TODAY’S VERSE:

Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

As we continue to study Salvation in prep school, we have been learning more about sin. In last month’s newsletter, “The Salvation Plan”, we learned about God’s plan to save us from sin. As God draws us to Him, prior to being saved, He humbles us to the point of admitting that we are sinners and need a savior. Then, He introduces us to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was judged and died on the cross for our sins. What exactly is sin? The Bible says;

Romans 14:23b… whatever is not from faith is sin.

Why do we sin? Let’s answer that question by discussing the different types of sin:

Imputed sin- Adam’s original sin passed on to all people at birth as a result of the fall in the Garden of Eden. (Let’s face it; we all would have disobeyed God if we had been in the Garden.)
Inherent sin- The old sin nature/flesh passed down, through the body, from generation to generation, which tempts us to sin.
Personal sin- The sin we commit with our own free will when we give into temptation.

Wow- that’s a lot of sin! As you can see, it is even a part of our very own bodies. So, the real question is, how in the world could we ever not sin? The answer is found in today’s verse where we are told to “walk by the Spirit”. How do we do that?

Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Hmmm… So, we must learn what the Holy Spirit desires (the Spirit, Himself, teaches us), set our minds on it (He helps with this, too), and then walk by the Spirit (He empowers this, also) so we may avoid sinning. How are we to know what God the Holy Spirit desires? How does He communicate this to us?

In February’s newsletter, “Repetition, Repetition, Repetition”, we discussed how important a daily relationship with God is. We emphasized that both reading our Bibles and praying should be something that we do every day. Not only is it a way to learn about God and His commands, but He also desires to talk with us and be our best friend. Do you want to talk to your best friend at school every day? Do you want to share with them the details of your life? Do you want to know the details about theirs? Well, it should be the same, even more so, with God. These verses should sound familiar;

Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing.

Ephesians 5:18b... be filled with the Spirit.

Ok, so we read our Bibles, talk to God every day, and are filled with the Spirit. We learn what God desires for our lives and pray for His help in accomplishing it, and the Spirit is right there with us every step of the way! Will we then stop sinning completely? Unfortunately, no, the old sin nature/flesh is in our bodies and stays with us until we go to Heaven, but our new nature, given at salvation, never sins. So, we can say…

Romans 7:17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

Now, we still have our free will and make the decision to sin, so we still must face the consequences of our bad decisions. But, as we learn more and more about Him and grow closer to Him, we will learn how to walk by the Spirit and begin to make better decisions. This will be very obvious, because as we walk by the Spirit we will begin to display the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

In the same way, if we neglect our relationship with God, ignore His Word, and give in to the temptations from the flesh and the world, we will produce a very different, but still obvious fruit, that of the flesh.

Galatians 5:19-21 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.

I think we can all agree that it is much better to produce the perfect fruit of the Spirit vs. the rotted fruit of the flesh. So, we must, then, do as today’s verse says and walk by the Spirit so all may see God’s love through us.