The words “if it dies, does it bear much fruit?” Are they engraved on every tree in God’s garden? (John 12:24). A word is engraved in the flesh of every Christian: “Are you dead? (Colossians 3. 3). And the sincere confession of every believer is:” Am I crucified with Christ? (Galatians 2. 20).
But who died when I became a Christian?Answer: my Meat? Deceased. “And those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh, with their passions and lusts?(Galatians 5. 24). But what, meat? It’s not my skin. It’s not my body. My body can be an instrument of justice. (Romans 6. 13) No, it’s not my body.
- So what is it? We see the answer in the types of works that meat does.
- The works of the flesh are things like idolatry.
- Conflict.
- Anger.
- And envy (Galatians 5.
- 19-21).
- These are attitudes.
- Not just immoral acts of the body.
The passage that is most close to giving a biblical definition of?Meat? It’s Romans 8:7-8 😕 Therefore, the inclination of the flesh is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be; therefore, will those who live in the flesh not please God?(Romans 8: 7-8). The flesh is the old self who rebelled against God; in the flesh, he was hostile and unmissive; I hated the idea of admitting that I was fed up with sin; discussed the idea that my greatest need was for the right doctor to cure me. . In the flesh, I turned to my own wisdom, not to the wisdom of God. So, nothing I did in the flesh pleased God, why?Without faith, is it impossible to please God? (Hebrews 11:6) The flesh does nothing in faith.
So, meat? Confident and faithless. This is what died when God saved me; God squeezed the arteries of my old heart of unbelief stone; and when he died, he gave me a new heart (Ezekiel 36. 26).
What’s the difference between this new heart that lives and the old man who’s dead?The answer is in Galatians 2: 19-20: “Am I crucified with Christ?And this life which I now have in the flesh, I live it by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. The old heart that died trusted itself; the new heart depends on Christ every day.
How do the dead fight against sin? They fight sin by trusting in the Son of God. They died to Satan’s lies. Lies like this: “You will be happier if you trust your own ideas about how to be happy rather than trust in Christ’s counsels and promises. “this deception. They fight Satan by believing that Christ’s ways and promises are better than Satan’s ways and promises.
This way of fighting sin is called “Fighting the Faith” (1 Timothy 6. 12; 2 Timothy 4. 7). Are the victories of this fight called? Work of faith?(1 Thessaloniki 1. 3; 2 Thessaloniki 1. 11). In this war, are Christians sanctified by faith?(Acts 26. 18).
So let’s think about this battle of faith. It’s not like playing war with toy guns, eternity is at stake. Romans 8. 13 is the key verse: “For if you live according to the flesh, you walk toward death; But if, by the Spirit, you make the actions of the body die, will you certainly live?This was written for those of us who profess the Christian faith, and the central point is that our eternal life depends on our struggle against sin. This does not mean that by killing sin we are worthy of eternal life. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, by the Spirit?that we’re fighting. The glory is his, not ours.
Romans 8. 13 also does not mean that we are eagerly fighting for the uncertainty of victory. On the contrary, even as we fight, we are convinced that “he who has begun a good work in you will finish it until the day of Jesus Christ. “Philippians 1. 6). Romans 8. 13 also does not mean that we must now be perfect in our victory over sin. Paul denies any pretence of perfection: “It is not that he has ever received it or that he has already attained perfection; But do I still realize why I was also conquered by Christ Jesus?(Philippians 3:12).
The requirement of Romans 8:13 is not impecability, but the mortal struggle against sin. This is very essential in the Christian life. Otherwise, we will have no evidence that the flesh was crucified. And if the flesh was not crucified, we do not belong to Christ (Galatians 5:24). In this war, there are many things at stake. The result is heaven or hell.
So how can the dead “mortify the acts (of the sinner) of the body”?We have already replied, “by faith!” But what exactly does that mean, how is it possible to fight sin by faith?
Suppose greed tempts me. A sex image appears in my brain and invites me to look for it. Temptation gets stronger by convincing me to believe I’ll be happier if I give in. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier. one sins by sense of duty when what he really wants is to do the right thing.
