Overcoming the Enemy Within
But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will in no way bring to completion the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and these oppose one another in order that that which you should desire, this you do not do, Galatians 5:16, 17
The sin nature is one of the more predominate enemies that we face each day of the three that seek to thwart our Christian walk. Unlike Satan, who will flee if we resist him, or the world system, which is designed to rock us to sleep like a little baby, the sin nature never goes away. Morning, noon, and night, it is always there. It seeks to keep us in slavery and demands that we fulfill it desires. So how do we overcome such a formidable foe?
We do not fight the sin nature with law, for the law gives it strength. No, in all actuality, we do not fight the sin nature at all. It is too strong for us! So how do we gain freedom from its grip? By governing our lives according to the Spirit.
You see, in Christ we are dead to the sin nature. We died with Christ and have been raised to walk in newness of life. We need to recognize this truth and act appropriately. As we govern our lives according to who we are in Christ the desires that the Spirit produces in us will make us slaves to righteousness, which is totally contrary to the desires from the flesh, which seek to make us slaves to unrighteousness. The two desires do not mix. You cannot be Spiritual and carnal at the same time. Therefore, […]