Flesh
vs. Spirit
Scripture
Reading: Romans 7:14-25
Today's
Treasure: "For the sinful nature desires
what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what
is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict
with each other, so that you do not do what you want"
(Galatians 5:17).
(Amanda
writes)
I am convinced that my husband has eaten more McDonald's
cheeseburgers than anyone I know. If I do not have a
good idea of where or what we should eat on any given
day, we usually default to the Golden Arches. The delight
on his face when we pull up to the colorful drive-thru
menu makes up for the fact that we ate there two days
ago—and the bag is still in the car! In my countless
travels through the drive-thru with Curt I have noticed
one thing: the person at window one (who takes your order
and your money) and the person at window two (who makes
sure your order is right and hands you the food) must
work together and without conflict for the good of the
customer and the whole business. If the co-workers are
in sync, McDonald's can be a blessing.
(Beth writes) Beloved, one
of our biggest reasons for failure in daily struggles
is our vain attempt to balance the Spirit and the flesh—to
make them function as co-workers. As shown in Galatians
5 and 6, it is absolutely impossible because they are
polar opposites. In his letter to the Romans, Paul is
very descriptive in his struggle with his old nature.
Read this passage aloud with great concentration, even
more than once if necessary.
Excerpt
from Romans 7 in The Message:
"I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself
is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things
I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out
what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that
God's command is necessary.
"But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep
it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best
intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have
what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I
decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide
not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such
as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong
deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
"It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good,
sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands,
but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight.
Parts of me covertly rebel, and then just when I least expect
it, they take charge.
"I've
tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope.
Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the
real question?
"The
answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted
to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want
to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the
influence of sin to do something totally different."
Feel
the emotion in Paul's voice; sense his frustration. Read it
as words from your own mouth because you have been there and
so have I. Thank goodness, most of us do not live every single
moment in the kind of agony Paul described, but there are times
when the desires of the flesh are almost overwhelming.
Paul
speaks of "sin, seizing the opportunity" twice in Romans 7.
Oh, my friend, how sin does seize the opportunity. No sooner
have we made a vow or a spiritual resolution than it seems our
flesh begins to find every opportunity to trip us. Even if
we didn't struggle with evil principalities, our own flesh is
enough to sabotage us. We cannot always say, "The devil made
me do it."
Scripture
reveals that redeemed humankind possesses three enemies: the
world, the devil and the sinful nature. The world system is
our enemy. You need only take a spin down the freeway and read
the billboards to know that the world is speeding head-on into
spiritual destruction. Satan is our enemy and he heads an army
of enormous proportions. Finally, our sin nature, or what we
refer to as our "flesh," is our enemy.
Furthermore,
we live in a society that, at its best, preaches "follow
your heart." Jeremiah 17:9 counters this cliché by saying,
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure."
We can't even trust our own hearts! With this lineup
of strong foes, are you feeling a little defeated?
Beloved,
1 John 4:4 boasts that you have overcome them because "the one
who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
(NIV) You see, this verse tells us that God has given us victory
over all three of our enemies if we will follow Him in "triumphant
procession" (2 Cor. 2:14)! The Holy Spirit of Christ, who inhabits
this flesh and exercises dominion over it at our mere invitation,
is greater than "he" who is the prince of this world (see John
12:31) and dictates its personality. He that is in us is the
key to overcoming "he that is in the world," all that is "of
the world," and all that is of the flesh.
God
wants you to be victorious! Jesus did not die for his children
so that his enemies could mop the floor with them. Claim 2
Peter 1:3-4 over your life today and trust that His divine power
has given you everything you need for life and godliness through
your knowledge of Him.
I
praise you, Lord! Even though I cannot trust my own heart,
I know I can be victorious because You live in me. Thank
You for overcoming my three enemies. I yield myself to
You today and ask You to exercise dominion over my flesh
and bring glory to Yourself. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Adapted
from Living Beyond Yourself, by Beth Moore, pages
40-41. Nashville: LifeWay Press, 1998. Used by permission.
