't have to taste defeat at the hands of that addiction or bad habit any more. You can finally be free of the sin that has entangled you for so long and kept you from becoming the person God is calling you to be.

So what does it mean to walk by the Spirit? It involves drawing nearer to God through things like:

• Scripture Reading- Remember that it was the Spirit who inspired the writing of the Bible and He plays a special role in illuminating it to our understanding. This is God's primary way of revealing Himself to us. Don't take it for granted. You must make time to be with the Lord, if you are to walk with Him daily.
• Prayer- And I don't mean just a one-sided conversation where you download your wish list. God placed His Spirit in believers for a reason. We have to stop and listen some. We have to tune our hearts to be sensitive to the Spirit's promptings.
• Be sensitive to God’s voice- According to John 3:4-8 & 6:44, every believer feels the tug of the Spirit when we get saved. Since we are all called to salvation, we have all felt Him move in our hearts before. It is that burning conviction in your heart and in your gut. Oftentimes you just know what it is that God is telling you to do. At other times God speaks to us through our circumstances, through opportunities that come our way or through the wise counsel of Christian friends. Of course we must always make sure to check our understanding of these leadings against Scripture. Only Scripture is inerrant. 
• Be Eager to Obey what you know- We need a prepared readiness to eagerly obey whatever God leads us to do. Whether he reveals it to us through Scripture, prayer or some other means, be careful not to quench, grieve, or resist the Spirit. Step out on faith and see what God does. 

Consider Paul's admonition in verse 25 as a challenge for the fast approaching new year. "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."

The Ultimate Imitation of Christ

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

At any given moment most of us have a burden, some heaviness or trouble in our lives. If you are anything like me, then you are acutely aware of your own burdens and almost completely oblivious to those of anyone else around you. It's true. Serving others, thinking of others, being considerate- these aren't my natural strong suits. So when I came across this verse, I was prompted by the Spirit to ask myself this question. "Do I help bear the burdens of other believers?"

The second half of the verse reveals just how important this question really is. It tells us that if we are helping to bear burdens then we are fulfilling the law of Christ. So if we aren't, then we must be failing to fulfill Christ's law. 

Why is this so important? The ESV study Bible adds a helpful footnote here. "To bear one another's burdens is the supreme imitation of Jesus, the ultimate burden bearer" (p.2255). Think for a moment about Jesus as the ultimate burden bearer. 1 Peter 2:24 says, "'He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness." Galatians 3:13 reveals that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." But perhaps Isaiah 53:4-5 puts it best of all: 

Surely he took up (bore) our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

In Christ we have been set free from the Old Testament law; we are no longer obligated to observe times and seasons. So what is this law of Christ? We are obligated by the grace and freedom we have received through Jesus to live for God as His servants, obeying His commands. Jesus taught us that the second greatest command of God is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). If we are to fulfill Jesus' teaching, if we are to obey His commands, then we must bear one another's burdens.

All of us know a believer with a burden. Stop right now and think of at least one.

Now, prayerfully and considerately, do something about it. Help bear that burden. Encourage them. Pray for them. Serve them. Come alongside and mourn with them. Volunteer to help them get some work done. Give generously to them. Remember that we are called to love one another as a family- a new family, created through Jesus, as we are adopted as God's children. So do something to lighten the load of a brother or sister in Christ today. 

For further reading

• John 13:1-17 & 34- Consider Christ's service through the lens of a powerfully symbolic act.
• 2 Corinthians 8:9- The prince of heaven becomes a poor carpenter with no place to lay his head so that we might be saved.