Bible Reading: Galatians 5:16-26 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the 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. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. |
Our key word yesterday was 'freedom'. Today it is 'conflict'. Every time when Paul wrote about freedom in Christ, he added a strong word of warning. In this case, he reminded us that our old sinful nature would try to take advantage of our new freedom in Christ. Only the presence of the Holy Spirit within us will win in this battle over the use or abuse of our freedom. Our old nature (often called 'the flesh') wants to control every part of us - our body with its desires, our personality, our mind, our emotions and our will. It is invisible but enormously powerful. If that old nature is allowed to have its way, what will it produce? Look at the horrible list in verses 19 to 21. It covers everything from the misuse of sex, wrong religion, break-down of relationships in society and families and the results of excessive drinking. In verse 17 Paul says our old sinful nature will lead us into doing these things which are the exact opposite of what the Holy Spirit wants to produce in our lives. What is the result? Conflict. But thank God, the Holy Spirit can give us victory over such desires and replace this awful list of wrongdoings with the beautiful fruit mentioned in verses 22 and 23. We will look at them tomorrow. As we look at the fruit of the Spirit together, remember that this is different from the gifts of the Spirit. Possibly no believer has all the gifts of the Spirit but every believer should be showing in their lives the complete fruit of the Spirit. A PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, may your Holy Spirit enable me to live on the victory side today and everyday. |
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