Monday, August 26, 2013

Flesh Lusts Against Spirit -- Rest in Christ, and Lust No More

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17For 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. 18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." (Galatians 5: 16-18)

When we try to be loving and obedient through our efforts, we end up doing the very things that we do not want to do.

The flesh, the dead Adam sin nature that every person is born with, is just terrible.

Jesus died on the Cross to deliver us from this body of death (Romans 7: 24) and to give us His life, and that more abundantly (John 10: 10)

AA, like all religions, bases its program on trying to make people better.

There is no improving our dead selves. There is no making "the old man" better.

For this reason, Paul relates at length to his readers in Ephesians that we have been taken from dead in our trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly places in Christ.

We have been promoted, not just resurrected, not just rejuvenated:

"Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17, ASB)

This love is an ever giving love, by the way, one which lavishes on us righteousness and grace at all times (Romans 5: 17)

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