So what am I supposed to do? Some would say, “Be holy, because I am holy. ?Remember God’s commandment to be holy (1 Peter 1. 16) and exercise your will to obey because he is God. “But this counsel lacks something crucial: faith, moral progress are unable to say, “The life I now live in the flesh, do I live it in the faith of the Son of God?”(Galatians 2:20). Many people try to love, but they do not understand that what really matters is: faith that works for love?(Galatians 5: 6) The fight against greed (or greed, fear or any other temptation) is a struggle of faith. Otherwise, the result is legalism.
When the temptation of greed comes, Romans 8:13 says, “If by the Spirit you kill the works of the flesh, you will surely live. “By the Spirit! What does that mean? In the midst of all the armor God gives us to fight Satan, only one piece is used to kill: the sword. Is his name l? Sword of the Mind?(Ephesians 6:17). So when Paul says to kill sin by the Spirit, I understand that the meaning is: “It depends on the Spirit, especially your sword. “
What is the sword of the Spirit? It is the Word of God (Ephesians 6. 17). This is where faith comes in: “Is faith therefore to hear and hear the word of God?(Romans 10:17). The Word of God pierces the fog of Satan’s lies and shows where to find true and lasting happiness. Thus, the Word helps me to stop relying on potential sin to make me happy and encourages me to trust in God’s promise of joy (Psalm 16:11).
I wonder how many believers today are aware that faith is not simply about believing that Jesus died for our sins; faith is also the certainty that his way is better than sin. His will is wiser. Your help is safer, your promises are more valuable. And his reward is more rewarding. Faith begins by looking at the cross of the past, but lives by looking at God’s promises for the future. Abraham — by faith, was he strengthened?Completely convinced that he was powerful to fulfill what he had promised?(Romans 4: 20-21). Faith is the certainty of the things that are expected, the conviction of the facts that are not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
When faith prevails in my heart, then Christ and his promises satisfy me. This is the meaning of what Jesus said: “He who believes in me will never thirst?(John 6:35). If the presence of Christ and the promises satisfy my thirst. because joy, that is, passion, sin loses its power. We don’t want this meat sandwich when we see the delicious grill.
The fight of faith is a fight to be satisfied with God. “By faith, Moses? Did he refuse? Why did he consider the price? (Hebrews 11: 24-26). Faith is not content with” transitory pleasures. “It hunger for joy. And God’s Word says:” Is there fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand, of everlasting delights? “(Psalm 16. 11). Therefore, faith is not lost through sin. She will not give up so easily. In her pursuit of the ultimate. joy.
The function of God’s Word is to feed God’s hunger for faith, so it distracts me from the deceptive taste of greed, greed first tries to deceive me with the feeling that I will stop experiencing some pleasure if I follow the path of purity. . So I take the sword of the Spirit and start fighting.
I read that it is better to tear my eye and throw it away than to covet it (Matthew 5. 29). I have read that if I think of pure, beautiful, reputable things, God’s peace will be with me (Philippians 4. 7-8). I have read that the inclination of the flesh gives death, but that the inclination of the Spirit gives life and peace (Romans 8. 6) And while I pray that my faith may be satisfied with the life and peace of God, the sword of the Spirit takes away the cover of the poison of greed. I’m starting to see things the way they really are. And by the grace of God, his power of seduction is nullified.
This is how the dead fight sin. That is what it means to be a Christian, we die in the sense that our old unbeliever self (the flesh) died, instead there is a new creation. Faith makes it new, not only a faith that looks at the death of Jesus in the past, but a faith that looks at Jesus’ promises in the future, not only the certainty of what he has done, but the satisfaction of what he will do. Do.
With all eternity at stake, we fight the battle of faith. Our main enemy is the lie that sin will always make our future happier. Our main weapon is the truth that God will make our future happier. And faith is the victory that surpasses this. He lies, because faith is satisfied in God.
Thus, the challenge that awaits us is not simply to do what God says because it is God, but to want what God says because it is good. The challenge is not simply to seek justice, but to prefer justice. Rise in the morning and prayerfully ponder the scriptures until you feel the joy and peace of believing in God’s “precious and great promises” (Romans 15:13; 2 Peter 1. 4). With this joy before us, God’s commandments will not be painful (1 John 5. 3) and the reward of sin will be too fleeting and superficial to attract us.