Defeat Is Not An Option
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Galatians 5:16-18
Jesus said in John 8:31-32 that if folks practice what Jesus teaches and exhibits, then they truly will be His disciples and will be made free by knowing the truth. He went on to say that if He makes us free, then we will be free indeed (v. 36). Coming under grace frees us from having to follow the law, the rules and regulations that God had given as a temporary measure to be in right standing before God. Paul called God’s offer of forgiveness as a “call to liberty”, and that doesn’t mean the right to do as we please. It doesn’t allow us to strive and contend with fellow believers, to be arrogant, a know-it-all, or to do anything not in accordance with the teachings of Christ. We are given the Holy Spirit to constantly remind us of Who it is that we are serving, not our own interests, but those of Christ. His freedom can only be understood by those who have experienced it through repentance and faith in Him. We serve Him by serving others, not by arguing about the color of the carpet in the church or by dividing into factions as the church in Corinth was doing (I Corinthians). To keep believers focused on what really matters, the spread of the gospel of Christ, it requires the deep and abiding love of God.
Paul quoted Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). This is the second greatest commandment after loving God with all of one’s heart, soul, and mind. Peter wrote in I Peter 4:8 to urge believers to have an overwhelming love among themselves because love covers a multitude of sins. Paul wrote that the entire law is fulfilled by loving one another. Love governs all we do and say if we possess that deep, agape love, the kind of love that sacrifices for others, that only wants the best for others, and esteems others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). The sure cure for disharmony in the church or anywhere else, for that matter, is unselfish and abiding love for others. Paul warned the members of the Galatian churches that the lack of love among them would cause them to bite and devour one another. Is this not Satan’s M.O.? Does he not “walk about, seeking whom he may devour?” (I Peter 5:8). There were some false teachers who had infiltrated the Galatian churches and were trying to convince the believers that they must follow the law in order to have complete salvation. That had caused strife in the church, the reason for Paul’s letter to them. When believers do not allow love to rule, they are operating according to the devil’s play book rather than God’s book of life and liberty. Rather than edifying or building one another up to fortify the kingdom of God, believers can actually diminish their influence and their faith.
To avoid falling for Satan’s deceit, we must “walk”, that is, live our lives in co-operation with the Holy Spirit. If we pay attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and follow through on His instructions, we can avoid a lot of trouble and heartache that would result from departing from what we know is right. When we allow self to take over, there is sure to be a train wreck or at least a pothole up ahead. The flesh, our carnal nature with which we begin our earthly journey, is diametrically opposed to the Holy Spirit, which one received in one’s soul when one is born again. Thus the believer is the bearer of the sin nature and the Spirit of God, two forces within vying for control of the believer. It is this struggle between these two forces, depending on the determination of the believer, which either leads to maturity in Christ and a diminishing of the old, sinful nature, or a lifestyle lived for self and a diminishing of faithfulness to the Lord. The goal for the believer, of course, is to focus on the new life in Christ so that sin is seen more and more for what it is, that is, rebellion against a holy God and a deterrent to Christian maturity.
How we win this struggle for control of our hearts and minds is by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us 24/7. By doing so, we are ruled by grace and not the law, or more specifically, by not trying to be right through our own efforts. Even as believers persevere to be all they can be for Christ, not to win His favor (grace) for we already have that, but to honor and serve Him, we must allow the Holy Spirit to rule and reign in our hearts. This struggle between the flesh and the Spirit will continue until we are taken out of this sin-cursed world. Defeat is not an option. The believer must be “on his or her toes” at all times because the devil certainly is. We are not alone in our struggle because the Holy Spirit is our constant companion, for without Him we are toast.