I would often quote from 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) saying that to quote only half of it is to miss the point, of the scripture because you have to read the whole verse to get a complete understanding of what it takes to have no condemnation in Jesus, namely to "not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit". I used to say, you can't quote half a verse as a way to allow yourself to live how you want because it says you can't be condemned if you are a Christian! The first half of the verse on its own does just that, it allows for all kinds of licentiousness. Once I had got used to the idea that it takes a lot more than just being a Christian to not stand condemned, which is a very challenging thought indeed, I started to wonder, well how does one live according to the spirit? What on earth does that mean and how can I apply it to my life, if indeed I do not want to stand condemned? Quite a challenge!
As I started to look into this over a period of time, which in fact is still ongoing, I started to discover that to live spiritually is to make good choices as you go through life, day to day, hour by hour almost minute by minute by choosing to act according to what we see in the word and of Jesus actions and example. For example I felt myself making a deliberate choice while driving the other day to instead of leaving a motorist stuck out beside me because he had attempted to overtake me when there was no room in front of me to pull in while we waited at a set of lights, I conceded and waved them on. A little thing perhaps but an example of how I made the choice not to follow my carnal nature but to follow Gods spirit at His prompting. The thought actually went through my head about what would Jesus have done had he been driving my bus! I must confess that it doesn't always go that way. (I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.Romans 7:15)
Recently I rediscovered Galatians 5. I was thinking about how often we are taught about the fruits of the spirit as though we have to work hard at attaining them. What I had never thought was that Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control were the product, the fruit of something; that is the fruit of the spirit. To have this fruit you need the spirit. That is not to say that once you have been baptised by the spirit you have it, they have to be worked at by concentrating on living by the spirit. If we live by the spirit we cannot obey the things of the flesh. If we live by the flesh we cannot live by the spirit! (I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against 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. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleaness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in the past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:16-21). When you look carefully at this list you can see what a tough job we have to live a holy and righteous life; a spiritual life. (You don't have to look far in many churches to see much of the above behaviour carrying on unchecked). But if we do live by the Spirit then we are not under the law because it says that against such things there is no law. If we live by the Spirit we cannot break the law because all our choices are good ones. (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those [who are] Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26).
Did you notice the warning at the end to not think of yourself as 'holier than thou' as the saying goes? It would be easy to do this but then of course we would cease to be living in the spirit would we not? Becoming a Christian is not an easy option by any means. Its the right one, but not the easy one, but then making the right choice seldom is! It breaks my heart to hear churches preaching that if you come to Jesus all your problems will be solved! In many senses if you wish to live a holy, that is a separate and wholly different life from those around you, expect life to become harder, not easier! The great thing is that we have the hope of Jesus return and of eventual eternity with Him. And he also said, He would never leave nor forsake us. And, He left His spirit to guide and counsel us. What a God we serve!
The journey continues................
As I started to look into this over a period of time, which in fact is still ongoing, I started to discover that to live spiritually is to make good choices as you go through life, day to day, hour by hour almost minute by minute by choosing to act according to what we see in the word and of Jesus actions and example. For example I felt myself making a deliberate choice while driving the other day to instead of leaving a motorist stuck out beside me because he had attempted to overtake me when there was no room in front of me to pull in while we waited at a set of lights, I conceded and waved them on. A little thing perhaps but an example of how I made the choice not to follow my carnal nature but to follow Gods spirit at His prompting. The thought actually went through my head about what would Jesus have done had he been driving my bus! I must confess that it doesn't always go that way. (I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.Romans 7:15)
Recently I rediscovered Galatians 5. I was thinking about how often we are taught about the fruits of the spirit as though we have to work hard at attaining them. What I had never thought was that Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control were the product, the fruit of something; that is the fruit of the spirit. To have this fruit you need the spirit. That is not to say that once you have been baptised by the spirit you have it, they have to be worked at by concentrating on living by the spirit. If we live by the spirit we cannot obey the things of the flesh. If we live by the flesh we cannot live by the spirit! (I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against 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. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleaness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in the past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:16-21). When you look carefully at this list you can see what a tough job we have to live a holy and righteous life; a spiritual life. (You don't have to look far in many churches to see much of the above behaviour carrying on unchecked). But if we do live by the Spirit then we are not under the law because it says that against such things there is no law. If we live by the Spirit we cannot break the law because all our choices are good ones. (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those [who are] Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26).
Did you notice the warning at the end to not think of yourself as 'holier than thou' as the saying goes? It would be easy to do this but then of course we would cease to be living in the spirit would we not? Becoming a Christian is not an easy option by any means. Its the right one, but not the easy one, but then making the right choice seldom is! It breaks my heart to hear churches preaching that if you come to Jesus all your problems will be solved! In many senses if you wish to live a holy, that is a separate and wholly different life from those around you, expect life to become harder, not easier! The great thing is that we have the hope of Jesus return and of eventual eternity with Him. And he also said, He would never leave nor forsake us. And, He left His spirit to guide and counsel us. What a God we serve!
The journey continues................
